The entrance blocks and their associated defences

Schoenenbourg has two entrance blocks – an ammunition entrance for heavy equipment, supplies and ammunition, linked by narrow gauge railway to supply dumps behind the lines and a personnel entrance for the garrison. As with most of the “ouvrage” entrance blocks, every attempt was made to place them well away from the combat blocks (about 1.2 kilometres in the case of Schoenenbourg) in areas protected from enemy observation by woods or topography.

The entrance blocks were themselves protected by belts of barbed wire and anti-tank obstacles. For defence the ammunition entrance was equipped with a twin heavy machine gun, a 47mm anti-tank gun and four light machine-guns all firing through concrete embrasures. Two 30-cm thick steel GFMs ("guetter-fusilier-mitrailleaur" or machine-gun lookout posts) provided the garrison with all round observation.

At the rear of the ammunition entrance block was a further line of defences to prevent entry to the main gallery of the fort including a set of armoured doors. The visitor will also note an original VETRA electric train weighing five tons, which was used to transport ammunition direct to the combat blocks.