Castle Quest - Reply to Topic

Forum:	Castles In General & Medieval History
Topic:	Medieval castles in modern combat???

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T O P I C R E V I E W
Flight33Jeff Can anyone here point me in the right direction to find out about ancient medieval castles that have had a role in modern, 20th century combat (i.e. WWI, WWII, etc.)? Were there any major battles or events that have taken place at European castles that are notable? Any and all help/info would be great!
Thanks,
Jeff
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Yay 4 The History Channel!
Maria A large number of castles were transformed in hospitals (take Edinburgh for example. Some of them ware used for military purpose, like Pendennis Castle: "The castle once again saw action during WWII, and the secret defenses erected for the conflict can be visited, including underground tunnels and magazines. The Guardhouse has been restored to the condition it would have enjoyed during WWI."http://www.britainexpress.com/counties/cornwall/castles/pendennis.htm
or Portland Castle: "The castle was used as a Seaplane base in WWI and as part of the D-Day operations in WWII. The castle sits within the Royal Naval Dockyard at Portland."
Mont Orgueil has been managed as a museum site since 1929, although during the Second World War German Occupation (1940-1945) the occupying forces garrisoned the castle and added modern fortifications camouflaged to blend in with existing structures.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Orgueil

Malbork Castle in Poland : "During the Nazi era, a scene of the official ceremonies of the Hitler’s regime. In 1945, at the end of the WWII, the castle was defended by the Germans against advancing Red Army and during these fights seriously damaged" http://www.castles.info/poland/malbork/
Aiken Drum Colditz famously was a prison camp, Dumbarton carried some of the Clyde Anti aircraft defences and was bombed during the infamous Clydebank Blitz, Stirling was a barracks, Buchanan Castle near Drymen was where Rudloph Hess was taken after crashlanding on his mission for peace to Scotland, Dover was a defence co-ordination centre during the Battle of Britain, Pitreavie did the same during the Cold War, Rosyth centred the Royal Naval Dockyard of the same name, Broughty was a gun emplacement during the Crimean and Second World Wars, Nottingham was refugee distribution centre in WW2, Cholmondley housed Czech troops and the list could go on longer than I could type!
[This message has been edited by Aiken Drum (edited 09-13-2006).]
Flight33Jeff This is a great start...
but what I am really looking for is castles where actual battles took place. Malbork is great example on the Eastern front during WWII. So is the Hero Fortress at Brest. In fact, many of the castles that I have come across where actual fighting occurred were on the Eastern front in both WWI & WWII.
I was hoping that people might know of some good examples on the Western front. I was hoping that there were some *real* castles that possibly functioned in the way of something like a "Castle Wolfenstein" (a fictitious castle). Someplace wherein combat took place, where there were actual troops that fought. Someplace where we can go and see bullet holes in the walls. A good example might be "The Eagle's Nest," Hitler's famous chateau, but I don't think there was any actual combat there. If you have any ideas of some real castles where real combat took place, that would help immensely.
I've been trying to scour the internet for any and all info that I can find, and, like I said, I've actually found a few castles in Eastern Europe and even Italy (like Camposbasso, where the Canadians held off the Germans), but I have made relatively little headway in trying to find historians, books, or information on the subject.
Thanks again,
Jeff
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Yay 4 The History Channel!
Aiken Drum You'll find a few mentions of actions in Mot's Castle page which might set you off on a research thread. http://www.castles.nl
Doorwerth is particularly interesting.
[This message has been edited by Aiken Drum (edited 09-14-2006).]
Levan Dover Castle has an amazing history too. During WW1, underground tunnels at the castle were used as a hospital. During WW2 the same tunnels were used for strategic planning, gun batteries and RADAR communications. These are all open to the public. It's one of my top 5 "must see" castles in Britain.