The French
Maginot Line built between the world wars consisted of a massive
bunker and tunnel complex, but as most of it was below ground, little could be seen from the ground level. The exception were the concrete
blockhouses,
gun turrets, pillboxes and
cupolas which were placed above ground to allow the garrison of the Maginot line to engage an attacking enemy. Between the
Abyssinian Crisis of 1936 and
World War II, the British built about 200 pillboxes on the island of
Malta for defence in case of an Italian invasion. Fewer than 100 pillboxes still exist, and most are found on the northeastern part of the island. A few of them have been restored and are cared for, but many others were demolished. Some pillboxes are still being destroyed nowadays as the authorities do not consider them to have any architectural or historic value, despite heritage NGOs calling to preserve them. Pillboxes were built in Britain during World War I as defensive measures against sea invasion in some east coast areas. Eight of these pillboxes in Norfolk were given
Grade II listed status by
Historic England in July 2025. About 28,000
pillboxes and other hardened field fortifications were constructed in Britain in 1940 as part of the
British anti-invasion preparations of World War II. About 6,500 of these structures still survive. Pillboxes for the
Czechoslovak border fortifications were built before World War II in
Czechoslovakia in defence against a German attack. None of these were actually used against their intended enemy during the German invasion, but some were used against the advancing Soviet armies in 1945. The Japanese also made use of pillboxes in their fortifications of
Iwo Jima, and on other occupied islands and territories. About
750,000 pillboxes () were built by the
Albanian
Hoxhaist government from the 1960s until the 1980s in
Cold War paranoia, most never used for their intended purpose although few were used in
the Insurrection of 1997 and the
1999 Kosovo War and the construction costs were a scandalous drain on needed funds for social development. Most are now derelict, though some have been repurposed as
residential accommodations,
cafés,
nightclubs,
storehouses,
animal shelters and one in
Tirana as a museum. During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, pillboxes have been used to gain advantages in
trench warfare. ==Gallery==