page_title: Fortifications of Metz
section_title: Forts of the first belt
hierarchical_section_title: Fortifications of Metz / Forts of the first belt
context_page_description: The fortifications of Metz, a city in northeastern France, are extensive, due to the city's strategic position near the border of France and Germany. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the area was annexed by the newly created German Empire in 1871 by the Treaty of Frankfurt and became a Reichsland. The German Army decided to build a fortress line from Mulhouse to Luxembourg to protect their new territories. The centerpiece of this line was the Moselstellung between Metz and Thionville, in Lorraine.
context_section_description: The first, inner belt of fortifications were completed by the French just prior to the Franco-Prussian War and were in service during the Siege of Metz from  3 September to 23 October 1870.
  The forts were in a ring approximately 4 km out from the city center, and were (anti-clockwise from the south):
  Fort de Saint-Privat (1870) / Fort Prinz August von Württemberg (1872–1875)
  Fort de Queuleu (1867–1870) / Fort Goeben (1871–1890)
  Fort des Bordes (1870) / Fort Zatrow (1874–1875)
  Fort de Saint-Julien (1867–1870) / Fort Manteuffel (1871–1891)
  Fort Gambetta / Fort Hindersin (1879–1881)
  Fort Déroulède / Fort Kameke (1876–1879)
  Fort Decaen / Fort Schwerin (1878–1880)
  Fort de Plappeville (1867–1870) / Fort Alvenslebenn (1871–1891)
  Groupe fortifié du Mont Saint-Quentin (1867–1870) / Feste Prinz Friedrich-Karl (1872–1892)
  Fort Diou (1867–1870) / Ostfort (1872–1892)
  Fort Girardin / Fort Mannstein (1872–1892)
caption: Fort de Plappeville / Fort Alvensleben, September 7, 1940
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