After the Napoleonic Wars the borders of Central Europe were redrawn and relative peace endured across the region, but the volatile politics of the late nineteenth century generated an atmosphere of fear and distrust. This gave rise to a new era of fortress building which is the subject of this highly illustrated new study. The authors describe how defensive lines and structures on a massive scale were constructed along national frontiers to deter aggression. The Germans, Austro-Hungarians and Czechs all embarked on ambitious building programmes. As advances were made in offensive armaments, and as tactics changed, these fortress lines were explanded, remodelled and updated, a process that culminated in some of the most impressive military structures ever designed. Artillery positions, barbed-wire networks, casemates, concrete bunkers, trench lines, observation posts all sprang up in a vain attempt to keep the peace and to delay the invader. This enormous scheme of military engineering is little known today, even though many of its substantial structures have survived and can be visited. The German East Wall and West Wall and the Czech Benes Line are among the most remarkable relics of this, the last great age of European fortification.