Campo Entrincheirado

At the same time, it was observed that as the capital, Lisbon, had the greatest population and was the economic centre of the country, no invasion of Portugal would succeed unless the city was controlled.

[1][2][3] The main means established for the defence of the capital was the Campo Entrincheirado, which involved developing a fortification system that followed the city’s perimeter at that time.

The forts were equipped with modern artillery pieces and connected by roads and by telephone and telegraph networks that were quite advanced for the time.

With headquarters at the Monsanto Fort, considered the essential stronghold of the system, the Campo Entrincheirado was to be manned by a permanent staff of 25,000, consisting of infantry, artillery and engineering troops.

After that war some of the coastal fortifications were adapted to form part of the Barron Plan group of artillery batteries, the last one being deactivated in 1998.