Elven Fortifications

It seems then that trees along the perimeter of elven realms would be used as watchtowers by elves hidden inside. Wood towers can actually be quite defensible when built right, and blend in with the natural surroundings in accordance with elven artistic standards.   It appears that places like Lothlorien are placed on top of hills. This is a sound idea for them as any height advantage would greatly aid in defense. Generally, the chief advantages come from the added fields of fire that comes from height. but access becomes more difficult and impossible in extreme cases. Typically, when a whole settlement is being defended, hill forts like this are between 1-20 hectares. less than one appears to be a solid size for one family but too small for a whole community. Much bigger and we can assume that forces would be dispersed too much to be of much use.   For watch towers, 10 to 20 soldiers would appear a solid practical garrison. This would allow for continual observation while allowing rest for the troops. This garrison size would allow them to be the base for raids and long range surveillance operations. In conjunction with a palisade just covering the base, this could handle a decent sized attack on its own or hold out a short time until reinforcements arrive. In order to cover the entire area, they would need to be in regular intervals along the entire frontier. But this network would probably only be needed in the most likely or common approaches. The idea, as one would expect, is to delay enemy attacks and notify leaders of their approach, so that such attacks do not come as a surprise. The result of proper functioning of this system would be time for the main army to mobilize in time to effectively resist.

