Ouvrage Rohrbach
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Rohrbach is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line
located in the community of Bettvillier, near Rohrbach-lès-Bitche
in the Moselle département, facing Germany
. The Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
was built somewhat later than its neighbors to the east and west, and in company with positions on the extreme western end of the Maginot Line, became one of the "New Fronts."
s and eight shelters (abris). The fortifications center around the military camp at Bitche
and the village of Petit-Réderching. No works were constructed in Rohrbach itself. As a result of the decision of Marshal Pétain
in 1929, priority was given to the Vosges and the defense of the plain of Alsace
. Aware of the weakness of the area between the rivers Sarre and Lauter, three gros ouvrages were proposed, to be completed between 1929 and 1933. However, in 1934, due to budget restrictions, plans were deferred for artillery blocks at Rohrbach, and only the infantry blocks were ultimately constructed.As the project progressed, it was distributed among Rohrbach and its neighbors.
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 June 1934. The petit ouvrage was to be expanded in a second phase to a gros ouvrage with separate munitions and personnel entries, an "M1" magazine, full underground caserne, two 75mm gun turrets, a 135 mm gun turret, a casemate block with three 75mm guns and a long-range 145mm gun turret..
is located on a shelf between the Vosges
mountains and the valley of the Sarre, tunneled beneath by plaster
mines. The valley extends into Germany and forms a natural axis of attack. The constructed p;ortions of Rohrbach are on the edge of an escarpment, while most of the proposed additional blocks, as well as the entries, were to be located several hundred meters to the rear in a ravine, tunneled under the village.
The ouvrage itself comprises one entrance block and two infantry blocks.
s and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Rohrbach, including
On the 21st a large-scale attack was opened against Welschhof, which was interrupted by fire from Simserhof. Haut-Poirier, farther to the west and out of range of Simserhof, was forced to surrender. Further firing occurred on the 22nd and 23rd, while individual casemates were assaulted by the Germans and taken. Both Rohrbach and Simserhof continued to fire back at the Germans on the 24th, ceasing fire at midnight in accordance with the terms of the Second Armistice at Compiègne. The garrison formally surrendered on 30 June.
. Rohrbach and its neighbors were designated the môle de Bitche, a fortified strongpoint. After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force
, the importance of the Line declined. Rohrbach was among the first positions to be deactivated in 1970.
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 community of Bettvillier, near Rohrbach-lès-Bitche
Rohrbach-lès-Bitche
Rohrbach-lès-Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The village is part of the Pays de Bitche and of the Moselle-est basin.-Géographie:...
in the Moselle département, 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...
. The Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
The Fortified Sector of Rohrbach was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the vicinity of Bitche. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector of the Sarre and to the east by the Fortified Sector of the Vosges...
was built somewhat later than its neighbors to the east and west, and in company with positions on the extreme western end of the Maginot Line, became one of the "New Fronts."
Design and construction
Early designs contemplated a powerful fortification of thirteen blocks. However, the scale of works in the Rohrbach sector was reduced in 1933 to two gros ouvrages, one petit ouvrage (Rohrbach), fifteen 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 eight shelters (abris). The fortifications center around the military camp at Bitche
Bitche
Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is known for its large citadel. The surrounding territory is known as le Pays de Bitche in French and Bitscherland in German.-Geography:...
and the village of Petit-Réderching. No works were constructed in Rohrbach itself. As a result of the decision of Marshal Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
in 1929, priority was given to the Vosges and the defense of the plain of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
. Aware of the weakness of the area between the rivers Sarre and Lauter, three gros ouvrages were proposed, to be completed between 1929 and 1933. However, in 1934, due to budget restrictions, plans were deferred for artillery blocks at Rohrbach, and only the infantry blocks were ultimately constructed.As the project progressed, it was distributed among Rohrbach and its neighbors.
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 June 1934. The petit ouvrage was to be expanded in a second phase to a gros ouvrage with separate munitions and personnel entries, an "M1" magazine, full underground caserne, two 75mm gun turrets, a 135 mm gun turret, a casemate block with three 75mm guns and a long-range 145mm gun turret..
