The Fort de Guentrange was part of the Moselstellung, a group of eleven fortresses surrounding Thionville and Metz to guard against the possibility of a French attack aimed at regaining Alsace and Lorraine, with construction taking place between 1899 and 1906.

[1] The Fort de Guentrange is located about 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) to the northwest of Thionville on a hilltop overlooking the town and the northern railway line.

Compared to the French Séré de Rivières system forts of the same era, later German fortifications such as Guentrange were scattered over a large area and enclosed chiefly by barbed wire.

Each barracks was built into a hillside so that the rear are shielded by earth, while the top and front are protected by three of four meters of concrete, and are surmounted by a parapet.

The whole was surrounded by deep networks of barbed wire, which were swept by fire from small perimeter blockhouses, also linked via the tunnel system.

[1] From 1899, the Germans viewed Metz as a secure position that could provide an anchor for a pivoting movement into France from the Low Countries.

During the Battle of France the Thionville area was bypassed and encircled by German forces, with the Maginot and earlier fortifications seeing little action.

[3] The Fort de Guentrange was captured without resistance by elements of the U.S. 90th Infantry Division on 12 September 1944, after the German forces withdrew to Metz.

[3] The fort is the property of the city of Thionville and is maintained by the Amicale du Groupe Fortifié de Guentrange, which conducts guided visits.