Morice Line

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Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007)

The Morice Line is a defensive line constructed in the 1950s. It is 200 miles long and was built to prevent Tunisian guerrillas from entering the French Colony of Algeria.

[edit] Design

The center of the Morice Line was a long electric fence that ran its entire length. This electric fence carried 5,000 volts and also had barbed wire entanglement to one side. The line was surrounded by a minefield that extended 45 meters to each side of the line. On the Algerian side there was also a patrolled track. However, these systems were not the main strength of the line. This strength that contributed to its success came from its then state of the art electronic systems. These alarms, radars and searchlights helped to coordinate a response from the military forces assigned to the line. These attacked forces combined with the previous electronic systems made the line almost impenetrable.

[edit] Importance of the Line

The Morice Line had a significant impact of the reduction of terrorist activities by forces that originated in Tunisia. Though this line was not a "fortification" in the traditional sense of the word this line was nonetheless effective in reducing FLN activity during the Algerian War.