Description
The town of Rohrbach-lès-BitcheRohrbach-lès-Bitche
Rohrbach-lès-Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The village is part of the Pays de Bitche and of the Moselle-est basin.-Géographie:...
is located on a shelf between the Vosges
Vosges
Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...
mountains and the valley of the Sarre, tunneled beneath by plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
mines. The valley extends into Germany and forms a natural axis of attack. The constructed p;ortions of Rohrbach are on the edge of an escarpment, while most of the proposed additional blocks, as well as the entries, were to be located several hundred meters to the rear in a ravine, tunneled under the village.
The ouvrage itself comprises one entrance block and two infantry blocks.
- Block 1: Infantry block with one machine gun (JM)/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), two machine gun embrasure (JM), one retractable mixed arms turret and 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...
. - Block 2: Infantry block with three automatic rifle embrasures, one mixed arms cloche (AM)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...
and one GFM cloche - Block 3: Infantry block with two twin machine gun embrasures, one JM/AC437 embrasure, one retractable twin machine gun turret and two GFM cloches.
Casemates and shelters
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 are in the vicinity of Rohrbach, including
- Casemate de la Station-de-Rohrbach: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, one twin machine gun embrasure, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches.
- Abri de Rohrbach: Surface shelter or abri with two GFM-B cloches
Manning
In 1939 the garrison comprised 173 men and 3 officers of the 166th Fortress Infantry Regiment under the command of Captain de Saint-Ferjeux. The units were under the umbrella of the 4th Army, Army Group 2. The Casernement de Bining provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Rohrbach and other positions in the area.History
- See Fortified Sector of RohrbachFortified Sector of RohrbachThe Fortified Sector of Rohrbach was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the vicinity of Bitche. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector of the Sarre and to the east by the Fortified Sector of the Vosges...
for a broader discussion of the Rohrbach sector of the Maginot Line.
1940
The garrison at Rohrbach made its first direct contact with German forces on 15 June, 1940, when a patrol from the ouvrage ran into German troops of the 262nd Infantry Division, resulting in the death of Lieutenant Damour, in charge of the patrol, and one other French soldier. Later in the day the sector's positions were ordered to prepare to withdraw, sabotaging their equipment before leaving. On the 16th the Germans sent large formations through the gap they had exploited in the Sarre valley, moving behind the Maginot Line. By the 17th Rohrbach was surrounded. On 19 June infiltrators in the vicinity of Rohrbach were fired upon by Simserhof.On the 21st a large-scale attack was opened against Welschhof, which was interrupted by fire from Simserhof. Haut-Poirier, farther to the west and out of range of Simserhof, was forced to surrender. Further firing occurred on the 22nd and 23rd, while individual casemates were assaulted by the Germans and taken. Both Rohrbach and Simserhof continued to fire back at the Germans on the 24th, ceasing fire at midnight in accordance with the terms of the Second Armistice at Compiègne. The garrison formally surrendered on 30 June.
1944
Rohrbach was liberated by advancing American forces on 10 December 1944, after the German evacuated, sabotaging the installation.Post-War
By 1951 work was proceeding on renovation of many of the northeastern ouvrages, including Rohrbach, with the aim of restoring their combat capability to block a potential advance by the Warsaw PactWarsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
. Rohrbach and its neighbors were designated the môle de Bitche, a fortified strongpoint. After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force
France and weapons of mass destruction
France is known to have an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. France is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; but is not known to possess or develop any chemical or biological weapons. France was the fourth country to test an independently...
, the importance of the Line declined. Rohrbach was among the first positions to be deactivated in 1970.
Preservation
From 1987 local residents worked to restore to ouvrage with support from the town of Rohrbach-lès-Bitche. The Association Fort Casso was established in 1989 to support the work. The association presently operates Rohrbach as a museum. The present name memorializes Rohrbach's engineering officer, Lieutenant Casso.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...
Source
- This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding French Wikipedia article as of January 24, 2008.
External links
- Ouvrage de Rohrbach-les-Bitche, Fort Casso
- Ouvrage de Rohbach at Chemins de mémoire