Fortified Sector of Thionville
Encyclopedia
The Fortified Sector of Thionville (Secteur fortifié de Thionville) was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line
immediately to the north of Thionville
. The sector describes an arc of about 25 kilometres (15.5 mi), about halfway between the French
border with Luxembourg
and Thionville. The Thionville sector was the strongest of the Maginot Line sectors. It was surrounded but not seriously attacked in 1940 by German forces in the Battle of France
, whose main objective was the city of Metz
. Despite the withdrawal of the mobile forces that supported the fixed fortifications, the sector successfully fended off German assaults before the Second Armistice at Compiègne. The majority of the positions and their garrisons finally surrendered on 27 June 1940, the remainder on 2 July. Following the war many positions were reactivated for use during the Cold War
. Four locations are now preserved and open to the public.
The Thionville sector was part of the larger Fortified Region of Metz
, a strongly defended area between the Ardennes
to the west and the Sarre valley to the east. The Metz region was more important during the planning and construction phase of the Maginot Line than it was in the operational phase of the Line, when the sectors assumed prominence. The Fortified Region of Metz was dissolved as a military organization on 18 March 1940.
, Illange
and Koenigsmacker
, which encircled Thionville and possessed long-range artillery.
The Thionville sector was under the overall command of the French 3rd Army
, headquartered at Fort Jeanne d'Arc
at Metz
, under the command of General Charles Condé, which was in turn part of Army Group 2 under General André-Gaston Prételat
. The SF (secteur fortifiée) Thionville was commanded by General Cousse, then General Poisot from 1 January 1940. The command post was in the Fort d'Illange, south of Thionville. The interval troops, the army formations that were to provide the mobile defense for the sector, to support and be supported by the fixed defenses, were under the command of the Colonial Corps (Corps d'Armee Colonial (CAC)), General Fredenberg, commanding from the Château de Bétange. The Colonial Corps was in turn made up of the 2nd and 56th Infantry Divisions. Artillery support for the sector was provided by the 151st Position Artillery Regiment (Régiment d'Artillerie de Position (RAP)), which controlled both fixed and mobile artillery, commanded by Lt. Colonel Martin. The 2nd ID was made up of Class A reservists, while the 56th ID was a Class B reserve formation, not considered suitable for significant combat.
Peacetime barracks and support:
Pre-Maginot supporting fortification:
Peacetime barracks and support:
Peacetime barracks and support:
, aiming for Metz and Nancy. In the center, the German 1st Army had broken through at the Sarre
on 15 June. To the east, the Rhine was crossed on the same day. German armies were moving freely behind French lines with the goal of encircling France's field armies, capturing the cities of Alsace
and Lorraine
, and cutting off the fixed fortifications.
By mid-June, faced with the progressive collapse of the French First Army to the west, the interval troops began to pull back to avoid being encircled behind the Maginot Line. Measure A, issued by 3rd Army headquarters, called for the withdrawal of the interval troops on 15 June, protected by the casemates and ouvrages. Measure B was the withdrawal of artillery forces from the intervals late that day and into the 16th, protected by the ouvrages. Measure C was the withdrawal of all but skeleton forces from the fortifications. The forces left behind were to withdraw themselves by the 18th after sabotaging all equipment and weapons. Although the interval troops were able to temporarily escape, by the 17th the Thionville sector had been enveloped by the Germans from the east and west. Retreat was impossible for the fortress troops.
On 21 June General Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
ordered all attacks against Maginot fortifications to stop, as a waste of resources. Action between the 21st and the date of the June 25 armistice was limited to sporadic shelling and, on the French side, to firing off ammunition at the Germans before it could be captured. Apart from determined German shelling of Block 5 at Rochonvillers, there were no significant attacks on Thionville sector ouvrages.
