Richelieu, the founder of the Port du Ponant, launched the first work to fortify the town, which was then continued by Vauban under Louis XIV. It was during the reign of Louis XVI, during the American War of Independence (1775-1783), that the king, fearing that the English would land in Brittany, decided to construct forts and redoubts.

Constructed in various ways depending on the geography of the area to be defended, they all however possessed the means to cross their fire and respond to the intermediate batteries built on the first sign of war. These fortifications, evidence of the history of Brest and the surrounding area, were in their time considered to be state of the art French fortifications on the eve of the revolution. The Fort du Questel is in reality a "redoubt", in other words, a fortified, square-shaped construction, whose entrance or gorge is located on the least exposed side. This enormous quadrilateral with 100 metre long sides is situated between the Fort du Kéranroux (1.5 km t the right) and the Fort de Penfeld (1 km to the left).
Le Fort du Questel watches over the junction of the valleys of le Moulin du Buis, where the enemy could set up camp in order to bombard Brest. Surrounded by deep moats and accessible by a drawbridge, it consists of a stone wall (escarpe), with a walkway around the top for use by the musketeers. This walkway is itself surmounted by a rampart made of earth, which is set back and designed to support the artillery (26 canons in total, with a range of up to 4.5 km). The garrison of around 200 men there had access to various galleries, including two large underground ones linking the central courtyard with the walkways. We should also note the presence of rest areas which, during Vauban's time, was still a privilege ...
Constructed on a 6 hectare site Fort du Questel overlooks the Valley of the Allégoet, a tributary stream of the river Penfeld. Today, this site is one of a series of redeveloped natural areas leading up to the banks of the Penfeld along a circuit that passes by the foot of the Cavale Blanche hospital. On its premises, the fortress provides scenic walks through its well-sheltered ditches, basements, staircases, scarp and counterscarps, esplanade and its nearby cool undergrowth. The Fort du Questel has also become a popular place for hosting many activities.

Located at Bénerville-sur-Mer (Calvados), the protected natural site of Mont Canisy overlooks the sea from a height of 110 metres.

For centuries, the strategic position to the south of the Seine Bay occupied by this site has led it to be used successively as a seigniorial fief which was broken up in 1793, an anti-submarine defence post in 1917-1918, a coastal battery between 1935 and 1940 and then the largest artillery base of operations for the Atlantic Wall. In recent history, it has twice been used as a coastal artillery position: between 1935 and 1940 when the French Navy installed two batteries on the site to contribute to the defence of the estuary and Le Havre port, and between 1942 and 1944 when it became an important part of the Atlantic Wall defences, designed to repel any allied landing attempt.

Various installations from these two periods can still be seen (blockhouses, gun emplacements, fortified ouvrages linked by a 260-metre-long passageway housing an underground garrison, etc.).

Mont Canisy battery

Tel: +33 (0)2 31 87 91 14

Opening hours on Saturdays: 2.30pm to 5.30pm

Mont Canisy batteries website

Le 30 septembre 1945, « L’Amicale Des Anciens Internés Politiques de Châteaubriant-Voves » est créée. Dès lors, cette Association a pour but de maintenir le souvenir de ces hommes, objectif intégré dans la démarche du tourisme de mémoire.

Cette ambition passe par l’entretien du mémorial national érigé à Châteaubriant et par l’aménagement de la Carrière des fusillés. Le site fut classé en 1993.

Le monument inauguré le 22 octobre 1950 fut réalisé par Antoine ROHAL, sculpteur.
Depuis 1951, les alvéoles devant le monument contiennent un peu de terre des hauts lieux de la Résistance. Tout autour de la carriére sont installées en 1986 les stéles portant photographie et les indications personnelles de chaque fusillé.

Elle passe également par l’organisation de commémorations et de conférences. Actuellement, le titre est « Amicale de Châteaubriant-Voves-Rouillé-Aincourt ».

