Dutch Fortifications

Historian, writer and illustrator Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage is the author of numerous books. His interests include World War II and medieval and French history. He lives in Groningen, Netherlands.

• Table of ContentsIntroductionLow Countries, Netherlands, Belgium, and HollandGeography of the NetherlandsWaterChapter 1. The Romans in the NetherlandsHistorical BackgroundLimesRoman FortificationsUrban FortificationsEnd of Roman RuleChapter 2. The Middle Ages ca. 500–1500The Netherlands in the Early Middle AgesFortifications in the Early Middle AgesMedieval CastlesMedieval CitiesUrban Medieval FortificationsMedieval Siege WarfareConclusionChapter 3. RenaissanceThe Burgundian PeriodHabsburg and Spanish RulesFirearmsTransitional FortificationItalian Bastioned FortificationEarly Italian Bastioned Fortifications in the NetherlandsCoastal FortificationSiege Warfare with FirearmsChapter 4. The Eighty Years’ WarWar with SpainThe Old Dutch SystemDutch EngineersDefensive WaterlinesThe Influence of Dutch ONS Fortifications in Northern EuropeDutch Fortifications in the ColoniesChapter 5. The Golden 17th CenturyA Blossoming EraDutch Fortifications in the Latter 17th CenturySiege WarfareMenno van CoehoornNew Dutch SystemMenno Van Coehoorn’s WorksMenno van Coehoorn’s InfluenceChapter 6. The 18th Century and the French EraThe 18th CenturyThe French EraFrench Napoleonic FortificationsFrench Realizations in the NetherlandsChapter 7. The 19th CenturyThe Industrial RevolutionThe United Kingdom of the NetherlandsDutch Fortifications in the Period 1830–1860The New Holland WaterlineThe Rifled Artillery Crisis, ca. 1860Vestingwet 1874The Polygonal SystemCrisis in the 1880sThe Stelling of Amsterdam, 1880–1920The Forts in the StellingFortifications in the ColoniesChapter 8. The Period 1914–1940The First World War, 1914–1918Dutch Fortifications in the Interbellum, 1918–1939Fortifications of the Afsluitdijk (Ijsselmeer Dam)Lines of Defense, 1937–1940Interwar Standardized PillboxesAssessmentChapter 9. The Second World War, 1939–1945Defeat and OccupationThe German Atlantic Wall, 1940–1945The Atlantic Wall in the NetherlandsLiberationChapter 10. Dutch Fortifications in the Cold WarCold WarDutch Postwar ReconstructionDutch Fortifications During the Cold WarRemnants of Dutch Fortifications TodayConclusionBibliographyIndex

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