Following an inspection by Vauban in Toulon in 1679, the fort des Vignettes was constructed between 1692 and 1697 to prevent landings on the beach and keep any sailboats likely to try to drop anchor in the harbour at a distance. Destroyed in 1707, it was rebuilt, almost identically, in 1708 under the name of Fort Saint-Louis.

During the siege of 1707, the fort, under the command of Captain Daillon, was seized in an attack by Austro-Savoyard batteries positioned on the hills. After nine days, the state of ruin of the fort forced its defenders to retreat to the Great Tower (Royal Tower) after having set fire to the powder stores. The fort was rebuilt almost identically in 1708 under the name of Fort Saint-Louis. In 1743, it was armed with nine 24-pound canons. In 1847, it was armed with three 30-pound canons and three 22 cm howitzers, positioned behind an earth parapet encompassing the stone parapet. Developments in artillery led to the disarming of the fort at the end of the 19th century, as it was impossible to site large calibre canons there. It then housed an observation and command post for the detonation of the electrical mines that formed a barricade of the large harbour. It later became the headquarters of the officers' nautical club until 2001. It has appeared on the secondary list of historic monuments since 1948.
The fort is in the form of a semi-circular battery, whose gorge is closed by a casemated tower forming a redoubt and capable of bearing canons. Access to the fort is via an elevated gate, with a drawbridge in front. The aim of this device was to make invasion by foot soldiers difficult. Next to the entrance gate, a plaque affixed to the ramparts tells of the heroic conduct of the defenders of the fort in 1707. The plan of the battery is almost semi-circular. It is about fifty metres in diameter. Nine canon embrasures pierce the parapet, directed towards the sea. The embrasures are finished in brick so as not to splinter into dangerous shrapnel in the event of an enemy strike. In the middle of the 19th century, the parapet was incorporated into a solid earth parapet. It was returned to its original state during the 20th century. The back of the platform is protected by two walls forming a parados to mask the battery from blows from the land-side. The plan of the tower is asymmetrical. On the land-side, it is in the form of a flat bastion to flank the fort with parallel fire from the ramparts. On the coast-side, it is semi-circular so that artillery positioned on the terrace could comb a wide sector. The tower has two vaulted levels. The underground level held a water tank and a store. On the upper floor, a large vaulted chamber was used as accommodation for 24 men. You can still see the edge of the water tank. Access onto the terrace is via a spiral staircase.
Fort Saint Louis is not open to the public. This historic monument, managed by the Ministry of Defence, is covered by a Culture and Defence protocol signed on the 17th September 2005. Click here to see the list of other buildings...
Ministry of Defence General Secretariat for Administration Direction de la Mémoire, du Patrimoine et des Archives( Management of Remembrance, Heritage and Archives) 14 rue Saint-Dominique 00450 Armées E-mail: dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr Toulon Tourist Information Office Place Raimu 83000 Toulon

Montmorency Fort's high elevation made it a choice site for transmissions. The 19th-century fort is noteworthy for having housed the first station of Hertzian cables.

Fort de Montmorency

Quartier des Champeaux Rue du Fort

95160 Montmorency

Tel: +33 (0)1 30 40 64 75

E-mail : op@ba921.air.defense.gouv.fr

Secrétariat Général pour l'Administration Direction de la Mémoire, du Patrimoine et des Archives

14 rue Saint-Dominique 00450 Armées

E-mail : dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr

Ville de Montmorency

Quizz : Forts et citadelles

In the 16th century, Toulon harbour was surrounded by a system of defences designed primarily to protect access to it by sea and then - as the range of artillery increased - by land. After 1524, the commercial port of Toulon was protected by the "Big Tower" or Royal Tower. In 1634, Richelieu convinced Louis XIII to build another tower on Balaguier Point, opposite the Royal Tower, thus enabling the harbour entrance to be effectively locked. The aim was still to protect Toulon harbour, but more particularly, a small arsenal founded under Henri IV and which Richelieu, First Minister of the Navy, believed would grow in size. In 1679, Vauban was appointed to the Board for Fortifications.

