Maginot Line Museum, Hackenberg - Block 8 Exterior
Bill Maloney 3/22/2017 |
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In November of 1944 the guns of Block 8 caused the advance of the American 3rd Army to grind to a halt in that area. A local French officer showed the Americans there was a blind spot where the gun emplacements could be fired on that was out of the Block's gun's field of fire. The 3rd Army brought up an M12 155mm self propelled gun and began firing into the sides of the casements until the concrete was breached. Interestingly the M12 was built on the M3 (Sherman Tank) chassis and used a 155mm French high velocity long barrel naval gun purchased from France in 1917. One German soldier was killed and the retreated back into the fort back to the entrance. Before evacuating they set charges to blow up the magazine and set fire to the generator room. The blast bent the door seen inside the Munitions Entrance. Here's a photo of the blast damaged armored door.
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