Menno van Coehoorn

----------------From Wikipedia (highlights)

Menno, baron van Coehoorn (1641 – March 17, 1704), was a Dutch soldier and military engineer of Swedish extraction. He made a number of influential weaponry innovations in siege warfare and fortification techniques. He was also known as the "Hollandish Vauban" (Hollandse Vauban), Vauban being his famous French counterpart.

Early life
Coehoorn was born in the city of Leeuwarden in the Dutch province of Friesland. He received an excellent military and general education, and at the age of sixteen became a captain in the Dutch army. During the Anglo-Dutch Wars, he took part in the defence of Maastricht in 1673 and in the siege of Grave in 1674, where he used the small mortars (called coehorns) invented by him to great effect against the French garrison.

Military Innovations
The circumstances of the time and the country turned Coehoorn's attention to the art of fortification, and the events of the late war showed him that existing methods could no longer be relied upon. Coehoorn gained most of his knowledge and insights on the building of fortification by having to capture many of them himself. His first published work, Versterchinge de Vijfhoeks met alle syne Buytenwerken (Leeuwarden, 1682), at once aroused attention, and involved the author in a lively controversy with a rival engineer, Louys Paan

He formulated his ideas a little later in his chief work, New fortress Construction (Nieuwe Vestingbouw op een natte of lage horisont, Leeuwarden, 1685), in which he laid down three systems, the characteristic feature of which was the multiplicity and great saliency of the works, which were calculated and in principle are still eminently suited for, flat and almost marshy sites such as those in the Low Countries. Essential to his new approach was the ability to fight an active defence on the outer shores of the enveloping ditch, made possible by constructing an extra protective wall around the fortification.
He commanded a corps in the army of the Duke of Marlborough from 1701 to 1703, and in the constant siege warfare of these campaigns in the Low Countries his technical skill was of the highest value. The swift reduction of the fortress of Bonn and the siege of Huy in 1703 were his crowning successes. At the opening of his following campaign he was on his way to confer with Marlborough when he died of apoplexy at Wijkel.
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Dude has a 'fro. I myself have not yet read "Versterchinge de Vijfhoeks met alle syne Buytenwerken" although I am sure it is a captivating read. I guess becoming a captain in the Dutch army at age 16 puts things in a bit of perspective. Notice that Menno was the NFL equivalent of Deion Sanders, in that he could play both offense and defense. You would figure you either specialized in mortars or fortifications, but Menno went both ways. The fact that he also appeared to be a head coach simultaneously makes it all the more remarkable.

How many engineers have you met that you would follow into war, or would want to lead you? Totally different skill set, yet Menno is the true renaissance man. There must have been a huge satisfaction in both designing the mortar and then using it in the "swift reduction of the fortress at Bonn".

My guess is the writing career was more of just an add-on to his multi-faceted career in the armed forces. They probably didn't have ghost writers back then, so poor Menno had to slog it out on Versterchinge de Vijfhoeks all by himself. Tired from his efforts I bet it really pissed him off to get the bad review from Louys Paan. Stayed with him for a long time I guess, given the death from apoplexy.