Pour transmettre cette histoire au public, le Musée de la Résistance à Châteaubriant,implanté dans la ferme qui jouxtait la carrière où ont été fusillés 27 hommes dont Guy Môquet, est inauguré en 2001 par l’Amicale. En 2007, l’Amicale délègue la gestion et l’animation du Musée à l’« Association des Amis du Musée de la Résistance de Châteaubriant ». Des expositions permettent de mieux comprendre la vie des internés et la Résistance dans le pays de Châteaubriant. Chaque année, une exposition en lien avec le thème du Concours National de la résistance et de la Déportation.

L’Office de Tourisme Intercommunal du Castelbriantais propose des visites guidées payantes de la Carrière et du Musée. Le Musée peut également être visité de manière libre et gratuite. Des documents sont mis à la disposition du public.

Sources : ©Musée de la Résistance à Châteaubriant

On 16 August 1944, 35 young people between 18 and 22 years old were shot behind the Reservoir pond after having fallen into a trap that led to their arrest. They belonged to three Resistance organisations and included 20 francs-tireurs and partisans from the town of Chelles, three members of the Civil and Military Youth Organisation and 12 Young Christian Fighters who wanted to participate in the liberation of Paris (25-26 August). They accepted a mission from a so-called intelligence service agent, who asked them to transport weapons, and showed up at the meeting place, Place des Ternes, without arms. Almost as soon as they did, they were encircled by the Gestapo and brought to its headquarters, where they were interrogated until 10pm before being taken to the waterfall and shot. Every year, this tragic event is commemorated on the spot where it occurred and where the old oak trees "still have the bullets that killed these teenage boys lodged in their hearts".

The Bois de Boulogne was bombed several times during the Second World War, but the most tragic incident took place on 4 April 1943, when six of the 38 bombs that fell on the 16th arrondissement hit the Longchamp racetrack on opening day, killing many civilians. In memory of that tragic day, coniferous trees were planted in the holes caused by the bombs in the forest, but a storm uprooted many of them in December 1999.
Bois de Boulogne Waterfall Bois de Boulogne Carrefour de Longchamp 75016 Paris

The casemate of Pont Saint Louis is to be found in a small square opposite the French customs building to the left of the Number 5 trunk road, barely 7 metres from the border. It consists of the casemate itself, an anti-tank barrier and a permanent mine device (dispositif de mines permanent or DMP) located 20 metres behind at the Garavan crossroads, opposite the current police station. It also comprises an anti-tank barrier completed by a minefield, i.e. two rows of 6 holes in which Ollivier piquets (105 mm shells mounted on steel stakes) were set. The anti-tank barrier was strengthened with torque rods and the obstacle was completed with barbed wire. Originally, a trench led towards the double doors on which there was a support for an FM 24/29 used for the close defence of the access trench. This position was used for launching signalling grenades or rockets in order to request artillery fire (green rocket) or possible withdrawal of the company (red rocket). Construction of the fortification The fortification was built by a civil company at a cost of 0.34 million old Francs. For comparison purposes, the Cap Martin fortification cost 17 million Francs. The pilot study dates back to the 1st October 1930, but a project from the 14th March 1940 allowed the acquisition of extra premises. The structural work was finished in August 1932 following several incidents, in particular problems with the housing for the 37 mm canon. In 1934, the fortification was permanently commissioned. The casemate was finally finished, despite the doubts raised by General Besson when he inspected the fortification in April 1938: "this blockhouse won't last 5 minutes... ".

