Vauban

Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban (May 15, 1633 - March 30, 1707), Marshal of France[?], was the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for both his ability to design fortifications and to break through them.

He was born in Saint-Léger-de-Foucheret (renamed Saint Léger Vauban[?] in his honor), in the departement of Yonne, in Burgundy, France, into a family of minor nobility.

Between 1667 to 1707, Vauban upgraded the fortifications of around 300 cities, including:

• Arras
• Belfort[?]
• Briançon[?]
• Brisach[?]
• Landau
• Lille
• Maubeuge[?]
• Sarrelouis[?]

He built 37 new fortresses, and fortified military harbors, including:

• Toulon
• Perpignan
• Rochefort
• Brest
• Dunkerque

He died in Paris, of an inflammation of the lungs.

Works

De l'attaque et de la défense des places ("On Siege and Fortification") (1737, many reprints since).

A Manual of Siegecraft and Fortification, transl. George A. Rothrock, (Ann Arbor, 1968).

External Link

• Marshal Vauban Homepage (http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6750/vauban_frame.htm) (much detail)