Ouvrage Bovenberg

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Ouvrage Bovenberg
Part of Maginot Line
Northeast France
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Ouvrage Bovenberg
Coordinates 49°13′29″N6°30′16″E / 49.22472°N 6.50444°E / 49.22472; 6.50444
Site information
Controlled byFrance
Site history
In useAbandoned
MaterialsConcrete, steel, deep excavation
Battles/wars Battle of France
Ouvrage Bovenberg
Type of work:Small artillery work (Petit ouvrage)
sector
└─sub-sector
Fortified Sector of Boulay
└─Tromborn
Work number:A27
Regiment:161st Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF)
Number of blocks:6
Strength:7 officers, 228 men

Ouvrage Bovenberg is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage is located between petits ouvrages Berenbach and Denting, facing Germany. It consists of two infantry blocks and two artillery blocks.

Contents

Design and construction

The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency; Bovenberg was approved for construction in early 1931. It was completed at a cost of 26 million francs by the contractor Omnium of Paris. [1] The petit ouvrage [nb 1] was planned for construction in two phases, the original second phase designed to expand the position into a gros ouvrage with artillery. A scaled-down second phase was contemplated in 1939. No version of the second phase was ever carried out. [4]

Description

Bovenberg comprises six infantry blocks. Block 3 is not connected to the main ouvrage. A connection was planned for Phase 2, which also envisioned an entry several hundred meters to the rear, but was not pursued in time for the war. [4] The blocks 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 ft). [5]

Casemates and shelters

In addition to the combat blocks, a series of detached casemates and infantry shelters surround Bovenberg, including

Manning

The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Lieutenant Lambret comprised 228 men and 7 officers of the 161st Fortress Infantry Regiment. [4] The units were under the umbrella of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2. [12] The Casernement de Boulay provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Berenbach and other positions in the area. [4] [13]

History

See Fortified Sector of Boulay for a broader discussion of the Boulay sector of the Maginot Line.

Bovenberg played no significant role in either the Battle of France in 1940 or the Lorraine Campaign of 1944. After the Second World War it became part of the Mòle de Boulay, a strongpoint in the northeastern defenses against Soviet attack. [14] Bovenberg remained under Army control until after 1971, when it was declassified and sold. [15]

See also

Notes

  1. English-language sources use the French term ouvrage as the preferred term for the Maginot positions, in preference to "fort", a term usually reserved for older fortifications with passive defensives in the form of walls and ditches. [2] The literal translation of ouvrage in the sense of a fortification in English is "work." A gros ouvrage is a large fortification with a significant artillery component, while a petit ouvrage is smaller, with lighter arms. [3]

Related Research Articles

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 ouvrage Michelsberg, facing Germany. Relatively small for a gros ouvrage, Mont des Welches saw a brief period of sharp action in June 1940, when German forces moving along the rear of the Maginot Line engaged the position without success. After modest renovations in the 1950s, Mont des Welches was abandoned in the 1970s.

Ouvrage Anzeling

Ouvrage Anzeling is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay. It is located between petit ouvrage Bousse and petit ouvrage Berenbach, facing Germany just to the east of Bockange. With one of the longest main galleries of any Maginot position, it consists of two entrance blocks, three infantry blocks and four artillery blocks. A second phase of construction was planned to add nine more combat blocks and an anti-tank ditch, but was never executed. Anzeling saw limited action in World War II, and was rehabilitated for use during the cold war. It was de-activated in the 1970s and sold for private use.

Ouvrage Coucou

Ouvrage Coucou is a lesser work of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay. The ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks, and is located between the gros ouvrages of Hackenberg and Mont des Welches, facing Germany, just north of Kemplich.

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. It has been stripped of metals and abandoned.

Ouvrage Bousse

Ouvrage Bousse, also known as Ouvrage Bois de Bousse, is a lesser work of the Maginot Line in the Fortified Sector of Boulay. The ouvrage is located between petit ouvrage Hobling and gros ouvrage Anzeling, near Hestroff in the Bois du Bousse, facing Germany. A small position, it was manned primarily by reservists. It is noted for the events of 15 June 1940, when it received orders to prepare for an evacuation as German forces advanced along the Line in the Battle of France. As the garrison prepared to abandon the position, sabotaging equipment, they destroyed their telephone connection, leaving them unable to receive the order countermanding the evacuation. The garrison was captured three days after leaving Bousse. Bousse is now managed as a museum and is open to public visitation.

Ouvrage Berenbach

Ouvrage Berenbach, also known as Ouvrage Behrenbach, is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage is located between gros ouvrage Anzeling and petit ouvrage Bovenberg, facing Germany. The ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks and one observation block. Uniquely, the blocks are not connected by subterranean galleries, as is the case in virtually all other Maginot fortifications.

Ouvrage Denting

Ouvrage Denting is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of three infantry blocks, and is located between petits ouvrages Bovenberg and Village Coume, near the village of Denting in Moselle département, facing Germany. The position saw little action in World War II.

Ouvrage Village Coume

Ouvrage Village Coume is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of three infantry blocks, and is located between petits ouvrages Bovenberg and Coume Annexe Nord, facing Germany. The position saw little action in World War II. It was sold in the 1970s and stripped by salvagers.

Ouvrage Coume

Ouvrage Coume is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks, and was located between petits ouvrages Coume Annexe Nord and Coume Annexe Sud, facing Germany.

Ouvrage Coume Annexe Sud

Ouvrage Coume Annexe Sud is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks, one artillery block and one observation block, and is located between petits ouvrages Coume and Mottemberg, facing Germany.

Ouvrage Mottenberg

Ouvrage Mottenberg is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of one entrance block and two infantry blocks, and is located between petits ouvrages Coume Annexe Sud and Kerfent, facing Germany.

