Fuerte de Isla Verde

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Fuerte de Isla Verde (English: Green Island Fort) was a military installation formerly located in Algeciras, Spain. It occupied the Isla Verde (English: Green Island), which gave its name to the city as a whole (via the Arabic name Al-Jazira Al-Khadra', English: Green Island, corrupted into "Algeciras"). The elongated island, which stood a short distance offshore of the city's old town, was already the site of an artillery battery in 1720. In 1734 the fort was constructed on the island to the plans of the military engineer Juan de Subreville. Further remodeling took place in 1745 under Lorenzo de Solís. The installation, which followed the roughly triangular shape of the island, was initially equipped with three batteries. These were:

The Algeciras Battery (known from 1745 as the San Cristobal Battery, English: St. Christopher's Battery), situated on the eastern side of the island. It faced northwards and controlled the maritime access routes to the New Town of Algeciras. It was about 20 metres (66 ft) wide and could accommodate four or five guns.

The Main Battery (Santa Barbara Battery, English: St. Barbara's Battery, from 1745), facing southeasterly towards the entrance of the Bay of Gibraltar. Its arc of fire overlapped with that of the Fuerte de San García, another fortress in Algeciras. It was about 40 metres (130 ft) wide and could accommodate thirteen heavy cannon.

The San García Battery (the San Francisco Battery, English: St. Francis' Battery, from 1745), on the western side of the island, facing southwest. Its arc of fire overlapped with a shore battery at Punta Rodeo. This was the smallest of the fort's three batteries, measuring only 9 metres (30 ft) wide with room for two guns.

The island was ringed by a masonry wall to block access to invaders. Several buildings occupied the interior of the fort. Up to 70 men could be accommodated in the living quarters, located next to the Algeciras Battery, which were divided into separate spaces for the officers and rank-and-file. A grocery storeroom was also located there. The gunners were quartered in a barracks next to the San García Battery, alongside the artillery store where gun carriages and spare gear was stored. The building was protected by a large shoulder to protect it from enemy fire. In the centre of the island was the main magazine, constructed with thick walls to reduce the risk that a projectile hitting the building would detonate the shells and ammunition stored inside. Drinking water was drawn from a well constructed nearby. There was only one entrance to the fort, in the northwest quadrant of the island adjoining the beach. This was the most vulnerable point of the structure so it was reinforced by external obstacles located on the beach. It was also reconfigured several times during the fort's existence to strengthen it.

內容改寫自 Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。照片來自 Wikimedia Commons.