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 line may be based on natural difficult

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin w ...

features, such as rivers or marshes, mountain ranges, or coastlines; temporary field fortification works such as

trench A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from ero ...

es; and/or more permanent fortifications such as fortresses and bunkers.

List of defense lines

Some notable defense lines include:

Historical

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic grou ...

, 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, 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 ...

, 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 we ...

, 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 Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

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

Modern

* Russia–Ukraine barrier, Ukraine * Muhamalai FDL, Sri Lanka * Nagarcoil FDL, Sri Lanka

Notes

References

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