Hindenburg line

American  

noun

1. a line of elaborate fortifications established by the German army in World War I, near the French-Belgian border, from Lille SE to Metz.

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Hindenburg line British  

/ ˈhɪndənˌbɜːɡ /

noun

1. a line of strong fortifications built by the German army near the Franco-Belgian border in 1916–17: breached by the Allies in August 1918

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Etymology

Origin of Hindenburg line

First recorded in 1915–20; named after P. von Hindenburg

Example Sentences

On May 3 the battle front was extended on a line of sixteen miles, and while the 3rd and 1st Armies attacked from Fontaine-lez-Croisilles to Fresnoy, the 5th Army stormed the Hindenburg line near Bullecourt.

From From Bapaume to Passchendaele, 1917 by Gibbs, Philip

A new front extends across Rumania; the Germans in the west retired to the Hindenburg line; the Italians captured Goritz.

From The Story of the Great War, Volume V (of 8) Battle of Jutland Bank; Russian Offensive; Kut-El-Amara; East Africa; Verdun; The Great Somme Drive; United States and Belligerents; Summary of Two Years' War by Churchill, Allen L. (Allen Leon)

You'd walk right through that Hindenburg line if you ever got started.

From Tom Slade with the Colors by Clarity, Thomas

They realized the importance of holding the line at all costs, for if the French advance proved successful, it would mean the isolation of Laon, upon which the Hindenburg line depended.

From The Story of the Great War, Volume VI (of VIII) History of the European War from Official Sources by Reynolds, Francis J. (Francis Joseph)

This corps was composed of the Twenty-seventh and Thirtieth Divisions, and in conjunction with the Australian Corps it participated in the attack which broke the Hindenburg line near St. Quentin.

From Our Army at the Front by Broun, Heywood