Czechoslovak Wall

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Soldiers in front of a bunker near Prostřední Lipka , 1938
Map of the Czechoslovak Wall

The Czechoslovak Wall (Czech československé opevnění , Slovak česko-slovenské opevnenia ) was an extensive border fortification system of Czechoslovakia along the national borders with the German Empire , Austria , Poland and Hungary , with further lines running inland. It was considered to be one of the best fortification systems of the 20th century, but it was not fully completed and could never serve its original purpose.

The first fortification objects of the fortification system (also the first permanent fortifications in Czechoslovakia) were built in 1933 in Petržalka near Bratislava . The remaining parts were built between winter 1934 and October 1938.

During the Czechoslovak mobilization in September 1938, large parts of the wall were completed.

history

Bunker near Schatzlar in the Sudetenland, October 1938
Březinka museum bunker near Náchod , 2005

After the National Socialists came to power in Germany and the armament of the Wehrmacht began , the geographically elongated Czechoslovakia was unable to set up and maintain the 25 to 30 divisions with a strength of 600,000 men required for defense in the event of an attack .

In a study presented on May 4, 1934 for a war with Germany, the cost of military equipment for the army was estimated at 4.5 billion crowns. These would have increased by 180 million crowns per day for the ammunition required for the necessary army strength in the event of war. For this reason, the decision was made to build a fortress belt based on the French Maginot Line .

For the defense of the fortifications, the planning was based on a strength of 165,000 men, made up of six divisions and the crews of the fortifications. The total cost of construction, equipment and crew including ammunition was estimated at 4.5 billion crowns.

On March 20, 1935, the Directorate of Fortifications ŘOP (Ředitelství opevňovacích prací), established by the Ministry of Defense and headed by General Karel Husárek , began its work. With the significant participation of French experts in the context of the Little Entente , a concept of several fortification lines along the national borders was developed, which, however, were not built continuously because of their length. Mostly it was a matter of light fortifications, which were additionally reinforced by heavy fortifications near the border centers of Bratislava (Pressburg), Komárno (Komorn) and Košice ( Kosice ). To protect the economic center of Plzeň (Pilsen) and the capital city of Prague , two further light fortress lines were created in the interior to stop attacks from the west and north.

The first prototypes of the heavy systems were built at the Brdy military training area in the Brdywald and tested for their effectiveness. The time after 1950 was planned as the completion date for the entire state fortification.

The focus of the defense lines was the north of the country. A line of heavy fortifications was created here, stretching from the Rehorn Mountains to the Jeseníky Mountains , around the county of Glatz , which protruded into the country and was the main point of attack on the country. To the east of the Jeseníky Mountains, the heavy installations continued to the Polish border, where the industrial center of Ostrava (Mährisch-Ostrau) was protected against an attack from the direction of Leobschütz and Ratibor .

Of the planned 16,000 light installations, around 9,500 and of 1,300 heavy fortifications were fully erected and equipped when work in the Sudetenland was stopped in September 1938 as a result of the political results of the Munich Agreement and the German Wehrmacht occupied the country without resistance. With the occupation of the rest of Czech Republic on March 15, 1939, the work on the Czechoslovak Wall was finally ended.

Use by the Wehrmacht

Remnants of obstacles on the Siegfried Line made from Czech booty material
Obstacle on the Siegfried Line made of booty material
Czech U-profile near Geilenkirchen, the girder now serves as a fence post

In 1939, the Prague bridgehead was completely blown up. This was to prevent them from being used by Czech irregulars. The other systems were made unusable and were used by the Wehrmacht for shelling and bombing exercises in preparation for the attacks on the Maginot Line during the French campaign in 1940. Only the Engerau bridgehead near Bratislava / Pressburg remained intact (see Pressburger bridgehead ).

The German commander of the airborne troops when taking the fortress Eben Emael in Belgium , Captain Rudolf Witzig , described the execution of the Czech exercise objects as almost impregnable compared to the Belgian ones.

Further use found cupolas and bells for its outstanding material quality in attack on West Wall , the original source was concealed. In the vicinity of Geilenkirchen there are remains of obstacles that come from Czechoslovakian booty material. The obstacle against heavy vehicles consisted of two concrete sleepers with attached U-profiles, which were filled with concrete. The obstacle itself was about two kilometers long, the U-profiles were cut off with a cutting torch after the war and scrapped.

