Infantry blockhouse K-S 6 - Cerveny Potok, 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 K-S 6

The infantry blockhouse K-S 6 (code name "U kaplicky") is a heavy installation, determined to defend the open area which was in danger of an extended main attack. Thanks to its position and the numerous weapons installed here, the block dominated a large section of the local wide valley including the cleft of the river March (Morava). It is a twq-sided installation with three armored cupolas in two extension wings. It has construction strength II and was built in the frame of the 1th construction subsection ŽSV III Králíky (Grulich). Concreting was done between October 26 and 31, 1936, with a total of 1.747 m3 of concrete. The block had an identical armament in the two combat compartments - in each room was a casemate antitank gun model 36 with a heavy machine gun model 37 on top of it and a heavy twin-machine gun model 37. Four light machine guns, model 26, provided the defense on the rear side. The left armored infantry cupola received the same weapon, the right one was scheduled for a heavy machine gun, model 37. The third armored element was an amored cupola with a heavy twin machine gun, model 37, which was placed between the other two cupolas. 45 soldiers formed the crew.
During the occupation all armored elements including the main embrasures were removed from the block. The installation served as target at numerous shelling tests. The shelling with concrete piercing grenades was mainly carried out against the front wall, which - analogous to similar tests in the Králíky fortification area - first had to be cleared from the protecting dashing layer.

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

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