The fort in Condé-sur-Aisne was part of the Séré-de-Rivières system built to defend the new 250km border from Longwy to Belfort resulting from the 1871 Treaty of Frankfurt, which ended the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War. The five-sided fort was a second line component of the La Fère-Soissons fortification.

The Condé fort was built at the same time as the one at La Malmaison and by the same companies (Dollot and Fortier). The land survey dates from 1876; the first battery was completed in July 1877; the final plans were approved in May 1878 by the minister and in July by the engineering corps. The project's total cost was set at 1,850,000 francs. Most of the work was completed by late 1883. In 1885 two companies of the 67th infantry regiment (500 men) were garrisoned there. The 13-hectare fort was able to accommodate 650 men including 20 officers. An infirmary could house 80 patients. The stable was planned for 12 horses; powder magazines, a munitions depot, a forge and two wells occupied the rest of the area suitable for construction. An eight-metre-wide moat surrounded the fort, which had 18 artillery platforms. In 1888 the weaponry included four long 155mm cannons, four short 155mm cannons, nineteen 120mm cannons, four 15cm mortars, several revolver cannons and 12 breech cannons. Like the La Malmaison fort, the Condé fort became useless as weaponry grew more advanced and was decommissioned in 1912. On 1 September 1914 the Germans took the fort without a fight. The French and English attacked it several times a short time later. The position fell on 15 September before being retaken by a violent Imperial counter-attack. Fierce fighting raged in late September; the Germans did not give in. They built a beacon that swept the Aisne Valley and artillery batteries.
When the Chemin des Dames offensive began on 16 April 1917, Von Kluck's troops evacuated the position. In October 1917 Generals Pershing and Franchet d'Esperey came to observe the battlefield from the fort. On 27 May 1918 the Germans' counter-offensive broke through the Allied lines. They shelled the Condé-sur-Aisne fort and stormed it on 28 May. In August French troops retook their position in the Aisne sector. The Germans left on 7 August, taking their artillery pieces with them. The fort, which had become useless and lay partly in ruins, was disarmed after the war and abandoned in 1927. In the 1950s the fort housed a shell-clearing centre. In 1959 the town of Chivres Val bought the site from the town of Condé-sur-Aisne in order to use it as a stone quarry for the people living in Chivres-Val and its environs. In 1979 the Potiers set up an association to preserve and restore the Condé fort as well as endangered churches and monuments in southern Picardy. Renovation work on the fort started. On 1 July 2003 the Community of Aisne Valley Towns, which realised the site's economic potential, started offering events and guided tours of the fort.
Condé Fort 02280 Chivres-Val Tel.: 03 23 54 40 00 Fax: 03 23 54 40 04 E-mail: fortdeconde@wanadoo.fr Opening times and guided tours April-May: every day from 9:30am to noon and 1:30 to 5:30pm / Guided tours at 2 and 4pm and on Sundays at 2, 3 and 4pm June-July-August: every day from 9:30am to 6:30pm and Sundays until 7:30pm / Guided tours at 2, 3, 4 and 5pm and on Sundays at 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6pm September-October-November: every day from 9:30am to noon and 1:30 to 5:30pm / Guided tours at 2 and 4pm and on Sundays at 2, 3 and 4pm Admission Individual: adults €5; 10-18 years old €3; children under 10 free Groups (30 people minimum): adults €4; 10-18 years old €2.5; children under 10 free

Un outil de formation à la citoyenneté

Actif au sein des Ecoles militaires de Draguignan, comme outil de formation des militaires et civils de la Défense, il est aussi tourné vers l’extérieur en accueillant un large public de touristes et de scolaires. Fort de plus de 21.000 visiteurs en 2014, dont 7.000 enfants et adolescents, le Musée de l’artillerie est donc une vraie ressource pédagogique pour les groupes scolaires comme pour les familles. Le Musée est aussi porteur d’expositions temporaires des plus variées.

Après « Soldats de plomb » en 2011, « Animaux dans la guerre » en 2012, « La Marne » en 2014 et « Coups de pinceaux » en 2015, l’exposition temporaire de l’année 2016 s’attache à témoigner des batailles de Verdun et de la Somme, paroxysmes militaires et humains de la violence de masse au cours de la Grande Guerre, devenus des symboles de paix et de réconciliation.

Un conservatoire du patrimoine de l’artillerie

S’appuyant sur une collection de près de 15.000 objets dont 2.000 d’intérêt majeur, le Musée de l’artillerie présente une collection unique dont les pièces les plus anciennes remontent au XIVe siècle. Tout particulièrement riches pour la période comprise entre 1870 et notre époque, les collections du musée font l’objet d’un chantier permanent de rénovation et de mise en valeur, notamment grâce au bénévolat de passionnés. La richesse de cette collection permet d’affirmer que le musée présente Sept cents ans d’histoire de France, vus à travers l’âme d’un canon (titre éponyme du livre de visite).

