Saint-Malo

The Breton coastal town of Saint-Malo grew up in the middle ages and prospered due to its natural harbour facilities. The town itself was situated on an island in the bay and was surrounded by walls with a castle at the eastern end.

In the 17th century Saint-Malo became a haven for corsairs preying on ships in the English channel, which made it an inevitable target for an attack. For this reason Vauban'was ordered to strengthen the town's fortifications. He not only modified the town and castle ramparts to mount artillery, but also designed a series of outlying forts on the islands in the bay.

Firstly, three forts were built on small islands just to the north of the town; the Petit Bé Fort, the Grand Bé Fort and the Fort Royal (later called Fort National). These three forts could all be walked to at low tide. Secondly, there was Fort Harbour, on an island to the west of Saint-Malo. Thirdly, on two small rocky islands farther to the north, the Fort La Conchée and the Fort Cézembre guarded the more distant approaches to Saint-Malo. The forts were placed such that an enemy ship would be forced to sail right under their guns in order to attack Saint-Malo.

The English attacked Saint-Malo in 1693 while the fortifications were still under construction and again in 1695. The forts proved their worth during both these attacks, which left the town relatively undamaged and failed to deprive the French corsairs of their base.

Petit Bé

Le Petit Be is a fort situated in the bay just outside the St Malo city walls. At first sight the forts seem to be placed in the bay at random, but when you take a closer look on the map and keep the other forts in similar, smaller, bays in mind (Taureau, Cézon) you’ll see that the forts are placed in such a way that they seal of the only four passages into St Malo.

This is a feature of most costal defences in Brittany; strong currents caused by the numerous small islands and rocks mean that most bays can only be entered in a few ways. The fort was designed in 1689 and replaces a smaller fort dating from 1667.

When St Malo was attacked in 1693 the fort was under construction. In 1695 at the time of the second English attack the fort, although still under construction, played an active role in the defence of the city. The fort was finally finished in 1707.

It lies within cannon-range of the city. The sea front is formed by a semi-circular battery mounting 19 guns controlling the waters between Fort Harbour and Fort La Conchée (both clearly visible from Le Petit Bé).

Crossing fire with both forts, its main purpose was to seal off the entrance to the River Rance along with Fort Harbour. This front is protected by two bastions, with the entrance gate situated between them. The fort isn’t complete, which is why the entrance is a few metres above the level of the rocks.

An outwork was planned on the rocks in front of the entrance: a demi-lune, linked to the main fort via a staircase. Several different designs for the outwork were proposed but in the end none of them were carried out.

For forts like these, situated on a small island in the sea, the supply of fresh drinking water has always been a problem. This problem was solved in the following way: All rain water that landed on the fort was collected in a large underground cistern.

The water was brought there through a system of drains and gutters on the roof and floors of the fort. Before entering the reservoir the water was filtered in various sand beds. The reservoir of Petit Bé has been restored and works again.

This way of collecting drinking water is quite common and is visible at other similar forts, for example Fort National and Fort du Taureau.

At the end of the 19th century the fort lost its military importance and became the property of the council. At the beginning of the 20th century it was almost turned into a pumping station, but the outbreak of WWI prevented that. The fort was declared a monument in 1921.

Visiting Petit Bé:

At low tide you can walk to Petit Bé. There is an entrance fee and a guided tour through the fort. Apart from access to most of the fort you’ll also get to see the different designs that have been made for the land front and some very beautiful scale models of this fort and the other forts in the bay.

When the sky is clear there is an excellent view of the complete defence line around St Malo: First of all the other forts in the bay (Conchée, Harbour and National). Secondly to the east the 28th century Pointe de la Varde Fort which holds a coastal battery and finally to the west Cap Frehel and Fort la Latte. The tower at Ile des Hebihens, situated between St Malo and Cap Frehel, is difficult to see.

Grand Bé

Between fort Le Petit Bé and the mainland lies a larger island, which used to hold the Grand Bé Fort. Both Grand Bé and Petit Bé were used as quarantine islands until the early 17th century. In 1652 a small fort was built on the island.

Vauban proposed an enlargement of this fort, but his proposal was never carried out. The fort was almost completely destroyed in the battle of St Malo during WWII, leaving just traces of the fort such as foundations and small parts of wall. Only Chateaubriand's tomb has been restored, which still forms an important attraction of the bay.

Fort National

Originally called Fort Royal, this fort was designed by Vauban in 1689 and, like the others at Saint-Malo, the detailed work was carried out by Siméon Garangeau, the Director of fortifications at Saint-Malo.

The fort took the form of a square with two demi-bastions'and a demi-lune on the landward side, which was also protected by an outer loopholed'wall.

On the seaward side in addition to the guns on the northern face of the fort there was a rounded battery on a lower level where heavier ordinance was mounted. This lower battery had no embrasures'so that the guns had an unrestricted arc of fire.

Fort Harbour

Across the river mouth from Petit Bé lies another small island on which Vauban ordered the construction of another fort, Fort Herbou or Fort Harbour. The purpose of this fort, along with Petit Bé, was to guard the mouth of the River Rance.

The fort was built on the site of an earlier redoubt'that had fallen into ruin. Unique among the island forts designed by Vauban for Saint-Malo, Fort Harbour has a bastioned trace on its seaward side.

The reason for this is probably that the fort was vulnerable to a land attack from the front at low tide, so it needed proper flanking cover. The rear however, was protected by a steep cliff (see right), so a bastioned trace was not necessary on that side.

Fort La Conchée

Situated on a rock in the sea some 3.5 km north of Saint-Malo, Fort la Conchée was built to prevent an enemy from getting close enough to bombard the town. It was essentially a large battery, with two storeys of guns, one enclosed and one on the roof of the fort.

In the 1693 attack on Saint-Malo, whilst the fort was still under construction, the English captured the fort and took all the labourers prisoner. However by 1695 the fort was complete and caused the English much difficulty in the attack that year.

Visiting Saint-Malo

The walls of Saint-Malo are in good condition and can be visited for free. Fort Grand Bé was severely damaged in the Second World War and only the foundations remain, but the island can be walked to at low tide. Forts Petit Bé and National can also be walked to at low tide. They are both in excellent condition and can be visited for a small fee. Fort Harbour is intact but I believe it cannot be visited. The Ile Cézembre was pulverised by an attack during the Second World War after which none of the buildings on the island remained standing. There do not seem to be any remains of the fortifications there. Fort La Conchée was also damaged during the War, but is currently being restored to its original condition and may soon be open to the public.