The ', renamed fort Decaen by the French in 1919, is a military installation near

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. 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 fought during World War II at the French city of Metz, then part of Nazi Germany, from late September 1944 through mid-December as part of the Lorraine Campaign between the U.S. Third Army commanded by Lieutenant General ...

occurred.

Historical context

The first fortified fort belt of Metz consists of *

Fort Saint-Privat Fort Saint-Privat (Feste Prinz August von Württemberg before 1919) is a fortification near Metz. Part of the :fr:Forts de Metz, forts of Metz, it had its baptism of fire in late 1944 during the Battle of Metz. History Fort Saint-Privat is part ...

(1870) * Fort de Queuleu (1867) * Fort des Bordes (1870) * Fort de Saint-Julien (1867) * Fort Gambetta * Déroulède *Decaen * Fort de Plappeville (1867) * Group Fortifications Of Saint-Quentin (1867) Most were still unfinished in 1870 when the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

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 German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...

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 Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

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 Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionvi ...

. 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 Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

fortresses", that must be defended to the last by German troops. The next day, September 3, 1944, the troops of General Walther Krause 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. Population See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department * Parc naturel régional de Lorraine Lorra ...

to Mondelange, passing west of Metz by Chambley-Bussières,

Mars-la-Tour Mars-la-Tour () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France. History The Battle of Mars-la-Tour was fought on 16 August 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War near the town of Mars-la-Tour. The railway line between L ...

Jarny Jarny () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department of ...

and

Briey Briey (; ) is a former commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Val de Briey.Forts of Metz. On November 9, 1944, as a prelude to the Allied assault on Metz, as many as 1,299 heavy bombers,

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

s 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 desi ...

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 Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

. 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 (= western bulwark)'', was a German defensive line built during the late 1930s. Started in 1936, opposite the French Maginot Line, it stretched more than from Kleve on the border with the ...

, was largely achieved.

Notes and references

Bibliography

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