Ouvrage Village Coume

Last updated
Ouvrage Village Coume
Part of Maginot Line
Northeast France
France location map-Regions and departements-2016.svg
Red pog.svg
Ouvrage Village Coume
Coordinates 49°11′54″N6°33′39″E / 49.19833°N 6.56083°E / 49.19833; 6.56083
Site information
Controlled byFrance
Site history
In useAbandoned
MaterialsConcrete, steel, deep excavation
Battles/wars Battle of France
Ouvrage Village Coume
Type of work:Small artillery work (Petit ouvrage)
sector
└─sub-sector		 Fortified Sector of Boulay
└─Tromborn
Work number:A29
Regiment:161st Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF)
Strength:2 officers, 135 men

Ouvrage Village Coume is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) 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.

Contents

Design and construction

The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency; Village Coume was approved for construction in May 1931. It was completed at a cost of 12 million francs by the contractor Duval-Weyrich of Nancy. [1] The petit ouvrage [nb 1] was planned for construction in two phases. The second phase was to provide a separate entry block less than 100 metres (330 ft) behind the ouvrage. [4]

Description

Village Coume comprises three infantry blocks. A separate entrance block was planned for a second phase of construction which was never undertaken. [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]

Manning

The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Lieutenant Lussus comprised 135 men and 2 officers of the 161st Fortress Infantry Regiment. [4] The units were under the umbrella of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2. [9] The Casernement de Ban Saint-Jean provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Village Coume and other positions in the area. [4] [10]

History

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

Village Coume played no significant role in either the Battle of France in 1940 or the Lorraine Campaign of 1944.

Current condition

Village Coume has been stripped by salvagers and is largely buried. [11]

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 defenses 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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Mont des Welches</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Michelsberg</span>

Ouvrage Michelsberg, one of the Maginot Line fortifications, formed part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay as well as the fortified region of Metz. The ouvrage is located in Moselle (département) between the towns of Dalstein and d'Ebersviller, about 23 km from Thionville. It is located between gros ouvrage Mont des Welches and petit ouvrage Hobling, facing Germany. Michelsberg did not see significant action in the Battle of France until June 1940, when it was attacked from the rear by German forces that had bypassed the Maginot Line. It successfully resisted these attacks, but was compelled to surrender in accordance with the 25 June 1940 armistice. After the Second World War it was renovated as a Cold War fortification against a potential Soviet invasion, then abandoned. It is now operated as a museum, and may be visited.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Hobling</span> Lesser work of the Maginot Line

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, 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, 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 Bovenberg is a lesser work 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.

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 Coume Annexe Nord is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block, and is located between petits ouvrages Village Coume and Coume, facing Germany.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Coume Annexe Sud</span>

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Téting</span>

Ouvrage Téting is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Faulquemont, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block and two observation blocks, and is located facing Germany between petits ouvrages Laudrefang and the Saar valley, which was to be inundated in times of emergency. With artillery support from its neighbor Laudrefang, Téting held out against German bombardment during the Battle of France in 1940. It is now abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Métrich</span> Ouvrage of the Maginot Line

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 ouvrage Billig, facing Germany. Located to the east of the Moselle, it cooperated with Ouvrage Galgenberg to control the river valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Immerhof</span>

Ouvrage Immerhof, also known as Ouvrage Ferme-Immerhof, is one of the largest petit ouvrages of the Maginot Line of north-east, France. Located near the community of Hettange-Grande, it is 7 km north of Thionville between the gros ouvrages of Molvange and Soetrich, the closest ouvrage to the Luxembourg frontier. It was part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville, in the Fortified Region of Metz, the strongest portion of the Line. Apart from its function as a communication post between the neighbouring gros ouvrages, Immerhof also controlled the road and railway routes from Luxembourg, which pass in the immediate vicinity. In addition, Immerhof protected other Maginot works in the vicinity: the casemates of Kanfen, the infantry shelter of Stressling, the observation point and shelter of Hettange-Grande, and a number of nearby blockhouses constructed during the Phoney War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Soetrich</span>

Ouvrage Soetrich is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line in north-eastern 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 neighbours, Ouvrage Rochonvillers and Ouvrage Molvange, Soetrich was used during the Cold War as a secure command centre for NATO forces.

Ouvrage Les Sarts is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line, built as part of the "New Fronts" program to address shortcomings in the Line's coverage of the border with Belgium. Like the other three ouvrages near Maubeuge, it is built on an old Séré de Rivières system fortification, near the town of Marieux.

Ouvrage Bersillies is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line, built as part of the "New Fronts" program to address shortcomings in the Line's coverage of the border with Belgium. Like the other three ouvrages near Maubeuge, it is built on an old Séré de Rivières-system fortification, near the town of Bersillies. The preserved Ouvrage La Salmagne is nearby to the southeast. Bersillies is not open to the public.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ouvrage Thonnelle</span>

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.

References

  1. ↑ Mary, Tome 1, p. 52|
  2. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p. 13
  3. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p. 20
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mary, Tome 3, p. 108
  5. ↑ Mary, Tome 2 p. 117
  6. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; Aublet, Jean-Louis; Mainguin, Sylvie (2010). "Village de Coume (po de) Bloc 1". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  7. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Village de Coume (po de) Bloc 2". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  8. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Village de Coume (po de) Bloc 3". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  9. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 99
  10. ↑ Wahl, J.B. "Festungsabschnitt Boulay" (in German). darkplaces.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  11. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Village de Coume (petit ouvrage A29 du)". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 27 May 2010.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.