Attack of Fortified Places. Including Siege-works, Mining, and Demolitions.: Prepared for the use of the Cadets of the United States Military AcademyMercur, James
History
Attack of Fortified Places. Including Siege-works, Mining, and Demolitions.: Prepared for the use of the Cadets of the United States Military Academy
Mercur, James
Defensive (Military science); Military engineering; Offensive (Military science); Siege warfare
1. Great or grand galleries 6 7
2. Common galleries 6 3½
3. Half galleries 4½ 3
4. Branches 3½ 2½
5. Small branches (_rameaux de combat_). 2½ 2
Shafts vary in size--from the smallest in which a man can work (about
2' × 4'), to any size that may be required, seldom exceeding 10' × 10'.
Great galleries are used for descent into a ditch, and when it is
wished to pass cannon through them.[13]
Common galleries are used for descent into a ditch, and for
communications. Troops can pass through them “by twos.”
Half galleries answer for general purposes of attack. They allow the
miner to work freely in different positions without being cramped,
but are small enough to admit of rapid driving. Branches and small
branches are driven out from the galleries to the mine-chambers, etc.
They can be driven rapidly for short distances (10 to 20 feet); but
when of greater length the earth is removed from them with difficulty,
they are not easily ventilated, and are too small for use as
communications.
=20. Shaft and Gallery Linings.=--In very firm soil it is
sometimes practicable to drive small shafts and galleries short
distances without lining them; but if these are to stand for any length
of time, there is always danger of their falling in, particularly
if shaken by the explosion of mines in their vicinity. When it is
considered safe to use them, however, the shafts should be elliptical
in plan, and the roofs of the galleries should be pointed arches. As
a rule, however, both shafts and galleries should be lined. Those
which are permanent in their character--as the main galleries of the
countermines of a permanent work--are lined with masonry. Masonry
linings may be of brick, stone, or concrete walls and arches. The
smaller galleries constructed during a siege, and all the shafts and
galleries of the attack, are lined with wood. Wooden linings are of two
general types, known as _cases_, and _frames and sheeting_.
=21.= _Cases_ (Pl. XI, Figs. 11 and 12) are made of plank, from
6" to 12" wide, each case consisting of a cap-sill, a ground-sill, and
two stanchions. The cap and ground-sills are cut to a length equal to
the clear width of the shaft or gallery plus twice the thickness of
the stanchions; a rectangular notch is cut in each end to receive a
corresponding tenon cut on the stanchion. The length of the stanchions
between shoulders is equal to the clear length of the shaft or height
of the gallery. The length of the tenons is generally equal to the
thickness of the cap and ground sill (usually 2´´), and their width
about three inches. Notches are cut in the sides of all the pieces of
the case, as shown in the figure, for convenience in handling them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account