VERDUN-LA SOMME

Au milieu de la guerre, au bout de leurs forces

Du 21 mai au 20 novembre 2016, dans le cadre du centenaire de la Grande Guerre, le Musée de l’artillerie de Draguignan organise une exposition consacrée aux deux batailles titanesques de Verdun et de La Somme. Du dimanche au mercredi inclus (et les jeudis sur rendez-vous), de 9h00 à midi et de 13h30 à 17h30, l’exposition intitulée VERDUN – LA SOMME, Au milieu de la guerre, au bout de leurs forces, réalisée en partenariat avec des collectionneurs privés, traite de ces deux batailles, véritables virages de la guerre où l’intensité des combats a dépassé tout ce que l’Homme avait connu auparavant. Par son discours pédagogique et la richesse de sa présentation, cette exposition est conçue pour tous les âges, des plus jeunes aux plus expérimentés. Exposition adaptée pour la visite par des classes du CM1 au Lycée, dans le cadre des cours d’histoire et d’éducation à la citoyenneté.

Sources : ©Musée de l'Artillerie

A headstone was erected a few kilometres form the Berry-au-Bac cemetery, in memory of the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who was injured by shrapnel on 17 March 1916 in the Bois des Buttes.  He was trepanned on 9 May 1916, and died on 9 November 1918 from the Spanish Influenza Epidemic. He is recognised to have “died of his wounds for France”.

La Picardie est une région fortement touchée par les deux guerres mondiales. 

Région stratégique, lieu de passage entre le nord de l'Europe et Paris, la Picardie se trouve partagée entre la zone interdite et la zone occupée. La présence de l'occupant est durement ressentie. Des hommes et des femmes vont peu à peu réagir. "L'armée de l'ombre" se construit. 

Le département de l'Aisne a sur son territoire un musée consacré à l'histoire des résistants et des déportés. Un musée voulu par des résistants dont Etienne Dromas, qui a trouvé sa place dans la commune associée de Tergnier, Fargniers. 

Vous êtes invités à découvrir ce musée unique en Picardie, implanté sur une place classée monument historique.

L’histoire du lieu

Après avoir trouvé à Tergnier un bâtiment pouvant l’accueillir, le conseil général de l’Aisne vote la somme nécessaire à sa rénovation. L’office départemental de tourisme, avec à sa tête Maurice Bruaux, apporte son aide et son concours. Le premier aménagement se fait grâce à la mobilisation des résistants qui assurent son fonctionnement pendant de nombreuses années.

À voir

Le premier espace permet de découvrir et de comprendre l’histoire de la période allant de l’arrivée d’Hitler au pouvoir jusqu’à l’intervention du maréchal Pétain le 17 juin 1940, suivent des espaces consacrés à l’appel du 18 juin, la naissance de la Résistance et son action, la vie quotidienne sous l’Occupation, la répression et la Déportation. Un espace est également consacré au bureau des opérations aériennes et aux parachutages, aux forces françaises libres dans le monde, au Débarquement et à la Libération. De nombreux objets et matériels viennent compléter l’exposition permanente : un Beechcraft C.45, une locomotive, un wagon ayant servi à la déportation… En octobre 2005, 300 mètres carrés se sont ajoutés à la salle d’exposition permanente. Cet espace polyvalent met à disposition du public une salle de réunion, de conférence, d’exposition temporaire et de projection ainsi qu’une médiathèque et un centre documentaire.

Le musée accorde une place toute particulière au public scolaire. Des dossiers pédagogiques ont été élaborés. Des ateliers (analyse de documents, rencontre avec des témoins…) sont développés sur différents thèmes (la vie sous l’Occupation, la Résistance…), et sont animés par les enseignants ou par un intervenant du musée.

Sources : ©Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de Picardie

The principles of the bastioned fortification were perfectly suited to this site. It houses the fortress’ living museum. Fort La Garde, inside the town of Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste, is situated 60 kilometres from Perpignan and 13 kilometres from the Spanish border.

Fort La Garde

The place became a border town following the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) when Vallespir, Roussillon, Conflent-Capcir and part of Cerdagne were annexed to the Kingdom of France.  At the time the fortress housed some one hundred soldiers. During the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), the threat from Spain prompted the King of France to reinforce the strategic site. The keep was thus built in 1677 around an ancient medieval signal tower in order to keep watch over the inhabitants following the uprising of the Angelets de la Terra or ‘angels of the land’ (between 1663 and 1672, some of the population of Vallespir and Conflent revolted against the gabelle, the salt tax).

After the Franco-Dutch War, Louis XIV decided to send military reinforcements to the eastern border with Spain. Seven fortified towns were concerned including Prats-de-Molla. He commissioned Vauban for the job. In 1686, after a trip to Roussillon in 1679, he enlarged the keep and built Le Pâté à Comète (an old château with a star-shaped surrounding wall) and the main courtyard or the ‘place of arms’. The original plans also included the reconstruction of the town’s ramparts destroyed during the Revolt of the Angelets. In 1691, the engineer Rousselot, in charge of the fortified towns in Roussillon, drew up plans for an extension, supported by Vauban. The war was temporarily interrupted by the works which, while resumed during the second half of the 18th century, were never completed.