The arsenal left the galley base at Marseilles and moved to the heart of the new dock. As part of the new design for fortifications, the canon tower of Balaguier was equipped with the ramparts, walls, accommodation and powder stores which give the fort its current appearance. In late August 1793, when the English entered Toulon, Balaguier became the target for the observers. Initially a refuge for sailors refusing to accept the English occupation, Balaguier went on to be occupied by coalition troops. The young republican artillery commander, Napoleon Bonaparte, understood the strategic importance of the location of the second element of the harbour protection. After two months of inconclusive fighting, his plan was finally accepted and, leading his troops into the attack by land, he took Balaguier Fort on 17th December 1793. The republican canons were then turned on the English fleet, which withdrew. After the Fachoda crisis, Balaguier Fort was rearmed one last time. Then, no longer of use, it was rented privately between the wars. Occupied by the Germans in 1942, it was liberated in 1944. After restoration, it has been a museum of maritime and local history since 1970.
Since 17 March 1975 it has been on the inventory of additional historical monuments. Balaguier Tower, or the "Little Tower" as opposed to the Royal or "Big Tower" was designed according to Richelieu's plans. The structure originally included a 19.5 m diameter canon tower. The basement contained a water cistern and magazines for powder and provisions. Access to the outside was via a drawbridge. This level consists of a vaulted room providing quarters for around forty men. The upper section of the tower was equipped with a canon platform protecting the harbour entrance from eight embrasures and a covered walkway whose parapet was broken by firing positions for close defence. On either side of the tower itself, batteries were built to provide grazing fire from parapets equipped with embrasures.
This building has been entrusted to the Ministry of Defence. France's Defence and Culture ministries signed an agreement to restore it, on 17 September 2005.
Ministère de la défense(Ministry of Defence) Secrétariat Général pour l'Administration (General Bureau for Administration) Direction de la Mémoire, du Patrimoine et des Archives (Remembrance, Heritage and Archives Department) 14 rue Saint-Dominique 00450 Armées E-mail: dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr

Troyon fort was built between 1878 and 1879, as part of the defence line between Nancy and Verdun that General Séré de Rivières had devised. This "central massif" or "low battery" fort stands between Troyon and Lacroix sur Meuse, and had two advantages: it was neither armour-clad nor concrete. Dimensions: 320 m wide, 270 m long, spanning 5 ha Garrison: 800 men (450 in 1914) Weapons: Trench protection: six canons, twelve breeches Six Hotchkiss 40-mm revolver canons Shooting platforms: twelve 90-mm canons (three batteries x four canons) Four 120L canons Indirect fire: Two 15-cm bronze "Louis-Philippe" mortars This fort also had two 1907 "Saint Etienne" machine-gun sections and three periscope observation posts. It did not have an armoured dome (as Loncin had), but it had 18 open-air double (two-gun) platforms.

German forces tried to surround Verdun very early on in the Great War. They moved 20 km into French terrain, from Bois le Prêtre to Eparges through Saint Mihiel, in September 1914. They held that pocket - Saillant de Saint Mihiel - despite France's deadly yet persistent attempts to take it, until American troops freed it in September 1918. Troyon Fort played a pivotal role in the September 1914 fighting that led to the Saillant de Saint-Mihiel.
The bombing started on 8 September 1914, and the troops there were ordered to ward off assaults for at least 48 hours - lest German troops surround Verdun (Troyon is south of Verdun). Major Neuhoff, a 10th Division German Army Staff Officer, ordered the fort's troops to surrender on 9 September 1914. But 166th Infantry Regiment Captain Heym, the man in charge of the fort, dismissed him. German forces pounded the fort with shell fire shortly afterwards. The pummelling ceased on 10 September 1914. The fort had held on and its heroic resistance changed the course of the war. Had it fallen, German forces would have crossed the Meuse river and enveloped Verdun.
Association Ceux de Troyon Association "Ceux de Troyon" BP 32 55300 Saint-Mihiel Tél. : 06.83.07.32.12 Fax : 03.29.84.35.99 Open 1.30 pm to 6.00 pm Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. Getting there: you will find signs to Fort de Troyon leaving Troyon and Lacroix Group visits (for 10 or more people) poss. weekdays by appointment. Comité Départemental du Tourisme (Departmental Tourist Authority) Tel: +33 (0) 329 45 78 40 Conseil Général de la Meuse (Meuse Department General Council) Hôtel du Département Place Pierre-François Gossin 55012 Bar-le-Duc cedex Tel: +33 (0) 329 45 77 55

