Festung
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Festung is a generic German word for a fortress. Whilst it is not in common usage in English it is used in a number of historical contexts involving German speakers:
- For historical fortresses in Austria, Germany or Switzerland
- As part of the excuse given by the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) for the slow progress of the Siege of Warsaw
- For German WWII strongholds which were to be held at all costs, especially towards the end of the war:
- Atlantic wall or Festung Europa — Hitler's personal term for the fortifications he had erected to stymie any allied attempt at invasion of the continent.
- Stalingrad (see Battle for Stalingrad)
- Warsaw (Festung Warschau) see also the Warsaw Uprising
- Poznan (Battle of Poznan (1945))
- Kolobrzeg (Battle of Kołobrzeg)
- Wrocław (Festung Breslau)
- Budapest (Battle of Budapest)
- Kaliningrad (Festung Königsberg)
- For entire countries such as Norway which were heavily fortified in World War II. See Festung Norwegen.
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