rtifications which protect the various countries is
interesting at this point. Following years--in fact, centuries--of
study, Central Europe has been strongly fortified with a system of
embattlements which have reached the limits of human ingenuity.

In the east of France, along the frontier where France, Switzerland and
Germany meet, there are the first-class fortresses of Belfort, Epinal,
Toul and Verdun in the first line, reinforced by Besancon, Dijon,
Langres, Rheims, La Fere and Maubeuge in the second line, with smaller
fortifications close to the German frontier at Remirement, Luneville,
Nancy and other points. Along the Italian frontier the fortresses are
situated at Grenoble, Briancon and Nice, with Lyons in the rear. There
are strong forts at all naval harbors, the defense of Paris consisting
of 97 bastions, 17 old forts and 38 forts of an advanced type, the
whole forming entrenched camps at Versailles and St. Denis.

On that line of the German frontier which faces France there are the
fortresses of Neu-Breisach, Strassburg, Metz and Diedenhofen, in the
first line, with Rastatt, Bitsch and Saarlouis in the second line, and
Germershein in the rear. Situated opposite Luxemburg is Mainz, with
Coblentz and Cologne opposite Belgium and Wesel opposite Holland.

All along the northern coast, from Wilhelmshafen to Memmel, the German
coast is strongly fortified. Memmel is the pivot point of the northern
and eastern frontier, the latter frontier being protected by Konigsberg
and Allenstein, of the first line, and Danzig, Dirschau, Graudenz, Thorn
and the Vistula Passages, of the second line. South of this point are
Posen, Glogau and Breslau, which face Poland, while beginning at Neisse
the strong defense against Austria consists of fortifications at Glatz,
Ingolstadt and Ulm, the approaches to Berlin being guarded by Magdeburg,
Spandau and Kustrin.

POLISH QUADRILATERAL.

Along the line of the Russian frontier which guard that country from
attacks by the Germans are the fortresses of Libau, on the Baltic;
Kovna, Ossovets and Ust-Dvinsk, in the Vilna district, and in Poland
there are situated Novo-Georgievsk, Warsaw and Ivangorod, on the
Vistula, and Brest-Litovsk, on the Bug--four strongholds known as the
Polish Quadrilateral. Guarding Petrograd are the smaller fortifications
of Kronstadt and Viborg, with Sweaborg midway down the Gulf of Finland
near Helsingfors. Sebastopol and Kertch, in the Crimea, and Otchokov,