The Schwaben Redoubt (Schwaben-Feste) was a German strong point 500–600 yards (460–550 m) long and 200 yards (180 m) wide, built in stages since 1915, near the village of Thiepval, overlooking the River Ancre. It formed part of the German defensive system in the Somme sector of the Western Front during the First World War and consisting of a mass of machine-gun emplacements, trenches and dug-outs.