French What may be termed the characteristics of the French .school are to be seen rather in the method of Cormontaigne than in the practice of Vauban, although his authority has exercised a preponderating in fluence throughout Europe, and is appealed to in all great problems of the art. This school is characterized by the retention of the profile of the Italian school, combined with the out works of the Dutch, and a systematic arrange ment of all the parts. The French have evinced in this, as in all the other arts, that spirit of systematic combination which forms one of their most striking national traits.
It has been observed how the natural features of the country, like Holland, and the national characteristics of the people, like the Spanish, have modified the plan and profile of their works. This is particularly true in Sweden and partly so in Germany. The part played by Sweden upon the •theatre of Europe, under Gastavni Adolphus and Charles XII, served to develop in this nation every branch of the military art, and produced a number of distinguished generals and engineers, Virgin holding the first place. In this school the bastioned system seems to have been generally adopted for the enceinte, great attention being paid to covering the faces of the works from enfilading fire; in providing casemates having reverse views on the besiegers' works ; and particularly in so the interior dis positions that each part should not only con tribute • to the defense of the others, but be capable of an independent resistance. These dispositions necessarily led to great complica tion and multiplicity of works. • .
The introduction of cannon, although it led to important changes in the measures both of tie attack and defense, still did not, for a con siderable period, bring about any very decisive results in the length of sieges. The means which it afforded the defense of reaching the besiegers at a distance, and of destroying all the methods of approaching and annoying the Rlace which had hitherto been used, led to the substitution of the ordinary trenches for the wooden galleries and other similar expedi ents for approaching under cover, and to the erection of batteries at distant point's to open breaches in the walls. Lines of circumvallation and countervallation, which formed so promi nent a feature previously to this epoch, was the only one which still kept its place to a greater or less extent to the present day. For the pur pose of effecting an entrance into the place, breaching-batteries were erected opposite the pointl deemed most favorable. The approaches were made by zigzags along the capitals of the salients tO the counterscarp, where a covered descent was made into the ditch opposite the breach preparatory to its assault. When the wall was not exposed to a distant fire, the be siegers were obliged to carry the covered-way byassault, and established their breaching-bat teries on the crest of the glacis.
But little deviation was made in the above described methods until Vauban appeared upon the scene. Before him, Montluc, a distinguished French general and engineer, had introduced short branches of trenches, which were run out from the angles of the zigzags, to post a few troops for the immediate protection of the workman; but these were found to be very in sufficient in repelling sorties of any strength. The event which seems to have had the great est influence on the subsequent progress of both the attack and defense was the memorable siege of Canada, in which volunteers from all parts of Europe engaged, and who, after its close, disseminated throughout their respective countries the results of the experience they had there acquired.
Field Fortifications.-- The art of tion includes, generally speaking, two — strategical or deliberate and tactical or hasty. fortification. The first includes defensive works, executed largely in time of peace for the protection of harbors, cities, arsenals, etc., while tactical fortifications are those executed east bank of the Bobr River, along a ridge covered • with woods, affording good artillery positions which commanded the opposite bank, where positions, were poor. There were ex tensive,marshes along the river which in winter were frozen over. The Germans first tried to turn the positions, but failing in, this, brought to meet the immediate tactical needs of the mobile army in the field, and are generally known as field fortifications, the immediate pur pose of which is to increase the power of resistance of the troops occupying them by de creasing their exposure to the fire of the enemy and increasing the accuracy and volume of their own fire. Generally speaking, field for tifications increase the fire effect of the troops. The great strength of field fortifications to-day comes largely from their low visibility as targetS, whereby they force the attack to obtain with volume the effect formerly obtained with accuracy of fire. To compensate for scarcity of men the Germans make use of a great num ber of automatic and machine guns. It is estimated that on the French front they had one machine gun to every 10 or 12 metres of front. It is evident that a line thus strongly held cannot be captured unless use is made of mobile protection, for the attacking personnel or the hostile trenches are overwhelmed with high explosives, liquid fire and asphyxiating gases. The offensive is still the achieved victory, in spite of the changes in methods. The solution of the problem must be sought in the develop ment of mechanical means to supplement the moral and material forces of the offensive.