| Feste Hindersin/Fort Gambetta | |
|---|---|
 Fort Gambetta | |
  Feste Hindersin/Fort Gambetta | |
| Coordinates | 49°05′26″N6°06′11″E / 49.0906°N 6.103°E |
| Type | fort of type von Biehler |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1879–1881 |
| Fate | unused |
The Feste Hindersin renamed Gambetta fort by the French in 1919, is a military installation near Metz. It is part of the first fortified belt of forts of Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when Battle of Metz occurred.
The first fortified belt of Metz consists of forts de Saint-Privat (1870), of Queuleu (1867), des Bordes (1870), Saint-Julien (1867), Gambetta, Déroulède, Decaen, Plappeville (1867) and St. Quentin (1867), most of them unfinished in 1870, when the Franco-Prussian War bursts out. During the Annexation following this war, Metz, which oscillates between a German garrison of 15,000 and 20,000 men at the beginning of the period, [1] overtakes 25,000 men in the garrison by the time of the First World War. [2] Gradually Metz becomes the first stronghold of the German Reich. [3] It is therefore necessary to finish the fortifications there.
The feste Hindersin is designed in the spirit of the "detached forts" concept developed by Hans Alexis von Biehler in Germany. The goal was to form a discontinuous enclosure around Metz with strong artillery batteries spaced with a range of guns. Designed to complement the defensive line north of Metz, the Feste Hindersin was built between 1879 and 1881.
From 1890 relief of the garrison is provided by the fort troops Corps XVI stationed at Metz and Thionville. Invested by the French army in 1919, the fort Hindersin was renamed "fort Gambetta". It was taken again in 1940 by the Germans. The German army occupied the fort during 1940–1944. The fort Gambetta is now disused.
On 2 September 1944, at the beginning of the Battle of Metz, the old city fortress is declared a fortress of the Reich by Hitler. The fortress must be defended to the last by German troops, whose leaders were all sworn to the Führer. [4] The German command integrates Fort Gambetta into the defensive system set up around Metz. The next day, 3 September 1944, the troops of General Krause take their positions on a line from Pagny-sur-Moselle to Mondelange, passing to the west of Metz by Chambley, Mars-la-Tour, Jarny and Briey. After an initial withdrawal, made on 6 September 1944, the German lines, stationed by troops of the 462e Volksgrenadier division, now rest firmly on the forts of Metz.
The US offensive, launched 7 September 1944, on the west line forts of Metz, is cut short. American troops will eventually stop on the Moselle, despite taking two bridgeheads south of Metz. As the forts are better defended than the Americans had thought, the US troops are now out of breath. General McLain, in agreement with the General Walker, decides to suspend the attacks, pending new plans of the General Staff of 90th Infantry Division. [5] When hostilities resumed after a rainy month, the soldiers of the 462th Volks-Grenadier-Division still hold firmly the forts of Metz, though supplies are more difficult under artillery fire and frequent bombings. [6]
As a prelude to the assault on Metz, on 9 November 1944, the US Air Force sends no less than 1,299 heavy bombers, both B-17s and B-24s, to dump 3,753 tons of bombs, and 1,000 to 2,000 "livres" on the fortifications and strategic points in the combat zone of IIIrd army. [7] Most bombers drop bombs without visibility at over 20,000 feet, so the military targets are often missed. In Metz, 689 loads of bombs hit the seven forts of Metz, identified as priority targets, merely causing collateral damage, proving once again the inadequacy of the massive bombing of military targets. [8]
After several weeks of fighting in the Messina region, US troops launched the final assault on Metz in November 1944. On 15 November 1944, 377th Infantry Regiment of 95th American division, leaving from Maizières-lès-Metz, enters Woippy. Facing them, are the men of the 1515 Grenadier-Regiment " Stössel " of the 462e Volksgrenadier division, reinforced by a reserve company SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 38, which give desperate resistance. Such harassing fighting continued all day on 16 November. The fort Gambetta is attacked in turn in the day by 3 Battalion 377 Infantry regiment. On the night of 16 November 1944, under the pressure of 377 and 378 American regiments, the German grenadiers eventually fall back in disorder on Metz, leaving behind, artillery, trucks, weapons stocks and their dying. [9] The bloody fighting continued the next day around the fort, which isolated and neutralized, finally surrenders.
The fort Jeanne-d’Arc was the last of the forts of Metz to surrender. Determined German resistance, bad weather and floods, inopportunity, and a general tendency to underestimate the firepower of the fortifications of Metz, have helped slow the US offensive, giving the opportunity to the German Army to withdraw in good order to the Saar. [10] The objective of the German staff, which was to save time by stalling US troops for the longest possible time before those troops could reach the Siegfried Line, is largely achieved.
The fortifications of Metz, a city in northeastern France, are extensive, due to the city's strategic position near the border of France and Germany. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the area was annexed by the newly created German Empire in 1871 by the Treaty of Frankfurt and became the Reichsland Alsace–Lorraine. The German Army decided to build a fortress line from Mulhouse to Luxembourg to protect their new territories. The centerpiece of this line was the Moselstellung between Metz and Thionville, in Lorraine.
