The Fort de Fléron () is one of twelve forts built around
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, in the late 19th century. The overall
Fortified Position of Liège
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
was a constituent part of the country's
National Redoubt
A national redoubt or national fortress is an area to which the (remnant) military forces of a nation can be withdrawn if the main battle has been lost or even earlier if defeat is considered inevitable. Typically, a region is chosen with a geogra ...
. Fort de Fléron was built between 1881 and 1891 according to the plans of General
Henri Alexis Brialmont
Henri-Alexis Brialmont (Venlo, 25 May 1821 – Brussels, 21 July 1903), nicknamed The Belgian Vauban after the French military architect, was a Belgian army officer, politician and writer of the 19th century, best known as a military arch ...
. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by
Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières
Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières (; 20 May 1815 – 16 February 1895) was a French military engineer and general whose ideas revolutionized the design of fortifications in France. He gave his name to the Séré de Rivières system of fortificat ...
, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the
Battle of Liège
The Battle of Liège (5–16 August 1914) was the opening engagement of the German invasion of Belgium and the first battle of the First World War. The city of Liège was protected by a ring of modern fortresses, one of several fortified cities ...
. Fléron was upgraded in the 1930s in an attempt to forestall or slow an attack from Germany. Located in the center of
Fléron
Fléron (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
On January 1, 2006, Fléron had a total population of 16,088. The total area is which gives a population density of 1,172 inhabitants per km2. Fléron is ea ...
, the fort has been buried and is surrounded by apartments.
Description

The Fort de Fléron is located about southeast of the center of
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
, in the center of Fléron. The fort formed an
isosceles triangle
In geometry, an isosceles triangle () is a triangle that has two Edge (geometry), sides of equal length and two angles of equal measure. Sometimes it is specified as having ''exactly'' two sides of equal length, and sometimes as having ''at le ...
whose base is long and whose sides measured . A deep by ditch encircled the fort. The principal armament was concentrated in the central massif. The ditches were defended in
enfilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...
by
57 mm guns in
casemates
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mea ...
resembling
counterscarp
A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications, the ...
batteries, firing at shot traps at the other end of the ditch.
One of the larger forts of Liège, it was armed with heavy artillery in rotating turrets, concentrated in a central massif. The compact center was surrounded by four turrets with lighter guns for close defense.
With the exception of the Fort de Loncin, the Belgian forts made little provision for the daily needs of their wartime garrisons, locating latrines, showers, kitchens and the morgue in the fort's
counterscarp
A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications, the ...
, a location that would be untenable in combat. This would have profound effects on the forts' ability to endure a long assault. The service areas were placed directly opposite the barracks, which opened into the ditch in the rear of the fort (i.e., in the face towards Liège), with lesser protection than the two "salient" sides.
The Brialmont forts placed a weaker side to the rear to allow for recapture by Belgian forces from the rear, and located the barracks and support facilities on this side, using the rear ditch for light and ventilation of living spaces. In combat heavy shellfire made the rear ditch untenable, and German forces were able to get between the forts and attack them from the rear.
The Brialmont forts were designed to be protected from shellfire equaling their heaviest guns: 21 cm. The top of the central massif used of unreinforced concrete, while the caserne walls, judged to be less exposed, used . Under fire, the forts were damaged by 21 cm fire and could not withstand heavier artillery.
Armament
Fléron's armament included
21 cm, 15 cm and 12 cm gun turrets for distant targets and
57 mm gun turrets for local defense. It also mounted an observation turret with a searchlight. Rapid-fire 57 mm guns were provided in casemates for the defense of the ditches and the postern.
The large weapons were all German products, made by
Krupp
Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
in
Essen
Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...
, but the armor was by
Cockerill (Belgium),
Ateliers de Creusot (France) or
Gruson
Gruson () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.
Heraldry
Gallery
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord ...
(Germany).
[Donnell, p. 16] The fort was provided with signal lights to permit communication with the neighboring
Fort de Loncin and
Fort de Liers. The guns were fired using
black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
rather than
smokeless powder
Finnish smokeless powder
Smokeless powder is a type of propellant used in firearms and artillery that produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to black powder. Because of their similar use, both the original black powder formula ...
, producing choking gas in the confined firing spaces that spread throughout the fort.
The fort was manned by 307 artillerymen and 80 infantry under the command of Commandant-Captain Mozin.
First World War

The forts south and east of Liège first came under attack on 4 August 1914. Heavy German infantry attacks were met with unexpectedly strong resistance, resulting in heavy German casualties. When the Liège's fortifications proved unexpectedly stubborn, the Germans brought heavy siege artillery to bombard the forts with shells far larger than they were designed to resist. German forces infiltrating between the forts captured the center of Liège on 6 August and were able to set up siege artillery in the city itself, attacking the forts from the rear. Fléron was hit with heavy artillery starting on the 11th, and by the next day was being hit at a rate of up to 250 shots per hour. A German delegation requesting the fort's surrender was turned away at midday, but conditions inside the bombarded fort were poor, and the fort's ammunition hoists were inoperable. That night the firing continued with close-range mortar fire. On the 13th a 42 cm gun opened fire. Commandant Mozin surrendered the fort at 0945 hours on the 14th, having lost the means to fight back and unable to remain in the asphyxiating fort. The fort suffered five killed in the battle. Twelve more died as prisoners of war.
Fortified Position of Liège
Fléron's armament was upgraded in the 1930s to become part of the
Fortified Position of Liège
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
II, which was planned to deter a German incursion over the nearby border.
[Donnell, pp. 55-56] The 21 cm turrets were replaced with longer-range 15 cm turrets, the original 15 cm turret was replaced by a turret with machine guns and grenade launchers, and the 12 cm turrets were replaced with turrets containing twin 105 mm guns. These new weapons were German in origin. Three 75 mm turrets were added as well.
This was accompanied by improvements to ventilation, protection, sanitary facilities, communications and electrical power. An air intake tower was added on the other side of the now-vanished Line 38 railroad tracks, which has itself been demolished. New barracks were built at this time for peacetime accommodation. The fort was manned by 250 men, 20 non-commissioned officers and 13 officers.
Second World War
From 10 May to 16 May 1940 Fléron was repeatedly attacked by air. The electrical system was destroyed the first day, compelling all firing adjustments and loading to be done by hand. The fort fired on German forces in the area, as well as providing covering fire to neighboring forts. Targets included the
Citadel of Liège, the airport, and the
Chàteau de Tancrémont. The fort also fired on attacking aircraft. Heavy aerial attacks on 17 May wrecked the communications center and the 15 cm turrets. The 105 mm guns ran out of ammunition, and a 75 mm gun was inoperable. The fort's commandant, Captain Gline, believed that the fort was no longer capable of effective resistance, and with the permission of his superiors released the garrison to join the field army. Four were killed and six wounded during the action.
Present
The fort has been buried under a public park and is surrounded by apartments.
References
Bibliography
*Donnell, Clayton, ''The Forts of the Meuse in World War I'', Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2007, .
*Kauffmann, J.E., Jurga, R., ''Fortress Europe: European Fortifications of World War II'', Da Capo Press, USA, 2002, .
External links
Le fort de Fleron 1914 & 1940
Fort de Fléronat fortiff.be
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleron
Brialmont forts
Fortified position of Liège
Fort de Fleron