The KW-line was the main Belgian line of defence against a possible German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 armoured invasion through the centre of Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, during the initial phase of the Second World War.

The KW-line, also known as the Dyle-line (Dijle-line) (named after the river Dijle

Dijle

Dyle or Dijle or historically the River Dyle in English, is a river in central Belgium, left tributary of the Rupel. It is long. It flows through the Belgian provinces of Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp...

) or Iron Wall, was requested by the Belgian Ministry of Defence and built between September 1939 and May 1940. It consisted of a connection of bunker

Bunker

A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...

s and barricades between the village of Koningshooikt

Koningshooikt

Koningshooikt is a village that since 1977 creates a municipality with Lier in the Belgian province of Antwerp. In the local dialect Koningshooikt is often named after Jut or Koningsjut...

 and the city of Wavre

Wavre

Wavre is a town and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, of which it is the capital.Wavre is located in the Dyle valley. Most of its inhabitants speak French as mother tongue and are called "Wavriens" and "Wavriennes"...

. The barricades were either Cointet-element

Cointet-element

The Cointet-element, also known as a Belgian Gate or C-element, was a heavy steel fence of about three metres wide and two metres high, typically mounted on rollers, was found on D-Day used to keep incoming tanks from getting by, and used as an anti-tank obstacle.The Cointet-element was the main...

s connected to each other with steel cables, railway tracks drilled partly into swampy areas, concrete ditches filled with water, or other steel constructions that could hold off armoured vehicle attacks.

In 2009, an inventarisation project was set up. For more details (Dutch), cfr. www.kwlinie.be