Fort Schmerzen was a German fort built on the Siegfried Line. The fictional fort was featured in the games Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
Overview[]
Fort Schmerzen was the largest fort on the Siegfried Line. The fortress was so tough that the Allies eventually
Recon of Fort Schmerzen, November 08, 1944.
bypassed it on their push into Germany. Fort Schmerzen was located near the Moselle River and was close to the French city of Metz. Like many forts along the Siegfried Line, Schmerzen had a wide array of defensive works. These included bunkers for MG-42s and 88s, mine fields, dragon's teeth, barbed wire fences and FG42 towers. Inside Fort Schmerzen was a massive labyrinth of both living space and armament. Fort Schmerzen boosted infirmaries, galleys, officer quarters, barracks, storage space for food and munitions, radio communication and briefing rooms. Outside of Fort Schmerzen was an airstrip for a Ju-87 Stuka. Fort Schmerzen even had a rail line going through it.
Deadly Secret[]
What made Fort Schmerzen even more dangerous was the secret chemical weapons facility built in the forts lower levels. In 1944, the lower levels of Fort Schmerzen were rebuilt to produce Mustard Gas for the German army. The forts commander, Colonel Müller, supported this decision and personally oversaw its construction. By November 1944 the fort was in the process of making a deadlier strain of Mustard Gas. It was thought by allied intelligence that the Ju-87 Stuka would have been used by the Germans to drop Mustard Gas on the advancing Allied soldiers.
Allied Intervention[]
Some time prior to Operation Overlord, the Lieutenant and Sarge infiltrated the fort to divert a train to rescue Juliette Batiste, Manon's sister.
The Mustard Gas would never be used against anyone as the Allies sent agents in to destroy Fort Schmerzen. The first time was in November 1944, when Jimmy Patterson was sent in by the OSS to investigate. Patterson discovered that the forts lower levels were producing Mustard Gas; Patterson entered the lower levels and opened the gas vents releasing the deadly gas into the forts atmosphere.
Over the next few months, Colonel Müller began to rebuild the chemical weapons facility in Fort Schmerzen. In January 1945, the OSS sent in another agent, Mike Powell, to free the POWs and destroy the fort once and for all. To prepare himself for the attack, Powell first destroyed an array of flak guns, stole an Stg 44 from an armory, fought through a town to cut communications between Schmerzen and their forces and hijacked a P.O.W. train meant to send prisoners to the fort. Powell and a group of Army Rangers infiltrate Fort Schmerzen and planted explosives inside the chemical weapons plant. When the explosives detonated Fort Schmerzen was finally destroyed.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In German 'Schmerzen' translates to 'pain'. This would make the English translation say Fort Pain.
- The photo with Allied Assault shows the absence of Stuka, which may hint at a change in the Fort after the events of the first part. However, there are no railway tracks and walls yet.
- The Germans didn't have 50 caliber machine guns. However, perhaps this is a reference to the M2 machine gun in the first part, where it appears instead of German MG42.