The Maginot Line, named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, as well as obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around the fortifications. The Maginot Line was impervious to most forms of attack. However, the Germans invaded through the Low Countries in 1940, bypassing it to the north. The line has since become a metaphor for expensive efforts that offer a false sense of security.
The Krupp K5 was a heavy railway gun used by Nazi Germany throughout World War II.
Colico is a city in the province of Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. It is situated on the northern arm of Lake Como, where the river Adda enters the lake. Colico is the most important city in the northern part of Lake Como, which is often identified as its Colico branch.
The Semovente da 90/53 was a heavy Italian self-propelled gun and tank destroyer, used by the Italian and German Armies during World War II.
The Ansaldo 105/25 M43, also known as Semovente 105/25, was an Italian self-propelled gun used during World War II and designed by Fiat-Ansaldo. It was the most powerful self-propelled gun built by Italy in numbers during World War II.
Ouvrage Rochonvillers is one of the largest of the Maginot Line fortifications. Located above the town of Rochonvillers in the French region of Lorraine, the gros ouvrage or large work was fully equipped and occupied in 1935 as part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville in the Moselle. It is located between the petit ouvrage d'Aumetz and the gros ouvrage Molvange, facing the border between Luxembourg and France with nine combat blocks. Rochonvillers saw little action during World War II, but due to its size it was repaired and retained in service after the war. During the Cold War it found a new use as a hardened military command center, first for NATO and then for the French Army.
Ouvrage Saint-Gobain is a work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, one infantry block, one artillery block, one observation block and one combination block. Located in Modane, France, it is just across the valley of the Arc from Ouvrage Saint-Antoine and somewhat to the east of Ouvrage Sapey.
Ouvrage Saint-Antoine is a work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, one infantry block and one artillery block overlooking Modane on the way to the Col du Mont Cenis. Ouvrage Saint-Gobain is just to the north, across the mountain valley. Saint-Antoine overlooks the approaches to the Fréjus Rail Tunnel and was part of an ensemble of forts, including Saint-Gobain, Ouvrage Sapey and Fort du Replaton that guarded the French end of the tunnel and the descent from the Mont Cenis pass.
Ouvrage Pas du Roc is a work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry blocks, one infantry block, two artillery blocks and one observation block 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Modane and 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) east of Ouvrage Le Lavoir in the vicinity of the Col de Fréjus. The position was incomplete at the outbreak of war in 1940.
Ouvrage Janus is a work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, located to the east of Briançon on near the Col de Montgenèvre. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, two infantry blocks, two artillery blocks, two observation blocks and one combination block at an altitude of 2,540 metres (8,330 ft), the second highest fortification on the Alps in 1940. Built on the site of the old Fort Janus, it retained the old fort's 95mm naval guns and added two 75mm guns
Ouvrage Roche-la-Croix is a work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also known as the Little Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, two infantry blocks, one artillery block and two observation blocks in the vicinity of the Col de Larche. An aerial tram was provided for better access. The position is located at the top of a sheer escarpment that dominates Meyronnes and the valley of the Ubayette.
Ouvrage Saint Ours Haut is a work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also known as the Little Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of one infantry block, one artillery block, two observation blocks and one combination block in the vicinity of the Col de Larche. It is located on the territory of the commune of Meyronnes. Construction began in March 1931, at a cost of 15.1 million francs.
The Alpine Wall was an Italian system of fortifications along the 1,851 km (1,150 mi) of Italy's northern frontier. Built in the years leading up to World War II at the direction of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the defensive line faced France, Switzerland, Austria, and Yugoslavia. It was defended by the "Guardia alla Frontiera" (GaF), Italian special troops.
The Italian invasion of France, also called the Battle of the Alps, was the first major Italian engagement of World War II and the last major engagement of the Battle of France.
The Krepost Sveaborg was an Imperial Russian system of land and coastal fortifications constructed around Helsinki during the First World War. The purpose of the fortress was to provide a secure naval base for the Russian Baltic fleet and to protect Helsinki and block routes to Saint Petersburg from a possible German invasion. Krepost Sveaborg was part of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress, a coastal fortification system protecting access to Saint Petersburg by sea. The central part of Krepost Sveaborg was the old fortress of Suomenlinna where the fortress headquarters were located. Due to technological advances in artillery the old fortress was no longer capable of providing a sufficient protection, and a new main defensive line was built well beyond the old fortress boundaries. New coastal artillery guns built on outlying islands protected Krepost Sveaborg from the sea, while fortified lines constructed around Helsinki were intended to stop any attacks on land. The primary coastal guns were 10 in (254 mm) model 1891 guns and 6 in (152 mm) model 1892 Canet guns. Older 11 in (279 mm) model 1877 guns were also used. In summer 1917 the fortress had two hundred coastal or anti-landing guns, of which 24 were 10-inch guns in six batteries, 16 were 6-inch Canet guns in four batteries and twelve were 11-inch guns in three batteries. The artillery used in land fortifications included older coastal guns, old fixed carriage guns and newer light field guns. In March 1917, Krepost Sveaborg had a total of 463 guns, although many of them were obsolescent. Krepost Sveaborg was still partly incomplete in 1917 when the February Revolution halted most of the construction work. Some further construction work was carried out during the remaining year, but all work halted during the October Revolution. Following the Finnish Declaration of Independence, parts of the land fortifications were used in the Finnish Civil War. The coastal fortifications were later taken over by Finland to protect Helsinki, while the land fortifications were mostly abandoned and disarmed.
The fortified position of Liège was established after the First World War by Belgium to block the traditional invasion corridor through Belgium between Germany and France. Ihe First World War the Belgian Army held up the Germans for a week at Liège, delaying the German invasion of France, caused Belgium to consider a similar defensive strategy. Belgium rebuilt the Liège fortifications and extended them onto the Pays de Herve closer to Germany, using the most advanced fortification technology available.
The Swiss National Redoubt was a defensive plan developed by the Swiss government beginning in the 1880s to respond to foreign invasion. In the opening years of the Second World War the plan was expanded and refined to deal with a potential German invasion. The term "National Redoubt" primarily refers to the fortifications begun in the 1880s that secured the mountainous central part of Switzerland, providing a defended refuge for a retreating Swiss Army.
Beograd was the lead ship of her class of destroyers, built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy during the late 1930s, and designed to be deployed as part of a division led by the flotilla leader Dubrovnik. She entered service in April 1939, was armed with a main battery of four 120 mm (4.7 in) guns in single mounts, and had a top speed of 35 knots.
A polygonal fort is a type of fortification originating in France in the late 18th century and fully developed in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Unlike earlier forts, polygonal forts had no bastions, which had proved to be vulnerable. As part of ring fortresses, polygonal forts were generally arranged in a ring around the place they were intended to protect, so that each fort could support its neighbours. The concept of the polygonal fort proved to be adaptable to improvements in the artillery which might be used against them, and they continued to be built and rebuilt well into the 20th century.
The Valtellina Redoubt or, officially, in Italian, Ridotto Alpino Repubblicano or RAR, was the intended final stronghold or redoubt of the Italian fascist regime of Benito Mussolini at the end of World War II. It was to be based in the Valtellina, a valley in the Italian Alps, which had the natural protection afforded by the surrounding mountains as well as the possibility of re-using fortifications built in the area for World War I. The idea was initially proposed in September 1944 by Alessandro Pavolini, one of the fascist leaders, who saw it as the place for the regime to make a “heroic” last stand which would inspire a future fascist revolution.
