des Bordes (1870) / Fort Zastrow (1874–1875) Fort de Saint-Julien (1867–1870) / Fort Manteuffel (1871–1891) Fort Gambetta / Fort Hindersin (1879–1881) Fort Déroulède / Fort Kameke (1876–1879) Fort Decaen / Fort Schwerin (1878–1880) Fort de Plappeville (1867–1870) / Fort Alvensleben (1871–1891) Groupe fortifié du Mont Saint-Quentin (1867–1870) / Feste Prinz Friedrich-Karl (1872–1892) Fort Diou (1867–1870) / Ostfort (1872–1892) Fort Girardin / Fort Manstein (1872–1892) Forts of the second belt The second, outer belt of fortifications were completed by the Germans prior to the First World War but saw little service. Prior to the Second World War they were incorporated by the French into the Maginot Line defenses, but again saw little action. In October 1944, while occupied by the Germans, the fortifications were assaulted and captured by the American 3rd Army in the Battle of Metz. The forts were in an offset ring from 8–10 km from the city, and were (anticlockwise from the south): Fort l’Aisne / Feste Wagner (1904–1912) Fort l’Yser / Feste Prinzregent Luitpold (1907–1914) Fort La Marne / Feste Generalfeldmarschall Freiherr von der Goltz (1907–1916) (anticlockwise from the north): Fort Lorraine / Feste Lothringen (1899–1905) Fort François de Guise / Feste Leipzig (1907–1912) Fort Jeanne d'Arc / Feste Kaiserin (1899–1905) Fort Driant / Feste Kronprinz (1899–1905) Fort Verdun / Feste Haeseler (1899–1905), sometimes referred to as Feste Graf Haeseler The "seven dwarfs" These are a series of small defensive emplacements built between 1912 and 1916 in a line between Driant and Jeanne d'Arc. The name for them was created by the Americans of the U.S. Third Army during the Battle of Metz in the Second World War. They are sometimes (mistakenly) referred to as forts, and their name alludes to their weak defensive strength. From south to north they are: Marival bunker Vaux Southern point of support Vaux Northern point of support Bois-la-Dame ('Lady's Wood') bunker Jussy Southern point of support Jussy Northern point of support Saint Hubert point of support See also Fortified Region of Metz for the Maginot Line fortifications shielding the Metz industrial region List of fortifications References Further reading Inge & Dieter Wernet: Die Feste Wagner, Verny: Association pour la Découverte de la Fortification Messine 2002 Inge & Dieter Wernet: Die Feste Wagner, A.D.F.M., Helios-Verlag Aachen 2010 Inge & Dieter Wernet: La Feste Wagner, A.D.F.M., Helios-Verlag Aachen 2010 External links Pictures and maps - In French Battle of Metz: map, aerial photos