Defense Bunker NV16 Neufchâteau

This is bunker NV 16 from sector Neufchâteau-Visé of the 1st line of defence for the city of Liège, La Position Fortifiée de Liège 1 (PFL1) and belongs to fort Aubin-Neufchâteau. It is the 16th of a total of 19 bunkers from this sector.

The bunker was closed with a stone wall in the doorway, but this has been partially demolished. Inside are a number of garden chairs. The original shelf supports and wallhooks are still present. The shelf next to the door is also still present. On this shelf a pattern filler was clamped. The cartridges of the machine gun were supplied through the filler. The equipment of the soldiers was hung on the hooks. Given the limited space in the bunker, the floor had to be kept clear of obstacles as much as possible to prevent tripping in the heat of battle, when the floor would also be littered with empty shell casings.

The 2 round holes above the gun opening are for ventilation. They were incorporated into the cement in the form of a periscope so that shots could not be fired directly from outside. It should be remembered that if the machine gun was fired from inside the bunker and the door was closed, it filled with toxic smoke within minutes. Smoke could be exhausted through the gun opening and these vents.

The gun opening was facing north-west.

When the bunkers had lost their strategic value for the Belgian army, all the steel (doors, gun ports) was sold as scrap metal. The plots of land where the bunkers lay were also sold. It now lies on a farmer's plot.

The walls of the bunkers from the PFL line are 1,3 meters thick, and of reinforced concrete. They could withstand shelling with 150 mm shells. They were equipped with two steel doors. Only a few bunkers were connected to the power grid. Most had to be lit with storm lamps.

The bunkers were built in the early 1930s.

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Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Peter van Steenbergen (1, 2), Ed Lewandowski (3, 4, 5)
• La Position Fortifiée de Liège, Coenen & Vernier