strength of the garrison, but elvo the troops which itimay 
mecesaty 10 oppose inthe neighbourhood, inorder tn 
determine the strength of the corps necessary to invest 
This ought never to be so numerous as. to 
impede the celerity or secrecy of its movements ; but at 
time it must be sufficiently, 
Sw ea 
may be opposed to it. besieging 
corps must also be proportioned to the nature of) the 
If the country be open, a greater quantity) of 
i required ; but if inelosed, the principal 
. This corps is to march without 
heavy baggage, that it may. move with expedition ; 
octur from its marching in too 
large a body, it will often be necessary to divide it into 
several columns, which are all.to rendezvous at a certain 
ment of the enemy. peas a anenanaaae 
appointed place, small parties are sent towards , 
tress, to bring away or destroy all kinds of provisions and, 
that the enemy may not profit by them... The: 
same is also to be observed with regard to the cattle, and, 
every thing else which may be of any service to the ene- 
my. If, at the same time, reconnoitring parties can be! 
of use, they .are to be sent out ; as also parties to drive 
back any reinforcements that may be sent to the enemy. 
Should a fortress be situated on, the sea-shore, a fleet will 
also be»necessary to blockade it; and, if possible, . this 
must be some days previous to the investment, in order 
that the fortress may be inclosed every where, as soon 
as the troops arrive. , 
The corps which previously invests a fortress, should 
be careful in preparing the best position for the large ar- 
my, as well as endeavouring tog gain all possible informa- 
tion respecting the place, in rah nnsep thing may 
be prepared by the time that the army arrives. . If, how- 
ever, the army be sent directly, it will be the business of 
the commander himself to choose the most advantageous 
position, and to obtain as much information as can be 
procured, 
As soon-as the investment begins, the engineers are to 
be employed in collecting information respecte 
. ing the exterior ground surrounding the fortress, as, well, 
Plans of 
the ground. 
as itself, Y ri I yrrrt 
All drawings which, may. have been obtained of the 
fortress and the country, round it, are compared with the 
impanres or corrected by ac-, 
the fortress can be procu-, 
red, the works, as well as the surrounding, country, are 
surveyed, in which each, engineer has his,own work to 
finish. If instruments, as rulers with diopters, boussoles, ; 
sextants, theodolites, and plain tables, can be used, the. 
survey will be executed with greater accuracy ; but where, 
these are not to be had, a single instrument for taking the, 
— angles will answer the purpose, and the rest may - 
be filled up by the use of the camera lucida, and by te-, 
lescopes with micrometers, as will be explained in ano« 
ther place. Plans of almost eyery fortress may now be 
plans are corrected by actual.com: bs 
themselves. All cane poe rr 
flanks, the faces, the curtains, the dimen- 
fossé, and all the outworks, are taken aS OX=— 
FORTIPICATION. 
- commander, as well as the quantity of .its/provisi 
i 
actly as possible ; and, if necessary, an engineer is 
into the covered way, pacer nies cious fae 
in this respect. Spies may frequently use for thi 
+ instructed, . 
purpose, and from them, after,being i by ; 
the best information. may be tis also necess == 
sary to ascertain the disposition bie ee een aia penn 
in order 
di- 
stores of every kind, and, where they are e 
to know to what part the fire should be. i 
rected, or rendered of no use to the garrison... W : 
who have assisted either in building or repairing a fore. | 
tress, can give valuable information to.a I mn 
and therefore every means should be tried. to discover 
them, as the intelligence to be gained from them cannot 
be obtained from any other quarter. | 6 ¢0)4 5 os 
The camp of the army is to be regularly inspected, in Communi- 
order that every possible improvement may be made. for cation be- 
the greater security and convenience of the troops., — 
magazines and stores of materials and instruments Re» of the army. 
cessary for the siege, are to be made at different places, 
that the enemy, by their position, may not discover (to, 
what part of the fortress an attack will be directed. In 
entering upon a siege, the principal object of the come 
mander is to see that a good’ communication. is kept up: 
between all the parts of the army, and that the necessa- 
y anew have been ar areata Care is to be taken. 
that t bridges are sufficiently large, and, if possible, 
there should always be two together, one of which may 
still be of use, even if the other should be damaged. But 
in the eonstruction of these bridges, the besieging army. 
should endeavour, as much as possible, to place them out 
of the reach of the enemy.) 20) yh ee 
Should an army of the enemy be exp the country, 
round the camp is to be fortified, if it appears advan-, 
tageous ; but care is to be taken not to inclose the army, 
too much, lest its movements should by these means be. 
embarrassed, Single but strong forts appear to be far 
more. advantageous than any other, and are, “>. 
more frequently adopted...A besieging army may. also Army of 
be covered by an army of observation, or a corps, whose, observation. 
business it is to watch the enemy’s movements, and ei- ... 
ther to protect the besieging army from an attack, or at. 
least to give timely information if an attack is to be exe, 
i. *¥ ‘ i 2 ” 
Circumstances must determine, whether the army of 
observation, or the besieging army, should be the strong~ 
er. If the army of the enemy is numerous, the army of 
observation is to be the larger. In most cases, however, 
it should, in the first instance, be the smaller, as it may. 
easily be reinforced when necessary. _ Besides, the be- ‘ 
sieging army must never be very weak, lest it should fa-. 4 
tigue the soldiers toomuch,and expose them to the attacks 
of a numerous garri - To defend them from such an 
attack, strong but inclosed works, which cover each other, 
‘may be raised round the fortress, especially in such places 
as secure the communication with the different parts of. 
the army, and, at a conyenient distance for mounting 
Tneseree ts fe ; _cstiaietine it Posi 
ia ents for a si a most important. Position of 
consideration is to determine the cotton of depots and depots. 
military stores. These should never be at so great a dis. 
tance, as to produce any inconvenient delay in procuring. 
the necessary supplies, of which) a sufficient. quantity, 
must be collected before the siege commences... The first, 
with every thing necessary to render it effective, the are, 
t 
