![]() ![]() However, upon the Soviet invasion of Poland, many fell into disrepair. Thousands of these simple defenses were constructed along the Stalin Line. ![]() The Soviet BOTīOT (БОТ) stands for “armored firing point” (бронированная Oгневая Tочка) and, more generally, was an armored shield that was placed above a firing pit. The Soviet Union, however, was much more meticulous with its tank bunkers and generally fielded bunkers known as BOTs. The two most common were Panther turrets built into small bunkers used in Italy and captured French tank turrets on the Atlantic Wall. Germany was the country that fielded the most bunkers with tank turrets mounted onto them. However, what was more common was a bunker that mounted a tank turret. However, there was a surprising lack of dug-in tanks used as bunkers in the interwar period.ĭuring the Second World War, the Soviet Union, Germany, Finland, and, to a far lesser extent, Great Britain used tanks in a dug-in position as improvised bunkers. The most famous case is that of Medium Mark II tanks being buried up to their turrets in Egypt. Primarily, this was done in British territory before the Second World War began. It took almost two decades for the notion of turning a tank into a bunker to be brought up. The main difference between a blockhouse and a bunker is typically that a bunker is mostly underground, typically with an above ground firing slit or, in some cases, an armored turret with a fixed machine gun.ĭuring the First World War, blockhouses and bunkers were formidable obstacles to infantry, and when the first tanks were developed, the armaments of many tanks were focused on dealing with these bunkers and blockhouses. ![]() However, the blockhouse and its cousin, the bunker, became ever more important as defensive positions on a battlefield. With the advent of mobile warfare in the 19th century, forts became less important to warfare. Blockhouses were smaller fortified buildings that allowed for defenders to fire from multiple angles, and be a threat to an army without siege weapons. Whether they were meant to defend a homestead, town or military target, traditionally, these fortifications were large walled structures. Improvised Fortifications – Unknown Number Built Forts and Fortificationsįortifications of one type or another have been around since warfare began. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |