Ouvrage Laudrefang

Ouvrage Laudrefang
Part of Maginot Line
Northeast France

Block 5 with cloche
Ouvrage Laudrefang
Coordinates 49°05′22″N 6°38′53″E / 49.08936°N 6.64803°E / 49.08936; 6.64803
Site information
Controlled by France
Site history
In use Abandoned
Materials Concrete, steel, deep excavation
Battles/wars Battle of France
Ouvrage Laudrefang
Type of work: Small artillery work (Petit ouvrage)
sector
└─sub-sector		 Fortified Sector of Faulquemont
└─Steinbesch/Zimming
Work number: A37
Regiment: 156th Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF)
Strength: 8 officers, 267 men

Ouvrage Laudrefang is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Faulquemont, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block, and is located between petits ouvrages Einseling and Teting, facing Germany. Laudrefang was originally planned as a gros ouvrage. With a heavy armament for a petit ouvrage it successfully defended its neighbors against German attack during the Battle of France. Laudrefang is abandoned and flooded, and was heavily damaged by German bombardment in 1940.

Design and construction

The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, and was approved for construction in August 1931. It was completed at a cost of 24 million francs by the contractor Générale des Travaux Publics.[1] The petit ouvrage[nb 1] was originally planned as a gros ouvrage with fourteen blocks The project was scaled back, and Block 3 was not connected to the main ouvrage. A second phase was to connect it, and to provide a separate entrance block.[4] Even as a petit ouvrage it mounted the heaviest armament in its sector, with 81mm mortars.[5]

Description

Laudrefang comprises five infantry blocks. Blocks 1, 2 4 and 5 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).[6]

The unbuilt blocks of the gros ouvrage would have included separate personnel and munitions entries, two 75mm gun turrets and a 135mm gun turret.[4]

Casemates and shelters

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

Manning

The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Captain Gustave Cattiaux comprised 267 men and 8 officers of the 156th Fortress Infantry Regiment.[4] The units were under the umbrella of both the 3rd and 4th Armies, Army Group 2.[12] The Casernement de Zimming provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Laudrefang and other positions in the area.[4][13]

History

See Fortified Sector of Faulquemont for a broader discussion of the Faulquemont sector of the Maginot Line.
Block 3 machine gun turret machinery

Following the 15 June 1940 breakthrough by German forces through the Saar gap, the Germans advanced along the rear of the Maginot Line. The German 167th Infantry Division approached Kerfent, Bambesch, Einseling and Téting on 19 June. On 21 June 1940 Laudrefang supported neighboring ouvrages Einseling and Teting as they came under attack[5] with an estimated 5000 81mm mortar rounds.[14] The covering fire prevented the Germans from taking either. The German infantry attacks were suspended in favor of an artillery barrage at Laudrefang, firing between 3000 and 3500 rounds at the ouvrage.[15] Compared to other German attacks on other ouvrages, the bombardment of Laudrefang was relatively ineffectual. While the concrete structure was badly damaged, it was not perforated, and the mortar turrets and cloches were not hit.[16] The ouvrage survived until the Second Armistice at Compiègne took effect on 25 June, when it surrendered.[17] The machine gun turret at Block 3 was used for testing of shaped-charge munitions.[18]

After World War II, Laudrefang was in poor condition and was not chosen for renovation.[19]

Current condition

The lower levels of Laudrefang are flooded by groundwater, and the entire ouvrage is abandoned.[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 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]

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. 114
  5. 1 2 Kaufmann 2006, p. 172
  6. ↑ Mary, Tome 2 p. 117
  7. 1 2 Puelinckx, Jean; Aublet, Jean-Louis; Mainguin, Sylvie (2010). "Laudrefang (po de) Bloc 1". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  8. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Laudrefang (po de) Bloc 2". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  9. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Laudrefang (po de) Bloc 3". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  10. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Laudrefang (po de) Bloc 4". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  11. ↑ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Laudrefang (po de) Bloc 5". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  12. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 111
  13. ↑ Wahl, J.B. "Festungsabschnitt Faulquemont" (in German). darkplaces.org. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  14. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 205
  15. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 212
  16. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 223
  17. ↑ Mary, Tome 3, p. 210
  18. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p. 155
  19. ↑ Mary, Tome 5, p. 163

Bibliography

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