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The Fort de Koenigsmacker (Koenigsmaker, Königsmachern or Kœnigsmacker) is a fortification located to the northeast of Thionville in the Moselle department of France. It was built by Germany next to the town of the same name in the early 20th century after the annexation of the Moselle following the Franco-Prussian War. The Fort de Koenigsmacker was part of the ''Moselstellung'', a group of eleven fortresses surrounding Thionville and Metz to guard against the possibility of a French attack aimed at regaining Alsace and Lorraine, with construction taking place between 1908 and 1914. The fortification system incorporated new principles of defensive construction to deal with advances in artillery. Later forts, such as Koenigsmacker, embodied innovative design concepts such as dispersal and concealment. These later forts were designed to support offensive operations, as an anchor for a pivoting move by German forces into France. The Feste Koenigsmacker, as Fort de Koenigsmacker was called by the Germans, with Fort de Guentrange and Fort d'Illange, assured the protection of Thionville against French attack. Positioned to the rear of the principal lines of combat in the First World War, the fort never saw combat in that war, but posed a significant obstacle to advancing American forces in World War II. ==Description== The Fort de Koenigsmacker is located about to the northeast of Thionville on a hilltop overlooking the salient formed by the Cattenom forest and the northern crossings of the Moselle. It was defended by a garrison of 1180 men. Like the Fort d'Illange, Koenigsmacker features an armored battery, originally armed with four short 100mm guns in single turrets. Four separate fortified barracks housed troops, with underground galleries connected the battery, barracks, and infantry positions. A ditch, defended by a counterscarp and three caponiers, is located on the south and east sides. The dispersed, un-walled nature of the later ''Moselstellung'' was a significant innovation. Compared to the French Séré de Rivières system forts of the same era, later German fortifications such as Koenigsmacker were scattered over a large area and enclosed chiefly by barbed wire. While certain individual elements presented imposing walls to an attacker, these walls were not continuous. The dispersed nature is evidenced by the official French name: the ''Groupe Fortifié de Koenigsmacker'' (Fortified Group of Koenigsmacker). These arrangements were studied and improved upon by the French in the construction of the Maginot Line. Koenigsmacker's fairly compact arrangement includes four dispersed fortified barracks built into a hillside so that their rears are shielded by earth, while the tops and fronts are protected by three or four meters of concrete, and are surmounted by parapets. The south barracks was constructed as an infantry shelter, or ''abri'', with no living accommodations.〔 The single battery is similarly constructed and linked to the barracks by underground tunnels. The four 100mm guns in the battery were protected by Schumann turrets and controlled by an armored observation cupola on top of the western barracks. The whole was surrounded by deep networks of barbed wire, which were swept by fire from small perimeter blockhouses, also linked via the tunnel system. The interior of the position was equipped with trenches for infantry. The barracks and batteries were further armored with reinforced concrete and armored windows. A variety of blockhouses and infantry shelters were also built in the intervals between forts. Underground tunnels total in length.〔 Two additional armored batteries were planned for the hill to the northeast of the fort, but were never built. The barracks were provided with central heat, while a central utility plant generated electricity using five 40 hp diesel engines. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fort de Koenigsmacker」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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