LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Maginot Line: Forts
built 214 days ago
The "Maginot Line" was a powerful line of defense, which went from Switzerland to the Ardennes in the north and from the Alps to the Mediterranean in the south. Most of the fortresses that made up this defense line were underground and the only visible parts were the huge armor piercing guns. Inside there were tunnels, underground railroads, and thousands of men who served in the forts who "slept, trained, watched, and waited for a war that never came." People felt safe though hiding behind the most massive defense line in the world which was one of its main purposes.
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During the integration of the fort into the Maginot Line the short 10cm canons were replaced by long ones of the same caliber taken from the forts in Metz. This increased the range of the guns to 12.7 km.
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In the Alsace , at the heart of the network, the Maginot Line comprises nearly 2,000 constructions whose large diversity well illustrates the defensive system's design. In 1940, 4 powerful underground fortresses, one such being the Hochwald, the Line's 2nd largest construction, were occupied by "squads" of up to 1,000 men. Some 200 pillboxes - holding 15 to 30 men - constituted the other key positions along with look-out posts, some equipped with periscopes, and underground or surface shelters; taken together these were veritable barracks under concrete. Finally, numerous blockhouses were dotted along the 200 km border.
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Although the name "Maginot Line" suggests a rather thin linear fortification, the Line was quite deep, varying in depth from between 20 to 25 kilometers. It was composed of an intricate system of strong points, fortifications, and military facilities such as border guard posts, communications centers, infantry shelters, barricades, artillery, machine gun, and anti-tank gun emplacements, supply depots, infrastructure facilities, observation posts, etc. These various structures reinforced a principal line of resistance, made up of the most heavily armed and fortified "ouvrages" (works), which can be roughly translated as forts or major defensive works.
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After the war, parts of the Maginot Line were repaired and modernised to provide post-war France with more defence. Some of the forts were supposedly made nuclear war proof. However, many parts of the Maginot Line fell into disrepair and remain so.
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The military moved out of the fort in 1971 and handed it over to the Town Council and to the Friends of the Fortifications of Guentrange, one of many ‘Associations’ that administer, maintain and restore forts on the Maginot Line. The fort is now open to the public from 1st May – 30th September on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month and at other times by arrangement.
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