The loss of Alsace & Lorraine in 1870 shattered French pride, & started a determination to get back Alsace & Lorraine. La Meuse became the border department, & France started putting in a system of forts, both large & small. The French military reorganized, & this section housed many soldiers, building the tension that created the organization & WILL to fight when Germany invaded Belgium, & thus threatened, yet again, France.