Ouvrage Saint Ours Bas

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Ouvrage Saint Ours Bas
Part of Maginot Line, Alpine Line
Southeast France
Vue generale de l'ouvrage de Saint-Ours-Bas.jpg
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Ouvrage Saint Ours Bas
Coordinates 44°28′17″N6°48′32″E / 44.47133°N 6.80881°E / 44.47133; 6.80881
Site information
Controlled byFrance
Open to
the public
Yes
Site history
Built byCORF
In usePreserved
MaterialsConcrete, steel
Battles/wars Italian invasion of France
Ouvrage Saint Ours Bas
Type of work:Small artillery work (Petit ouvrage)
sector
└─sub-sector
Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné, Vallée de l'Ubaye
└─Ubaye-Ubayette, Quartier Meyronnes
Regiment:83rd BAF
Number of blocks:1
Strength:1 officer, 24 men

Ouvrage Saint Ours Bas is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one infantry block. The location is unusual in lacking the underground galleries typical of a Maginot fortification, making it more like a blockhouse than an ouvrage. It was armed with two machine gun cloches and three heavy twin machine guns and six light machine gun embrasures. [1] The interior is laid out on two levels. [2]

Contents

Construction began in July 1931, and cost 4.2 million francs to complete. [3] The position controlled movement along RN 100.

See Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné for a broader discussion of the Dauphiné sector of the Alpine Line.

Present condition

Saint-Ours Bas has been preserved and is now a museum, associated with Ouvrage Saint Ours Haut, as part of the Museum of Saint-Ours-Bas. [4]

See also

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Ouvrage Valdeblore

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Ouvrage Col du Caire Gros

Ouvrage Col du Caire Gros is a lesser work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of two entry blocks at an altitude of 2,048 metres (6,719 ft). Additional blocks were planned but not built.

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Ouvrage La Déa, also known as the Petit Ouvrage de la baisse de la Déa, is a lesser work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of two entry blocks and one observation block facing Italy at an altitude of 1,777 metres (5,830 ft), armed with one observation cloche and one machine gun embrasure. The ouvrage was manned by 81 soldiers in 1940, and commanded by sous-lieutenant Guillemin. The position was sited to control the Maglia valley. A fourth block with three machine gun positions was not built.

Ouvrage Champ de Tir

Ouvrage Champ de Tir, also known as Champ de Tir de l'Agaisen is a lesser work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. It is located at an altitude of 672 metres (2,205 ft), less than 1 kilometer to the northwest of Ouvrage l'Agaisen. The ouvrage consists of two entry blocks and one infantry block, sited to control the valley of the Nieya and to observe for l'Agaisen.

Ouvrage Col de Garde

Ouvrage Col de Garde is a lesser work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also called the Little Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of two entry blocks, one infantry block and one observation block, slightly more than 1 km south of Sainte-Agnès.

Ouvrage Croupe du Reservoir

Ouvrage Croupe du Réservoir is a lesser work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. Located on the heights of Roquebrune at an elevation of 139 meters, the ouvrage consists of one entry block and one observation block facing Italy and covering the Grande Corniche road. The fortification was manned by 60 troops of the 58th Demi-Brigade Alpin de Forteresse (DBAF) under the command of sous-lieutenant Roman.

Ouvrage Col des Banquettes

Ouvrage Col des Banquettes is a lesser work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also called the "Little Maginot Line". The ouvrage consists of two entry blocks and one infantry block facing Italy at the top of the Col des Banquettes, 2 km northwest of Saint-Agnès. The position controlled the pass of the same name and was covered by Ouvrage Sainte-Agnès and the positions at Pic-de-Garuche.

References

  1. Puelinckx, Jean; Aublet, Jean-Louis; Mainguin, Sylvie (2010). "Saint-Ours (po bas)". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  2. Mary, Tome 5, p. 34
  3. Mary, Tome 4 - La fortification alpine, p. 29
  4. Kaufmann 2011, pp. 264-264

Bibliography