Ouvrage Laudrefang
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Laudrefeng is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line
. Located in the Fortified Sector of Faulquemont
, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block, and is located between petits ouvrages Einseling
and Teting
, facing Germany
. Laudrefang was originally planned as a gros ouvrage. With a heavy armament for a petit ouvrage it successfully defended its neighbors against German attack during the Battle of France
. Laudrefang is abandoned and flooded, and was heavily damaged by German bombardment in 1940.
The unbuilt blocks of the gros ouvrage would have included separate personnel and munitions entries, two 75mm gun turrets and a 135mm gun turret.
s and infantry shelters surround Laudrefang, including
Following the 15 June 1940 breakthrough by German forces through the Saar gap, the Germans advanced along the rear of the Maginot Line. The German 167th Infantry Division approached Kerfent, Bambesch, Einseling and Téting on 19 June. On 21 June 1940 Laudrefang supported neighboring ouvrages Einseling and Teting as they came under attack with an estimated 5000 81mm mortar rounds. The covering fire prevented the Germans from taking either. The German infantry attacks were suspended in favor of an artillery barrage at Laudrefang, firing between 3000 and 3500 rounds at the ouvrage. Compared to other German attacks on other ouvrages, the bombardment of Laudrefang was relatively ineffectual. While the concrete structure was badly damaged, it was not perforated, and the mortar turrets and cloches were not hit. The ouvrage survived until the Second Armistice at Compiègne took effect on 25 June, when it surrendered. The machine gun turret at Block 3 was used for testing of shaped-charge munitions.
After World War II, Laudrefang was in poor condition and was not chosen for renovation.
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,...
. Located in the Fortified Sector of Faulquemont
Fortified Sector of Faulquemont
The Fortified Sector of Faulquemont was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the area of Faulquemont to the east of Metz. With five petit ouvrages the sector was poorly equipped with fortress artillery, limiting the ouvrages ability to provide...
, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block, and is located between petits ouvrages Einseling
Ouvrage Einseling
Ouvrage Einseling is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Faulquemont, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block, and is located between petits ouvrages Bambesch and Laudrefang, facing Germany. Einseling faced a determined German attack on 21 June, 1940, during...
and Teting
Ouvrage Teting
Ouvrage Téting is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Faulquemont, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block and two observation blocks, and is located facing Germany between petits ouvrages Laudrefang and the Saar valley, which was to be inundated in times of...
, facing Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Laudrefang was originally planned as a gros ouvrage. With a heavy armament for a petit ouvrage it successfully defended its neighbors against German attack 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...
. Laudrefang is abandoned and flooded, and was heavily damaged by German bombardment in 1940.
Design and construction
The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, and was approved for construction in August 1931. It was completed at a cost of 24 million francs by the contractor Générale des Travaux Publics. The petit ouvrage was originally planned as a gros ouvrage with fourteen blocks The project was scaled back, and Block 3 was not connected to the main ouvrage. A second phase was to connect it, and to provide a separate entrance block. Even as a petit ouvrage it mounted the heaviest armament in its sector, with 81mm mortars..Description
Laudrefang comprises five infantry blocks. Blocks 1, 2 4 and 5 are linked by deep underground galleries, which also provide space for barracks, utilities and ammunition storage. The galleries are excavated at an average depth of up to 30 metres (98.4 ft).- Block 1: Infantry block with two automatic rifle cloches (GFM)GFM clocheThe 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 twin machine gun embrasure (JM), two 81mm mortar embrasures and one machine gun/anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/AC47AC 47 anti-tank gunThe 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....
). The two-level block was heavily damaged by German shellfire. - Block 2: Infantry block with two GFM cloches and one retractable twin machine gun turret.
- Block 3: Infantry block with two GFM cloches, one retractabe twin machine gun turret, one twin machine gun embrasure, two 81mm mortar embrasures and one JM/AC47 anti-tank gun embrasure. The mortars are on a lower level, firing out of the ditch in front of the embrasures.
- Block 4: Infantry/emergency exit block with two GFM cloches and one grenade launcher cloche (LG)LG clocheThe 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...
. - Block 5: Infantry block with one GFM cloche and one observation cloche (VDP)VDP clocheThe VDP cloche was an element of the Maginot Line fortifications. A cloche was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant. By comparison, turrets could be rotated and sometimes lowered so that only the top shell was exposed. VDP cloches...
. The block and cloches show the marks of German attack.
The unbuilt blocks of the gros ouvrage would have included separate personnel and munitions entries, two 75mm gun turrets and a 135mm gun turret.
Casemates and shelters
In addition to the connected combat blocks, a series of detached casemateCasemate
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 and infantry shelters surround Laudrefang, including
- Casemate des Quatre-Vents Nord: Armored block with one mortar cloche and one mortar cloche modified to AM standard.
- Casemate des Quatre-Vents Sud: SIngle block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one GFM-A cloche and one GFM-A/B cloche.
Manning
The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Captain Gustave Cattiaux comprised 267 men and 8 officers of the 156th Fortress Infantry Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of both the 3rd and 4th Armies, Army Group 2. The Casernement de Zimming provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Laudrefang and other positions in the area.History
- See Fortified Sector of FaulquemontFortified Sector of FaulquemontThe Fortified Sector of Faulquemont was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the area of Faulquemont to the east of Metz. With five petit ouvrages the sector was poorly equipped with fortress artillery, limiting the ouvrages ability to provide...
for a broader discussion of the Faulquemont sector of the Maginot Line.
Following the 15 June 1940 breakthrough by German forces through the Saar gap, the Germans advanced along the rear of the Maginot Line. The German 167th Infantry Division approached Kerfent, Bambesch, Einseling and Téting on 19 June. On 21 June 1940 Laudrefang supported neighboring ouvrages Einseling and Teting as they came under attack with an estimated 5000 81mm mortar rounds. The covering fire prevented the Germans from taking either. The German infantry attacks were suspended in favor of an artillery barrage at Laudrefang, firing between 3000 and 3500 rounds at the ouvrage. Compared to other German attacks on other ouvrages, the bombardment of Laudrefang was relatively ineffectual. While the concrete structure was badly damaged, it was not perforated, and the mortar turrets and cloches were not hit. The ouvrage survived until the Second Armistice at Compiègne took effect on 25 June, when it surrendered. The machine gun turret at Block 3 was used for testing of shaped-charge munitions.
After World War II, Laudrefang was in poor condition and was not chosen for renovation.
Current condition
The lower levels of Laudrefang are flooded by groundwater, and the entire ouvrage is abandoned.See also
- List of all works on Maginot Line
- Siegfried LineSiegfried LineThe 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 WallAtlantic WallThe 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 fortificationsCzechoslovak border fortificationsThe 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...