Ouvrage Hochwald

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Ouvrage Hochwald
Part of Maginot Line
Northeast France
Ouvrage du Hochwald (ligne Maginot).jpg
Block 6
France location map-Regions and departements-2016.svg
Red pog.svg
Ouvrage Hochwald
Coordinates 48°59′04″N7°50′01″E / 48.9845°N 7.8337°E / 48.9845; 7.8337
TypeGros Ouvrage
Site information
Controlled byFrance
Open to
the public		No
ConditionIn use by French Air Force
Site history
Built1929-1933
Built byCORF
MaterialsConcrete, steel, deep excavation
Battles/wars Battle of France, Lorraine Campaign
Garrison information
Garrison1070
Ouvrage Hochwald
Type of work:Large artillery work (Gros ouvrage)
sector
└─sub-sector		 Fortified Sector of Haguenau
└─Péchelbronn
Work number:E 700, Ouvrage F
Regiment:22nd Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF) + 156thPosition Artillery Regiment (RAP)
Number of blocks:14

Ouvrage Hochwald is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, one of the largest fortifications in the Line. Located on the Hochwald ridge in the Fortified Sector of Haguenau in the community of Drachenbronn-Birlenbach in the Bas-Rhin department of northeastern France, it was designed to protect the northern Vosges region of France. Ouvrage Hochwald is sometimes considered as two ouvrages because of its separation of the western and the eastern portions of the ouvrage. Uniquely, the original plans for the position included an elevated battery to the rear with long-range 145 mm or 155 mm gun turrets of a new kind. Hochwald is used by the French Air Force as an armoured air defense coordination center.

Contents

Design and construction

The Hochwald site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1928. Work began the next year, and the position became operational in 1933. [1] [2] The gros ouvrage is unique in size and extent. The reduit at the peak of the Hochwald would have provided heavy, long-range artillery cover for the entire sector. [1] [nb 1]

Description

Hochwald is flanked on the west by Ouvrage Four-à-Chaux and on the east by Ouvrage Schoenenbourg, comprising one of the strongest points on the Line. The height of the Hochwald ridge overlooks the area of Wissembourg to the east, which forms a gap between the hills of the northern Vosges and the Palatinate forest on the west and the Bienwald on the east. The landscape on the French side of the border is an open farmed plain for 24 kilometres (15 mi) eastwards to the Rhine. The ouvrage formed part of the "principal line of resistance", an element of defense in depth that was preceded by a line of advance posts close to the border and backed by a line of shelters for infantry. Hochwald's fighting elements were placed in the line of resistance, with the entrances and their associated supply lines protected by infantry in the third line, 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) or more to the rear. The entrances were served by narrow-gauge 60-centimetre (24 in) railways, that branched from a line paralleling the front and connecting to supply depots. The rail lines ran directly into the munitions entry of the ouvrage and all the way out to the combat blocks, a distance of nearly 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). [5]

Ouvrage Hochwald includes ten combat blocks and three entrance blocks: five combat blocks located on each side of the Hochwald massif, an ammunition entrance, a personnel entrance located on the back (south) side and an intermediate personnel entrance located in the middle of the principal gallery. [1] Hochwald was equipped in 1940 with the following armament:

Eastern wing (O 720)

Western wing (O 703)

Anti-tank ditch and casemates

American soldiers at Hochwald West, Block 13 in 1944 Maginot Line 1944.jpg
American soldiers at Hochwald West, Block 13 in 1944

A chevroned ditch runs over the ridge between the east and west wings with a series of casemates located to sweep the ditch with fire. The casemates are not connected to each other or to the ouvrage.

Entries, observation post and réduit

The planned réduit for long-range 145mm or 155mm guns was never built. Its entry was partially completed and never armed. Partially completed galleries run some hundreds of meters into the hill from the rear to the location of the planned combat blocks at the crest of the ridge. [1] [20] [21]

Entry blocks 8 and 9 serve the main ammunition magazine, utility area (usine) and underground barracks. They are more than a kilometer from the west wing combat blocks and close to two kilometers from the east wing blocks, [22] at a depth underground of approximately 30 metres (98 ft). The western underground barracks and the large "M1"-type magazine are just inside the entries. These areas were converted and expanded to form the basis of Base Aérienne 901 Drachenbronn [23] in a manner similar to the adaptation of Ouvrage Rochonvillers for the NATO CENTAG headquarters of the 1960s.

Block 20 is an isolated and unconnected observation block on the summit of the Hochwald with a VP cloche and a GFM cloche. [1] [22]

The generating plant was split into two units: the west generating plant comprised four Sulzer engines of 240 hp each, and the east four Sulzer engines of 165 hp each. [1]

Casemates and shelters

A series of detached casemates and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Hochwald, including

Ouvrage Bremmelbach

Two casemates to the east of Hochwald comprise the remainder of the planned petit ouvrage Bremmelbach, canceled in 1929.

The two casemates are linked by an underground gallery. [1]

Manning

The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Miconnet comprised 1022 men and 41 officers of the 22nd Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 156th Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 5th Army, Army Group 2. Interval troops covering the areas between and outside the fortifications were assigned to the 16th and 70th Infantry Divisions, 12th Corps. [25] [26] The nearby Casernement de Drachenbronn provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Hochwald and other positions in the area. [27] [28]

History

See Fortified Sector of Haguenau for a broader discussion of the Haguenau sector of the Maginot Line.
Hochwald Block 9 Hochwald B7 1.jpg
Hochwald Block 9

Hochwald was one of the most active ouvrages during the Phoney War of 1939–1940. On 8–9 October 1939, Hochwald fired in support of French patrols, revealing deficiencies in gun mounts and ammunition. [29] In November the ouvrage fired on German minelayers. During the Battle of France in June 1940, Hochwald remained unmolested until 16 June, when it fired on Germans moving toward Lembach and received artillery fire and Stuka attacks in return. Attacks came again on the 20th, and Hochwald fired in support of Lembach. More aerial attacks followed on the 22nd.

