Le Page - French Forifications 1715-1815

Vandaag had ik de eer en het genoegen om een gesprek te hebben met Jean Denis Lepage historicus en illustrator, wat ook weer een mooie gelegenheid is om zijn laatste boek onder de aandacht te brengen. Meer over Mr Lepage in een nieuwe post.

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Today I had the honour to have a long and pleasant conversation with Mr Jean Denis Lepage, historian, author and illustrator of many fine books. A good idea for starters to point to his latest book.

This book describes and illustrates French fortifications from 1715 (the death of Louis XIV) to 1815 (the fall of Napoleon), focusing particularly on the Napoleonic era. After an historical background, it covers the heritage of the Ancien Regime with the important contributions of Vauban (the bastioned defense), Gribeauval's reforms in artillery, and Montalembert's innovations. Chapters explore the style of Napoleonic fortifications, siege warfare, artillery and engineering corps, as well as the Napoleonic achievements in France, Italy, German and the Netherlands, including projects that were planned but never completed. Included are nearly 250 line drawings of historic fortifications.