•  Fort Battice, built for World War II, was a military stronghold to protect Belgium from a likely German invasion. It was one of the forts of PFL I (Position Fortifiée Liège I = fortified positions around Liège). It is built on the extreme eastern part of the 330m high Herve-plateau, at 17 km from the German border. Battice was the foremost advanced base of PFL I.
•   The central massif of the fort has the shape of a pentagon, protected on four sides by an anti-tank moat; there was no moat at the side facing railway No. 38. The central part had a surface of 13.5 ha (about 33 acres), while the total surface of the entire fortress was approximately 47 ha (116 acres).
• The building of the fortress started in April 1934. At the outbreak of the war, some finalising work was still taking place.
•  Fort Battice disposed of a garrison of 750 men. After the surrender of May 22 (1940) the surviving crew were transported to Germany, where they spent five years in captivity (many never came back).
• After the rendition, the fortress was dismantled by the Germans and used for experimentation

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Created on 2000/01/11 by  Dany Jammaer