Following the armistice, brief negotiations undertaken by the commandant of Kobenbusch settled on a formal surrender for the garrisons west of the Moselle on 30 June. No such negotiations took place to the east until French officers received confirmation directly from General Huntziger that they were to surrender their fortifications. The eastern positions of the SF Thionville were surrendered on 2 July 1940
of 1944, the pre-Maginot fortifications of Thionville posed a significant obstacle to the advance of American forces, most notably the Fort de Koenigsmacker
. The U.S. 90th Infantry Division captured Koenigsmacker after three days of hard fighting on 12 November 1944.
forces. The strongest positions, Rochonvillers, Molvange, and Bréhain
of the neighboring former SF Crusnes
were designated the môle de Rochonvillers ("breakwater") in 1951 and were placed back into service after a period of rehabilitation. Petit ouvrage Immerhof was included in this assemblage Lesser positions, such as Soetrich, Bois-Karre and Sentzich, were repaired and kept as government property, as were the remaining gros ouvrages in the sector, but were not formally designated as places of defense. After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force
, the importance of the Line declined, and maintenance ceased in the 1970s, with most of the casemates and petit ouvrages sold to the public.
, again from 1961 to 1967. The French military continued to make use of Molvange until 1999. Soetrich saw a similar role in the 1960s. Rochonvillers was reactivated in 1980 as the wartime command center for the French First Army, operating in that role until 1998. In each the comparatively spacious underground barracks, magazine space and utility areas were used and expanded. The combat blocks were not used and were sealed from the occupied areas.
, which was built on the site of the Camp de Cattenom. The Casemate du Grand Lot near Rochonvillers is occasionally open for tours. The Abri du Zeiterholz has been restored and is open for tours in the summer months. The Abri du Bois de Cattenom is occasionally open to visits. The remainder are either privately owned or are military property, abandoned and sealed.
The pre-Maginot Fort de Guentrange is operated as a museum. The surface installations of the Fort d'Illange are accessible to the public, and a similar public use is proposed for the Fort de Koenigsmacker.
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
immediately to the north of Thionville
Thionville
Thionville , is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.-Demographics:...
. The sector describes an arc of about 25 kilometres (15.5 mi), about halfway between the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
border with Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and Thionville. The Thionville sector was the strongest of the Maginot Line sectors. It was surrounded but not seriously attacked in 1940 by German forces in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, whose main objective was the city of Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. Despite the withdrawal of the mobile forces that supported the fixed fortifications, the sector successfully fended off German assaults before the Second Armistice at Compiègne. The majority of the positions and their garrisons finally surrendered on 27 June 1940, the remainder on 2 July. Following the war many positions were reactivated for use during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Four locations are now preserved and open to the public.
The Thionville sector was part of the larger Fortified Region of Metz
Fortified Region of Metz
The Fortified Region of Metz comprised the central and most heavily-fortified portion of the Maginot Line. The region was established in 1926 as a military organization for the French fortifications along the frontier with Luxembourg and Germany to the east of Longuyon in northeastern France,...
, a strongly defended area between the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
to the west and the Sarre valley to the east. The Metz region was more important during the planning and construction phase of the Maginot Line than it was in the operational phase of the Line, when the sectors assumed prominence. The Fortified Region of Metz was dissolved as a military organization on 18 March 1940.
Concept and organization
The sector was planned to protect Thionville, an important industrial city, and by extension, Metz, just to the south. Construction began in most places in 1930, and was largely complete by 1935. A reinforcing line was planned to back up the Cattenom salient, which protruded to the north between Bois-Karre and Galgenberg, with Kobenbusch forming the point of the northward projection. Two casemate groups and the petit ouvrage du Beysel were proposed but were never built. The reinforcing role was partially assumed by three ex-German fortifications, the Forts de GuentrangeFort de Guentrange
The Fort de Guentrange dominates Thionville in the Moselle department of France. It was built by Germany in next to the town of the same name the late 19th century after the annexation of the Moselle following the Franco-Prussian War...
, Illange
Fort d'Illange
The Fort d'Illange is a fortification located to the south of Thionville in the Moselle department of France. It was built by Germany next to the town of Illange in the early 20th century after the annexation of the Moselle following the Franco-Prussian War...
and Koenigsmacker
Fort de Koenigsmacker
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...
, which encircled Thionville and possessed long-range artillery.
Command
Third Army (France)
The Third Army was a Field army of the French Army, which fought during World War I and World War II.-World War I:*General Ruffey *General Sarrail *General Humbert...
