Bunker BV 4 Spixhe

This bunker, BV 4, from the sector Becco-Vesdre is located along a forest path in a forest between Spixhe and Jevoumont.

The sector BV is part of the 1st linr of defense for the city of Liege, La Position Fortifiée de Liège, PFL 1.

The bunker itself is in good condition, but almost completely overgrown. You would walk right past it, not knowing that this bunker is right next to the forest path. The concrete posts with barbed wire that bound the military plot are the only indication that a bunker is located here.

The bunker is still accessible. The walls of the bunker are 1.3 meters thick on all sides, of reinforced concrete. They could withstand shelling with 150mm shells. These bunkers were built in the early 1930's.These bunkers were built in the early 1930s.

Inside, the mount on which the machine gun could be moved from left to right is still present. The shelf supports and the hooks on which the soldiers could hang their equipment are also still present.

The shelf supports were meant to put away materials so that soldiers could not trip over them. It should be remembered that these (and most bunkers) were not connected to the electricity grid. A storm lamp could be hung from the ceiling, on a hook provided for that purpose. This was the only lighting in the bunker.

The bunker is damp, drips hang from the corrugated steel sheets. Inside is a pool of water and the bunker is full of mosquitoes laying their eggs in the stagnant water.

As with most bunkers, after the war when the bunkers had lost their strategic value, the metal shutters and doors were removed and sold as scrap metal. It also happened that the bunkers were stripped of iron during the war by the German

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Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Ed Lewandowski