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Why Did Star Forts Make War Longer Instead of Preventing It? - The Citadel of Antwerp and the Cost of the Star Fort | Sleepy Facts About History
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For centuries, the medieval castle dominated the landscape through sheer vertical height, relying on tall stone walls to repel attackers. But the arrival of gunpowder artillery in the late fifteenth century shattered that defensive logic. Concentrated cannon fire made brittle masonry a lethal liability, forcing military engineers to completely rethink how a fortress could survive. The result was the trace italienne, or star fort: a low, geometrically precise system of earthworks, bastions…
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