Bunker D - Position Avancée Henri-Chapelle

The defense lines of the city of Liege, known as "La Posistion Fortifiée de Liège" consisted of 4 defense lines built around Liege. It consisted of 16 forts with numerous line bunkers in between.

In addition to these line bunkers, there also were so-called 'Position Avancées', forward positions. These were located in addition to Henri-Chapelle at Beusdael, Bilstain, Dolhain, Goé, Grunhaut, Hèvremont, Hockai, Hombourg, Jalhay, Limbourg, Malmedy and Stavelot.

This bunker 'D' belonged to the forward position of Henri-Chapelle. This position consisted of 12 bunkers, A through M.

The bunker is located in a meadow and still has the original mount on which the machine gun could be moved from left to right. On the steel pin in the gun opening,
the machine gun could be attached. Like most bunkers, the steel hatches and door were sold as scrap after the war, when the bunkers had lost their strategic value for the defense of Belgium. There were also instances during the war when the Germans removed the steel and melted it down for reuse elsewhere.

Presumably they served as observation and protection bunkers for the frontier cyclists stationed in nearby barracks of the of the "Gardes Frontière. These barracks were located in Hombourg Visé and Henri-Chapelle, among others.

The "cyclistes frontières," frontier cyclists, who guarded the borders, moved by bicycle on patrol and to the surrounding bunkers in adjacent sectors.

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Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Ed Lewandowski