Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In fortification, a chain of redoubts and breastworks, either unconnected or united by a parapet, raised by the besiegers about the place invested, to guard against sorties of the garrison.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Fort.) A trench guarded with a parapet, constructed by besiegers, to secure themselves and check sallies of the besieged.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
fortification built around asieged target by thebesiegers .
Etymologies
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Examples
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The lines of contravallation, with the forts built by the besiegers, and which surrounded the whole town, remain very visible in many places; but the chief of them are demolished.
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The lines of contravallation, with the forts built by the besiegers, and which surrounded the whole town, remain very visible in many places; but the chief of them are demolished.
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I found this detail, however, the absence of external contravallation, like may others in the past weeks, disturbing.
Mercenaries Of Gor Norman, John 1985
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"There is no contravallation here, " I said, -no defending, outer ditches, nothing to protect the camp against outside attack.
Mercenaries Of Gor Norman, John 1985
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In a few Ehn, as we were making our way through a corner of the camp, we would presumably encounter some contravallation, some outer lines or ditches, setup to protect the besiegers against possible attack by an outside, relieving force.
Mercenaries Of Gor Norman, John 1985
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The old system of intrenched camps and lines of contravallation is unsuited to the spirit of modern warfare.
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Formerly the false system prevailed of encircling a city by a whole army, which buried itself in lines of circumvallation and contravallation.
The Art of War Henri Jomini 1824
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Besides the lines of circumvallation and contravallation referred to above, there is another kind, which is more extended than they are, and is in a measure allied to permanent fortifications, because it is intended to protect a part of the frontiers.
The Art of War Henri Jomini 1824
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They therefore turned the siege into a blockade; raised a strong line of contravallation round the town; and, dispersing their army in every part of the neighbourhood, resolved to effect by time, what they found themselves absolutely unable to perform any other way.
The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians and Grecians (Vol. 1 of 6) Charles Rollin 1701
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The lines of contravallation, with the forts built by the besiegers, and which surrounded the whole town, remain very visible in many places; but the chief of them are demolished.
Tour through Eastern Counties of England, 1722 Daniel Defoe 1696
hernesheir commented on the word contravallation
A word perhaps, for the Wordnik listers of armaments and terms of old battle strategies.
March 22, 2011