Ouvrage Michelsberg
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Michelsberg, one of the Maginot Line
fortifications, formed part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay
as well as the fortified region of Metz
. The ouvrage is located in Moselle (département) between the towns of Dalstein
and d'Ebersviller, about 23km from Thionville
. It is located between gros ouvrage Mont des Welches
and petit ouvrage Hobling
, facing Germany
. Michelsberg did not see significant action in the Battle of France
until June 1940, when it was attacked from the rear by German forces that had bypassed the Maginot Line. It successfully resisted these attacks, but was compelled to surrender in accordance with the 25 June 1940 armistice. After the Second World War it was renovated as a Cold War
fortification against a potential Soviet invasion, then abandoned. It is presently operated as a museum, and may be visited.
Apart from the emergency egress cloche, Michelsberg also features a false turret.
s and infantry shelters surround Michelsberg, including
The Casernement de Férange provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Michelsberg and other positions in the area.
only Hackenberg was occupied by the Germans; Michelsberg played no role in that campaign. German forces did attempt to blow up the position when they evacuated, detonating explosives in the main gallery.
After being abandoned, the ouvrage was used between 1978 and 1988 for the cultivation of mushrooms. The ouvrage was damaged and vandalized during this time. Renovations and repairs started in 1992 and are ongoing. Since 1993 it has been protected by a charitable organization that allows visits on Sundays between April and September, inclusive. The volunteers are also restoring the nearby Abri de Bilmette.
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,...
fortifications, formed part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay
Fortified Sector of Boulay
The Fortified Sector of Boulay was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line to the north and east of Metz in northeastern France. The left wing of the Boulay sector was among the earliest and strongest portions of the Maginot Line...
as well as the fortified region of Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. The ouvrage is located in Moselle (département) between the towns of Dalstein
Dalstein
Dalstein is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
and d'Ebersviller, about 23km from Thionville
Thionville
Thionville , is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.-Demographics:...
. It is located between gros ouvrage Mont des Welches
Ouvrage Mont des Welches
Ouvrage Mont des Welches, a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line fortifications, is part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay. It comprises two entrance blocks, one infantry block, one artillery block, one observation block and two combination blocks. It is located between petit ouvrage Coucou and gros...
and petit ouvrage Hobling
Ouvrage Hobling
Ouvrage Hobling is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks and two observation blocks, and is located between gros ouvrage Michelsberg and petit ouvrage Bousse, facing Germany...
, 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...
. Michelsberg did not see significant action in 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...
until June 1940, when it was attacked from the rear by German forces that had bypassed the Maginot Line. It successfully resisted these attacks, but was compelled to surrender in accordance with the 25 June 1940 armistice. After the Second World War it was renovated as a Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
fortification against a potential Soviet invasion, then abandoned. It is presently operated as a museum, and may be visited.
Design and construction
Michelsberg was approved for construction by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in April 1930 and became operational by 1935, at a cost of 56 million francs. The contractor was Gianotti of Nice. Unlike virtually all other Maginot positions, the ouvrage does not have a drinking water well inside the position: the intended well was dry, forcing the ouvrage to rely on a well outside.Description
Michelsberg is a gros ouvrage, arranged in a linear fashion along a central underground gallery connecting the single combined personnel/ammunition entry block to the rear with the combat blocks about 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) to the east. It lacks a central "M1" ammunition magazine. It does possess an electrified 60cm internal rail network, used to move personnel and munitions within the ouvrage. The galleries are excavated at an average depth of up to 30 metres (98.4 ft).- Mixed entry: inclined plan, one automatic rifle cloche (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...
, three automatic rifle embrasures and one machine gun/47mm anti-tank gunAC 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....
embrasure (JM/AC47). - Block 1: Infantry block with one retractable machine gun turret, one GFM cloche and one machine gun cloche (JM)JM clocheThe 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...
. - Block 2: Infantry block with one machine gun/anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/AC47), machine gun embrasure (JM) and two GFM cloches.
- Block 3: Artillery block with one retractable 81mm mortar turret and two GFM cloches.
- Block 4 (unbuilt): Planned artillery block with an 81mm mortar turret.
- Block 5: Artillery block with one 75mm gun turret and one GFM cloche.
- Block 6: Artillery block with one 135mm gun turret, one GFM cloche, 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...
, oneJM clocheJM clocheThe 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...
and one emergency exit cloche (unique in the Line).
Apart from the emergency egress cloche, Michelsberg also features a false 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 Michelsberg, including
- Abri de Bilmette: Surface infantry shelter (abri) with two GFM cloches.
- Casemate de Huberbusch Nord: SIngle block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure and one GFM cloche.
- Casemate de Huberbusch Sud: SIngle block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure and two GFM cloches.
Manning
The manning of the ouvrage in June 1940 comprised 472 men and 19 officers of the 164th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 153rd Position Artillery Regiment, commanded by Commandant Pelletier. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2.The Casernement de Férange provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Michelsberg and other positions in the area.
History
- See Fortified Sector of BoulayFortified Sector of BoulayThe Fortified Sector of Boulay was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line to the north and east of Metz in northeastern France. The left wing of the Boulay sector was among the earliest and strongest portions of the Maginot Line...
for a broader discussion of the Boulay sector of the Maginot Line.
1940
On 15 June the German 1st Army broke through the Line at the Saar and pushed west and east along the Line, enveloping the French armies, meeting forces of the German 16th Army that had gone around the Line in the west in May. On 15 June Michelsberg fired 753 75mm rounds against the Germans. Troops of the German 95th Infantry Division moved behind Michelsberg in 21 June, taking fire from blocks 3 and 6. The ouvrage repulsed a full German attack on 22 June, 1940, with help from Mont des Welches and Hackenberg. German artillery hit Block 3's cloches and the façade of Block 2. Block 6 destroyed a German battery with artillery fire. Following the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 25 June, the Boulay sector's garrisons surrendered on 4 July, 1940. In the following years under German occupation, Michelsberg was used as a bombproof factory.1944
During the Lorraine CampaignLorraine Campaign
Lorraine Campaign is a term used by U.S. Army historians to describe operations of the U.S. Third Army in Lorraine during World War II from September 1 through December 18, 1944. Official U.S. Army campaign names for this period and location are Northern France and Rhineland. The term was...
only Hackenberg was occupied by the Germans; Michelsberg played no role in that campaign. German forces did attempt to blow up the position when they evacuated, detonating explosives in the main gallery.
Cold War
Following World War II, interest revived in the use of the Maginot Line to defend against a possible Soviet advance through southern Germany. Funds were allocated for restoration of the gros ouvrages Work was limited to restoration of systems and improvements to existing armament. The renovations did not include the command post or the barracks. By 1956, Michelsberg had been designated part of the Mòle de Boulay, a strongpoint in the northeastern defenses against Soviet attack. By the late 1950s interest in fixed fortifications was waning after France developed a nuclear deterrent. The money needed to maintain and upgrade the fortifications was diverted for the nuclear programs. Michelsberg was maintained for use by the Army until 1971 when it was placed in second-class reserve.After being abandoned, the ouvrage was used between 1978 and 1988 for the cultivation of mushrooms. The ouvrage was damaged and vandalized during this time. Renovations and repairs started in 1992 and are ongoing. Since 1993 it has been protected by a charitable organization that allows visits on Sundays between April and September, inclusive. The volunteers are also restoring the nearby Abri de Bilmette.
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...
External links
- Association «AOM 22juin 1940»
- Fort du Michelsberg, at Chemins de mémoire
- Historical, Technical Details specially from the Ouvrage Michelsberg A22 - GO du Michelsberg