A defense line or fortification line is a geographically recognizable line of troops and armament, fortified and set up to protect a high-value location or defend territory.
A defense line may be based on natural difficult terrain features, such as rivers or marshes, mountain ranges, or coastlines; temporary field fortification works such as trenches; and/or more permanent fortifications such as fortresses and bunkers.
Some notable defense lines include:
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static, defensive position. Consequently, an opportunity for negotiation between combatants is common, as proximity and fluctuating advantage can encourage diplomacy.
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a state that is de jure independent but de facto completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders. Puppet states have nominal sovereignty, except that a foreign power effectively exercises control through economic or military support. By leaving a local government in existence the outside power evades all responsibility, while at the same time successfully paralysing the local government they tolerate.
In the field of international relations, a client state, is a state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a client state are satellite state, associated state, and dominion, condominium, self-governing colony, and neo-colony, protectorate, vassal state, puppet state, and tributary state.
A fortification is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin fortis ("strong") and facere.
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Kronstadt is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, 30 km (19 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, near the head of the Gulf of Finland. It is linked to the former Russian capital by a combination levee-causeway-seagate, the St Petersburg Dam, part of the city's flood defences, which also acts as road access to Kotlin island from the mainland.
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress's guns. In modern usage, the space allows the area to be paved as a pedestrian walk; esplanades are often on sea fronts and allow walking whatever the state of the tide, without having to walk on the beach.
The 218th Infantry Division (218.Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Army that served in World War II.
Fortress Europe was a military propaganda term used by both sides of World War II which referred to the areas of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany, as opposed to the United Kingdom across the Channel.
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members by the end of 1941 were the "Big Four" – the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China.
The Western Russian fortresses are a system of fortifications built by the Russian Empire in Eastern Europe in the early 19th century. The fortifications were constructed in three chains at strategic locations along Russia's western border, primarily to combat the threat of Prussia and Austria-Hungary, and to establish Russian rule in new western territories. By the late 19th century the fortifications were obsolete and the system became defunct by the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917.
A naval ensign is an ensign used by naval ships of various countries to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from a country's civil ensign or state ensign.
Peter the Great's Naval Fortress or the Tallinn-Porkkala defence station was a Russian fortification line, which aimed to block access to the Russian capital Saint Petersburg via the sea. The plans for the fortress included heavy coastal artillery pieces along the northern and southern shores of the Gulf of Finland. The emphasis was put on the defenses of the gulf's narrowest point, between Porkkala, and Tallinn,. This was a strategic point, as the two fortresses of Mäkiluoto and Naissaar were only 36 kilometres (22 mi) apart. The coastal artillery had a range of about 25 km (16 mi) and could thus "close" the gap between the shores, trapping enemy ships in a crossfire. Furthermore, a new major naval base was constructed in Tallinn.
A field force in British, Indian Army and Tanzanian military parlance is a combined arms land force operating under actual or assumed combat circumstances, usually for the length of a specific military campaign. It is used by other nations, but can have a different meaning.
Military aircraft insignia are insignia applied to military aircraft to visually identify the nation or branch of military service to which the aircraft belong. Many insignia are in the form of a circular roundel or modified roundel; other shapes such as stars, crosses, squares, or triangles are also used. Insignia are often displayed on the sides of the fuselage, the upper and lower surfaces of the wings, as well as on the fin or rudder of an aircraft, although considerable variation can be found amongst different air arms and within specific air arms over time.
A polygonal fort is a type of fortification originating in France in the late 18th century and fully developed in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Unlike earlier forts, polygonal forts had no bastions, which had proved to be vulnerable. As part of ring fortresses, polygonal forts were generally arranged in a ring around the place they were intended to protect, so that each fort could support its neighbours. The concept of the polygonal fort proved to be adaptable to improvements in the artillery which might be used against them, and they continued to be built and rebuilt well into the 20th century.