Gallery: The Epic 450-Mile French Barrier That Couldn’t Stop the Nazis

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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    01

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    The Bréhain works in the town of Bréhain-la-Ville, Meurthe-et-Moselle, are completely underground. They consist of 10 blocks branching off a roughly 4,600-foot underground gallery. These hydraulic turrets are the only parts of the fortification visible above ground.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    02

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    This bunker in the town of Seltz is one of seven bunkers lining the Seltzbach River.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    03

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    The Valette Pass barracks in the town of Roure, in the French Alps.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    04

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    The entry to the Falkenberg shelter in the town of Philippsbourg, Moselle sat at the base of the Vosges Mountains.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    05

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    The Hackenberg fortifications in Veckring, Moselle, include 19 combat blocks connected by underground galleries. An anti-tank trench is the main visible structure.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    06

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    In Modane, Savoie, rock-hewn underground galleries connect an armored combat block to others.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    07

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    These ruined barracks and entry blocks were part of the Restefond Pass fortifications in the French Alps, the highest part of the Maginot Line’s defense system.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    08

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    An infrared aerial photograph from 1974 showing the Milles Fourches Fort and La Forca Fort, part of the Maginot Line in the French Alps. The image was projected on a wall and photographed in detail.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    09

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    The Gebirgswald shelter sits in the town of Indweller, Bas-Rhin. It has seven entryways and a network of underground galleries. It was never completed.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    10

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    At the front of the Maginot Line sat fortified houses that looked ordinary but were occupied by soldiers. This one in Pouru aux Bois,Ardennes was restored during the making of a period movie.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    11

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    Remains of Maginot Line barracks in the Etroite Valley in the French Alps.
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    Alexandre Guirkinger
    12

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    A foggy view of Mille Fourches Forg, photographed from La Forca Fort in the French Alps. The infantry works sat on two summits roughly 6,500 feet above sea level and defended the Royal Valley from an Italian invasion.
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