Redan
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Redan (disambiguation).
Redan (a French word for "projection", "salient") is a term related to fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle toward an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other material.
Quoted from [1]: "The name 'Redan' comes from the Crimean War, when the British captured a Russian-held fort, or in the local dialect, a redan. A serving officer - John White-Melville - is credited on his return as describing the 6th (now the 15th - Ed.) like the formidable fortress, or redan, he had encountered at Sebastopol. Conquered only after nearly a year of attrition, which left over 20,000 British soldiers dead and four times as many French. The word 'Redan' is now part of the English language, and the definition given by the Oxford Dictionary is 'Fort - A work having two faces forming a salient towards the enemy.'"
This quote also covers the source of the name 'Redan' in the English language sourced from the Crimean War. At the time several public houses in Britain adopted the name. There is a Redan Inn in Chilcompton, Somerset and the Redan Inn (now The Quarterdeck) in North Berwick shared its name with the famous hole on the golf course. There is a street in London called Redan Street.
The Russians used redans on their left at the Battle of Borodino against Napoleon. The Bagration fleches were three redans backwards in echelon. (Fleche, from the French for arrow, is a pointed redan).
The census-designated place of Redan, Georgia was most likely named for the redans built in the area during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War.