Emblem of the engineer troops

Technology of construction of the fortifications designed in 1910.

Fort No. 12. Left lunette

Fort No. 12. Left lunette. Noncompleted parapet and an encasement of the gallery beneath the parapet. 1912.

Fort No. 1. Constructive works in the moat.

Fort No 1. Ground and rock excavation works in the moat. 1912.

The sequence of the construction of the forts of 1910 was followed: initially a fort was marked at the landscape, the constructive materials and equipment was transported to the fort, and there were built temporary fence roofs and hangars in order to keep it. Near the constructive place there were composed, from the special wood plates, the barracks for builders. As result a barracks complex was arose. On the place of the future fort there was excavated constructive ditch for the concrete mass of the rifle parapet and a gallery beneath it. Simultaneously it was equipped the water-pipe system with a water hoist and built directly at the territory of the fort a temporary concrete factory and 110 v constant current power point working from gasoline engine "Perkun" and "Ursus". On the fort territory there was installed a network of movable narrow railways by the system of the French Engineer DeCovile (so called dekovil'ka) with hand tripping cars by "Arthur Koppel" (USA) for concrete mixture transportation. At a necessity the concrete moxture might be transported with handbarrows along with special wood trays. Moreover the tripping cars were used for transportation of tremendous masses of the ground that was necessary at the excavation of the moats and ditches, filling of the glacis and landscape planning.

Simultaneously with the filling of concrete mass of the parapet it was excavated the ground from the frontal moat that was cut in the rocky ground by drill-explosive way at application of pneumatic perforators and steam drills. The ground excavated from the moat was used at the filling of glacises for covering the closed spaces. Then, in the moat, there were cut the ditches for coffers (counter scarp caponiers) and immediately start the driving of the counter mine galleries from the coffer ditches. Then the concrete masses of the coffers were fitted, the driving of the underground posterns and tunnels (by the same drill-explosive way) was carried out and the shelters for anti-storm guns were built. In many cases the posterns were driven by open way with followed fitting with the ground. At the last stage it was started construction of the interval-flanking (traditorial) and gorge caponiers, gorge casernes, encasement of the scarp and counter scarp of the moat with concrete or stones.

In order to compose the concrete mixture it was applied electrical concrete mixers, the stone for breakstone preparation was cut from the special quarries near the forts or was transported to the forts by the cable cars and broke, riddled, washed from the dust with water and keep several days in water in order to better merge with the cement. Except of concrete mixers, the water hoists, alligators, perforators and other equipment were electrical power operated. The constructing underground tunnels and constructive places (in order to work during nights) were lighted with electricity also.

Fort No. 2. A tonnel caserne.

Fort No. 2. A concrete mixer in the tonnel caserne. Near the right wall there is an author of the project and builder of the fort Military Engineer Captain Unterberger. 1912.

Fort No. 2. The cable car at the central firing line

Fort No. 2. The cable car at the central firing line

In order to lift many thousands tons of cement, sand and broken stone it was used electric operated wire machine hoist devices and cable car by Pollig and Bleichert-Eichner. From the Engineering Foundry of the Fortress Construction near railway station Vtoraya Rechka [Second River] it was broke the special steam operated narrow railway along with the Valley of the Second River with the stations "Srednyaja" and "Snegovaja". From these narrow railway station there was equipped a network of cable car ways to all the forts of the Northern Department from Amursky to Ussuriisky Gulfs. The similar cable car ways were at the Russian Island also. For the cargo transportation it was used also heavy tracks by "Bents" production.

Every year it was created very detailed report about the construction progress with attached detailed drawings and photos of the fortifications. A set of such photos of 1912 is kept in the collection of the Russian State Military Historical Archive in Moscow. Some of these photos are presented in the photo gallery .

As result, from initial stage of the construction any fort was ready to defense. At the first stage - as a field redoubt (a ditch for the rifle parapet as a rifle trench), then - as a temporary fortification (completed parapet and non completed moat with dawns of counter mine galleries that may be used as bomb proof shelters), and, at last, as a permanent fort.


Technology of construction of the fortifications designed in 1910.

Photo gallery


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