Pillbox (military)

It has been widely assumed to be a jocular reference to the perceived similarity of the fortifications to the cylindrical and hexagonal boxes in which medical pills were once sold; also, the first German concrete pillboxes discovered by the Allies in Belgium were so small and light that they were easily tilted or turned upside down by the nearby explosion of even medium (240mm) shells.

[4] The term is found in print in The Times on 2 August 1917, following the beginning of the Third Battle of Ypres; and in The Scotsman on 17 September 1917, following the German withdrawal onto the Hindenburg Line.

Other unpublished occurrences have been found in war diaries and similar documents of about the same date; and in one instance, as "Pillar Box", as early as March 1916.

The exception were the concrete blockhouses, gun turrets, pillboxes and cupolas which were placed above ground to allow the garrison of the Maginot line to engage an attacking enemy.

[8] Between the Abyssinian Crisis of 1936 and World War II, the British built about 200 pillboxes on the island of Malta for defence in case of an Italian invasion.

[11] About 28,000 pillboxes and other hardened field fortifications were constructed in Britain in 1940 as part of the British anti-invasion preparations of World War II.