The Design of the Oeuvroges

The original plan for the line of defenses do end at the point where the French and German borders diverge in Luxembourg sits in between. The next bit of terrain was in and around the Ardennes de Forest. This area was discussed at length by the Supreme Council of War which was the body making the final decisions about where the defenses should be placed. One interesting feature of these designs was that from the rear the defenses were much less impressive, which was a purposeful design decision. Making the rear area of the oeuvroges and other positions weaker than in the front was an attempt to get around this problem.