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airdrop. The fort's 100 mm guns could not be depressed to deal with the close-in attackers, but kept up fire on nearby U.S. formations. By nightfall the
Americans had occupied a portion of the fort's surface. The next morning, Company C of the 358th attacked from the south, encountering a fortified ditch. Companies A and B meanwhile occupied the fort's surface and continued with attacks using demolition charges, while the fort kept up artillery fire on American units trying to pass by the fort. On the 11th much of the fort had been suppressed, but its guns continued to fire. A relief patrol of 145 Germans attempting to relieve the fort was ambushed and captured. On the 12th an assault by G Company of the 358th coincided with a decision by the German garrison to evacuate. Surrounded, the Germans surrendered. More than 300 Germans were captured or casualties, with 111 American casualties.
307:, with no living accommodations. The single battery is similarly constructed and linked to the barracks by tunnels. The four 100 mm 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. the tunnels total 2,600 meters (8,500 ft) in length.
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235:, 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.
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380:. The short 105 mm guns were replaced by 105 mm long guns removed from the German fortifications of Metz. The artillery range was thus increased from 9,700 meters (6.0 mi) to 12,700 meters (7.9 mi). In 1940 Koenigsmacker was the command post for the 167th Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF), which manned the nearby Maginot
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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
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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
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crossed the flooded
Moselle early on 9 November 1944. Fire from Koenigsmacker destroyed bridging equipment and harassed boat-borne troops, but elements of the 358th Infantry Regiment established a lodgement on the east bank and infiltrated the area of the fort before daybreak. The initial American
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Division, by surprise, but German resistance quickly became more effective. American combat engineers took over the assault, using explosives to destroy or seal openings and ventilation shafts. The engineers used such a quantity of explosives that they ran out, and had to be replenished by an
275:, Koenigsmacker features an armored battery, originally armed with four short 100 mm 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
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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.
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A proposal has been made to clean up the site and make it accessible with paths and a parking area in the manner of the park at Fort d'Illange. The site remains dangerous and is not open to the public.
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The Fort de
Koenigsmacker is located about 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) to the northeast of Thionville on a hilltop overlooking the salient formed by the Cattenom forest and the northern crossings of the
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Begun in 1908, Koenigsmacker was incomplete at the outbreak of war in 1914. It saw no action during World War I, as
Thionville remained well within German lines for the duration of the war. With the
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From 1899, the
Germans viewed Metz as a secure position that could provide an anchor for a pivoting movement into France from the Low Countries. This strategy, which would become known as the
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299:(Fortified Group of Koenigsmacker). These arrangements were studied and improved upon by the French in the construction of the Maginot Line.
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the
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After the war the site remained military property, but was not used. The fort is abandoned and partly stripped.
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Under German occupation in 1944, Koenigsmacker was garrisoned by the 74th
Volksgrenadier Regiment of the
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456:"L'Epoque Contemporaine : de la Fortification Rasante a la Fortification Enteree"
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in the 1930s, serving as a sub-sector command post and backing up the newer
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deter an advance by French forces into
Lorraine while the German forces mobilized.
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Koenigsmacker overlooks the crossing of the Moselle at Cattenom. During the
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in the early 20th century after the annexation of the Moselle following the
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assault took the German garrison, manned by the 74th regiment of the 19th
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to guard against the possibility of a French attack aimed at regaining
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for a broader discussion of the Thionville sector of the Maginot Line.
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that were built about halfway between Thionville and the border with
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Cole, Hugh M. (1993). "Chapter VIII: The November Battle for Metz".
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Les fortifications allemandes de Metz et de Thionville 1871-1918
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600:. Washington: U.S. Army Historical Division. pp. 380–395.
242:, as Fort de Koenigsmacker was called by the Germans, with
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Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques (2003).
223:, a group of eleven fortresses surrounding Thionville and
545:(in French). Metz: Éditions Serpenoise. pp. 994–95.
271:. It was defended by a garrison of 1180 men. Like the
573:(in French). Histoire & Collections. p. 87.
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was a significant innovation. Compared to the French
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364:The Fort de Koenigsmacker was integrated into the
571:Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3
480:(in German). DrAlzheimer. 2008. Archived from
286:The dispersed, un-walled nature of the later
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219:. The Fort de Koenigsmacker was part of the
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512:The German Fortress of Metz: 1870-1944
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211:. It was built by Germany next to the
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478:"Le Groupe Fortifié Koenigsmacker"
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688:Plan of the Fort de Koenigsmacker
668:Le Groupe Fortifié Koenigsmacker
297:Groupe Fortifié de Koenigsmacker
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721:Fortified Sector of Thionville
366:Fortified Sector of Thionville
357:Fortified Sector of Thionville
28:/Fortified group of Thionville
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706:Fortifications of Thionville
422:19th Volksgrenadier Division
661:at Les Amis du Père Scheil
516:. Oxford: Osprey. pp.
458:(in French). thionville.com
401:U.S. 90th Infantry Division
348:Compiègne armistice of 1918
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508:Donnell, Clayton (2008).
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541:Fontbonne, Rémi (2006).
680:The forts of Thionville
292:Séré de Rivières system
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659:Fort de Koenigsmacker
597:The Lorraine Campaign
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303:infantry shelter, or
213:town of the same name
197:Fort de Koenigsmacker
65:Fort de Koenigsmacker
19:Fort de Koenigsmacker
340:Franco-German border
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98:49.37982°N 6.25778°E
625:"Maginot Line 2003"
484:on 30 December 2008
315:Operational concept
240:Feste Koenigsmacker
217:Franco-Prussian War
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24:Part of Thionville
673:2008-12-30 at the
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244:Fort de Guentrange
205:Moselle department
138:Controlled by
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527:978-1-84603-302-5
393:Lorraine Campaign
295:French name: the
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164:Site history
146:Open to
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691:(in French)
683:(in French)
663:(in French)
262:Description
133:French Army
101: /
77:Coordinates
700:Categories
437:References
378:Luxembourg
279:and three
201:Thionville
86:49°22′47″N
35:Thionville
281:caponiers
159:Abandoned
156:Condition
89:6°15′28″E
671:Archived
631:20 March
488:15 March
462:16 March
382:ouvrages
374:ouvrages
233:Lorraine
416:Manning
368:of the
331:History
269:Moselle
203:in the
174: (
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399:, the
342:, 1914
229:Alsace
209:France
141:France
117:Fort,
39:France
26:festen
520:–28.
169:Built
130:Owner
633:2010
575:ISBN
547:ISBN
522:ISBN
490:2010
464:2010
355:See
305:abri
246:and
238:The
231:and
225:Metz
195:The
176:1908
172:1908
114:Type
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151:No
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