Vauban, a genius in the service of Louis XIV (2/2]

2024-02-06T04:10:35.202Z

Highlights: Vauban, a genius in the service of Louis XIV (2/2]. Listen to the rest of the life of the Marquis de Vauban told by Virginie Girod. A military engineer in theService of Louis. XIV, he wanted to perfect siege techniques to increase efficiency and. limit butchery. He will have the opportunity to put. into practice his vision of poliorcetics, the science of siege, during. that of Maastricht in 1673. Rather than trenches in a straight line to reach the fortress, he had the idea of ​​digging them in zigzag.

Listen to the rest of the life of the Marquis de Vauban told by Virginie Girod. A military engineer in the service of Louis XIV, Vauban wanted to perfect siege techniques to increase efficiency and limit butchery. He will have the opportunity to put into practice his vision of poliorcetics, the science of siege, during that of Maastricht in 1673. Rather than trenches in a straight line to reach the fortress, Vauban had the idea of ​​digging them in zigzag. This makes the soldiers more difficult to reach from the ramparts and can bring the cannons closer to the fortifications. The city was taken in 13 days, a feat. Vauban is now the most famous soldier in France, and a rich man. But he's not one to rest on his laurels. If the engineer knows how to take cities, he also knows how to defend them and sets about creating a set of strongholds along the French borders; the famous fortifications of Vauban. With 49 sieges and nearly 300 places fortified by him, Vauban was made Marshal of France in 1703: he even had the privilege of attending the king's breakfast! Bored by life at court at Versailles, Vauban embarked on a new project: tax reform, the royal tithe. Rich or poor, everyone would pay around 7% of their income to the public treasury. Tested in Normandy, its reform was however a fiasco. Despite his self-sacrifice, he failed to overcome the opposition of the court and died on this failure, in 1707. A century later, Napoleon ordered the transfer of his heart under the dome of the Invalides which serves as a pantheon for the most great soldiers of France. It is still there today. Themes covered: siege warfare, Vauban, fortification, Louis XIV