Fort de Champillon
Encyclopedia
The Fort de Champillon is a twentieth-century Swiss fortification located in the heights overlooking the Rhône
valley from the north between Montreux
and Monthey
. Completed in 1944, the fort secures the road and rail lines running east from Lausanne
to the mountainous interior of Switzerland. The position is an advanced work protecting the approaches to Fortress Saint-Maurice
, part of the Swiss National Redoubt
. It is entered from the plateau just downhill from Corbeyrier
, a village on the heights at the foot of the Tour d'Aï
.
to the west and other positions to the south. The Chablais and Chillon forts were not considered part of Fortress Saint-Maurice proper, but were important advance works to delay and weaken an attacker before they reached the Saint-Maurice stopping line, or fort d'arrêt. The entire region is fortified with anti-tank barriers, permanent minefields and other barriers, while tunnels, bridges and retaining walls are mined or prepared for demolition. Construction at Champillon began in 1942, and was complete in 1944.
Construction at Champillon began in 1942, and was complete in 1944. The fort is located in a massif overlooking the Rhône beneath Corbeyrier
. The shelf stands high over the flat floor of the Rhône valley, which in this area is known as the Chablais plain. The Fort de Champillon is armed with two 105mm guns in northwest-facing casemate
s, cut into the rock face of the west-facing cliff. An underground passage runs back into the mountain to ammunition magazines, utility areas and two-story underground barracks. The fort's entrance is on the plateau behind the fort. Two additional 105mm casemates, each with their own magazine, were planned but never built.
A variety of smaller blockhouses, observation posts, anti-tank lines and infantry shelters are in the immediate area, none connected directly to Champillon.
The position was manned by elements of Fortress Regiment 19, and was designated part of Fortress Group 4.
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
valley from the north between Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
and Monthey
Monthey
Monthey is the capital of the district of Monthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.- History :The castle in the town center was built in 950 on a hill, the first houses of Monthey surrounded it. Monthey is first mentioned in 1215 as Montez At the 13th century, the counts of Savoy owned the...
. Completed in 1944, the fort secures the road and rail lines running east from Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
to the mountainous interior of Switzerland. The position is an advanced work protecting the approaches to Fortress Saint-Maurice
Fortress Saint-Maurice
Fortress Saint-Maurice is one of the three fortification complexes comprising the Swiss National Redoubt. The westernmost of the three, Fortress Saint-Maurice complements Fortress Saint Gotthard and Fortress Sargans to secure the central alpine region of Switzerland against an invading force...
, part of the Swiss National Redoubt
National Redoubt (Switzerland)
The Swiss National Redoubt was a defensive plan developed by the Swiss government beginning in the 1880s to respond to foreign invasion. In the opening years of World War II the plan was expanded and refined to deal with a potential German invasion. The German plan, Operation Tannenbaum, was real,...
. It is entered from the plateau just downhill from Corbeyrier
Corbeyrier
Corbeyrier is a municipality in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Aigle. It became a municipality in 1718.-Geography:...
, a village on the heights at the foot of the Tour d'Aï
Tour d'Aï
The Tour d'Aï is a mountain in the western Bernese Alps, overlooking Leysin in the canton of Vaud. It is located near the Tour de Mayen, on the range lying between the Rhone and Col des Mosses, south of Lake Geneva, from where both summits can be easily seen....
.
Description
The Fort de Champillon (Swiss Armed Forces designation A365) is an artillery fort, intended to provide coverage to advanced positions in the Chablais plan at the eastern end of Lac Léman, and to support advanced positions such as the Fort de ChillonFort de Chillon
The Fort de Chillon is a twentieth-century fortification directly adjacent to the medieval Château de Chillon on the edge of Lac Léman in Switzerland. The fort secures the road and rail lines that pass along the lakeshore running east from Lausanne to the mountainous interior of Switzerland...
to the west and other positions to the south. The Chablais and Chillon forts were not considered part of Fortress Saint-Maurice proper, but were important advance works to delay and weaken an attacker before they reached the Saint-Maurice stopping line, or fort d'arrêt. The entire region is fortified with anti-tank barriers, permanent minefields and other barriers, while tunnels, bridges and retaining walls are mined or prepared for demolition. Construction at Champillon began in 1942, and was complete in 1944.
Construction at Champillon began in 1942, and was complete in 1944. The fort is located in a massif overlooking the Rhône beneath Corbeyrier
Corbeyrier
Corbeyrier is a municipality in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Aigle. It became a municipality in 1718.-Geography:...
. The shelf stands high over the flat floor of the Rhône valley, which in this area is known as the Chablais plain. The Fort de Champillon is armed with two 105mm guns in northwest-facing casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s, cut into the rock face of the west-facing cliff. An underground passage runs back into the mountain to ammunition magazines, utility areas and two-story underground barracks. The fort's entrance is on the plateau behind the fort. Two additional 105mm casemates, each with their own magazine, were planned but never built.
A variety of smaller blockhouses, observation posts, anti-tank lines and infantry shelters are in the immediate area, none connected directly to Champillon.
The position was manned by elements of Fortress Regiment 19, and was designated part of Fortress Group 4.