réduite

Réduite (plural réduites) is a term used in military architecture to denote a small fortified enclosure or redoubt designed to protect a fortress or to serve as a last line of defense during a siege. The word derives from the French réduire, meaning to reduce or withdraw to a fortified position. In European fortification practice of the 17th and 18th centuries, réduites were common elements within or alongside larger fortresses, providing concentrated artillery positions and a fortified shelter for garrison troops.

A réduit typically took the form of a compact enclosure with its own walls, ramparts, and defensive works. It could be detached from the main enceinte or linked by a covered way, often positioned to command key approaches and to offer enfilading fire. The design aimed to deny attackers a direct advance, slow their progress, and create a secure strongpoint from which relief or counter-fire could be delivered.

In Vauban’s era and in other contemporary fortification systems, réduites played a crucial role as critical points of resistance within siege plans. They complemented bastions, lunettes, and other outworks by concentrating fire and providing shelter for defenders under pressure. The concept has a distinct historical usage, and in modern French the term is largely confined to historical or architectural discussion. In English-language sources, the equivalent term is typically redoubt, though the exact features can vary with regional fortification conventions.