文A: Czech
Fortress of the Czechoslovak inter-war fortifications (Beneš line) built between 1935 and 1938. Today national heritage site Fort Dobrošov and branch of Náchod Museum.
Fortress Dobrošov is part of the Czechoslovak inter-war fortifications (sometime called Beneš line) built between 1935 and 1938 as defence against nazy Germany, Austria, Hungary and Poland.
The fortress was never finished. Construction should last two years. It started in September 1937 and was interrupted after Munich Agreement in September 1938. Almost one year before the finish.
Fortress should consist of seven reinforced concrete aboveground bunkers (casemates) connected by approximately 2.5 kilometers of underground tunnels and facilities. There should be accomodation for 571 soldiers, kitchen, water, food and ammunition storages, power plant, ventilation system, hospital, and so on. Manually pushed underground railway carriages should transport ammunition from entrance bunker to storages and via lifts to guns placements in bunkers above ground. Two artillery bunkers for three 10cm howitzers each was planned. One bunker for revolving retractable turret for two 10cm howitzers. One bunker for two 12cm mortars in revolving turret. Two infantry bunkers for antitank cannons, heavy machine guns. One entrance bunker. There should be many armoured cupollas, embrasures for light machine guns, hand grenade chutes, defensive ditches and many kilometers of antitank and infantry obstacles.
During the construction of the fortress, most of the underground tunnels were dug out. Approximately half of the underground areas were concreted. Above ground three bunkres were built. Both infantry bunkers and one artillery bunker. No armoured cuppolas nor turrets or cannons and howitzers were delivered. In the year 1938, only one infantry bunker was prepared for improvized defence and garrisoned.
During the german occupation, all armoured embrasures for double heavy machine guns, antitank cannons and howitzers were teared out using explosives. These were later used for german fortifications or melted down for high quality material. In the vicinity of one infantry bunker, there was german shooting range. Later in 1943, germans tested their secrect weapons, Röchling subcaliber artillery shells against the second infantry casemate.
After the war, in 1968/1969, one of the first museums of Czechoslovak interwar fortifications was established here. It was called "Treason and determination monument" at firts, nowdays it's called "Fort Dobrošov".