Fort Totleben; Visit #2

This weekend we had an opportunity to revisit Fort Totleben in Kerch and got a much better array of photos than the sleeting, windy day when we first made its acquaintance.  It was also a smaller group which included the HopeCenter's very own translator extraordinaire, Jenya.  This gave us the chance to get a more accurate historical narrative regarding the location.

As it turns out, the fort was actually designed (as the name suggests) by Edward Totleben, a Russian general of German heritage.  He constructed it for Czarist Russia in the 1860's using the lessons learned during his service in the Crimean War in the siege of Sevastopol.   It was revolutionary in that he redefined the concept of a fortress from being a walled, defensible enclosure to being a series of interconnected entrenched fighting positions (in this case completely underground) that confuse the attackers and make total victory hard to achieve and even harder to define.  The caretaker/tour guide pointed many of the ambush points that were carefully designed into the architectural designs.

That is pretty deep so let me explain it very simply.  Totleben was a complex of over 3000(now only about half that) partially or completely subterranean structures that served as barracks for soldiers, cannon/mortar/machine gun emplacements, ammunitions depots and anything else a military needs to maintain a fighting force.  It was able to go 6 months without resupply from outside and was impossible to spot from the sea.  Even with it predating the use of military aircraft by half a century, it is difficult to see from above.

As you watch this slideshow keep an eye out for the following interesting pictures:

-because the design kept soldiers isolated from each other, you will see inscriptions on the on the walls of dates and names.

-WWII was its only major action and you can see signs of the fierce struggle that the undermanned Soviets put up against the Nazis.  This includes bullet holes, walls broken by bombs/artillery/tanks and a big blob of ammunition that was burned and exploded.

-the highest point in the fort is also the highest point in Kerch, giving an amazing view of the surrounding area.

Feel free to ask me any questions in comments about any of the pictures as I have learned far more than you all could possibly want in this post.