Ouvrage Bambesch

Ouvrage Bambesch is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Faulquemont, the ouvrage consists of three infantry blocks, and is located between petits ouvrages Kerfent and Einseling, facing Germany. Completed in 1932, it is located in the Bois de Bambesch. On 20 June 1940 during the Battle of France, Bambesch was attacked by German forces, whose artillery battered the position, which could not be effectively supported by its neighbors, into surrender. Since 1973, Bambesch has been operated as a museum and is open to the public.

Ouvrage Mauvais-Bois

Ouvrage Mauvais-Bois is a petit ouvrage of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes on the Maginot Line. It is located between the gros ouvrage Latiremont and the petit ouvrage Bois-du-Four, facing the Belgium/Luxembourg border. The original plan for the position was for two phases of construction, resulting in a gros ouvrage provided with heavy artillery. The increase in tension between France and Germany in the late 1930s caused resources to be diverted elsewhere, and only the first three combat blocks were built. In 1940 the ouvrage was regularly bombarded, but not directly attacked by German infantry. When the French military divested itself of the majority of the Maginot fortifications, Mauvais-Bois was the second to be sold.

Ouvrage Bréhain

Ouvrage Bréhain is part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Bréhain-la-Ville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département of France. Bréhain is flanked by petits ouvrages Mauvais Bois and Aumetz. The gros ouvrage was equipped with long-range artillery, and faced the border with Luxembourg. It saw no major action in either the Battle of France in 1940 or the Lorraine Campaign of 1944. While not open to public visitation, it has been secured and is in relatively good condition when compared to other abandoned Maginot positions. A flanking casemate has been restored and may be visited.

Ouvrage Aumetz

Ouvrage Aumetz is a small work, or petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line. It is part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes and is located near the community of Aumetz in the Moselle département of France. The petit ouvrage flanked by the gros ouvrages Bréhain and Rochonvillers, all facing the France-Luxembourg border. Aumetz was initially planned as a gros ouvrage of six combat blocks, but only three infantry blocks were built. Aumetz saw limited action during the Battle of France. In the 1970s it was the first Maginot position to be offered for sale to the public.

Ouvrage Soetrich

Ouvrage Soetrich is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line in northeastern France. Soetrich is located between petits ouvrages Immerhof and Bois Karre, facing the France-Luxembourg border near the town of Hettange-Grande, part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville. Compared with other gros ouvrages, Soetrich is compact in arrangement, with the entries and underground ammunition magazines and barracks in close proximity to the combat blocks, accessed through underground galleries at an average depth of 30 metres (98 ft). Its primary purpose was to cover the main road to Luxembourg, just to the west. Along with its neighbors, Ouvrage Rochonvillers and Ouvrage Molvange, Soetrich was used during the Cold War as a secure command center for NATO forces.

Ouvrage Otterbiel

Ouvrage Otterbiel forms part of the Maginot Line in the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach, Sub-sector of Bitche, and is located on the Camp de Bitche of the French Army. It is located between gros ouvrage Schiesseck and petit ouvrage Grand Hohekirkel. Part of the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach, the petit ouvrage comprises four combat blocks and an entry block. Due to budget restrictions, a planned flanking infantry block was never constructed. Otterbiel saw no significant action in the Battle of France, and limited action during the 1944/45 Lorraine Campaign. It was renovated for use during the Cold War. Otterbiel is used for ammunition storage by the French Army.

Ouvrage Vélosnes

Ouvrage Vélosnes is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy between the towns of Othe and Vélosnes, facing Belgium. It possesses four combat blocks and one entrance block. It is located to the east of petit ouvrage Thonnelle. The position was sabotaged and abandoned by French forces that were ordered to retreat from the exposed position in June 1940 during the Battle of France. The ouvrage is abandoned and is administered as a nature preserve.

Ouvrage Thonnelle

Ouvrage Thonnelle is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy between the towns of Thonnelle and Verneuil-Petit, facing Belgium. It possesses four combat blocks. It is located between gros ouvrages Vélosnes and Chesnois. The position was sabotaged and abandoned by French forces that were ordered to retreat from the exposed position in June 1940 during the Battle of France. The ouvrage is abandoned.

Ouvrage Chesnois

Ouvrage Chesnois, also known as Ouvrage Chênois, is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy, facing Belgium. The ouvrage lies between the towns of Montlibert and Thonne-le-Thil. It possesses six combat blocks. It is located between gros ouvrage Thonnelle and petit ouvrvage La Ferté. The position was sabotaged and abandoned by French forces that were ordered to retreat from the exposed position in June 1940 during the Battle of France. The ouvrage is now abandoned and sealed.

References

  1. Mary, Tome 1, p. 52
  2. Kaufmann 2006, p. 13|
  3. Kaufmann 2006, p.20
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Mary, Tome 3, p. 108
  5. Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques (2003). Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2 (in French). Histoire & Collections. p. 117. ISBN   2-908182-97-1.
  6. Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Bovenberg (petit ouvrage du) Bloc 1". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  7. Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Bovenberg (petit ouvrage du) Bloc 2". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  8. Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Bovenberg (petit ouvrage du) Bloc 3". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  9. Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Bovenberg (petit ouvrage du) Bloc 4". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  10. Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Bovenberg (petit ouvrage du) Bloc 5". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  11. Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Bovenberg (petit ouvrage du) Bloc 6". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  12. Mary, Tome 3, p. 99
  13. Wahl, J.B. "Festungsabschnitt Boulay" (in German). darkplaces.org. Retrieved 25 May 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. Mary, Tome 5, p. 171
  15. Mary, Tome 5, p. 175

Bibliography