Ouvrage Fermont

Ouvrage Fermont
Part of Maginot Line
Northeast France
Ouvrage Fermont
Coordinates 49°27′22″N 5°39′42″E / 49.45624°N 5.66157°E
Site information
Controlled by France
Open to
the public		 Yes
Condition Preserved
Site history
Built by CORF
Materials Concrete, steel, deep excavation
Battles/wars Battle of France, Lorraine Campaign
Ouvrage Fermont
Type of work: Large artillery work (Gros ouvrage)
sector
└─sub-sector		 Fortified Sector of the Crusnes
└─Arrancy
Work number: A2
Constructed: 1931-1935
Regiment: 149th Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF)
Number of blocks: 9
Strength: 553 enlisted + 19 officers

Ouvrage Fermont is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes in northeastern France, near the community of Montigny-sur-Chiers. It is located near the commune of Montigny-sur-Chiers, between the petit ouvrage Ferme Chappy and the gros ouvrage Latiremont. The position is near the western end of the Line, about four kilometers east of Longuyon, facing Belgium. There was significant combat at Fermont during the last stages of the Battle of France. It was repaired and reactivated during the 1950s and 1960s as a strongpoint in the event of an invasion by Soviet forces. After being abandoned by the military, it has been restored and is maintained as a museum.

Design and construction

The site was surveyed by the Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées (CORF), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in early 1931. Fermont was approved for construction in May 1931. It was completed at a cost of 77 million francs by the contractor Allary of Paris.[1] While the existing ouvrage is a fully realized gros ouvrage[nb 1] of the typical fort palmé ("palm-shaped") form, a second phase, never executed, was planned to add four more combat blocks. The fort palmé is a distributed fortification, with its entrances and underground support areas more than a kilometer to the rear, connected to the combat blocks by a long underground gallery. The "palm" is composed of the grouped combat blocks, linked by galleries to the main trunk.[4][5]

Description

Fermont comprises two entrance blocks, three infantry blocks, three artillery blocks, and one observation block. The combat blocks are connected to the entries and support areas by a gallery system extending over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) from end to end.[6] The munitions and personnel entries are located far to the rear of the compactly arranged combat blocks, with the entries hidden in the woods. Both entry blocks required elevators to reach the level of the gallery, as the preferred inclined or level tunnel could not be achieved in the local topography.[7] A partial "M1" ammunition magazine is located just inside the ammunition entry, while the underground barracks are located near the junction of the two entry galleries. From there a long, straight gallery runs at an average depth of 30 metres (98 ft) to the combat blocks. Fermont was served by a 60 cm-gauge narrow-gauge railway, which enters at the munitions entrance and runs all the way out through the galleries to the combat blocks. On the surface, the railway connects to supply points to the rear and to other ouvrages.[8]

Unbuilt blocks:

The additional blocks were planned for the late 1930s, but were not built as resources were diverted elsewhere. The M1 magazine was to be doubled in size at the same time.[4]

Casemates and shelters

The Beuveille casemate

A series of detached casemates and observation points surround Fermont, including the:

None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other. The Caserne Lamy provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Fermont and other fortifications in the area.[23]

Manning

The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Captain Aubert comprised 553 men and 19 officers of the 149th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 152nd Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2.[24]

History

Personnel entry
See Fortified Sector of the Crusnes for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Crusnes sector of the Maginot Line.

