In prose, Viollet-le-Duc recreates the life of a French castle from its obscure origins to its fate in the Franco-Prussian War. As an architect and experienced military engineer Viollet-le-Duc was uniquely placed to write on the history of fortifications. In Annals of a Fortress he examines the life of the imaginery castle of La Roche-Pont as it endures numerous protracted and bitter sieges. Viollet-le-Duc was a noted military engineer, serving in the Franco-Prussian War, and architectural historian. He was the author of Military Architecture.