, headquartered at Fort Jeanne d'Arc
Fort Jeanne d'Arc
Fort 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...
at Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, under the command of General Charles Condé, which was in turn part of Army Group 2 under General André-Gaston Prételat
André-Gaston Prételat
André-Gaston Prételat was a general in the French Army.-1910-1918:His first post, from 1910 to 1912, was as military attaché to Tangier...
. The SF (secteur fortifiée) Thionville was commanded by General Cousse, then General Poisot from 1 January 1940. The command post was in the Fort d'Illange, south of Thionville. The interval troops, the army formations that were to provide the mobile defense for the sector, to support and be supported by the fixed defenses, were under the command of the Colonial Corps (Corps d'Armee Colonial (CAC)), General Fredenberg, commanding from the Château de Bétange. The Colonial Corps was in turn made up of the 2nd and 56th Infantry Divisions. Artillery support for the sector was provided by the 151st Position Artillery Regiment (Régiment d'Artillerie de Position (RAP)), which controlled both fixed and mobile artillery, commanded by Lt. Colonel Martin. The 2nd ID was made up of Class A reservists, while the 56th ID was a Class B reserve formation, not considered suitable for significant combat.
Description
The sector includes, in order from west to east, the following major fortified positions, together with the most significant casemates and infantry shelters (abris) in each sub-sector:Sub-sector of Angevillers/Ouentrange
169th Fortress Infantry Regiment (169e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Chef de Bataillon Toussaint, command post at Bois de la Côte- Ouvrage RochonvillersOuvrage RochonvillersOuvrage 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...
, gros ouvrage A8 of nine combat blocks and two entry blocks - Ouvrage MolvangeOuvrage MolvangeOuvrage Molvange is a large work, or gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line. The fortification complex faces the France-Luxembourg border from a height near Entrange in the Moselle département. The complex, armed and occupied in 1935, is located on the heights of Entrange, at an altitude of about...
, gros ouvrage A9 of ten combat blocks and two entry blocks
Peacetime barracks and support:
- Casernement d'Angevillers
Sub-sector of Hettange-Grande
168th Fortress Infantry Regiment (168e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt. Colonel Ferroni, command post at Sainte-Marie- Ouvrage ImmerhofOuvrage ImmerhofOuvrage Immerhof, also known as Ouvrage Ferme-Immerhof, is one of the largest petit ouvrages of the Maginot Line of northeast France. Located near the community of Hettange-Grande, it is 7 km north of Thionville between the gros ouvrages of Molvange and Soetrich, the closest ouvrage to the...
, petit ouvrage A10 of three combat blocks and one entry block - Ouvrage SoetrichOuvrage SoetrichOuvrage Soetrich is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line in northeastern France. Soetrich is located between petits ouvrages Immerhof and Bois Karre, facing the France-Luxembourg border near the town of Hettange-Grande, part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville...
, gros ouvrage A11 of six combat blocks and two entry blocks - Ouvrage Bois-Karre, petit ouvrage A12, single block with no underground facilities
- Ouvrage KobenbuschOuvrage KobenbuschOuvrage Kobenbusch is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Thionville in the Cattenom forest. It possesses seven combat blocks and two entrance blocks, one for ammunition and the other for men. It is located between petit ouvrage Bois-Karre and petit ouvrage...
, gros ouvrage A13 of seven combat blocks and two entry blocks - Ouvrage OberheidOuvrage OberheidOuvrage Oberheid, also called Ouvrage Oberheide, forms a portion of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line in northeast France...
, petit ouvrage A14, single block with no underground facilities
Pre-Maginot supporting fortification:
- Fort de GuentrangeFort de GuentrangeThe Fort de Guentrange dominates Thionville in the Moselle department of France. It was built by Germany in next to the town of the same name the late 19th century after the annexation of the Moselle following the Franco-Prussian War...
(Groupe Fortifiée de Guentrange) - Fort de KoenigsmackerFort de KoenigsmackerThe 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...
(Groupe Fortifiée de Koenigsmacker) - Fort d'IllangeFort d'IllangeThe Fort d'Illange is a fortification located to the south of Thionville in the Moselle department of France. It was built by Germany next to the town of Illange in the early 20th century after the annexation of the Moselle following the Franco-Prussian War...
