Ouvrage Sentzich
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Sentzich is part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville
of the Maginot Line
.
The petit ouvrage for infantry is located to the south of gros ouvrage Galgenberg
, on the edge of the main road to Luxembourg
near the village of Sentzich. Gros ouvrage Métrich
is to the east. As a small work it was not considered for use after World War II and was abandoned. It is secured, but is not open to the public.
combination (JM/AC37), and was surmounted by an automatic rifle cloche (GFM)
. The south firing chamber was equipped similarly. The usine was equipped with two Baudouin motors, of 36 hp each.
Sentzich, closely associated with Galgenberg, did not see significant action in the Battle of France
in 1940, nor in the Lorraine Campaign
of 1944. The Germans largely bypassed the area, advancing along the valley of the Meuse and Saar rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan. The garrison therefore remained in place. Following negotiations, the positions on the left bank of the Moselle finally surrendered to the Germans on 30 June, 1940. While a number of the larger ouvrages in the Thionville sector were renovated immediately after World War II for duty in the Cold War
, Sentzich was not re-armed. It remained secured, owing to its position next to Galgenberg, which was used as a communications facility
. It is not presently accessible to the public.
Fortified Sector of Thionville
The Fortified Sector of Thionville was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line immediately to the north of Thionville. The sector describes an arc of about , about halfway between the French border with Luxembourg and Thionville. The Thionville...
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,...
.
The petit ouvrage for infantry is located to the south of gros ouvrage Galgenberg
Ouvrage Galgenberg
Ouvrage Galgenberg forms a portion of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line. It is situated in the Cattenom Forest, near the gros ouvrage Kobenbusch and petit ouvrage Oberheid. The ouvrage was tasked with controlling the Moselle valley and as such was called the "Guardian of the...
, on the edge of the main road to Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
near the village of Sentzich. Gros ouvrage Métrich
Ouvrage Metrich
Ouvrage Métrich located in the village of Kœnigsmacker in Moselle, comprises part of the Elzange portion of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line. A gros ouvrage, it is the third largest of the Line, after Hackenberg and Hochwald. It lies between petit ouvrage Sentzich and gros...
is to the east. As a small work it was not considered for use after World War II and was abandoned. It is secured, but is not open to the public.
Design and construction
The Sentzich site was approved by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in February 1930 and construction by contractor Verdun-Fortifications started the same year. The construction cost was 7.5 million francs.Description
The single infantry block possessed two firing chambers and one machine gun turret. The north chamber was equipped for a machine gun/37mm anti-tank gunAC 37 anti-tank gun
The AC 37 was a French anti-tank gun of 37mm caliber, developed by the Ateliers de Puteaux. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930's...
combination (JM/AC37), and was surmounted by an automatic rifle cloche (GFM)
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...
. The south firing chamber was equipped similarly. The usine was equipped with two Baudouin motors, of 36 hp each.
Casemates and shelters
The Blockhaus de Sentzich is immediately to the south of the main ouvrage on the other side of the Sentzich village. The blockhouse was armed with a JM/AC47 embrasure.Manning
The ouvrage was manned by 66 men of the 168th Fortress Infantry Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Legrand. The Casernement de Cattenom provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Sentzich and other ouvrages in the area.History
- See Fortified Sector of ThionvilleFortified Sector of ThionvilleThe Fortified Sector of Thionville was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line immediately to the north of Thionville. The sector describes an arc of about , about halfway between the French border with Luxembourg and Thionville. The Thionville...
for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Thionville sector of the Maginot Line.
Sentzich, closely associated with Galgenberg, 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...
in 1940, nor in the Lorraine Campaign
Lorraine 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...
of 1944. The Germans largely bypassed the area, advancing along the valley of the Meuse and Saar rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan. The garrison therefore remained in place. Following negotiations, the positions on the left bank of the Moselle finally surrendered to the Germans on 30 June, 1940. While a number of the larger ouvrages in the Thionville sector were renovated immediately after World War II for duty in the 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...
, Sentzich was not re-armed. It remained secured, owing to its position next to Galgenberg, which was used as a communications facility
Current condition
The ouvrage is owned and maintained by the commune of CattenomCattenom
Cattenom is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It lies about 8 kilometres north of Thionville.-Nuclear power station:...
. It is not presently accessible to the public.
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
- Ouvrage de Sentzich
- Sentzich at fortiff.be
- Sentzich at darkplaces.org