The small Séré de Rivières fort was built between 1881 and 1884 and extended after 1888 with concreted barracks, communication vaults for the caponnieres and vaults at the entrance way. The fort was demilitarized in 1915. The Fort de Vaux saw the removal of its garrison and the disarmament of its two "Casemates de Bourges" (or concrete bunkers). According to the general staff, the forts would have become useless, since torpedo shells could put holes in their armour. But they were useful as ramparts, helping to stop the enemy progress... something the general staff didn't realize until it was already too late. In 1916, the fort came under attack. Petain's dissolving of the RFV (fortified Verdun) led to the establishment of a fixed garrison which, under the orders of Major Raynal, resisted the 50th German division between 2 and 7 June 1916. Dying of thirst and having lost all hope of reinforcements arriving, the garrison finally surrendered. From that point on, the French artillery bombarded the fort. They took it back on 3 November 1916, and an entirely rearmed Fort de Vaux went on to play an important role in battle until November 1918.

Fort de Vaux Directions From Verdun, take the D913a for 3km, turn right at the crossroads in the direction of the "Memorial" and take the D913 for 2.5km Opening hours January Annual closing February-March Daily: 10am-noon / 1pm-5pm April-May-June Daily: 9am-6pm July-August Daily: 9am-6.30pm September Daily 9am-noon / 1pm-6pm October-November Daily 9am-noon / 1pm-6pm December Daily 10am-noon / 1pm-5pm Tarifs Adults 3€/person Adult groups 2,50€/person Children 1,50€/person Military (in uniform) free Military 2.5€/person Family (2 adults + 2 children) 8€ Guided tour in French 50€ Guided tour in English or German 60€

Froideterre Platform

Part of the entrenched camp of Verdun, Froideterre cordonned of the northern edge of the town between the Meuse valley and the hills on the right banks. It was designed as a centre for resistance, and is a great example of the variety of features and levels possible within a permanent fortification. The traces that remain also show how important these were during the crucial phases of the summer of 1916. Froideterre fortification , on the Meuse-Douaumont ridge, was key to the defence system. Surrounded by a stream, and boasting a concrete bunker and turrets or casemates for its artillery, it could flank the neighbouring fortifications at Charny and Thiaumont, support the units, and ensure its own defence. Its efficacy was enhanced by features that helped the infantry on guard, positioned at intervals along the wall. Concrete parapets (entrenchments X and Y) both sheltered marksmen as they stood and provided gun cover for the hill's exteriors flanks. Set slightly back from the military ridge, battle shelters hidden in the folds of the hillside were designed to protect the section's infantry soldiers from artillery fire. The concrete arches of these refuges contained arms, and played a vital role in battle. Elsewhere, logistical systems were hidden in the flanks of the ravines, containing food supplies. Like all places likely to come under shell attack, these shelters and storehouses became command posts or makeshift emergency rooms during battle, and served as precarious shelters for the units in charge of defending the ridge. The ventilation chimneys of the Quatre Cheminées cave shelter, which was planned to lodge reserve troops and supplies, were buried under 8m of rock. Buried in the same hillside, a little storeroom hid the masonry at its entranceway. It, along with the section's magazines, ensured that ammunition was supplied to the artillery batteries (like MF3) located far from the town. A network of stone pathways and narrow gauge railways linked this section, like all those on the belt, to the fortified town to allow artillery cannons to be moved, ammunition to be brought from the arsenal, and foodstuffs, supplies and accessories to be transported. The unprecedented bombing that accompanied the offensives at Verdun not only destroyed the fortifications' superstructure and access points, but also repeatedly killed communication with the outside world. The narrow liaison tunnels, filled with debris and dead bodies, had to be used instead of the path. Located opposite the Quatre Cheminées shelter, the ravin des Vignes, became a new artery for a front that kept gobbling up men and supplies. It was crisscrossed with these precarious alleys, which the artillery took for targets during the changing of the guard. To maintain the fragile link between the front lines and the shelters, they needed liaison officers, "runners" thrown into the fray of bombing and the barrage of gunfire - few of them managed to make it alive. In the end, they had to resort to flares to inform the artillery and ask them for help, hoping that in the midst of all the gunfire, their shot would spare their own men.

