September 2008
Situated on the far northern border of the Czech Republic is a series of defensive fortifications. Built between the world wars and modeled after the French Maginot Line, the bunkers were intended to defend against any attacks from the north, what was then Germany. Today many of the bunkers are somewhat derelict, remotely located in the rocky hills of northern Bohemia and fairly unchanged since their abandonment after the Munich Dictate in 1938.
For the time the bunkers were state of the art. The interwar period was a fairly prosperous time for Czechoslovakia and the subsequent wealth and industry enabled the young republic to begin strengthening its border defenses. Though only a quarter of the planned fortifications were ever finished, those that were represented some of strongest defenses ever constructed in Europe. The tragedy though is that not one of these bunkers ever had the honor of defending the nation that built it. Because of Allied equivocation all of the Sudentenland, including the border defenses, were given to the Third Reich (without ever consulting the Czechoslovak government) under the misguided hope that Hitler's lust for land would be appeased. And so the Czechoslovak leaders ordered the military to stand down, abandon their posts and leave the bunkers to be claimed by the Wehrmacht. Legend has it that when the German soldiers arrived they found weapons and ammunition, loaded and ready to use, sitting in the bunkers.
Looking toward what is now Poland, one can see the trench that was dug to slow an army's advance.
The bunkers were built so that the side facing the enemy would be completely subterranean, with only the gun turrets and a bit of the roof visible.
This small bunker was the first that one could see upon arriving. The interior was not accessible though we were told that it was little more than concrete rooms. This bunker had contained no heavy artillery.
Upon arriving at the first fortification we had to walk through the woods for about two kilometers before arriving at the main complex.
While walking we came upon this small bunker. It had no marker of any kind. It could be entered through a small door but the interior was empty.
The main complex looks completely different today from how it looked when it was built. In fact the exterior looks like just a few regular buildings, which is why I didn't take any pictures of it. Also, I was a bit distracted by the German half-track parked out front!
The vehicle had some strange markings that I didn't recognize from any of the history books. But since it was probably captured and put to different use after the war, the marking may have been changed.
The two Nates. Here I am with my old friend Nate Poetzscher.
The half-track was shut tight but I managed to find a hatch on the back that could be opened. It was just big enough for the lens and flash of my camera. From the state of the interior, the vehicle looked like it could still operate.
Various other Soviet era vehicles were also on display though none of them quite had the appeal of the half-track. After we entered the main building there was a small museum of military paraphernalia from the last sixty of so years.
