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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Hindenburg line

Early in the morning of May 20, 1917, a British attack broke into the Hindenburg line between Fontaine-les-Croisilles and Bullecourt, southeast of Arras.

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

Further progress was made on this day in the Hindenburg line west of Moeuvres, but the enemy's resistance in the whole of this area was very strong.

From Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918 Vol. VIII, Part I, No. 2 by Various

The line of our attack covers a front of some twelve miles southwards from Givenchy-en-Gohelle, and is a sledge-hammer blow threatening to break the northern end of the Hindenburg line, already menaced round St.-Quentin.

From From Bapaume to Passchendaele, 1917 by Philip Gibbs

The Hindenburg line is pierced, but he has established a series of switch-lines which will enable him to stand until our guns are ready again to make those positions untenable.

From From Bapaume to Passchendaele, 1917 by Philip Gibbs

He had planned the whole hundred days, beginning with Cambrai, and the apex of that achievement after the breaking of the infallible Hindenburg line, was the recapture of Mons.

From The Masques of Ottawa by Augustus Bridle

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