The ', 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 The Battle of Metz was a battle fought during World War II at the city of Metz, France, from late September 1944 through mid-December as part of the Lorraine Campaign between the U.S. Third Army commanded by Lieutenant General George Patton and ...

occurred.

Historical context

The first fortified fort belt of Metz consists of * Fort Saint-Privat (1870) *

Fort de Queuleu The Fort de Queuleu is a fortification to the southeast of Metz, near Queuleu, France. Construction began while part of Lorraine was under French rule in 1868. After the interruption of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the fort was improved b ...

(1867) * Fort des Bordes (1870) *

Fort de Saint-Julien The Fort de Saint-Julien, renamed ' 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. Historical context The first fortified b ...

(1867) *

Fort Gambetta 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. Histori ...

* Déroulède *Decaen *

Fort de Plappeville 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 ...

(1867) * Group Fortifications Of Saint-Quentin (1867) Most were still unfinished in 1870 when the Franco-Prussian War burst out. During it was held by Germany, the German garrison at Metz oscillated between 15,000 and 20,000 men at the beginning of the period. and exceeded 25,000 men just before the First World War,. It gradually became the premier stronghold of the German Reich.

Construction and facilities

The ''Feste Schwerin'' is designed in the spirit of the "detached forts" concept developed by

Hans Alexis von Biehler Hans Alexis von Biehler (16 June 1818 – 30 December 1886) was a Prussian general. He designed fortifications in many famous locations. Beginning in 1873, he saw fort construction in Cologne, Strasbourg, Poznań, Toruń, Königsberg, Ingolstadt, ...

in Germany. The goal was to form a discontinuous enclosure around Metz with strong artillery batteries spaced with a range of guns. The fort was built by German engineers between 1878 and 1880.

Successive assignments

From 1890 the garrison manned by the Corps XVI, stationed at Metz and Thionville. When it was taken over by the French army in 1919, the fort was renamed Fort Decaen. It was taken in 1940 by the Germans, who occupied it 1940–1944. Fort Decaen is no longer in use.

Second World War

In early September 1944, at beginning of the

, and the German command integrated the defensive system set up around Metz. On September 2, 1944, Metz was declared one of the " Hitler fortresses", that must be defended to the last by German troops. The next day, September 3, 1944, the troops of General

Walther Krause Walther Krause (31 December 1890 – 25 October 1960) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards and decorations * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 June ...

took position on a line from

Pagny-sur-Moselle Pagny-sur-Moselle (, literally ''Pagny on Moselle'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department * Parc naturel régional de Lorraine Lorraine Regional Na ...

Mondelange Mondelange (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department of France. The c ...

, passing west of Metz by

Chambley-Bussières Chambley-Bussières () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.Mars-la-Tour, Jarny and Briey. After an initial withdrawal on 6 September 1944, German lines rested firmly on the Forts of Metz. On November 9, 1944, as a prelude to the Allied assault on Metz, as many as 1,299 heavy bombers, B-17s and

B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

s, dumped hundreds of bombs on fortifications and strategic points in the combat zone of the United States IIIrd army. Most bombers dropped their bombs without visibility from over 20,000 feet, so the military targets were often missed. At Metz the 689 loads of bombs destined to strike the seven forts, designated as priority targets, did nothing but collateral damage.. The

Fort Jeanne d'Arc 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 ...

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, helped slow the US offensive, giving the opportunity to the German Army to withdraw in good order to the Saarland. The objective of the German staff, which was to stall US troops for the longest possible time at Metz before they could reach the

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...

, was largely achieved.

Notes and references

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Decaen, Fort Fortifications of Metz World War II defensive lines Fortification lines Siegfried Line Trench warfare