Casemate d ' Esch The Casemate d ' Esch is a pre - World War II fortified position near the German frontier in extreme northeastern France . Built in 1931 , the casemate was part of an extension of the Maginot Line fortifications along France ' s border with Germany . As a unit of the Fortified Sector of Haguenau , the casemate was part of French defenses during the Battle of France , but saw no combat in 1940 . The area was the scene of intense fighting between German and American forces in 1945 . The casemate with the marks of the 1945 combat has been preserved and is part of a museum associated with the nearby Ouvrage Schoenenbourg . The museum is located at the southeastern edge of the town of Hatten . Concept and design . Esch was built in 1931 by the " Commission d ' Organisation des Régions Fortifiées ( CORF ) " , which was responsible for the major fortifications of the Maginot Line . Esch was one of the first of a series of casemates extending east from the last major position in the Maginot Line , Ouvrage Schoenenbourg . Cost was about 1 . 06 million francs of the time . The casemate line formed a barrier across the Alsace Plain between the Vosges Mountains , whose last outlier was at Schoenenbourg , and the Rhine River . The Esch casemate is a double casemate on one level , designed to fire laterally in either direction along the front , supporting its neighbors to the east and west . The position was armed with two twin heavy machine guns , type JM and , two 47mm anti - tank gun / JM combinations , one of each firing laterally . These embrasures were covered by automatic rifle ports firing across their fronts . A projecting caponier defended the entrance with automatic rifle fire , with an additional firing port to the north . On top of the fort , two GFM cupolas or cloches armed with automatic rifles were situated to fire in all directions . The casemate measures approximately by , and is high . Concrete thickness varied from at the front to at the rear . The casemate occupies a small hill , presenting an earth embankment studded with anti - tank rails to the north . Its name is derived from the name of the locale in the Alsatian dialect , signifying a farmer ' s harrow . Manning . Esch was garrisoned by 21 troops , commanded by an officer and two non - commissioned officers . The garrison was part of the 5th company of the 23rd Fortress Infantry Regiment . The commanding officer in 1940 was Sub - lieutenant Barthet . History . 1940 . On 19 / 20 June , German forces of the 246th Infantry Division made a concentrated attack on the casemate line around Hoffen , which failed to penetrate the fortifications . A second attempt focused on Hatten , at the limit of firing range for the large artillery positions to the west . The casemates around Hatten , were first attacked on 24 June from the south , by the 215th Infantry Division which had circled back after passing to the rear of the Maginot Line . The 25 June armistice stopped all fighting before Esch could see combat . The garrison finally surrendered with the others in its sector on 1 July 1940 , six days after the armistice . 1945 . The casemate came under fire in January 1945 , when the Hatten area was the scene of fighting between American and German forces during the German Operation Nordwind offensive . German forces included the 25th Panzergrenadier Division and the 21st Panzer Division . American forces , principally the US 14th Armored Division , retreated south to the casemate line and dug in among the casemates . Fighting around Hatten began on 8 January and continued until 21 January , when the Americans pulled back to Haguenau . Casualties among the 14th Armored included 104 dead , 112 missing and 899 wounded . and 83 casualties among the inhabitants of Hatten . The Esch casemate was heavily damaged in the fighting . The area was recaptured by the " Tabors Marocains " of the French First Army on 18 March 1945 . Museum . The damaged casemate remained abandoned until 1982 , when it was restored by the Association des Amis de la Ligne Maginot d ' Alsace ( Alsace Association of Friends of the Maginot Line ) , who would go on in 1987 to begin work on the nearby Ouvrage Schoenenbourg . Esch has been open for tours since 1986 . An American M4 Sherman tank was placed on top of the casemate as a memorial to the 1945 actions .