Entrance Toboggan, fort Battice

This small building, inconspicuous in itself, more like a small barn than having anything to do with the fort, is an entrance to the fort. One would walk right past it not realizing that it has to do with Fort Battice.

Entrance Toboggan is the entrance to the fort that could be used when the alarm was sounded. Soldiers working at or near the fort or on patrol could quickly enter the fort through this entrance. Toboggan therefore means slide. They are two adjacent concrete chutes where two soldiers with equipment could slide down 20 meters to emerge at a separate defense bunker. Once there, they could reach a corridor via a gallery where there was access to a 10-meter-deep shaft that could be descended via ladders to enter the fortress.

In photo 5, you can just barely see one of the slides under the wire mesh. The entrance was closed to prevent animals from falling into the chutes and being unable to free themselves.

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Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Ed Lewandowski
• La Position Fortifiée de Liège, Coenen & Vernier