Description of the fortification We enter through a narrow corridor about twelve metres long, 0.80 metres wide and 1.70 metres high, which leads to the firing chamber. Opposite the entrance there is a small 2 metre square room, which contains a ventilation system, a filtering box and a space that is also used for ventilation. Outside, there is the OTCF radio station aerial and telephone cable linking the building with Cap Martin. The firing chamber contains a slot for an FM 24/29 and space to house either the 37 mm 1934 model anti-tank canon or Reibel machine guns. Taking into account the proximity to the border and the reduced firing range (6 metres wide and 10 metres long) the canon has always remained in the space and the pair of machine guns have never been used. A grenade launcher chute is located to the right of the anti-tank housing.
The crew of the casemate was taken from the 96th Alpine Fortress Battalion and comprised Sergeant Bourgoin, Corporal Lucien Robert, some alpine soldiers, Gaston Chazarin, Marcel Guzzi, Nicolas Petrio, André Garon and Paul Lieutaud and was commanded from 17th June 1940 by sub-lieutenant Charles Gros. The casemate and its crew were cited on the Order of the Army by General René Olry.
The casemate of Pont Saint Louis Esplanade Jojo Arnaldi 06500 Menton Tel.: +33 (0) 6 64 26 34 61 or +33 (0) 6 69 48 69 57 Access : Bus lines 3 and 8 from Menton railway station Open to the public all year round by appointment. From June to September: on Saturdays by appointment and on Sundays from 9 am to 12 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm Prices Group (more than 10 people): 1€ 50 Adults: 1€00 Children (under 10 years old): 0€50 Free (on production of card) for Police, military police, customs officers, ex-servicemen and military personnel. Document in Pdf format - 5 Mo June 1940 - the glorious defence of the Pont Saint-Louis - Source: www.maginot.org

In his collection of short stories, Solitude de la pitié (“The Solitude of Compassion”), Jean Giono evokes his friend Yvan Kossiakoff, who lies in this national cemetery (tomb 372). According to him, this fighter was shot in July 1917 at the Chalons camp. But there is no evidence that any Russian soldiers were executed at that time. In all likelihood, Jean Giono imagined this execution with reference to the Russian uprising in La Courtine (Creuse).

On 16 May 1937, the French Front Veteran Officers Association, founded in 1923, together with Veterans of the Moroccan Division, opened a memorial chapel dedicated to the 4,000 Russian soldiers who died in France and Salonika (now Thessaloniki). The chapel, designed in Orthodox style by architect Albert Benoît, was built near the cemetery, which also houses a monument in homage to the Russian infantry of the Second Special Regiment.

Since it was founded in 1679, Mont-Louis has experienced an extraordinary military past. In addition to the political decisions made by King Louis XIV, the enlightened plans drawn up by the well-known French architect Vauban and the very active and rigorous surveillance of the Secretary of State for War Louvois, the place has been the home and domain of soldiers!

Following the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 and on the behest of King Louis XIV who wished to secure this region only recently reclaimed by Spain, Vauban, General Commissioner of Fortifications, designed this stronghold from the ground up in 1679. The special strategic location, at the crossroads of the comarques of Conflent, Capcir and Cerdanya, determined the final choice of the site. Moreover, this position gave easy access to materials, pastures, mills, wood and fields.

Mont-Louis was planned over two terraces: the citadel and the town.

The original plans included a lower town for the sutlers, stables and feedstores as well as a redoubt but they were never built for lack of funds.

As concerns the military citadel, the view from which stretched from the Canigou to the Serra del Cadi, the defences were based on typical Vauban features: bastions, battered curtain walls and demi-lunes. While the chapel, the arsenal and two powder stores were completed, the governor's house, chaplain’s quarters and the hall to provide shelter for the soldiers never got off the ground.

Adhering to simple principles, Vauban then set about organising the interior layout of the new town to house a small middle class of craftsmen with infantry barracks either side of the sole entryway into the citadel. It met military requirements and was also a practical place to live and work with a simple and well-ordered layout where the command, combat and civilian activities were harmoniously integrated.

