Civil War Field Fortifications
Redoubts
A transcription from Captain Ed. De La Barre-Duparcq's
Elements of Military Art and History
Pages 388 - 394
Translated by Brigadier General George W. Cullum
Published at New York by D. Van Nostrand, 1863
Note: A few minor corrections have been made in the text.
We shall be brief upon the subject of redoubts, as they belong rather to fortification.
Redoubts are employed to defend assailable points which are open to attack from all sides, but nevertheless within reach of support, such as hillocks, the entrance or exit of a defile, or the flanks of a position. They are, in certain cases, very suitable for fortifying the front of a line of battle.
1. DEFENSE. -- The troop charged with the defense of a redoubt is divided into two parts: a reserve, equal to the third of the troop, and an active part, composed of the other two thirds, for manning the parapet. To obtain a good defense, this active part should be sufficiently strong to furnish two men for each yard of the parapet. The reserve is divided into two sections: the special duty of the first is to repulse any turning attacks upon the entrance of the redoubt, the second stands in readiness to go to any point that is threatened.
The commander of the redoubt should explain to the chief of each fraction of the troops under his orders, the nature of the duty he is to perform.
Up to the moment of the attack, the sentinels alone are charged with guarding the redoubt.
When the enemy appears, he is to be received with cannon at four hundred yards' distance, and with musketry at only one hundred and fifty yards. It is best to execute the firing of musketry slowly and with careful aim, at the moment of beginning this firing the soldiers mount upon the banquette.
When the assailant has descended into the ditch, and is attempting to climb the scarp, the defenders mount upon the superior slope and pour a destructive fire upon him along the exterior slope. However, if during the operation of the escalade the assailant has left some men on the edge of the counterscarp to fire upon the defenders, the latter cannot mount upon the superior slope, but remain behind the parapet.
The assault being repulsed, a well sustained fire is turned upon the enemy as he retires, and then the troops come down from the banquette. If, on the contrary, the assault succeeds, it is the part of the reserve to fall upon the first enemies who enter the redoubt, and drive them back, forcing them into the ditch.
2. ATTACK. -- To attack a redoubt, the attacking force is divided into three columns. Each column embraces some sappers with tools, whose principal business is to destroy the accessory defenses. A supporting troop, or reserve, marches in rear of these columns.
In order to occupy the enemy, and to harass him, two of these columns make false attacks.
The principal, or veritable attack, is made at a point determined by the situation and form of the redoubt, as much as by the position and force of the attacking body.
We begin by silencing the artillery and musketry of the defense by means of a sustained cannonade. Then the columns, preceded by the sappers and protected by skirmishers, advance upon the capital, and without firing. The sappers remove the accessory defenses, and, that done, the columns descend into the ditch. Meanwhile, some skirmishers posted upon the counterscarp fire without intermission to prevent the defenders from showing themselves upon the superior slope.
We scale the scarp, and after an instant of repose on the berme, we ascend the exterior slope. Having reached the top of this exterior slope, we fire upon the defenders, and when upon the superior slope we fall upon them with the bayonet. At this moment it is necessary to avoid scattering, for it is important that each column which succeeds in its undertaking should present itself in mass upon a single point.
The skirmishers who had remained upon the counterscarp immediately march after the columns to support them, and the reserve endeavors to turn the redoubt by the entrance.
The columns, once in the redoubt, throw themselves upon the garrison and upon their reserve, beating them down, and advancing until they reach the entrance, from which they remove the barrier to give admission to the flanking corps.
The work being taken, the assailant establishes his reserve facing the enemy, in order to parry counter attacks, and to give his columns, which have necessarily suffered in the attack, time to reform again.
Such is the systematic method of attacking a redoubt, but it supposes a considerable attacking force.
A small detachment, half a company, for example, is often all that can be spared for the attack of a redoubt. In fact, this slight force will be sufficient where but one redoubt is to be carried, as frequently occurs in battles, containing some pieces of artillery, and only twenty or thirty men. Considering the feebleness of the assailants, they should no longer think of threatening the flanks of the redoubt, nor of ambuscading sharpshooters for the purpose of firing upon the defenders with all the precision of aim attainable by use of the new carbines. The best method of attack in this case, is a species of charge as foragers, that is, the attacking body, in order to escape the grape showered from the redoubt, throws itself precipitately upon it at full run, all the soldiers spreading at great distance, advancing as much as possible in a creeping posture, and rallying together upon the berme of the parapet of the redoubt, which they endeavor to escalade on different sides at the same time. Such an attack requires much courage and skill, and especially good luck. In fact, during the wars of Napoleon, the taking of such a redoubt was found in some cases to involve the loss of two or three detachments commanded by an officer, and we may well conceive that the successful commander received a brilliant reward.
3. EXAMPLE. -- The most memorable example of the employment of redoubts was at the battle of Pultawa. We will permit Marshal Saxe, the greatest advocate of redoubts, to relate the affair in his own words.*
"In the month of July, 1709, Charles XII, having laid siege to Pultawa, Peter the Great arrived with his forces to relieve the place.
"The king of Sweden, although wounded, declared to his generals that he would attack the Russian army on the next day. The arrangements were made, the forces were drawn up, and the march commenced a little before day.
"The czar had established seven redoubts on the front of his infantry, and they were constructed with care. There were two battalions in each, and all the Russian infantry remained in the rear, with the cavalry on the flanks. It was therefore impossible to reach the Russian infantry without taking these redoubts, for the Swedish forces could neither leave them in their rear nor pass between them without being overwhelmed by their fire. The king of Sweden and his generals, who were ignorant of this arrangement, did not comprehend the state of things until they were in the midst of them. But as the machine had been set in motion, it was impossible to stop it and to retreat.
"The Swedish cavalry of the two flanks at the outset overthrew that of the Russians, and even went too far; but the infantry of the centre was arrested by these redoubts. The Swedes attacked them, and were met with stout resistance. They nevertheless took three of them, but were repulsed by the others with great loss. It was impossible for the Swedish infantry not to be broken by attacking these redoubts, whilst that of the Russians, drawn up in order, were looking on at a distance of two hundred paces.
"Charles and his generals saw the danger they were in and the inaction of the Russians gave them some hope of being able to retire; however, order could not be restored, for the whole line was broken, and to attack was to lead the troops to slaughter. To retire was the only course to be pursued: the troops who had taken some of the redoubts, as well as those who were being overwhelmed by the others, were therefore withdrawn.
"There was no way to form them under the fire which proceeded from the redoubts, and consequently they retired in confusion and disorder. At this juncture the czar called his generals and asked them what it was proper to do. One of the youngest, Allert, without giving the others time to express their opinions, addressed his royal master in these words: 'If your majesty does not attack the Swedes at this moment, it will be too late.' The whole line was immediately set in motion, and marched in good order, with pikes erect, between the intervals of the redoubts, which were left manned, to cover a retreat, in case of necessity.
"Hardly had the Swedes halted to form, and to restore order, when they saw the Russians on their heels. Their disorder and confusion became general. Still, they did not fly at once; they even made one more valorous effort, and turned back to charge; but order, the soul of battles, being gone, they were scattered without resistance.
"The Russians, who were not accustomed to victory, did not venture to pursue them, and the Swedes retired in disorder as far as the Borysthenes, where they were all taken prisoners. Thus it is that by skillful arrangements, we can propitiate fortune.
*Mes reveries, liv. ii., chap. 12 (Barre-Duparcq's note)
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