Fort de Plappeville The Fort de Plappeville , or Feste Alvensleben , is a military fortification located to the northwest of Metz in the commune of Plappeville . As part of the first ring of the fortifications of Metz , it is an early example of a Séré de Rivières system fort . While it did not see action during World War I , it was the scene of heavy fighting between American forces and German defenders at the end of the Battle of Metz , in 1944 . After Second World War it became a training center for the French Air Force . Fort ' Alvensleben ' has been abandoned since 1995 . Construction and renovations . The Fort de Plappeville is part of the first ring of the Metz fortifications , built during the Second Empire by Napoleon III . The works began in 1867 . It was designed by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières , who oversaw the initial stages of the Metz fortifications . The fort was not complete in 1870 when war was declared between France and Germany . The defensive system would be completed and improved by German engineers between 1871 and 1898 . The fort mounted about 100 guns and had a garrison of about 1600 men . Half - buried in a slope , the fort dominates the valley of the Moselle . Conceived to resist distant artillery fire , it also has a system of ditches evocative of the fortifications of Vauban . The fort resembles the contemporary Fort de Queuleu and the Fort Saint - Julien , using a bastioned layout that would be quickly superseded in forts begun a few years later . The fort ' s barracks differ from those at Saint - Quentin and Queleu , and are located under the artillery platform of cavalier . Batteries on the Plappeville plateau , equipped with artillery turrets , complete the defense of the principal fort . Two of the most important armored batteries have four armored turrets with 150mm guns . A powder explosion in 1871 caused extensive damage to the barracks and required their reconstruction . Armored observation points were installed in 1885 . First World War . During the annexation of Alsace - Lorraine by Germany , the fort was renamed " Feste Alvensleben " and became a training camp for Prussian officers . From 1914 to 1918 it was used as a rest station for soldiers traveling along the front , particularly from Verdun . Its military equipment was upgraded to the standards current at the time . In November 1918 , the fort was reoccupied by the French army . Second World War . After the armistice of 1940 the fort was occupied by German forces . On 7 September Heinrich Himmler reviewed the troops of the 1st SS Division ( " Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler " ) in the fort ' s " place d ' armes " . The occasion was the presentation of a new standard to the SS formation , organized for the visit of the " Reichsführer " to Metz at the request of General Sepp Dietrich . The fort later became a disciplinary camp for the " Wehrmacht " . At the beginning of September 1944 the fort ' s defense was reorganized and integrated into the defense of Metz . Like the Fort du Mont Saint - Quentin , Fort Driant and Fort Jeanne d ' Arc , the Fort de Plappeville first saw combat between September and November 1944 during the Battle of Metz . The Fort de Plappeville , placed under the command of Colonel Vogel of the artillery , as well as Fort du Mont Saint Quentin , commanded by Colonel von Stossel , provided mutual artillery support and impeded the American advance along the valley of the Moselle to the west of Metz . During the Battle of Metz the buried fortifications resisted American artillery attack well , particularly attacks with incendiary weapons . The forts fell after a series of violent assaults . Encircled by the 379th Regiment of the U . S . 95th Infantry Division , the Fort de Plappeville repelled a number of attacks . Colonel Vogel asked for a truce to evacuate his wounded , but refused to surrender . The Fort de Plappeville surrendered on 8 December 1944 , with 200 men to the U . S . 5th Infantry Division , two weeks after the surrender of German troops in Metz . After the Second World War , in 1949 , the fort was transferred to the French air force and became a military instruction center for new recruits at Metz - Frescaty Air Base . Abandoned since 1995 , the fort has been vandalized .