During this period of temporary peace, the soldiers provided most of the labour, in particular the Vierzet-Famechon, Stoppa Brendelé, Furstemberg and Castries regiments. There were many soldiers living around Mont-Louis - 3,700 were present when Louvois visited the site in 1680, all paid a poor daily wage for such harsh labour in tough conditions, not least the severe climate in Mont-Louis. They were supervised by specialised craftsmen (masons, stonecutters, carpenters, joiners, blacksmiths, well-diggers and the like) and overseen by quartermasters and engineers working for the King. Any prestige from wearing the uniform was sacrificed to the meanliness of their task.

In 1681, some 29 months after Vauban’s visit, most of the work was completed and the fortress was considered to be in a state of defence. On 26 October, the first governor, François de Fortia, Marquess of Durban, took possession of the place during a sumptuous celebration amid “loud cries of 'Long live the King!’ by the people of Cerdagne who came in droves and were delighted to witness such a ceremony”. Henceforth, Mont-Louis marked the final military southern border and was well positioned to keep close watch over the stronghold of Puigcerdà in Spanish Cerdagne. The excellent choice of location has persisted through the centuries to today.

In 1793, the fortress was central to the military events taking place in Cerdagne. Mont-Louis was renamed Mont-Libre. Taking advantage of the chaotic situation in France, the King of Spain used the French regicide as an excuse to send in his troops to invade the entire region of the Pyrénées-Orientales. In Cerdagne, General Dagobert pushed back the Spanish army twice. In July 1793, the Spanish troops occupying the Col de la Perche passage were routed out and in September those camped above Canaveilles were resoundingly defeated. General Dagobert continued his efforts and invaded Spanish Cerdagne and Puigcerdà, where he died in 1794 (Monuent Dagobert stands on Place de l’Eglise).

Peace returned on 1 August 1795 and Mont-Libre was essentially used as a storehouse by the army stationed in Cerdagne. Monte-Libre reverted back to its name of Mont-Louis on 24 October 1803. In 1808, Mont-Louis became a huge transit camp and a hospital for the Spanish army. With the Restoration, Mont-Louis’s defensive importance was more related to its topography than to the fortress itself. The work resumed with intensity in 1887 to improve the Mont-Louis’ defences in particular its immediate surroundings.

The World Wars saw floods of emigrants crammed within the fortress, during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 before the German Occupation and the liberation of the site by the Free French Forces. In 1946 the fortress reclaimed its original function as a military stronghold when the 11th BPC parachute regiment were stationed there and then in 1964 the site became the National Commando Training Centre.

This centre dedicated to French expertise in commando training instructed military personnel (officers, NCOs and other ranks) from the land and air forces, the national gendarmerie and foreign armies, but was also a training centre with special programmes for war correspondents, STAPS students (physical education) and personnel from the justice and interior ministries.

But the fortress did retain one unique architectural feature: the Puits des Forçats (Convicts’ Well), with its enormous wheel that supplied water to the site (open all year round to visitors). The town walls also harbour the first solar furnace with double reflection built in 1949 (also open to visitors through the year). Its church, dedicated to St Louis, was started in 1733 based on the model of the chapel in the citadel. Inside there is a series of Roussillon baroque altarpieces dating from the 17^th and 18^th centuries with a very fine statue of Christ made of polychrome wood (17^th century) in the Rhenish style.

Mont-Louis Tourist Information Office

3 rue Lieutenant Pruneta 66210 Mont-Louis, France

Tel/fax: +33 (0)4 68 04 21 97

E-mail: otmontlouis@wanadoo.fr

Guided tours: Fortress/Puits des Forçats well: during winter, every day except Sunday from 11 am to 2 pm. Village: in winter every day except Sunday at 3.30 pm. Solar furnace: Low season: every day at 10 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 3 pm and 4 pm. Summer: every day from 10 am to 6 pm, tours every 30 minutes.

Perpignan is a border town in the Pyrénées-Orientales département of France and a place of passage.

Situated on Via Domitia – ancestor of today's No. 9 motorway –, it was the scene of invasions, rivalry between France and Catalonia, battles during the war of Spanish succession and then the Napoleonic wars, and fights against Nazism.

