Fortress Luxembourg

I recently came upon some info that Luxembourg, primarily its capital of Luxembourg City, used to be one of the largest and most important fortifications in Europe. Indeed, it was even called the "Gibraltar of the North" by some. Nevertheless, the fortresses of Luxembourg were dismantled as a part of the 1867 Treaty of London and the duchy was pledged to neutrality.

WI the clause involving Luxembourg was never included in the 1867 treaty? What would have been the consequences for Europe, especially when it comes to WWI and WWII? Assuming that the Luxembourger fortifications are kept modern (which, for the sake of the thread, I am), I can see them being a definite problem at least in WWI, leading to a "bigger" version of Verdun.

At least in my mind, I can see Luxembourg, because of its forts, playing the role of a buffer state between France and Germany. Perhaps the defenses would have been past their heyday when WWII comes around, but I wonder what effect they would have had nonetheless. Could WWI have lead to an alliance between France and Luxembourg, leaving Luxembourg City an integral part of the Maginot Line? I'm sure the Germans would have done their best to bypass the defenses. However, if they are large enough I think they would have been forced to assault them, i.e. Brest in Operation Barbarossa.
 
I could see Luxembourg as a lynch pin between the main Maginot line on France's border and the other fortifications on the Belgium border.
 
If it was kept modern I think Germany probally would have avoided it all together. Maybe Luxembourg would remain neutral throughout the war.
 
If it does not sign that treaty no ones going to try to protect its neutrality so I would expect an alliance with France would come very fast, that or it would be swallowed up by Germany or France
 
Couldn't Luxembourg simply be surrounded and forced to surrender?


Forts aren't invincible - the Germans could pull another, perhaps larger scale, Eben Emael.
 
Couldn't Luxembourg simply be surrounded and forced to surrender?


Forts aren't invincible - the Germans could pull another, perhaps larger scale, Eben Emael.

Your point is accurate and somewhat true--forts aren't invincible. However, in the late eighteenth century Luxembourg was able to hold out for seven months against the French war machine, which was at the time the strongest army known to man. My argument is that, especially if the fortifications are kept modern, Germany will be forced to attack them eventually--their position is way too strategic to be left alone. If they do that, I wonder how bloody the fighting will be and the tactics that the Germans will use to defeat the forts, never mind the political and morale victory for the Allies if a small, German-speaking duchy is able to hold off the Nazi war machine for any decent length of time.

Some of the other people that have posted on the thread have come up with interesting ideas. An alliance with France would be necessary, I think, and the idea of Luxembourg becoming the lynch pin of the Maginot Line is interesting as well. Would the admission of Luxembourg into those defenses persuade Belgium to join in as well?
 
Who would pay for the continuing updating of the fortress? The population of Luxenburg is uner half a million now, I would assume it was no greater - aqnd likely less - during the 19th and 20th centuries. It was well fortified in the 18th and early 19th centuries because it was part of France and the defensive belt of fortresses in the north. Unless it becomes a French ally (or, because of its size, a protectorate), the money to do this just isn't there. I suppose Luxemburg could mobilize a brigade or even a division to garrison it, but what about the rest of the country? And until the garrison is mobilized, it would be ripe for a suprise attack or coup. It"s only a couple miles to the German or Freench (or even Belgian) border.
 
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