At the opening of the Battle of France in May 1940 Fermont exchanged gunfire with the Wehrmacht. On 11 May Fermont's 75mm turret opened fire on the German 17th Infantry Division. On the 13th, Fermont provided covering fire for French forces retreating from Longwy, which was between the Maginot Line and the German border and was therefore regarded as indefensible against a determined attack.[25] In late May and early June the German attack was focused farther to the west, eventually breaking out behind the Line. From June 15 to June 20, 1940, Fermont helped to repel attacks on the neighboring ouvrage Ferme Chappy, as well as firing to the north. On June 17, German artillery of the 183rd Infantry Division opened fire on the rear of Block 4 with 88mm guns. By chance, the firing stopped after the last shot had weakened the concrete to the point that another shot would have pierced it. The breach was repaired that night.[26] The 161st Infantry Division under General Wilck then attacked Fermont and Latiremont on June 21 with 210mm and 305mm siege mortars, 105mm guns and 88mm high-velocity guns, causing a single death when a round penetrated a mortar cloche at Block 5.[27][nb 2] A cease-fire negotiated later in the day permitted the Germans to recover their 80 wounded.[26] Firing continued until the armistice of 25 June, but no further assault was launched by the Germans. Fermont's garrison surrendered to the Germans on 27 June after negotiations with German forces that were undertaken by Commandant Pophillat of Latiremont.[28] Following the takeover, French prisoners of war were put to work removing mines around the ouvrage, resulting in many French casualties.[29]

In early 1941 the Germans staged an attack on Blocks 1 and 4 for movie cameras, promoting the resulting propaganda film as documentation of the June 1940 attacks.[30] The Fermont area did not see significant fighting during the Lorraine Campaign of 1944, but Fermont's caserne was used as a place for rest and recuperation for American troops during the Battle of the Bulge.[31]

Post-War

Cistern, with 60cm rails in the floor

By 1951 work was proceeding on renovation of many of the northeastern ouvrages, including Fermont, with the aim of restoring their combat capability to block a potential advance by the Warsaw Pact.[32] Fermont and Latiremont were designated the môle de Crusnes, a fortified strongpoint.[33] After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force, the importance of the Line declined.[34] The ouvrage was abandoned by the military in 1967. In 1975 the property was transferred from the Ministry of Defense to an association for the restoration and preservation of Fermont, and in 1977 it was opened to the public.[6][35]

Current condition

The ouvrage, which retains a large portion of its equipment, was restored in 1977[36] and may be visited during the summer months. The museum is operated by the Association des Amis de l'Ouvrage de Fermont et de la Ligne Maginot.[37] The ouvrage contains a working 60 cm rail line, which is used to carry visitors from the entry to the combat blocks.[6] A museum on the surface features turrets from other ouvrages, including three from Bréhain and one from Molvange.[7]

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]
  2. ↑ A memorial to the soldier Piton is located in the main gallery, where he was interred[26]

References

  1. ↑ Mary, Tome 1, p. 52
  2. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p. 13
  3. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p.20
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Mary, Tome 3, pp. 84–86
  5. ↑ Mary, Tome 1, p. 19
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "L'ouvrage de Fermont (54)" (in French). Chemins de mémoire. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kaufmann 2011, p. 214
  8. ↑ Mary, Tome 2, p. 35}
  9. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; Aublet, Jean-Louis; Mainguin, Sylvie (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 1". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  10. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 2". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  11. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 3". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  12. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 4". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  13. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 5". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  14. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 6". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  15. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 7". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  16. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Entrée Hommes". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  17. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Entrée Munitions". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  18. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 8". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  19. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 9". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  20. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 10". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  21. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean et al. (2010). "Fermont (go A2 de) Bloc 11". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  22. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 81
  23. ↑ Wahl, J.B. "Festungsabschnitt Crusnes" (in German). darkplaces.org. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  24. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 79
  25. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, pp. 155-156
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Mary, Tome 3, p. 207
  27. ↑ Kaufmann 2006, p.172
  28. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, pp. 228-229
  29. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p. 135
  30. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p. 136
  31. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p. 1436
  32. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p.162
  33. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p. 171.
  34. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, pp. 174-175
  35. ↑ Vermeulen, Vincent (2010). "Histoire" (in French). maginot.info.fr. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  36. ↑ Kaufmann 2011, p.181
  37. ↑ "The Fort of Fermont". Association des Amis de l'Ouvage de Fermont et de la Ligne Maginot. Retrieved 11 May 2010.

Bibliography

External links

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