Got a Real World Weapons or Armour Question? Mk XII

[Brother Oni]

Ir may be polygonal forts that's being talked about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonal_fort

That type of fortification seems a bit late for the design modification that Eorran seems to be talking about.

Maybe trace italienne AKA star forts?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_fort

Thank you! I was looking for a picture of a castle that showed how the design enabled enfilade fire by the defenders.

Interestingly, one of the theories for the development of trench warfare on the Western Front in WW1, blames aircraft -- in the opening stages of the war the armies had such good knowledge of each other's positions, thanks to aerial reconnaissance, that they couldn't make any surprise moves -- leading to stalemate and trench warfare. I think it's more complicated than that, but aerial reconnaissance could have been a major contributor.

Even so, there were a couple of close shaves.

One story I heard during WW1 was during the race to the sea. There was heavy fighting around some woods between the British and Germans, with the British putting up an extremely spirited defence.

Eventually the attack was repulsed and since this was still in the comparatively friendly phase of the war, a captured German officer asked what was in the woods to warrant such a desperate defence. A British officer answered 'Regimental HQ', to which the German replied 'Mein Gott'.

For those who don't realise the significance, Regimental HQs are usually sited far away from enemy lines because of their importance: the Germans almost broke through the British lines entirely plus in the capture of a major command post, potentially undermined the entire BEF.