This task force evolved from WikiProject Castles, which was founded in January 2007 and became a task force of the Military history WikiProject in September 2007 with a widened scope. The range of articles includes all geographical locations and time period. The main types can be found at Category:Fortification. Also included are events that took place at fortifications, such as sieges, and individual features such as ramparts.
Any article related to this task force should be marked by adding Fortifications-task-force=yesorFortifications=y to the {{WPMILHIST}} project banner at the top of its talk page (see the project banner instructions for more details on the exact syntax). This will automatically place it into Category:Fortifications task force articles.
If you approach anyone from this list for advice or help, please check their contributions first to check if they've edited recently. This list may contain people who have not edited Wikipedia in a long time.
Acroterion (talk·contribs) (WWI and WWII era European defensive systems, Cold War facilities)
If you wish to identify yourself as a participant of this task force, simply copy and paste this userbox to your user page: {{Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Members/User WPMILHIST Fortifications task force}}
The table to the right shows the current article assessment statistics for this task force.
A list of the top 500 most popular articles within our scope, as well as the number of page views each article received over the past month, can be found here.
With around two-fifths of our articles assessed as stubs, there's a lot of work to be done. However, we also have a significant number of good, A-Class, and featured articles, which have been assessed as amongst the best Wikipedia has to offer. These article serve as a yardstick for what can be achieved and should be aimed for, and can provide ideas about how to write an article and what sources to consult; they are listed below:
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk·contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is taggedorcategorized (e.g. Category:Fortifications task force articles) correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.
editIn England, some well-known historic monuments such as Hadrian's Wall receive a lot of coverage and may have books published on them by English Heritage.
Some articles use infoboxes; it's an editorial choice whether you include one in your articles, but the one most appropriate for a fortification is {{Infobox military structure}} (the link includes details on how to use it). To see one in use take a look at the article on Caernarfon Castle and how it's put together. The Tower of London article, however, passed at Featured Article review without one, demonstrating that an infobox is not always necessary, so weigh up the pros and cons before you include one in your articles.
As fortifications come in a variety of forms, there are many works that address the subject. Sometimes the bibliography of Wikipedia articles can provide a good starting point, however it depends on the overall quality of the article in the first place. Osprey Publishing has a series called "Fortress" which deals with this area; they're fairly accessible and usually include a starting bibliography at the end.
For articles on castles in England and Wales, this website is invaluable for identifying sources. It includes a pretty comprehensive bibliography on each site, links to some useful websites, as well as some suggestions on general reading.
When you're putting together an article, don't forget that despite this being part of the Military history WikiProject fortifications were not solely military institutions. Iron Age hill forts were proto-urban centres; civilian settlements grew around Roman forts and were an integral part of them; castles were lordly residences; town walls were badges of civic pride.
If you have any suggestions for important general books, please feel free to add them here.