(Groupe Fortifiée d'Illange)
Peacetime barracks and support:
- Casernement de Hettange-Grande
- Casernement de Cattenom
Sub-sector of Elzange
167th Fortress Infantry Regiment (167e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt. Colonel Planet, command post at the Fort de Koenigsmacker- Ouvrage GalgenbergOuvrage GalgenbergOuvrage Galgenberg forms a portion of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line. It is situated in the Cattenom Forest, near the gros ouvrage Kobenbusch and petit ouvrage Oberheid. The ouvrage was tasked with controlling the Moselle valley and as such was called the "Guardian of the...
, gros ouvrage A15 of six combat blocks and two entry blocks - Ouvrage SentzichOuvrage SentzichOuvrage Sentzich is part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line.The petit ouvrage for infantry is located to the south of gros ouvrage Galgenberg, on the edge of the main road to Luxembourg near the village of Sentzich. Gros ouvrage Métrich is to the east. As a small work it was...
, petit ouvrage A16 with a single combat block and no underground passages - Ouvrage MétrichOuvrage MetrichOuvrage Métrich located in the village of Kœnigsmacker in Moselle, comprises part of the Elzange portion of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line. A gros ouvrage, it is the third largest of the Line, after Hackenberg and Hochwald. It lies between petit ouvrage Sentzich and gros...
, gros ouvrage A17 of ten combat blocks and two entries - Ouvrage BilligOuvrage BilligOuvrage Billig, a gros ouvrage or large fortification of the Maginot Line, was located in the Fortified Sector of Thionville, Moselle in northern France. It is located between the gros ouvrages Metrich and Hackenberg, facing Germany...
, gros ouvrage A18 of seven combat blocks and one entry
Peacetime barracks and support:
- Casernement de Cattenom
- Casernement d'Elzange
Battle of France
During the early part of the Battle of France the SF Thionville was relatively quiet. Both sides kept up shelling and harassing attacks, but there were no major engagements in the sector in May and early June 1940. Elsewhere, the situation was deteriorating fast. To the west, the German 16th Army was advancing up the valley of the Meuse to VerdunVerdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
, aiming for Metz and Nancy. In the center, the German 1st Army had broken through at the Sarre
Saar River
The Saar is a river in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Vosges mountains on the border of Alsace and Lorraine and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier. It has two headstreams , that both start near Mont Donon, the highest peak...
on 15 June. To the east, the Rhine was crossed on the same day. German armies were moving freely behind French lines with the goal of encircling France's field armies, capturing the cities of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
, and cutting off the fixed fortifications.
By mid-June, faced with the progressive collapse of the French First Army to the west, the interval troops began to pull back to avoid being encircled behind the Maginot Line. Measure A, issued by 3rd Army headquarters, called for the withdrawal of the interval troops on 15 June, protected by the casemates and ouvrages. Measure B was the withdrawal of artillery forces from the intervals late that day and into the 16th, protected by the ouvrages. Measure C was the withdrawal of all but skeleton forces from the fortifications. The forces left behind were to withdraw themselves by the 18th after sabotaging all equipment and weapons. Although the interval troops were able to temporarily escape, by the 17th the Thionville sector had been enveloped by the Germans from the east and west. Retreat was impossible for the fortress troops.
On 21 June General Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb was a German Field Marshal during World War II. - Youth :...
ordered all attacks against Maginot fortifications to stop, as a waste of resources. Action between the 21st and the date of the June 25 armistice was limited to sporadic shelling and, on the French side, to firing off ammunition at the Germans before it could be captured. Apart from determined German shelling of Block 5 at Rochonvillers, there were no significant attacks on Thionville sector ouvrages.
