ABSTRACT
Halphen focused upon the offensive aspects of Angevin strategy and argued that Fulk built the fortifications at Langeais, Montrichard, Montbazon, and Montboyau to sustain Angevin attacks in the Touraine. More to the point, however, is that, in those very few cases where a plausible case can be made for the use of wood in even part of the construction of a particular fortification, Deyres has failed to show that Fulk then engaged in a "guerre de vif mouvement" after 992, when the count first began to construct strongholds. Given the diplomatic situation that obtained when Fulk built Montbazon, and given his adherence to what may be considered an indirect strategy following the loss of Tours in 997, the Angevin count probably did not intend to use this new stronghold as a base from which to sustain an immediate campaign against Tours.
