Bastion Fort • Hacker News Board

Re: Bastion Fort

#11

Post by chiph » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 2:15 AM UTC

Star Forts were built in the US as well. During the Revolutionary War, soldiers loyal to the English King built an earthen 8-point fort near the town of Ninety Six South Carolina. It successfully repulsed an attack by 50 Patriots under the command of General Nathanael Greene.

The British commander Sir Francis Rawdon, 1st Marquess of Hastings, relieved the forces there shortly afterwards and abandoned it as part of a general retreat to Charleston.

https://www.nps.gov/nisi/learn/historyculture/the-star-fort....

Re: Bastion Fort

#12

Post by some_random » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 2:30 AM UTC

Someone wrote: post #5

some_random wrote: post #2

It's always interesting to see random wikipedia articles pop up on HN, though I never really know what to say. I guess I'll just go with the default, something that sorta sounds right but is probably just reductionist bullshit. Ahem This whole concept of zig-zagging fortifications, while effective in actual combat, weakens the fort on the strategic. Since most sieges end with the defenders being starved out or attack…

So, instead of a fort that you can defend until you run out of food and water (say, after a few months), you favor a fort where you won’t run out of food, but that you cannot defend against contemporary guns, because it will fall after, say, a week?

...

I don't even know what to say, I thought I made it pretty clear that the entire post was a joke.

Re: Bastion Fort

#13

Post by macintux » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 4:31 AM UTC

some_random wrote: post #12

Someone wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, instead of a fort that you can defend until you run out of food and water (say, after a few months), you favor a fort where you won’t run out of food, but that you cannot defend against contemporary guns, because it will fall after, say, a week?

... ... ... I don't even know what to say, I thought I made it pretty clear that the entire post was a joke.

HN discourages jokes, which may contribute to the misunderstanding.

Re: Bastion Fort

#14

Post by riffraff » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 7:15 AM UTC

chiph wrote: post #11

Star Forts were built in the US as well. During the Revolutionary War, soldiers loyal to the English King built an earthen 8-point fort near the town of Ninety Six South Carolina. It successfully repulsed an attack by 50 Patriots under the command of General Nathanael Greene. The British commander Sir Francis Rawdon, 1st Marquess of Hastings, relieved the forces there shortly afterwards and abandoned it as part of a…

The wiki article points out a pretty familiar American star fort: the pedistal of the statue of liberty.

Re: Bastion Fort

#15

Post by sandworm101 » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 7:33 AM UTC

Waterluvian wrote: post #8

A truly beautiful design. Functional, but clearly communicates its purpose. Citadels that take on this design look intimidating, strong, quiet, calm.

From the air. From the ground they look like an irregular and haphazard series of corners, which is part of the point.

Re: Bastion Fort

#16

Post by yesenadam » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 7:39 AM UTC

macintux wrote: post #13

some_random wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... ... ... I don't even know what to say, I thought I made it pretty clear that the entire post was a joke.

HN discourages jokes, which may contribute to the misunderstanding.

I think, rather, that HN discourages saying something when you have nothing to say.

Re: Bastion Fort

#17

Post by fiduciary » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 7:58 AM UTC

related 3-mth old discussion : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18482590

Re: Bastion Fort

#18

Post by fiduciary » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 7:59 AM UTC

riffraff wrote: post #14

chiph wrote: post #11

Star Forts were built in the US as well. During the Revolutionary War, soldiers loyal to the English King built an earthen 8-point fort near the town of Ninety Six South Carolina. It successfully repulsed an attack by 50 Patriots under the command of General Nathanael Greene. The British commander Sir Francis Rawdon, 1st Marquess of Hastings, relieved the forces there shortly afterwards and abandoned it as part of a…

The wiki article points out a pretty familiar American star fort: the pedistal of the statue of liberty.

and by aesthetic (i.e., non-convex) inspiration, Fort Sumter and the Pentagon.

Re: Bastion Fort

#19

Post by User23 » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 8:55 AM UTC

chiph wrote: post #11

Star Forts were built in the US as well. During the Revolutionary War, soldiers loyal to the English King built an earthen 8-point fort near the town of Ninety Six South Carolina. It successfully repulsed an attack by 50 Patriots under the command of General Nathanael Greene. The British commander Sir Francis Rawdon, 1st Marquess of Hastings, relieved the forces there shortly afterwards and abandoned it as part of a…

Fort Ticonderoga in New York is a surviving star fort that's in good condition and open to tourists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ticonderoga

Re: Bastion Fort

#20

Post by arethuza » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 10:09 AM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #15

Waterluvian wrote: post #8

A truly beautiful design. Functional, but clearly communicates its purpose. Citadels that take on this design look intimidating, strong, quiet, calm.

From the air. From the ground they look like an irregular and haphazard series of corners, which is part of the point.

I visited Fort George in Scotland recently as I have family in the area and its interesting how little of the fort you can actually see from immediately in front of it - just the very top of the main walls - even though there are a lot of fortifications between those two areas.

You can see this in Google streetview if you go to the car park for visitor access - you can see almost nothing of the enormous fort even though it is only a couple of hundred metres away.