WIP-Renaissance forts-Awhayji Resources

[4maram]

Sorry for those expecting the 5 points fort, I had to delete the file because the measures were in feet and inches instead of meters, and passing from meters to feet and inches has generated iregularities in the overall design. So I have to remake it all from zero.

Also, while this project advances, I can't advance very much on the Regional map, so that one may be stalled until near the end of January, probably... Or maybe not...

[Bindusara]

a nice use of sketchup!

[4maram]

Now, this is the good one. I've found a site where they discuss about how those forts were designed, and that the final design ended having small variations that helped on the overall defense. They also include a guide to how to draw the silhouette/level/base of a 5 points fort of the 17th century so, following that guide I'm making a 5 points 17th century fort and posting it here, some steps at a time (it only consists of 12 steps). When I finish it, I'll just continue making the fort.

Steps to draw the silhouette of a 17th century pentagonal fort (every pentagon named I'm asuming that it's a regular pentagon (maybe I should try to make an irregular fort...)):
1.- Draw a circle (no more than 500 meters in diameter to be able to support with muskets).

2.- Divide it in 5 angles of 72 degrees.

3.- Connect the points where the lines cross the circle to form a pentagon (draw the pentagon inscribed in the circumference).

4.- Divide a side of the pentagon in 5 equal parts, named: a,b,c,d,e, between the corners A and B. The points that delimitate the equal parts are, from left to right: A, 1, 2, 3, 4, B

5.- Draw the pentagon circumscribed to the circumference and draw a line, from the point 1 on the inner pentagon to the outer pentagon, perpendicular to the side of the pentagon. We will name that line the flank of the bastion.

6.- Extend the radius of the inner pentagon on the corner (point A) we are working on, until after well passed the outer pentagon. Draw another line going from the point 3, passing through the end of the flank and reaching the radius that goes through the point A and the corner of the pentagons. we will name the point of the end of the bastion point C

7.- Repeat on the opposite side of the corner/radius steps 5 and 6 to finish the bastion.

5P17thCentury oneBastion.PNG

8.- Draw a third pentagon with its corners coinciding with the point of the bastion (C), and draw bastions (steps 5, 6, and 7) for the rest of the corners.

Now we almost have the usual silhouette of the poligonal fort but we must mark the orillons. Around here would be the emplacements where would go the cannons that defend the curtains.

9.- Cut the flank of a bastion with a perpendicular line f, dividing the flank in two equal halves, parallel to the line we previously divided in 5 equal parts.

10.- To draw the location on the right side of the bastion, we divide the line a in half with a perpendicular line and we make a rectangle/square there, from that point, to the midle of the flank. And then we repeat for the rest of the bastions.

5P17 step 11.PNG

11.- We erase the half of the flank nearest to the main wall/innermost pentagon to show the orillon. And then we clean up to show the final result.

5P17 Clean1.PNG

5P17 Clean2.PNG

[4maram]

Here's an irregular pentagonal bastioned fort. I'm around after step 8 for regular forts, but it's a lot different for irregular ones. This is just the dirty map of the first version. I'll experiment a bit with diferent bastion forms maintaining the main wall.

5P_IrrV1_Step8Dirty.PNG

[4maram]

Here's a study of the defensive artillery placed on the regular pentagonal fort. Only 1 and a half bastions are studied (and armed with cannons) in this case.

5P17R ArtDef.PNG

The cannon type I'm supposing is being used are french naval cannons of 36 lbs. Its point blank range is of 650 meters (the arches shown on the image), but its maximum range is of 3300 meters (outermost circle). These cannons need a recharge time of 8 minutes after being shot.

[4maram]

Here is how the regular pentagonal fort looks from the ground 1 km away from the center. I have developed the emplacements for cannons only on one bastion.

5P17R Ground view1km.PNG

1: That is the fort?
2: Yeah.
1: That tiny thing over there?
2: Yup that tiny thing over there.
1: It's too low, even I could bring a ladder from home and scale it.
2: It may seem very low from here but that over there is a 6 meter wall over the ground (glacis) and there is a trench 10 meters deep and 30 meters wide before you can reach the wall, and that trench is also in the range of the defensive artillery.
1: ... and no big walls to shoot at with my artillery... It's not fair!
2: That's the purpose.

Now you may tell me "Hey 4maram, why not just copy and paste the polygons on the other bastions?". Well, Sketchup is a bit of a ... . You can't draw perfectly regular polygons here. You have to paint every single line, because, while the bastions may seem like the same, they aren't.
Well, I end my rant against the SketchUp program here (for now...).