Following the armistice, brief negotiations undertaken by the commandant of Kobenbusch settled on a formal surrender for the garrisons west of the Moselle on 30 June. No such negotiations took place to the east until French officers received confirmation directly from General Huntziger that they were to surrender their fortifications. The eastern positions of the SF Thionville were surrendered on 2 July 1940
Lorraine Campaign
While the main Maginot fortifications played no significant role in the Lorraine CampaignLorraine Campaign
Lorraine Campaign is a term used by U.S. Army historians to describe operations of the U.S. Third Army in Lorraine during World War II from September 1 through December 18, 1944. Official U.S. Army campaign names for this period and location are Northern France and Rhineland. The term was...
of 1944, the pre-Maginot fortifications of Thionville posed a significant obstacle to the advance of American forces, most notably the Fort de Koenigsmacker
Fort de Koenigsmacker
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 U.S. 90th Infantry Division captured Koenigsmacker after three days of hard fighting on 12 November 1944.
Môle de Rochonvillers
Following World War II, the French military reclaimed the Maginot Line with the aim of renovating and improving it against a possible attack by Warsaw PactWarsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
forces. The strongest positions, Rochonvillers, Molvange, and Bréhain
Ouvrage Brehain
Ouvrage Bréhain is part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Bréhain-la-Ville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département of France. Bréhain is flanked by petits ouvrages Mauvais Bois and Aumetz. The gros ouvrage was equipped with long-range...
of the neighboring former SF Crusnes
Fortified Sector of the Crusnes
The Fortified Sector of the Crusnes was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line extending eastwards approximately from Longuyon. The sector roughly follows the valley of the Crusnes river...
were designated the môle de Rochonvillers ("breakwater") in 1951 and were placed back into service after a period of rehabilitation. Petit ouvrage Immerhof was included in this assemblage Lesser positions, such as Soetrich, Bois-Karre and Sentzich, were repaired and kept as government property, as were the remaining gros ouvrages in the sector, but were not formally designated as places of defense. After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force
France and weapons of mass destruction
France is known to have an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. France is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; but is not known to possess or develop any chemical or biological weapons. France was the fourth country to test an independently...
, the importance of the Line declined, and maintenance ceased in the 1970s, with most of the casemates and petit ouvrages sold to the public.
Command centers
In the early 1960s, three ouvrages were renovated as military command centers. Rochonvillers was converted for use as a wartime command center for the Central Army Group (CENTAG) of NATO and was used for this purpose from 1961 to 1967, when France withdrew from the NATO integrated command structure. In a similar manner, Molvange became the wartime command center for the 4th Allied Tactical Air ForcesAllied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was the headquarters for NATO air forces in Central Europe from 1951 to 1967 and from 1974 to 1993.-History:It was first based at Fontainebleau , and originally activated in April 1951...
, again from 1961 to 1967. The French military continued to make use of Molvange until 1999. Soetrich saw a similar role in the 1960s. Rochonvillers was reactivated in 1980 as the wartime command center for the French First Army, operating in that role until 1998. In each the comparatively spacious underground barracks, magazine space and utility areas were used and expanded. The combat blocks were not used and were sealed from the occupied areas.
Present status
Immerhof, Bois-Karre and Galgenberg are operated as museums and are open to the public. The surface of Kobenbusch is a nature preserve with trails and interpretive signs. The lower levels of Kobenbusch have been flooded by the cooling water lake of the Cattenom Nuclear Power PlantCattenom Nuclear Power Plant
The Cattenom Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant located in Lorraine in the Cattenom commune, France on the Moselle River between Thionville and Trier...
, which was built on the site of the Camp de Cattenom. The Casemate du Grand Lot near Rochonvillers is occasionally open for tours. The Abri du Zeiterholz has been restored and is open for tours in the summer months. The Abri du Bois de Cattenom is occasionally open to visits. The remainder are either privately owned or are military property, abandoned and sealed.
The pre-Maginot Fort de Guentrange is operated as a museum. The surface installations of the Fort d'Illange are accessible to the public, and a similar public use is proposed for the Fort de Koenigsmacker.
External links
- Fortified Sector of Thionville at darkplaces.org
- Official site, association "Le Tiburce"
- Abri du Zeiterholz
- Fortified Sector of the Bois de Cattenom, maintaining Galgenberg, Sentzich, Abrri du Bois de Cattenom, Bois Karre, the surface of Kobenbusch and walking trails among them
- Fortified Sector of Thionville at fortiff.be
- Casemate du Grand Lot
- Fort de Guentrange