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Coastal defence (ordefense)and coastal fortification are measures taken to provide protection againstmilitary attack at or near acoastline (or othershoreline),[1] for example,fortifications andcoastal artillery. Because an invading enemy normally requires aport orharbour to sustain operations, such defences are usually concentrated around such facilities, or places where such facilities could be constructed.[2] Coastal artillery fortifications generally followed the development of land fortifications, usually incorporating land defences; sometimes separate land defence forts were built to protect coastal forts. Through the middle 19th century, coastal forts could bebastion forts,star forts,polygonal forts, or sea forts, the first three types often with detached gun batteries called "water batteries".[3] Coastal defence weapons throughout history were heavynaval guns or weapons based on them, often supplemented by lighter weapons. In the late 19th century separate batteries of coastal artillery replaced forts in some countries; in some areas these became widely separated geographically through the mid-20th century as weapon ranges increased. The amount of landward defence provided began to vary by country from the late 19th century; by 1900 new US forts almost totally neglected these defences.Booms were also usually part of a protected harbor's defences. In the middle 19th centuryunderwater minefields and latercontrolled mines were often used, or stored in peacetime to be available in wartime. With the rise of thesubmarine threat at the beginning of the 20th century,anti-submarine nets were used extensively, usually added to boom defences, with major warships often being equipped with them (to allow rapid deployment once the ship was anchored or moored) through early World War I. In World War Irailway artillery emerged and soon became part of coastal artillery in some countries; with railway artillery in coast defence some type of revolving mount had to be provided to allow tracking of fast-moving targets.[4]
Inlittoral warfare, coastal defence counteractsnaval offence, such asnaval artillery, naval infantry (marines), or both.
Rather than the beach assault of modernamphibious operations, seaborne assaults of the classical and medieval age more often took the form of coastal raiders sailing up river and landing well inland of the coast. Prior to the invention of naval artillery that could sink hostile ships, the most that coastal defence could do was act as an early warning system, that could alert local naval or ground forces of the impending attack. For example, in the late Roman period theSaxon Shore was a system of forts at the mouths of navigable rivers, and watch towers along the coast ofBritannia andGaul.
Later in Anglo-SaxonWessex, protection againstViking raiders took the form of coast watchers whose duty was to alert the local militia, the navy, which would attempt to intercept the raider's ships, or failing that, to destroy them after they had beached. Against smaller raiding forces, the threat of losing their ships, and their way home with their loot, was often enough to force them to curtail their attack. In addition there was asystem of fortified towns,burghs, that were positioned atchoke points along navigable rivers to prevent raiders from sailing inland.
Sea forts are completely surrounded by water – if not permanently, then at least at high tide (i.e. they aretidal islands).
Unlike most coastal fortifications, which are on the coast, sea forts are not. Instead, they are off the coast on islands,artificial islands, or are specially built structures. Some sea forts, such asFort Denison orFort Sumter, are within harbours in proximity to the coast, but most are at some distance off the coast. Some, such as for exampleBréhon Tower orFort Drum completely occupy small islands; others, such asFlakfortet andPampus, are on artificial islands built up on shoals.Fort Louvois is on a built-up island, 400 meters (1,312 ft) from the shore, and connected to it by a causeway that high tide completely submerses. The most elaborate sea fort isMurud-Janjira, which is so extensive that one might truly call it a sea fortress.[according to whom?]
The most recent sea forts were theMaunsell Forts, which the British built during World War II as anti-aircraft platforms. One type consisted of a concrete pontoon barge on which stood two cylindrical towers on top of which was the gun platform mounting. They were laid down in dry dock and assembled as complete units. They were then fitted out before being towed out and sunk onto their sand bank positions in 1942. The other type consisted of seven interconnected steel platforms built on stilts. Five platforms carried guns arranged in a semicircle around the sixth platform, which contained the control centre and accommodation. The seventh platform, set further out than the gun towers, was the searchlight tower.