The Fort de Guentrange dominates Thionville in the Moselle department of France. It was built by Germany next to the town of the same name in the late 19th century after the annexation of the Moselle following the Franco-Prussian War. The Fort de Guentrange 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 1899 and 1906. The fortification system incorporated new principles of defensive construction to deal with advances in artillery. Later forts, such as Guentrange, embodied innovative design concepts such as dispersal and concealment. The later forts were designed to support offensive operations, as an anchor for a pivoting move by German forces into France.
The Fort de Koenigsmacker 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.
Fort Jeanne d'Arc, also called Fortified Group Jeanne d'Arc, is a fortification located to the west of Metz in the Moselle department of France. It was built by Germany to the west of the town of Rozérieulles in the early 20th century as part of the third and final group of Metz fortifications. The fortification program was started after the German victory of the Franco-Prussian War, which resulted in the annexation of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine from France to Germany. The Fort Jeanne d'Arc 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 1899 and 1908. The fortification system incorporated new principles of defensive construction to deal with advances in artillery. Later forts, such as Jeanne d'Arc, 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 Fort de Plappeville, or Feste Alvensleben, is a military fortification located to the northwest of Metz in the commune of Plappeville. As part of the first ring of the fortifications of Metz, it is an early example of a Séré de Rivières system fort. While it did not see action during World War I, it was the scene of heavy fighting between American forces and German defenders at the end of the Battle of Metz, in 1944. After Second World War it became a training center for the French Air Force. Fort 'Alvensleben' has been abandoned since 1995.
The Fort de Saint-Julien, renamed Feste Manteuffel in German, is a military installation near Metz. It is part of the first fortified belt forts of Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944 in the Battle of Metz.
Fort Saint-Privat is a fortification near Metz. Part of the forts of Metz, it had its baptism of fire in late 1944 during the Battle of Metz.
The Feste von Zastrow, renamed Fort des Bordes by the French in 1919, is a military structure located in the district of Boric in Metz. It is part of the first fortified belt of the forts of Metz. Buried since the construction of the Eastern expressway in 1968, it is covered by a green space, although some remnants of the fort remain visible.
The Feste Kameke, renamed Fort Déroulède by the French in 1919, is a military installation near Metz. It is part of the first fortified belt of forts of Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, in the Battle of Metz.
The Feste Schwerin, renamed fort Decaen by the French in 1919, is a military installation near Metz. It is part of the first fortified belt of forts of Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when Battle of Metz occurred.
The Fortifications of Saint-Quentin, or Feste Prinz Friedrich Karl form a fortification group in the Scy-Chazelles municipality located northwest of Metz on the Mont Saint-Quentin. Constituted by forts Diou and Girardin, the group is part of the first fortified belt of forts around Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when the Battle of Metz occurred.
The Feste Wagner, renamed Group Fortifications of Aisne by the French in 1919, is a fort of the second fortified belt of forts from Metz, in Moselle. This group fortification, built in the municipalities of Pournoy-la-Grasse and of Verny, controlled the valley of the Seille. It had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when the Battle of Metz occurred.
The Feste Leipzig, renamed Group Fortifications Francois-de-Guise after 1919 by the French, is a military structure located in the municipality of Châtel-Saint-Germain, close to Metz. It is part of the second fortified belt of forts of Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when the Battle of Metz occurred.
The Feste Lothringen, renamed Group Fortification Lorraine after 1919, is a military installation near Metz. It is part of the second fortified belt of forts of Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when the Battle of Metz occurred.
The Feste Mercy, renamed Feste Freiherr von der Goltz in 1911 and then The Group Fortification Marne in 1919, is a military installation near Metz, in the woods between Jury, Mercy and Ars-Laquenexy. It is part of the second fortified belt of forts of Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when the Battle of Metz occurred.
The Feste Haeseler, renamed Group Fortification Verdun after 1919, is a military installation near Metz. Constituted as forts Sommy and Saint-Blaise, the fortified group is part of the second fortified belt of forts of Metz. It had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when the Battle of Metz occurred.
The Feste Prinz Regent Luitpold, renamed Group Fortification Yser after 1919, is a military installation near Metz. It is part of the second fortified belt of forts of Metz and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when the Battle of Metz occurred.
The Infanterie-Werk Belle-Croix, renamed Fort Lauvallière after 1919, is a military installation near Metz. It is part of the second fortified belt of forts of Metz.
The forts of Metz are two fortified belts around the city of Metz in Lorraine. Built according to the design and theory of Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières at the end of the Second Empire—and later Hans von Biehler while Metz was under German control—they earned the city the reputation of premier stronghold of the German reich. These fortifications were particularly thorough given the city's strategic position between France and Germany. The detached forts and fortified groups of the Metz area were spared in World War I, but showed their full defensive potential in the Battle of Metz at the end of World War II.
The 559th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during World War II that fought entirely on the Western Front.