In 1944, the retreating Germans blew up blocks 1, 3 6 and 16, and all three entrance blocks, as well as all turrets. [30] In 1944 Hochwald (renamed Werk Hochwald) was used as an underground factory. [31]

With the formation of NATO, French interest in a renewed fortification system against a Warsaw Pact invasion caused the renovation of most of the larger Maginot fortifications by the 1950s. Hochwald joined Schoenenbourg, Four-à-Chaux and Lembach in a system called the Môle de Haguenau, with work at Hochwald proceeding in 1952 to repair the war damage. However, in 1956, Hochwald was transferred to the French Air Force for use as an air defense command center. New underground galleries were built in the rear (i.e., near the entrance blocks), and were even provided with an internal machine gun port. [32] The facility was briefly known as Ouvrage H before its designation as Base Aérienne 901 Drachenbronn. [33]

Current condition

Hochwald is part of the French Air Force's Drachenbronn Air Base, and is used as a hardened command center. It is closed to the public except for the Pierre Jost Museum, which is open on days of national remembrance. [23] In 2015 the military base was closed, only the radar antennas are still in use and are remotely controlled. [34] Another Maginot ouvrage, Mont Agel of the Alpine Line, performs a similar function in southeastern France. [35]

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 defences in the form of walls and ditches. [3] 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. [4]
  2. ↑ An abri is an infantry shelter, sometimes underground or under earth cover. An abri in the main Maginot Line often closely resembles a casemate, but is more lightly armed and can hold more occupants. [24]

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Ouvrage Lembach is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line. Lembach is adjoined by petit ouvrage Grand Hohekirkel at some distance to its west and gros ouvrage Four-à-Chaux immediately to its east. It faces the German frontier, and was part of the Fortified Sector of the Vosges. During the Battle of France in 1940, the German 215th Infantry Division broke through the line of smaller fortifications to the west of Lembach, but did not directly attack. After aerial bombardments, Lembach surrendered with the rest of the Maginot fortifications according to the terms of the Second Armistice at Compiègne. After the war Lembach was renovated for further use, but was abandoned by the 1970s.

Ouvrage Four-à-Chaux

Ouvrage Four-à-Chaux is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the community of Lembach, France, in the Bas-Rhin département. Four à Chaux was adjoined by petit ouvrage Lembach and gros ouvrage Hochwald, and faced the German frontier as part of the Fortified Sector of the Vosges. A "four à chaux" is a lime kiln in French, and the ouvrage was located in the area of a limestone quarry and kiln, which operated until 1939. Four-à-Chaux was bombarded by the invading Germans in late June 1940 during the Battle of France with both aerial attacks and artillery bombardments. Four-à-Chaux survived to surrender at the end of the month. Block 1 was destroyed by the Germans before retreating in the face of American advances in 1945. During the 1950s Four-à-Chaux was renovated and reoccupied against a perceived threat from the Soviet Union. It fell out of use in the 1970s, and is now operated as a museum.

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 ouvrage 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Mary, Tome 3, pp. 135–137
  2. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p. 25
  3. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p.13
  4. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p. 20
  5. ↑ Mary, Tome 2, p. 53
  6. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; Aublet, Jean-Louis; Mainguin, Sylvie (2010). "Hochwald (go E720 du) Bloc 1". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  7. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E720 du) Bloc 2". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  8. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E720 du) Bloc 3". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  9. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E720 du) Bloc 5". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  10. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E720 du) Bloc 6". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  11. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E720 du) Bloc 7 (entrée est)". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  12. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E720 du) Bloc 7bis". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  13. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E703 du) Bloc 12". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  14. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E703 du) Bloc 13". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  15. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E703 du) Bloc 14". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  16. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E703 du) Bloc 15". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  17. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E703 du) Bloc 16". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  18. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E703 du) Bloc 8 (entrée M ouest)". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  19. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E703 du) Bloc 9 (entrée H ouest)". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  20. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p. 21
  21. ↑ Mary, Tome 1, p. 56
  22. 1 2 Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Hochwald (go E700 du)". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  23. 1 2 "Historique de la base". Base Aérienne 901 (in French). French Ministry of Defense. 2 February 2007. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  24. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p. 14
  25. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, pp. 79, 122. 129, 134
  26. ↑ Romanych, pp. 22–24
  27. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 125
  28. ↑ Wahl, J.B. "Festungsabschnitt Haguenau" (in German). darkplaces.org. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  29. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p. 150
  30. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, pp. 142, 155
  31. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p. 137
  32. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p. 172
  33. ↑ Brolli, Antoine (1987–1988). "L'ouvrage "G" de la D.A.T.". Bulletin de la société belfortaine d'émulation (in French) (79). ISSN   0242-5106.
  34. ↑ Berring, Franck (2015). Drachenbronn - Base secrète du Hochwald (in French). Toulouse: Édition Privat. p. 129. ISBN   978-2-7089-9264-1.
  35. ↑ "Le Centre de Detection et de Controle 05.943: Missions" (in French). French Ministry of Defense. 2 April 2008. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2010.

Bibliography

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