InColonial times theSpanish Empire diverted significant resources to fortify the Chilean coast as consequence of Dutch and English raids.[5]
TheDutch occupation of Valdivia in 1643 caused great alarm among Spanish authorities and triggered the construction of theValdivian Fort System that begun in 1645.[6][7]
As consequence of theSeven Years' War the Valdivian Fort System was updated and reinforced from 1764 onwards. Other vulnerable localities of colonial Chile such asChiloé Archipelago,Concepción,Juan Fernández Islands andValparaíso were also made ready for an eventual English attack.[8][5] Inspired in the recommendations of formergovernorSanta María the Spanish founded the "city-fort" ofAncud in 1768 and separated Chiloé from theCaptaincy General of Chile into a direct dependency of the Viceroyalty of Peru.[9]
China first established formal coastal defences during the earlyMing dynasty (14th century) to protect against attacks bypirates (wokou). Coastal defences were maintained through both the Ming dynasty and theQing dynasty that followed, protecting the coast against pirates, and against thePortuguese and otherEuropean powers that sought to impose their will on China.[10][11]
Subsequently, the European powers built their own coastal defences to protect the various colonial enclaves that they established along the Chinese coast. One such, a fort built by theBritish commanding theLei Yue Mun channel betweenHong Kong Island and the mainland, has been converted into theHong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. This tells the story of coastal defence along the South China coast from the Ming dynasty onwards.[12]
Taiwan has several coastal fortifications, with some, such asFort Zeelandia or Anping Castle dating to the time of theDutch East India Company. Others, such asCihou Fort,Eternal Golden Castle,Hobe Fort, date more to the end of the 19th century. TheUhrshawan Battery dates primarily to the first half of the 19th century. It actually underwent bombardment during theSino-French War.
The islands ofMalta,Gozo andComino all have some form of coastal fortification. The area around theGrand Harbour was possibly first fortified during Arab rule, and by the 13th century, a castle known as theCastrum Maris was built inBirgu to protect the harbour. The Maltese islands were given toOrder of Saint John in 1530, who settled inBirgu and rebuilt the Castrum Maris asFort Saint Angelo. In the 1550s,Fort Saint Elmo andFort Saint Michael were built, and walls surrounded the coastal cities of Birgu andSenglea. In 1565, theGreat Siege of Malta reduced many of these coastal fortifications to rubble, but after the siege they were rebuilt. The fortified city ofValletta was built on the Sciberras Peninsula, and further modifications were made to the fortifications over the years. The harbour area was strengthened even more by the building of theFloriana Lines,Santa Margherita Lines,Cottonera Lines andFort Ricasoli in the 17th century andFort Manoel andFort Tigné in the nearbyMarsamxett Harbour in the 18th century. The Order also builtFort Chambray nearMġarr Harbour in Gozo.
In the early 15th century, a number of watch posts had been established around Malta's coastline. In the early 17th century, the Order began to strengthen the coastal fortifications outside the harbour area, by buildingwatchtowers. The first of these wasGarzes Tower, which was built in 1605. TheWignacourt,Lascaris andDe Redin towers were built over the course of the 17th century. The last coastal watchtower to be built wasIsopu Tower in 1667. Between 1605 and 1667, a total of 31 towers were built, of which 22 survive today (with another 3 in ruins).[13]
From 1714 onwards, about 52batteries andredoubts, along with several entrenchments, were built around the coasts of Malta and Gozo. Many of these have been destroyed, but a few examples still survive.[14]
After the British took Malta in 1800, they modified the Order's defences in the harbour area to keep up with new technology. Malta itself,Gibraltar,Bermuda, andHalifax, Nova Scotia were designatedImperial fortresses. TheCorradino Lines were built in the 1870s to protect the Grand Harbour from landward attacks. Between 1872 and 1912, many forts and batteries were built around the coastline. The first of these wasSliema Point Battery, built to protect the northern approach to the Grand Harbour. A chain of fortifications, includingFort Delimara andFort Benghisa, was also built to protectMarsaxlokk Harbour.
From 1935 to the 1940s, the British built manypillboxes in Malta for defence in case of an Italian invasion.
