Ouvrage Eth
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Eth is an isolated petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...

, built as part of the "New Fronts" program to address shortcomings in the Line's coverage of the border with 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...

. It is located between the villages of Eth
Eth
Eth is a letter used in Old English, Icelandic, Faroese , and Elfdalian. It was also used in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, but was subsequently replaced with dh and later d. The capital eth resembles a D with a line through the vertical stroke...

 and Wargnies-le-Grand
Wargnies-le-Grand
-References:*...

, in Nord département. Eth is the sole Maginot fortification in the Fortified Sector of the Escaut
Fortified Sector of the Escaut
The Fortified Sector of the Escaut , also known as the Fortified Sector of the Schelde, was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line between the French border with Belgium and Valenciennes, a distance of about...

, which primarily consisted of individual casemates, blockhouses and the improved 19th-century Fort de Maulde
Fort de Maulde
The Fort de Maulde, also known as Fort de Beurnonville and the Ensemble de Maulde, is located to the south of Maulde, France. It is part of the Fortified Sector of the Escaut, an extension of the Maginot Line. The Séré de Rivières system fort was built 1881-1884. In 1936-37 the old fort, commanding...

. During the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

 the ouvrage resisted artillery attack for four days before the garrison evacuated through a drain to a neighboring casemate.

Description

Eth comprises two combat blocks 250 metres (820.2 ft) apart, one of which had a new mixed-arms turret mounting a JM machine gun and a 25mm gun. An underground gallery connects the two blocks, with underground service and barracks spaces along the short gallery. The nearby Casemate Jenlain is linked to Eth by 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) of drain large enough for personnel to traverse.
  • Block 1: infantry/entry block with two automatic rifle cloches (GFM-B)
    GFM cloche
    The GFM cloche was one of the most common defensive armaments on the Maginot Line. A cloche was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant...

    , one mixed-arms cloche (AM)
    JM cloche
    The JM cloche is an element of the Maginot Line. It is a non-retractable non-rotating cupola of steel alloy like GFM cloches, but are armed with twin heavy machine guns, as opposed to the lighter automatic rifles associated with the GFM. There are 179 JM cloches on the Maginot Line.JM is an acronym...

    , one automatic rifle embrasure and one and one machine gun/47mm anti-tank gun
    AC 47 anti-tank gun
    The AC 47 was a French anti-tank gun of 47mm caliber. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930s; another version was created for naval use....

     (JM/AC47) embrasure.
  • Block 2: infantry/entrance block with one GFM cloche, one JM embrasure, one (JM/AC47) embrasure, one grenade launcher cloche (LG)
    LG cloche
    The LG cloche was a defensive element common to many Maginot Line ouvrages. The fixed cupola was deeply embedded into the concrete on top of a combat block, with only the top surface visible. The opening permitted the ejection of grenades from the interior of the cloche, providing a means of...

     and one retractable mixed arms AM/50mm mortar turret.


A second phase of work was planned to provide a third block with a twin 75mm gun turret, as well as much larger underground barracks and separate personnel and ammunition entrances about 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) away in the direction of Wargnies.

A number of small blockhouses are associated with Eth, as well as a casemate:
  • Casemate de Jenlain: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, two AM cloches and one GFM-B cloche. It is connected to the ouvrage as described above.

Manning

The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Captain Dubos comprised 134 men and 5 officers of the 54th Fortress Infantry Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 1st Army, Army Group 1.

History

See Fortified Sector of the Escaut
Fortified Sector of the Escaut
The Fortified Sector of the Escaut , also known as the Fortified Sector of the Schelde, was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line between the French border with Belgium and Valenciennes, a distance of about...

 for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Escaut sector of the Maginot Line.

During the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

 in 1940, the invading German forces began to bombard Eth on 22 May. German 8.8 cm guns fired against Block 2 and the Casemate de Jenlain, causing significant damage. By the next day the positions were surrounded. Firing continued into the 26th, with Eth replying with what armament that remained operable. At 0345, rounds penetrated Block 2. At 0600 a German infantry assault was launched. Before the ouvrage could be taken, Captain Dobos organized an evacuation to the casemate through the drain, surprising the Germans when 160 men emerged from an embrasure in the casemate. Happily for the garrison, the Jenlain casemate had successfully dispersed an 8.8cm gun crew that had been firing on the casemate on the 23rd, and had not regained their piece on the 26th. Combat ceased at 1020 hours

Current

Eth is privately owned and is not accessible to the public. It is reported to be in poor condition.

See also

  • List of all works on Maginot Line
  • Siegfried Line
    Siegfried Line
    The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...

  • Atlantic Wall
    Atlantic Wall
    The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...

  • Czechoslovak border fortifications
    Czechoslovak border fortifications
    The Czechoslovak government built a system of border fortifications from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany that later materialized in the German offensive plan called Fall Grün...


External links

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