Infantry blockhouse K-S 7 - Cerveny Potok, Czech Republic - Military Installations on Waymarking.com

he 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 7

The infantry block K-S 7 (code name "U vesnice") is a heavy installation, which was determined to defend the open area, which was endangered by a widely extended attack. It is a two-sided installation with two 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 from October 12 until 17, 1936 with a total of 1.735 m3 of concrete. So the block is one of the first completed heavy installations in the Králíky area. The block had an identical armament in the two combat compartments - in each room was a casemate anti-tank 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 right infantry cupola received the same weapon; the left cupola was scheduled for a heavy machine-gun model 37. On the left side there is a combat compartment in the basement for a casemate mortar. Its combat task was the support of the defense line until the infantry block K - S15 including the combat installations of the fortification Hurka (Berghöhe/Mountain Hill). 43 soldiers formed the crew. Except the mortar this block was completely combat ready in September 1938.
During the occupation this installation served as a target at shelling tests with different concret piercing grenades. Also wing-stabilized longgrenades of the Röchling company were tested - one of the secret German weapons being in development but never used in World War II. It is likely that during the shelling tests also a railway gun of large caliber was in action.
One armored cupola of the block K - S 7 was removed during the occupation, the second one was scrapped after the war. In spite of severe damages all the embrasures of the infantry block remained.

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

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