The coastline ofNew Zealand was fortified in two main waves. The first wave occurred around 1885 and was a response to fears of an attack byRussia. The second wave occurred duringWorld War II and was due to fears of invasion by theJapanese.[15]
Thefortifications were built fromBritish designs adapted to New Zealand conditions. These installations typically included gun emplacements, pill boxes, fire command orobservation posts,camouflage strategies, undergroundbunkers, sometimes with interconnected tunnels, containingmagazines, supply and plotting rooms and protected engine rooms supplying power to thegun turrets andsearchlights.[15]
The defence of its coasts was a major concern for theUnited States from its independence. Prior to theAmerican Revolution many coastal fortifications already dotted the Atlantic coast, as protection from pirate raids and foreign incursions. The Revolutionary War led to the construction of many additional fortifications, mostly comprising simple earthworks erected to meet specific threats.[16]
The prospect of war with European powers in the 1790s led to a national programme of fortification building spanning seventy years in three phases, known as the First, Second and Third Systems. By the time of theAmerican Civil War, advances inarmour andweapons had mademasonry forts obsolete, and the combatants discovered that theirsteamships andironclad warships could penetrate Third System defences with acceptable losses.[16][17]
In 1885 US PresidentGrover Cleveland appointed theEndicott Board, whose recommendations would lead to a large-scale modernization programme of harbour and coastal defences in the United States, especially the construction of well dispersed, open toppedreinforced concrete emplacements protected by sloped earthworks. Many of these featureddisappearing guns, which sat protected behind the walls, but could be raised to fire.Underwater mine fields were a critical component of the defence, and smaller guns were also employed to protect the mine fields fromminesweeping vessels. Defences of a given harbor were initially designated artillery districts, redesignated ascoast defense commands in 1913 and as harbor defense commands in 1924. In 1901 theArtillery Corps was divided into field artillery and coast artillery units, and in 1907 theUnited States Army Coast Artillery Corps was created to operate these defences.[16]
The development ofmilitary aviation rendered these open topped emplacements vulnerable to air attack. Therefore, the next, and last, generation of coastal artillery was mounted under thick concrete shields covered with vegetation to make them virtually invisible from above. In anticipation of a conflict withJapan, most of the limited funds available between 1933 and 1938 were spent on the Pacific coast. In 1939–40 the threat of war in Europe prompted larger appropriations and the resumption of work along the Atlantic coast. Under a major program developed in the wake of theFall of France in 1940, a near-total replacement of previous coast defenses was implemented, centered on16-inch guns in newcasemated batteries. These were supplemented by6-inch and90 mm guns, also in new installations.[16]
In WW2 theU.S. Coast Guard would patrol the shores of the United States during the war. Some patrolled on horseback with mounted beach patrols. On 13 June 1942 Seaman 2nd Class John Cullen, patrolling the beach inAmagansett, New York, discovered the first landing of German saboteurs inOperation Pastorius. Cullen was the first American who actually came in contact with the enemy on the shores of the United States during the war and his report led to the capture of the German sabotage team. For this, Cullen received theLegion of Merit.[18]
The walls around coastal cities, such asSouthampton, had evolved from simpler Norman fortifications by the start of the 13th century. Later,King Edward I was a prolific castle builder and sites such asConwy Castle, built 1283 to 1289, defend river approaches as well as the surrounding land. Built 1539 to 1544, theDevice Forts are a series of artillery fortifications built forHenry VIII to defend the southern coast of England. Between 1804 and 1812 the British authorities built a chain of towers known asMartello Towers todefend the south and east coast of England, Ireland,Jersey andGuernsey againstpossible invasion fromFrance. This type of tower was also used elsewhere in the British Empire and in the United States.
In the earlyVictorian era,Alderney was strongly fortified to provide a massive anchorage for the British Navy before France became an ally of Britain in theCrimean War, even so plans changed slowly and thePalmerston Forts, a group of forts and associated structures were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, following concerns about the strength of the French Navy.[19] In 1865 LieutenantArthur Campbell Walker, of theSchool of Musketry advocated the use ofarmoured trains on "an iron high-road running parallel with that other 'silent highway', the source of all our greatness, the ocean, our time-honoured 'moat and circumvallation'"[20]
During theFirst World War the British Admiralty designed eight towers code namedM-N that were to be built and positioned in theStraits of Dover to protect allied merchant shipping from GermanU-boats.Nab Tower is still in situ. TheMaunsell Forts were small fortified towers, primarily foranti-aircraft guns, built in theThames andMersey estuaries during theSecond World War.
With the advent of missile technology coastal forts became obsolete. Britain's coastal forts were therefore decommissioned in 1956 and the units manning them disbanded.[21]
Russia Federation developedA-222E Bereg-E 130mm coastal mobile artillery system,K-300P Bastion-P coastal defence system and Bal-E coastal missile complex withKh-35/Kh-35E missiles.
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