Pillbox (military)

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A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, often camouflaged, normally equipped with loopholes through which defenders can fire weapons. It is in effect a trench firing step, hardened to protect against small-arms fire and grenades, and raised to improve the field of fire.

The modern concrete pillbox originated on the Western Front of World War I, in the German Army^[1] in 1916.