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Sapping

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Towers no longer protruded at right angles from the wall; rather, they blended with the wall. These created a two-fold advantage. First, defenders in the towers had a field of fire of 280 degrees or more. This range of fire and the towers' positioning allowed defenders to fire upon the attackers' flank as they advanced, a deadly fire called
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century. To breach the walls, Ferdinand ordered his soldiers to dig into the feldspar supporting the side of the mountain and place an explosive charge. Even after the powder was ignited and a substantial portion of the wall, the gate, and the inner walls were breached, the defenders still held out for three days.
297:(6 March 1645 – 8 May 1646) showing in green a sap that allows Roundhead siege artillery to be placed closer to the fortifications of Newark than the circumvallation. Notice that the lines of advance of the zig-zag are at such an angle and position that the defenders were unable to bring enfilade fire to bear. 276:
of military operations in the late medieval and first decades of the early modern period of warfare. Fortresses with abutments with gentler angles were difficult to breach; cannonballs and mortar shells often had little impact on the walls, or impact that could be readily repaired after night fell.
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Before the development of explosives, sapping was the undermining of an enemy's fortifications, which would collapse when the sap's supports were removed. Later, explosives were placed surreptitiously in the undermining sap or mine, then detonated, as was done with 450 tons of high explosive in the
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to describe the digging of a covered trench (a "sap") to approach a besieged place without danger from the enemy's fire. The purpose of the sap is usually to advance a besieging army's position towards an attacked fortification. It is excavated by specialised military units, whose members are often
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During First World War trench warfare, the combatant's sappers, who were often experienced civilian miners who had been rejected for combat duties due to age or ill-health, strived to undermine each other's positions, working silently to avoid detection. After completing a mine it was filled with
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A Dictionary Of The Military Science:Containing an Explanation Of The Principal Terms Used In Mathematics, Artillery, and Fortification, And Comprising The Substance Of The Latest Regulations On Courts Martial, Pay, Pension, Allowances, Etc. A Comparative Table Of Ancient And Modern Geography;
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fired on the fortress with large caliber cannons; this had little impact on the walls. The cannons were firing heavy shot, but the height of the fortress significantly reduced the force of the impact with the walls, which bounced off to little effect, although the fortress dated from the 14th
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towards an enemy position. It allows the attacking infantry to approach an enemy position without being detected and safe from enemy fire. For the attack, the tunnel is opened and the infantry attacks the enemy position at comparatively short range. Russian saps were widely used in the
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By using the sap, the besiegers could move closer to the walls of a fortress, without exposing the sappers to direct fire from the defending force. To protect the sappers, trenches were usually dug at an angle in zig-zag pattern (to protect against
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A way to force entry into a fortified structure was to dig a mine or sap under defensive walls, typically shored up by wooden props. On collapsing the tunnel, for example by burning the props, the wall would collapse.
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Townshend, pp. 28-29. ("Such projections from the wall both forced the hostile cannon to fire from longer range and enabled the defenders to enfilade attackers.")
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the walls. A fire or gunpowder would then be used to create a crater into which a section of the fortifications would fall, creating a breach.
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could be moved through the trenches to get closer to—and enable firing at—the fortification. The goal of firing is to batter a breach in the
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explosives, sometimes hundreds of tons, and detonated, followed by an attack on the surprised survivors from the destroyed position.
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in defensive architecture in the 1500s. The Italian style star fort bastion made siege warfare and sapping the
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showed that fortresses could still withstand sapping and explosives to a point. After the attacking force of
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Sapping trenches, cannons and gunpowder explosives were a potent force against fortifications. However, the
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along with the besiegers redoubts and fortified camps was drawn up by R Clampe, the besieging
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Achievements Of The British Army; With An Address to Gentlemen Entering The Army
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fire from the defenders), and at the head of the sap a defensive shield made of
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Sapping became necessary as a response to the development and spread of
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which took place from 6 March 1645 – 8 May 1646. A detailed map of the
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at a time and filling it with earth taken from the trench.
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http://civilwarfortifications.com/dictionary/xgm-003.html
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http://civilwarfortifications.com/dictionary/xgs-003.html
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and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as
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London: James Maynard 373:Livens Large Gallery Flame Projectors 7: 492:participating institution membership 454:participating institution membership 309:defences of Newark and the lines of 375:. Similar tactics were used in the 133:digging a sap with a sap roller on 63:Please consider converting them to 1073:Naples underground geothermal zone 640:. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 393:tunnel warfare from the Gaza Strip 27:Type of siege operation in warfare 25: 634:The Oxford history of modern war 631:Charles, Townshend, ed. (2000). 540:The Oxford history of modern war 41: 30:For the geomorphic process, see 1119:Forestiere Underground Gardens 982:Underground mining (soft rock) 977:Underground mining (hard rock) 962:Subsurface utility engineering 67:to ensure the article remains 1: 972:Underground mine ventilation 538:Charles Townshend (editor). 387:to attack US troops, and by 1129:Underground House Las Vegas 1218: 1124:Underground House Colorado 1053:Underground City, Montreal 1048:Underground City (Beijing) 383:, when they dug under the 261: 29: 1155:Hockerton Housing Project 696:Man-made and man-related 479:Oxford English Dictionary 441:Oxford English Dictionary 367:, for example during the 1169:Earth shelters Australia 949:underground construction 198:Trinity atomic bomb test 909:Missile launch facility 612:Campell, E.S.N (1844). 484:Oxford University Press 446:Oxford University Press 381:People's Volunteer Army 1134:Underground World Home 645:Weyden, Ernst (1864). 298: 259: 138: 131:1st New York Engineers 1023:Kőbánya cellar system 1018:Houston tunnel system 957:Rock-cut architecture 292: 249: 169:) could be deployed. 128: 1202:Military engineering 1098:Subterranean fiction 1093:Subterranean warfare 391:, when carrying out 232:Ferdinand of Bavaria 129:Union troops of the 1088:Subterranean Toledo 1083:Subterranean London 1003:Caves of Maastricht 967:Tunnel construction 748:Burial vault (tomb) 482:(Online ed.). 444:(Online ed.). 369:Battle of the Somme 226:of 1583 during the 32:groundwater sapping 1043:Underground living 925:Underground hangar 513:. 29 October 2009. 331:American Civil War 325:American Civil War 299: 260: 224:Siege of Godesberg 194:battle of Messines 144:is a term used in 139: 1189: 1188: 1143:Earth shelters UK 1114:Bill Gates' house 1107:Earth shelters US 877:Military features 868:Ventilation shaft 736:Civilian features 490:(Subscription or 452:(Subscription or 409:Mining (military) 123: 122: 115: 73:Several templates 16:(Redirected from 1209: 1150:Underhill, 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Index

Russian sap
groundwater sapping
bare URLs
link rot
full citations
verifiable
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reFill
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1st New York Engineers
Morris Island
siege operations
sappers
enfilading
gabions
mantlet
cannon
curtain walls
siege artillery
undermine
battle of Messines
Trinity atomic bomb test
Siege of Godesberg
Cologne War
Ferdinand of Bavaria

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