Darien Defensive Line

[The Rock Doctor]

The Darien Defensive Line was built while construction of the Darien Canal was underway.  It would have been built even without the canal, to forestall any large scale adventures by Rohan or Mesoamerica.

The Line is located west of the Canal Zone.  It runs approximately NW from San Carlos, on the coast of the Gulf of Darien (OTL Golfo de Panama), through Cerro Gaital, to the Caribbean coast between Cocle de Norte and Miguel de la Borda.  Several check points allow civilian passage, but the only notable road crossing is in San Carlos, as only the southern coastal part of the isthmus west of the Line is developed to any significant degree.

The Line`s position was chosen to maximize the amount of time and effort needed by an attacker to reach and beseige it, while allowing relatively short supply routes to the two canal ports for the defenders.  An attacker`s ability to turn the line via amphibious landing is also reduced due to proximity to canal-based defenders.  Cerro Gaital and the hills of the Caribbean coast provide good observation points, while the line is far enough east of the Cordillera Central to deny attackers much value from that high ground.

The Line is currently represented by two corps-level 1905 pattern fortified lines, designated as the North and South Lines.