Bunker
A bunker is a defensive warfare fortification to protect oneself.
- A bunker is also:
- a hazard, usually filled with sand, on a golf course.
- a storage area for a bulk product, such as coal or wood
Bunkers are mostly below the Earth's ground level while a blockhouse is mostly above ground level. They were used extensively in World War I and World War II. In the 1950s, the bunker became part of Americana culture. A famous bunker is the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Some installations are giant underground complexes. The Soviet Union maintained huge bunkers during the Cold War. In Albania, Enver Hoxha littered the small country with 500,000 - 700,000 bunkers.
Bunkers as part of a trench system
Another type of bunker or blockhouse is a little concrete post, partly dug into the ground, which is usually a part of a trench system. Such bunkers give the defending soldiers better protection than the open trench and also include top protection against aerial attack (grenades, mortar shells). The front bunker of a trench system usally includes machine guns or mortars and form a domainant shooting post. The Rear bunkers are usually used as command posts, for storage and as field hospitals to attend to wounded soldiers.
Pillbox
| Dug-in guard posts (with shooting slights) made from concrete are also known as "pillboxes". Some of the pillboxes have camouflage in order to provide the guards better protection and the element of surprise. They may be part of a trench system, or with other pillboxes form an interlocking line of defence by providing covering fire to each other, or they may be placed to guard strategic structures such as bridges and jetties.
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Industrial bunker
Typical industrial bunkers include mining sites, food storage areas, dumps for materials, and sometimes living quarters.
See also
