Infantry blockhouse R-S 81 - Orlicke mountains, Czech Republic - Military Installations on Waymarking.com

The extended system of fortifications was built to defend the former Czechoslovakia during the second half of the 30s. The heavy fortified installations with infantry blocks were built in the border sections with high defence priority. They were solid, mostly two-storey constructions which were armed with machine guns as well as with anti-tank guns, if necessary with mortars, too. The typical characteristics of these blocks were the armoured cloches (bells) and cupolas which served for the observation of the battlefield. Other tasks were the fire control and the command of the machine guns. In case of war each infantry block was able to operate independently. Besides other facilities each infantry block had its own well, filter room and engine room, in which the electric power was generated. The infantry blocks were individually shaped to the corresponding terrain and constructed in accordance with their combat tasks. They differed in their dimensions, outlines, wall and ceiling dimensions, armament and garrison. Nevertheless they consisted of standardized construction and design elements. For a usual infantry block about 1300 to 1500 m3 of concrete and up to 120 tons of steel reinforcement were needed. They could stand artillery shelling up to calibre 305 mm. Until September 1938 228 heavy independent blocks were structurally finished.

The plan of upper floor of the infantry blockhouse R-S 81

Isolated infantry casemate R-S 81 (code name "U obrázku") formed the left wing of the artillery fortress Hanicka. It linked up to the curtain of fire from the casemate R-H-S 80 on the right side and to that from the casemate R-S 82 on the left side. Unlike the infantry casemates of the Hanicka fortress, this object was not connected to the underground of the fortress.
The casemate was concreted as a part of subsection 3/X by Ing. Bedrich Hlava Company from 2nd to 6th August 1936 using 1,151 cubic meters of concrete for its construction. It was built in resistance II (ceiling 200 cm, threatened wall 225 cm, other walls 100 cm). The crew consisted of 28 men. The casemate can be entered by a zigzag corridor with one grated and a pair of thick-walled gas-tight doors. It was the only entrance and exit of the casemate. Entrance corridor could be defended from a small embrasure for hand weapons. The curtain of fire on the left and on the right side was formed by a fire of two twins of heavy machine guns placed in the firing rooms. The immediate vicinity of the casemate was secured with six light machine guns. Two of them were placed in armoured cupolas and four in the firing rooms. Places that cannot be defended by any weapons of the casemate were covered with four hand grenade slides with periscopes over them.
The room of the commander, telephone exchange, quarters of artillery observers and machine-gun ammunition depot were located in the upper floor. Lower floor connected with a staircase contained facilities for the crew and rooms with technical equipment. A sleeping room for men and non-commissioned officers, food storage and a bathroom with WC were located there. The electricity was produced by an 8 kW power unit equipped with an appropriate fuel reserve.
Ventilation pipes leading from filter room to all rooms in the casemate ensured the ventilation of the object. When chemical warfare agents would be used by the enemy, a set of filters would ensure efficient cleaning of the intake air. Drinking and service water was supplied by a well equipped with a pump; a backup means of communication was a station of the earth telegraph.
The casemate was surrounded by an anti-infantry obstacle formed by six rows of pins of different height intertwined with barbed wire. The same type of obstacles was constructed in the firing breaks between neighbouring casemates. During the occupation, the back and side walls of the casemate were considerably damaged due to German artillery test fire. Embrasures and both armoured cupolas remain undamaged. The casemate was not exploited after the war and slowly desolated and overgrown. At present, the object is abandoned. Entry to the casemate is closed for security reasons.

Era: WW II Related web site: [Web Link] General Comments: Not listed

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