The first artillery used in coastal defence batteries had a limited effective range, and coastal defence batteries tended to be concentrated on the shore line to maximise their effectiveness. At this time the artillery was largely mounted in gun towers or blockhouses, which provided all round defence. The range of artillery was so limited that Land Forts were not usually required to protect harbours and dockyards.
During the Napoleonic War various defence lines were built, such as the Gosport Lines and Stoke Bay Lines in Portsmouth and Great Lines of Chatham. However, it was not until the Royal Commission Report published on 7th February 1870 that significant consideration was given to the need to establish land forts to protect the approaches to the major dockyards and harbours.
There was however always the risk of enemy troops landing at an unguarded position and then advancing overland to attack a harbour. This was a tactic much practiced by the British with amphibious landings to capture hostile shore batteries while naval vessels engaged from the water. An example of this was the taking of the capture of the various Chinese coastal defence batteries at Humen (Bocca Tigris) during the First Opium War in 1840. To counter any enemy amphibious landing defence lines with land forts were built. One of the best examples of this type of defence lines is the Chatham Lines that protected the approaches to Chatham Dockyard. The Chatham Lines (Great Lines) were built between 1756 and 1815 and included Fort Amhurst. With the Royal Commission reporting in 1860 another defence line (The Chatham Lower Lines) was built around Chatham some three miles further out. This new line included five fortifications, Forts Bridgewood, Luton, Borstal, Horsted and Darland. Similar land fronts were built around Plymouth, Gosport and Portsmouth.
In some locations defence lines were built well away from the harbour itself, the best example of this being the Victoria Lines in Malta. The Victoria Lines, which included the Dweja Lines, had three forts and four artillery battery emplacements. The purpose of these lines, including was to keep hostile artillery out of range of the main dockyard at Valetta. A small fortification, close to the Dockyard, was the Corradino Lines which was built around a hill that overlooked the main naval dockyard.