Owned by the Kingdom of Majorca, James II, known as "the Conqueror", settled in Perpignan in 1276 and raised the town to the status of a capital. He had his palace built there, which is the oldest royal residence in France. His son, James III, was driven out by Peter IV of Aragon. The Palace of the Kings of Majorca then became a temporary residence for the kings of Aragon. Pope Benedict XIII stayed there in 1408.

The building is a fortified palace in the Gothic style, organised around three courtyards. The entrance is protected by a moat and a crenelated barbican. Its architects were Ramon Pau and Pons Descoll. As a result of the 16th-century wars between France and Spain, Perpignan changed from being a border town to being a citadel, the border stronghold: in 1540, Charles Quint added a remote line of fortification to the citadel; Philip II of Spain had the red brick ramparts built in 1587 in a hexagonal shape.

After becoming part of the Kingdom of France by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, Perpignan became a proper garrison town.

Vauban reinforced the defence system by adding fortified structures inside and outside the wall built by Philip II: six half-moons were added. He suggested building living quarters inside the citadel and, to solve the issue of expulsions caused by extending the place of arms, he suggested building a "new town" to the north, which he included in his plan of the exterior wall. The military architect incorporated it into a clever defence mechanism on the Catalonia border. He closed the lines of communication via the Collioure - Port-Vendres - Fort de Bellegarde fortifications.
 

To prevent an invasion via secondary cols (in the Tech and Cerdagne valleys), he designed Prats-de-Mollo, Fort des Bains, Mont-Louis and Villefranche-de-Conflent. The rear of the system was reinforced by Perpignan.
The Revolution and the Empire developed the military character of the city and even claimed a number of public monuments and religious rights-of-way for the troop.

Perpignan Tourist Office

Palais des Congrès - Place Armand Lanoux BP 215 66002 Perpignan Cedex

Tel: +33 (0)4.68.66.30.30

Fax: +33 (0)4.68.66.30.26

E-mail: contact-office@perpignan.fr

Palace of the Kings of Majorca

4 rue des Archers 66000 Perpignan

Tel.: +33 (0)4 68 34 48 29

Summer opening times: closes at 6pm. Winter opening times: 9am to 5pm

Closed on 01/01, 05/01, 01/11 and 25/12

Quiz: Forts and citadels

Marshal Joffree was born on 12 January 1852, in Rivesaltes. In honour of the soldier who was made a Marshal of France in 1916, the commune acquired Joffre’s birthplace and turned it into a museum.

It was officially opened on 10 January 1987, by the then state secretary to the Minister of Defence, Jacques Boyon.

On the ground floor, formerly the stables, cooperage and entrance hall, the display presents the key moments in Joffre’s life. There are two sculptures of the Marshal, 30 panels of 200 photographs charting his career and a display presenting the main battles of the First World War.

On the first floor of the family apartment, visitors can see Joffre’s study, complete with its original furnishings, together with historical paintings and gifts from Spanish and South American Catalans. On display in the antechamber are objects (kepi, sword and bicorn hat of the French Academy) and mannequins dressed as infantry soldiers from 1914-15, as well as the Marshal’s own uniforms. The kitchen and the bedroom in which Joffre was born have been recreated.

The top floor, which served as a hayloft, is devoted mainly to the Battle of the Marne, with an animated relief map and projections recreating the key moments. A 50-minute film charts the main events of the First and Second World Wars. Outside, at the edge of the path, is a statue of Marshal Joffre on horseback.

Musée Joffre

11, rue du Maréchal Joffre - 66600 Rivesaltes

Tel.: +33 (0)4 68 64 24 98 or (0)4 68 64 04 04

Fax: +33 (0)4 68 38 50 88

Opening times

Open daily, 8 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 6 pm, except weekends.

June to September, 8 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 6 pm; weekends, 2 pm to 6 pm.

Closed on bank holidays. Free admission.