[4maram]

I remade the fort/citadel and spent 4 hours on it. I'm seriously beginning to consider accepting donations and payed commisions...

The citadel has a radius (from the center to the point of one of the bastions) of 250 meters and a capacity of 40 cannons.
It has a trench 10 meters deep and 55 meters wide, and a covered path 1.6 meters deep and 39 meters wide at its narrowest points (I know that the wides are disproportionate to the actual size of the citadel).
The parade is at ground level, the bastions and parapet walks are at 4 meters over ground level and the parapets are 6 meters over ground level.

The sentry boxes (in spanish: garita, garitas) aren't included, but they would be circular and of 3 meters in diameter. There would be one at the point of each bastion plus two more on the corners that join the flanks and main walls of each bastion: 3 garites per bastion.
Ramps to the bastions, a bridge and a door and inner buildings aren't included either.

Here's a top view

5P17RegV1.1_250Rad_50cann_Volume_NoColor.PNG

The openings for cannons have been carefully engineered to make sure there aren't any blind spots.
On each side of each bastion the cannon nearest to the point, can shoot in an angle of 80 (horizontal) degrees. The next shoots in an angle of 70 degrees, from the point where the outermost shooting line angle of the cannon situated behind the orillon crosses the diagonal that divides the next bastion in two simetrical sides, from that point up to 70 degrees towards the point of the bastion we are looking at. The cannon at the flank of the orillon, points from the inside of the orillon, to the point where the innermost side of the 80º opening crosses the diagonal of the next bastion.
There are no blind spots.

Here's a view zooming in and angling the camera, showing a bit of sky.

5P17RegV1.1_250Rad_50cann_Volume_NoColor_Zoom+Sky.PNG

And here is a view from the groud, 679 meters away from the nearest bastion, 929 meters away from the center of the citadel.

5P17RegV1.1_250Rad_50cann_Volume_NoColor_Ground.PNG

Can somebody help me with the amount of people and professions that would be needed to maintain the fort operative?

[Falconius]

Why'd you include nooks behind the towers?

I've no idea how many people it'd take to simply maintain that fort let alone man it, but I'd imagine it'd employ quite a few. All that masonry, that ditch and the grounds. No access to lawnmowers. I'd guess a groundskeeper and maybe 5-10 permanent labourers for him, probably a carpenter, a full time mason/manager guy, who'd hire laborers when needed. If it includes stocking food and ammo, there'd be a commander, a quarter master, a master of arms, a blacksmith and possibly an armourer. All with associated assistants and apprentices. If it included stock it'd have to be guarded as well, which could probably done with 15-30 soldiers. To actually garrison the place, a couple of hundred.

Edit: I forgot about a cook. They'd definitely have a cook and the cook would have 2-4 helpers, and if garrisoned more like 12-20.

[4maram]

I don't understand what are you referring to when you say "nooks behind the towers".

I'll asume that you are meaning bastions for towers, and the nook bexind the tower may be two things:

1.- The emplacement for a cannon behind the orillon.
That cannon defends the curtain wall, the opposite (on this curtain) bastion wall, and the blind spot that can form just in front of the bastion. Here's a depiction of its angle of shooting line:

5P17RV1.1_AoF_Pos1.PNG

2.-The part of the bastion that connects with the path on the curtain.
It's just there because the ramps through which the cannons and pretty much everythig that gets to to the bastions or curtains has to go through any of those ramps, that will be connected on the inner side of the corners of the curtains. To ease the travel, there's not any door.
You may think that this is foolish, because if the enemy was able to enter the citadel there would be little to defend from there. Building something to block that possibility would make the overall defense to be less effective, up to the point where it would be worse to have that there than not having it.


About the cuantity of people needed to run the citadel. I'm already assuming that there would be needed a BIG number. no less than 500 people.

Look:

A 36-pounder required a 14-man crew, comprising one chief gunner, 12 gunners, and one powder-boy.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/36-pounder_long_gun

Suposing we put in every position available one of these guns, the minimum population required to defend the citadel would be of 14*40 = 560 people. Not counting cooks, soldiers, officers, petty officers, messengers, scouts, stables managers, etc.

This fortification won't be found in the middle of nowhere. You will find it near a city and defending a strategic spot.

[4maram]

Here's an update to show you the angles at which the 4 guns on the side of each bastion can shoot:

5P17R ArtShootAngles.PNG

And here is an update on the map of the fort. The trench and the covered path are definitely smaller (36 meters and 11 meters wide) and more proportionate to the citadel:

5P17RegV1.2_250Rad_40cann_Volume_NoColor.PNG