page_title: Fortified region of Belfort
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Fortified region of Belfort / Inter-war / World War II
caption_attribution_description: Salbert fortifications
context_page_description: The fortified region of Belfort formed the first line of defense in the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications in the Belfort Gap. Located in northeastern France between Épinal and Besançon, the primary line was built in the late 19th century to deal with advances in artillery that had made older defensive systems obsolete.
context_section_description: In the 1930s, several forts were included in the eastern extension of the Maginot Line fortifications along the line of the Rhine.  While not officially part of the new Maginot defenses, the older positions were integrated into the fortress unit command structure of the French army and were designated the Fortified Region of Belfort, with rough equivalence to an army corps. A more ambitious 1926 plan proposed more extensive improvements, although still short of Maginot standards. In practice, a few positions were improved and some new blockhouses were built in the spaces between the forts. The Fortified Region of Belfort was under the command of the 8th Army, Army Group 3 in 1940, with subordinate sectors including the Defensive Sector of Montbéliard, Defensive Sector of Altkirch and the Fortified Sector of the Jura. The RF Belfort became the 44th Fortress Corps (CAF) from 16 March 1940, losing the Jura sector to the 45th CAF.
caption: Fort du Salbert (Photo:Bresson Thomas)
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