Hasty Inner Walls
The Walls of Florence
“The ditch inside ought to be at least thirty arm lengths [twenty meters] wide and twelve [eight meters] deep, and all the earth that is excavated in making the ditch is thrown toward the city, and is sustained by a wall that is part of the base of the ditch, and extends again as much above the ground, so that a man may take cover behind it: which has the effect of making the depth of the ditch greater.”
“The heavy artillery which defends the city, is placed behind the wall enclosing the ditch; for to defend the outer wall, as it is high, it is not possible to use conveniently anything else other than small or middle sized guns.”
Source for Text: Niccolò Machiavelli (Henry Neville, translator) The Seven Books on the Art of War, (London: 1675) Book Seven
Source for illustration: Eugène Emmanuel Violet le Duc, Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XIème au XVIème siècle, (Paris: B. Bance, 1858) Volume I page 420
Commentary: In the situation depicted in this picture, the defender built an inner wall while the attacking artillery was destroying the outer wall. The defender has also built an interior ditch, albeit one that is not nearly as wide or deep as the one that Machiavelli recommends. Because of this, the attacking infantry that is exploiting the breach in the outer wall will soon find itself faced with a formidable obstacle. To make matters worse, the attacking infantry will find itself fired upon from three directions.
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