Now, watch towers to me would be essential to elven defenses. These can project power a little beyond the edge of the forest and provide a base of operation for scouts and patrols. All that would be needed to perfect them would be a wooden palisade. All these towers and palisades can be constructed lightly so as to not require ridiculous amounts of wood. Meanwhile they still control access and allow for battlements and machicolations. Plus, they can be made somewhat more fire resistant with the right paint job – the artistic elves would find this appealing. Palisades and wood towers would be a perfect compliment to the defenses already seen.   Dedicated observation towers appear to be typically 20 meters at a minimum - though dedicated towers can hit 40 meters. But elves have a preference for wood, their domains are surrounded mostly flat terrain and have vastly superior eyesight. So I suspect that this would be the most practical and not much more would be needed. They would be built so that they can see each other and have some form of visual communication - like smoke signals.   Earthworks also fit into the elven mindset – in fact, Lothlorien is defended by them already. One thing that also appears common in hill forts is one layer of defense around the entire settlement. Other layers are added when practical and in areas where the terrain is less advantageous. Ramparts and ditches are the basics of the defensive structures. We know that stone is used where practical, needed and affordable. But these conditions were not always present, meaning like most ancient and medieval fortifications wood and dirt would be more common.   Real world forts such as Fort King George or Fort Mcallister can be useful models. These places were designed for cannons, but that is not too big of an issue. All that is needed is for the walls to be closed where the cannons fired out of for a traditional wall and arrow slits. The design of both of these forts involves digging a moat around the perimeter of the fort. The dirt was then used to build up a solid earthwork. On top of the mounds was a wood palisade. Inside was the buildings for the fort. Both were also placed in the bend in rivers, so the occupiers could better control the traffic. Macalister’s unique element was the use of stakes in the moat, which makes it a further impediment to entry. These perimeter defenses covered with elven archers would be rather difficult to take. King George’s unique feature is that the centerpiece of the fort was its three story blockhouse. It provides a pretty solid second line of defense, incorporating many of the design elements of a good keep. Yes, it actually has a from of machicolations on the upper floors. The power of Elven bows and the fact that the block house at King George could easily have 25 archers shoot out on either side (over 2 floors) means that it would be brutal to take.   The palisades of the Ancient Roman camps are seen as some of the best in the ancient world. Because they would be up against technology more similar to what the elves would be up against than Fort King George for example, I will examine the Roman examples for inspiration here. The stakes were 5 feet long and sharpened at each end. This allowed them to be embedded into the ground easily and still have a pointed top. They were placed close together and the remaining space filled with intertwined branches. Oak was preferred for this. This construction method left no convenient handle to pull down the palisade and required a lot of force to do so. Even when this was accomplished, a tiny gap was exposed. It is possible that these could be used for fox holes while the more traditional 3-4 meter palisades could be used for the blockhouses.   There was a type of Dutch and English fortification called the sconce. They were effectively earthworks designed to protect mounds or hills. This effectively fortifies the high ground in a strategic area. Schanze, the German equivalent, were sometimes connected with trenches and ramparts. This allowed a weaker army to hold off a much stronger one. The trenches would be especially useful in this as it would make encircling the individual schanze/sconce much harder. Defense in detail would always be a threat to a smaller force like the elves.   Along the trenches, I suspect a series of effectively fortified fox holes. Here, they would be dug down enough to provide cover, with a bit of a rampart built up using the dirt. Real life fox holes were actually pretty complex. Some had areas for water drainage. Some were built deep enough for the entire soldier to be covered with a fire step to allow the soldier to fire out. Typically this exposed just the chest and head.   Westrate, Edwin V. (1944). Forward Observer. New York City: Stratford Press. pp. 46–115.   One of the key principles I have seen in my research on military fortifications is the value of overlapping fire and reinforcing positions. Which means I suspect that these fox holes would be set up for a "fire team" of 4 elves. This means that at least one elf can fire to the left and one to the right to cover the flanks with the next hole over hitting exactly the same area. The two remaining elves could then fire forward or the flanks most in danger. I would suspect that these more permanent holes would have the two step system in place. The second one would be a bit more shallow given the fact that archers need more of their body exposed to fire compared to a rifleman.   It is likely that effort would be put into making sure that these would be camouflaged. We know that the elves have serious advantages in this department with their cloaks. Add in the time to prepare that an immortal race living in the forest with home field advantage would have, and I suspect that these fortifications would be quite difficult to spot. Plus, there is the natural incentive to do so. The longer the enemy takes to simply find where attacks are coming from means more damage can be done before effective counters can be devised. In the more established positions the elves would be using, vines and bushes can be planted around the fox holes to provide this cover. The elven cloaks would add to the power of the camouflage.   Basically, it would seem unwise to me to have the trench and foxhole system built up enough to be seen. It would cost too much to fully fortify. Without that, relying on medieval technology would mean these positions would be easier to take. The World War 1 systems were easy defensible due to heavy artillery and machine guns - which elves would not have. So, concealment is the best protection and palisades I think would interfere with that. As part of the concealment idea, I would think that booby traps would fill in the gaps left by palisades not being used.   The result would be a series of hardened blockhouse positions in strategic positions. Trenches would connect them. Then, these trenches would have fox hole style defensive positions that allow for camouflaged fire covering the area between them. The idea is that no exposed flank would be available. Thus the enemy cannot find a weak spot or bypass the fortifications. It also allows for defense in depth and many fall back positions should one place be threatened. There would be no need to fight to the end at each position. It is entirely possible to incorporate this same basic idea into a complex system that forms a pseudo trench system similar to what was called the "main line of resistance" in World War One. These systems were also were set up around defense in depth, so the loss of single positions or trench lines would not cause the entire collapse of the front.   You may naturally be thinking that such a system might be impractical. And to a certain extent that would be true. But one does not need to man this system fully in peace time. Just enough troops would be needed to monitor the frontiers, sound the alarm in case of attack and delay penetration until mobilization is complete. This is a much easier task than winning the battle. This means a much smaller force is needed most of the time. The full cost of this system would only be paid when it is needed. Also, such intensive systems would normally not be used outside the most important areas. Little villages that no one has ever heard about were much less likely to have walls compared to say Rome for example. So the main settled areas in the elven realms would be defended by this system. Not the whole territory.   But there is also the case of the Black Forest lines. These were schanzen fortifications with defensive lines between them built in the 16th and 17th centuries. They stretched over 200 kilometers. The trenches were 8.3 meters wide and at least 3.6 meters deep. They too had a forward and rear lines. So this sort of system appears to be at least somewhat practical based on historical examples.   Also important for comparison is the Ottoman chartaque towers. Their construction was made of wood and could be built in 54 days. Their height was around 18 feet tall. Garrisons ranged between 4 and 20 men. Positions were often 1-3 kilometers apart and were incorporated into defensive lines like the Black Forest defenses. This to me is perfectly in line with what I expect the elves to use and demonstrates the practicality of the ideas as well. And it conveniently aligns with the numbers I assumed for other elements as well.   Fritz Posch: Flammende Grenze. Die Steiermark in den Kuruzzenstürmen. 1st Edition. Verlag Styria, Graz 1968, p. 203. 2nd edition as: a publication by the Styrian Archives. Volume 5. Styria, Graz-Vienna-Cologne, 1986. ISBN 3-222-11691-1. ZDB-ID 561078-3   Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sconce" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 407.   Important questions to me remain regarding the exact implementation of this for the elves - such as where they would placed and the exact technical specifications. Now, key to the defense of any fortification would be as much defense in depth as possible. This means a palisade. Russian palisades in smaller forts reach 4-6 meters high. One of the better preserved schanze in the Black Forest Lines had a diameter of 30 meters and ditches 2-3 meters deep. I suspect that these would be carried over to the elven forts as they would naturally need better defenses and concealment would be much harder anyway.   This to me would mean an earth rampart 2-3 meters high built from the dirt from the ditch. On top of this would be a palisade with wood towers 4-6 meters high. I suspect that the sharpened stakes used in the Fort Macalister defenses would be carried over too. The chashi of Japan had a single steep road leading to the entrance. This is a solid defensive idea that I think the elves would use too.   The actual earthworks would be I suspect Gabions. These come in many shapes and sizes. But the early ones used for military purposes appear to be primarily open topped and made with wicker. Essentially they are big cylinders of dirt and sand. Their main use looks to be protection against artillery, explosives and fragments. But they do make earthworks more permanent than just raw dirt would be. In civilian engineering, gabions are used for erosion control. Someone looking to make permanent earthworks would probably like this. It has the benefit too of making it harder to dig through the ramparts. Loose stones can also be used to build up the ramparts, especially as a way to protect the foxholes.   Mahan, Dennis Hart (1870). An elementary course of military engineering. New York: Wiley. Retrieved 7 June 2017.   Complementing this philosophy of manning defenses when needed and only in critical areas would be the Ricetto idea from Italy. These were small fortified areas - normally enclosed in pentagonal walls with a watch tower. Inside the walls were buildings for the residents to take shelter in. Agricultural stores, livestock and other essentials would be put here as well. The idea is that the residents can fall back to here and be able to survive invaders or marauding bands. Like orcs for example in the Middle Earth context.   Centini, Massimo (2010), Guida insolita ai misteri, ai segreti, alle leggende e alle curiosità dei castelli del Piemonte, Newton Compton Editori.

But one thing that is important here is that never in the battles against Sauron's forces did the elves rely on massive fortifications. There is no elven Helm’s Deep for example.