Place forte de Mont-Dauphin

Place forte de Mont-Dauphin
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Place forte de Mont-Dauphin

Vauban, military engineer and visionary. Commonly referred to as Vauban, Sébastien Le Preste, Marquis of Vauban (1633-1707), was King Louis XIV's General Commissioner for Fortifications. He designed the King's pré carré, a double line of fortifications along France's borders to protect the kingdom. He built or improved over 300 strongholds, as well as writing numerous essays on France's domestic and foreign policies.  
 
An instrument of dissuasion. When the region was invaded in 1692 by Victor Amadeus of Savoy, Vauban recommended the country's Alpine border defences be improved. The place was named Mont-Dauphin in honour of the King's son, the Grand Dauphin. Completed in the 19th century, the stronghold was never besieged. In 1713, the Italian border was pushed back, wholly undermining its strategic significance. The sole case of armed conflict in three centuries was the bombing of a wing of the arsenal during the Second World War.

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