At the end of the Second World War , the fortifications in front of Ostrava were put back into operation in the spring of 1945 in the fight against the 4th Ukrainian Front of the Red Army . However, in the short term, the damage could only be repaired temporarily. For the equipment with weapons of the Wehrmacht, the notches were enlarged and heavy equipment was set up unprotected in the area. The line withstood several Soviet attacks by the Moravian-Ostrava operation for 57 days before being broken on April 15, 1945. A second line between Mokrolasetz , Hrabin and Chabitschau southeast of Troppau halted the Soviet advance until April 27, 1945. By the end of the war, several sections were not captured and an attack by the Red Army on Moravian Ostrau was completely prevented.

Types

LB series

The light fortifications were designed as battle lines in the event of a troop invasion and also as defensive lines for retreat battles. The systems of Czechoslovak design distinguish between two series. Bunkers and ruins of these series can be found in large numbers over the entire border area of ​​the Czech Republic.

LB 36

The LB 36 is a replica of various types of the Maginot line that was started in 1935. Five types were developed, each supposed to have a crew of two to six men. The systems with a wall or ceiling thickness of 30–50 cm were resistant to artillery shells up to caliber 75 and launcher grenades up to caliber 81.

LB 36 E had a notch. LB 36 A and LB 36 B were bifurcated; its walls and ceilings were reinforced by four inches. LB 36 C had three notches. It is uncertain whether types D and F, one of which was supposed to be used for flanking fire, were ever implemented. Depending on the location of the system, there were modifications to the standard. Various systems have drainage or ceiling openings for a field periscope , while others have hand grenade ejection tubes .

At the beginning of 1937 the construction of the LB 36 was stopped. Their main disadvantage was the lack of mutual fire protection. A total of 856 defenses were built, which were later integrated into the lines of the LB 37, and a further eight for test purposes.

LB 37

Ear stand LB 37 A on the Eger in Louny , 2007

The LB 37 represented a significant improvement over its predecessors. They were built as fire protection lines, with individual positions made up of up to four rows. In the first line, construction types A and D were built almost exclusively. The LB 37 usually formed the second row behind the heavy fortifications. At border sections where no heavy fortifications were erected, they were the main fortifications.

Seven types (A, B, C, D, E, G, H) were used for these fortifications, which were built in a reinforced construction in addition to the standard construction. The LB 37 A, known as the ear stand , was also available in a reduced design. The standard with a wall or ceiling thickness of 50 to 80 centimeters offered protection against projectiles up to 10.5 centimeters, the reinforced form up to 15.5 centimeters. Special versions of the LB 37 A were built in rivers, rocky areas or on inaccessible mountain slopes.

According to the required angular position of the notch axes, there were several designs for types A and B. The most common shape is the ear stand, which has two side notches. The double-shell type B was used for frontal and flank fire. The construction type D corresponded to one half of the ears. Types C and E were also monolithic.

A special feature was the single-sided LB 37 G, which was designed as a shooting range for an anti-tank gun of the infantry . This type was only used once and can be found between Velké Hoštice and Malé Hoštice ( Opava ), a similar type called 'LB 37 F' was not used.

The LB 37 H is a reinforced concrete shelter, also for an anti-tank gun, which was also only built once at Petržalka . The further development of the type H, the type K, was never realized.

The four combat stalls for company and battalion commanders with staff belonging to the Bratislava bridgehead were another form of light fortification. These shelters for up to 18 men have not been set up anywhere else.

Individual objects and bunker lines


literature

  • Martin Ráboň, Tomáš Svoboda, Karel Vančura, Milan Blum: The Czechoslovak Wall. Škoda-Fortprint, Brno 1994, ISBN 80-901580-4-8 .
  • Emil Trojan: Betonova Hranice. Československá pohraniní opevnní 1935–1938 , vol. 2. Oftis, Ústí nad Orlicí 1997, ISBN 80-8604205-7 .

See also

Web links

Commons : Czechoslovak Wall  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Individual plants