Blockhouse

In military science, a blockhouse is a small fortification. It usually has one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire rifles or handguns in various directions.^[1] It usually refers to an isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery. A fortification intended to resist these weapons is more likely to qualify as a fortress or a redoubt.

Model of the Fort Pitt blockhouse

In modern times, it may be a pillbox, a small underground bunker. However, a blockhouse may also refer to a room within a larger fortification, usually a battery or redoubt. The term "blockhouse" is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Middle Dutch blokhus and 18th-century French blocus (blockade).^[2]