Line of defense
In military parlance, a line of defense is a chain of troop assemblies and defenses, mostly with the purpose of protecting objects of strategic value.
On the one hand, the term can refer to individual defensive positions, which for example only consist of a few bunkers and are occupied by a single platoon , and on the other hand, networks of different defense systems that are intended to defend larger areas. Famous examples of this are the Maginot Line or the Siegfried Line .
A line of defense can be based on natural features - such as mountain ridges or coastlines - or difficult terrain (such as swamps, valleys, or rivers). Almost always additional weirs and are still fixtures built, ranging from trenches and bunkers on tank traps to fall . In addition to blocking devices such as anti- tank trenches or minefields , gun emplacements or machine-gun nests are often built. Before and during the First World War, fortifications were often constructed, but these proved to be out of date due to the increasingly powerful weapons.
From a historical point of view, defense lines were not only used to ward off enemy attacks, but were also important for securing borders. Historical examples are the Limes or the Great Wall of China .
