A defense line or fortification line is a geographically-recognizable line of troops and armament, fortified and set up to protect a high-value location or defend territory. A

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

line may be based on natural difficult terrain features, such as rivers or marshes, mountain ranges, or coastlines; temporary field fortification works such as trenches; and/or more permanent fortifications such as

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

es and bunkers.

List of defense lines

Some notable defense lines include:

Historical

* Great Wall of China, China * Sassanian defense lines ** Great Wall of Gorgan, Persia **

Derbent Walls The Fortifications of Derbent (''Darband'') are one of the fortified defense lines built by the Persian Sasanian Empire to protect the eastern passage of the Caucasus Mountains (the "Caspian Gates") against the attacks of the nomadic peoples of th ...

* Defence lines of the Netherlands * Median Wall (before 401 BC) * Limes Germanicus, Germany *

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...

, United Kingdom (122) *

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...

, United Kingdom (142) *

Serpent's Wall Serpent's Wall ( uk , Змієві вали, translit=Zmiievi valy is an ancient system of earthen earthworks ( valla) located in the middle Dnieper Ukraine (Naddniprianshchyna)Kuchera, M. Serpent Walls (ЗМІЄВІ ВАЛИ)'. Encyclopedia of H ...

, Ukraine * Western Russian fortresses, Russia * Civil War Defenses of Washington, United States * Victoria Lines, Malta (1875) * Hindenburg Line, France (1916) *

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...

, France (1929) * Schuster Line, Luxembourg * Metaxas Line, Greece (1936-1941) * Mannerheim Line, Finland (1939–1940) * K-W Line, Belgium (1939) *

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 ...

, Germany *

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

, Italy * Winter Line (

Gustav Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media *Primeval (film), ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film *Gustav (film series), ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hu ...

, Bernhardt and Hitler Lines), Italy * Panther–Wotan line, Russia (1943) * McNamara Line, South Vietnam (1966) * Bar Lev Line, Sinai Peninsula (1973)

Modern

Russia–Ukraine barrier Russia–Ukraine barrier, also known as Ukrainian Wall or European Wall, or as Project Wall in Ukraine is a fortified border barrier by Ukraine on the Russia–Ukraine border. The aim of the project, according to Ukraine, is preventing Russian mi ...

, Ukraine * Muhamalai FDL, Sri Lanka * Nagarcoil FDL, Sri Lanka

Notes

References

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