Why breakwaters break

A b r e a k w a t e r by d e f i n i t i o n i s a work of man b u i l t i n t h e w a t e r f o r t h e p u r p o s e of b r e a k i n g down t h e waves of t h e s e a , s o a s t o s h e l t e r c e r t a i n o b j e c t s t o t h e l e e . I n o t h e r w o r d s . i t i s a c o n f r o n t a t i o n be tween a p o s s i b l y i r r e s i s t a b l e f o r c e and what i s hoped wi.11 p r o v e t o be a n immovable o b j e c t . I t i s h a r d l y s u r p r i s i n g t h a t a l t h o u g h m a n ' s e f f o r t s may s u c c e e d f o r a w h i l e , e v e n t u a l l y n a t u r a l f o r c e s w i l l p r e v a i l . The q u e s t i o n i s , € o r how l o n g c a n we s u c c e e d ?