Fortifications in the Northern Alps – France, Switzerland, Italy. Vol. 2

The history of fortifications in the Northern Alps retraces the genesis of military works in the mountains or in the foothills that marked the boundaries of the highly fluctuating territories at the heart of Europe — principally those of the House of Savoy.

It will be observed that the architecture of these forts evolved with advances in artillery and that the original counties, composed for the most part of great valleys, shifted beyond the mountains in 1713 and then completely in 1860 to form the Piedmont-Sardinia and finally the greater Italy.

The Swiss cantons that signed peace with the Kingdom of France in 1515 united into a great Helvetic Confederation and fortified themselves powerfully from the 19th century onwards in order to uphold their neutrality. A military constant would thus endure among the three countries: in the mountains, terrain commands. The technical and strategic descriptions will confirm this fundamental rule of engineers and army generals: "he who holds the heights holds the lowlands".

Drawing primarily on French archives, the 740 pages of these two extensively documented volumes, with more than 2,000 illustrations, synthesise the major periods of fortification in Europe as well as the emblematic fortified sites of the greater Northern Alps region, the crossroads of three countries: France, Switzerland and Italy.