The monument is characteristic of the bastioned fortification and was adjusted to the terrain. On the southern face, there are two lines of defence in front of the keep: the countergard and the ensemble formed by the bray, the Sainte-Marguerite redan (salient) and the right-hand ledge. The northern and eastern flanks are bordered by ravines. The western flank, which was more vulnerable to attack, was protected by a complex defence system and reinforced by a place of arms and a corridor known as a "Muhammad's tomb", a construction whose shape resembled a Muslim grave.

The materials used during the construction included granite from the Costabonne Massif, schist and brick. Military escape routes were also incorporated. This consisted of a passage starting in the place with 142 steps leading underground, dating from the 18^th century, ending at a redoubt with arch machicolations, the “square tower”. A covered way, between the town and the redoubt, completed this passage that gave soldiers stationed in the town a way to enter the fort in the event of attack. The last military improvements were made in the 19th century.

Classified as a historic monument in 1925, the site was acquired by the local municipality in 1976.

Musée Vauban: the living museum at the fortress

Today, the fort houses a museum dedicated to fortifications and military history, including the different corps of the army, armements and daily life in the 18^th century. Since 1996, the visit has also included live performances. The guided tour is punctuated by reenactments that portray military training in the 18th century. Visitors are treated to stunts, demonstrations and fighting during the 90 minute tour.

Fort Lagarde in Prats-de-Mollo

Tourist Information Office

Place le Foiral 66230 Prats de Mollo la Preste France

Tel: +33 4 68 39 70 83

Fax: +33 4 68 39 74 51

E-mail: contact@pratsdemollolapreste.com

Office de tourisme de Prats de Mollo la Preste

Fort du Salbert

Route du Fort Salbert

90300 Cravanche

Tourist Information Office

2 rue Clemenceau

90000 Belfort

Tel.: +33 (0)3 84 55 90 90

Fax : +33 (0)3 84 55 90 70

E-mail : tourisme90@ot-belfort.fr

Quiz : Forts et citadelles

The intermediate fortification of Meroux was built between 1908 and 1913 to reinforce the line of defence between Fort of Vézelois and the Fort of Fougerais.

Small in size and with a very simple design, it represents the final step in the evolution of French fortification before the First World War.

Built entirely of concrete, it has a trapezoid shape and is surrounded by a ditch defended by two counterscarp coffers.

Access was via the ditch and all of the fort's parts are interconnected by bulletproof underground passages.

There is a parapet for infantry on top.

It could accommodate over 400 men in its barracks.

Fort of Méroux

Rue de l'Ouvrage

90400 Meroux

Tourist Information Office

2 rue Clemenceau

90000 Belfort

Tel.: +33 (0)03 84 55 90 90

Fax : +33 (0)3 84 55 90 70

E-mail : tourisme90@ot-belfort.fr

Quizz : Forts et citadelles

Quizz : Forts et citadelles

Built at the same time and following the same plans as that for Bessoncourt, Fort Vézelois was erected to cover the forts of Bessoncourt and Bois d'Oye and provide defence mainly along the roads leading from Switzerland and the Mulhouse railway.

It had the capacity for under 600 men and some 30 cannons.

As with Bessoncourt, in 1888-1889 it received a concrete shell over one third of its central barracks.

The majority of its artillery was also distributed in the exterior batteries after 1887, but no major modernisation appeared until 1909: Caponiers replaced by counterscarp batteries, shelters and parapets installed for the infantry, construction of a Bourges casemate, a 75-mm turret and two machine gun turrets.

Some underground excavation was carried out during the First World War.

Tourist Information Office

2 rue Clemenceau

90000 Belfort

Tel.: 03 84 55 90 90

Fax : 03 84 55 90 70

E-mail : tourisme90@ot-belfort.fr

Quizz : Forts et citadelles

It is a large fort made from limestone masonry with a pentagonal layout, designed to hold 650 men and some 30 artillery pieces. It is characteristic of the forts with a massif central and batterie basse (main structure and low battery) in which the long-range and short-range artillery are assembled on the rampart bordering the ditch while the infantry stand over the caponiers and on the roof of the central barracks. But shortly after it was completed, it was already outmoded and had to undergo modernisation.

It is one of the rare forts in the area to have been constantly maintained to keep abreast with technical progress: in 1888, a concrete shell was poured over one-third of the central barracks; the majority of its long-range artillery was distributed around the neighbouring batteries, the fort became a point d'appui for the infantry and underwent a complete refit (caponiers replaced by counterscarp batteries, shelters built for cannons on the flanks and concrete shelters over the ramparts, variety of fortifications). In 1908-1909, two 75-mm cannon towers and two machine gun towers were erected.

During the First World War, the fort was used as a hospital, but from 1917, fortification work resumed with the digging of deep underground rooms and galleries to provide communication with the exterior (entrances at the rear and machine gun outposts at the front).

The successive modernisations it received gave this fort a particular personality and makes it an excellent testament to the development of French fortifications between 1885 and 1918.

Tourist Information Office

2 rue Clemenceau 90000 Belfort

Tel: 03 84 55 90 90

Fax: 03 84 55 90 70

E-mail: tourisme90@ot-belfort.fr

La Caponnière