367 
THE ATTACK OE A COAST FORTRESS. 
BY 
MAJOR R. F. JOHNSON, R.A. 
LE COfrT FAIT PERDUE LE GOUT .’ 3 
SILVER MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1893, 
INTRODUCTION. 
A Coast Fortress can be defined as an area of land and sea defended 
with an artillery armament. 
The attack of its land portion does not differ in its tactics from 
ordinary siege operations, and therefore only the attack of the works 
commanding its sea area will be discussed in detail in this paper. 
“ Purely naval attacks on fortresses have been few in number, and 
have only been successful when the ships possessed a decided superiority 
over the batteries, or at places where the garrison were decidedly in- 
ferior in skill and courage to the attacking crews. 33 
“ The old wooden line-of-battle ships were no match for the fortresses 
of their day, and there is no reason to suppose that modern ships of 
war, protected in a great measure as they are against projectiles, are 
more fitted than their predecessors for an attack on batteries on shore. 
No doubt ships have been successful against forts. 33 
“ Every modern improvement in guns and their ammunition tends 
to increase the superiority of shore defences over ships. 33 
“ On the whole it may be said that at the present day a purely naval 
attack on a properly designed fortress, garrisoned by the troops of a 
civilised Power, might be magnifique but under no conceivable circum¬ 
stances could it be termed la guerre. Instances of naval success may be 
quoted in opposition to this view, but, as a rule, they occurred prior to 
the days of direct shell fire and accurate shooting. 33 
“In combined naval and military operations against fortresses the 
co-operation of a fleet has often proved most valuable to the attack. 33 
“ Another legitimate use of ships is to force a passage defended by 
batteries.I know of no instance of ships having been 
prevented from passing batteries by artillery fire alone, unaided by 
natural or artificial obstructions. 33 
The above extracts 1 illustrate the conclusions arrived at when the 
subject has been approached from the attacker 3 s point of view, and so 
form a fitting introduction to a consideration of it from the defenders. 
1 Ships versus Torts ; Jackson. R.E. Occasional Papers, 1889. 
7. VOL. xx. 
