Fort Gambetta
| Feste Hindersin/Fort Gambetta | |
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Fort Gambetta
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 Feste Hindersin/Fort Gambetta
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| Coordinates | 49°05′26″N 6°06′11″E / 49.0906°N 6.103°E |
| Type | fort of type von Biehler |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1879 - 1881 |
| Fate | unused |
The Feste Hindersin renamed Gambetta fort by the French in 1919, is a military installation near Metz. It is part of the first fortified belt of and had its baptism of fire in late 1944, when Battle of Metz occurred.
The first fortified belt of Metz consists of forts de Saint-Privat (1870), of Queuleu (1867), des Bordes (1870), Saint-Julien (1867), Gambetta, Déroulède, Decaen, Plappeville (1867) and St. Quentin (1867), most of them unfinished in 1870, when the Franco-Prussian War bursts out. During the Annexation following this war, Metz, which oscillates between a German garrison of 15,000 and 20,000 men at the beginning of the period, overtakes 25,000 men in the garrison by the time of the First World War. Gradually Metz becomes the first stronghold of the German Reich. It is therefore necessary to finish the fortifications there.
The feste Hindersin is designed in the spirit of the "detached forts" concept developed by Hans Alexis von Biehler in Germany. The goal was to form a discontinuous enclosure around Metz with strong artillery batteries spaced with a range of guns. Designed to complement the defensive line north of Metz, the Feste Hindersin was built between 1879 and 1881.
From 1890 relief of the garrison is provided by the fort troops Corps XVI stationed at Metz and Thionville. Invested by the French army in 1919, the fort Hindersin was renamed "fort Gambetta". It was taken again in 1940 by the Germans. The German army occupied the fort during 1940-1944. The fort Gambetta is now disused.
On September 2, 1944, at the beginning of the Battle of Metz, the old city fortress is declared a fortress of the Reich by Hitler. The fortress must be defended to the last by German troops, whose leaders were all sworn to the Führer. The German command integrates Fort Gambetta into the defensive system set up around Metz. The next day, September 3, 1944, the troops of General Krause take their positions on a line from Pagny-sur-Moselle to Mondelange, passing to the west of Metz by Chambley, Mars-la-Tour, Jarny and Briey. After an initial withdrawal, made on 6 September 1944, the German lines, stationed by troops of the , now rest firmly on the .
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