Last Judgement at Verdun

After their major attacks on 21 February, 10 April and 25 May 1916, the Germans occupied the elevated côte du Poivre and the côte des Chambrettes on the right bank of the Meuse, as well as Fort Douaumont, a particularly important vantage point which was to become an essential part of the enemy's logistical plan. On 7 June, the enemy got as far as the defending ranks on the Fort Vaux, and those on the front lines reached the Eastern slopes of the high ridge punctuated by Thiaumont, the ruins of Fleury village and the Fort Souville. If the Germans managed ito take this ridge, their artillery would be able to fire straight at Verdun and the bridges over the Meuse from less than 5000m away, thus putting the French in grave danger. If, on the other hand, the ridge remained French, then not only would it be possible to defend the right bank, as Commander in Chief Joffre ordered, but it might also be possible to counter-attack and take back the forts at Vaux and Douaumont.

While the obdurate enemy charged to take the Thiaumont-Fleury-Souville ridge, the period from June to September constituted "the last judgement at Verdun," a horrible drama in which the epic, partially destroyed (1) Fort of Souville saved the day no fewer than three times. On 23 June, when the violent German offensive began, Souville dominated and flanked the entire combat zone. The French artillery used it as a look-out post from which to barrage the blocked enemy infantry with projectiles. On 11 July at dawn, the Germans charged at Souville. They did the same on the 12th, and got as far as the fort. Thanks to the artillery and the counter-attacks of the 7th Regiment and the 25th Batallion of Light Infantrymen, the few enemy soldiers that actually reached the fort were imprisoned. Souville escaped German clutches. The parallel ridges of Froideterre and Souville - Thiaumont and Froideterre on the one hand, the Forts of Vaux and Souville on the other - all played a major role in directing the enemy attack. Once Thiaumont was taken, the enemy effort ground to a halt on Froideterre. Fort Vaux fell to the Germans on 7 June, but on 11 and 12 July, Souville came to the rescue once again. Once Fleury was taken, the Germans rushed to take advantage of the ravines at la Poudrière, but because Froideterre and Souville were still in the hands of the French, it was impossible for them to capitalize on their success: they were threatened on all sides. This month-long battle for Souville-Fleury-Thiaumont revealed the vital role of permanent fortifications in the Battle of Verdun. And it was thanks to the combination of the extraordinary resilience of Verdun's "poilu" soldiers and the energy of the high command that this battle was won and Verdun saved. (1) From 21 June on, it was subject to daily attacks that gravely crippled its defences.

Souville's fortified massif A complete defence system

Captain Gustave de la Taille, the ingenious officer who built this fort, gave it the name of the Loiret village -- Souville -- in which his ancestor, Bertrand de la Taille, groom to the Lord of Souville, had been laid to rest in 1319. In 1916, this massif consisted of: Fort Souville: situated at 388m above sea level (at precisely the same altitude as the Fort Douaumont), and built between 1875 and 1879 from limestone covered with 3-5m of earth. The ditches that surrounded it featured built-in scarps and counterscarps, flanked by caponniers armed with revolver cannons and 12 tonne breechblock canons. In 1889, the whole thing was wrapped in barbed wire 30m thick. It was one of the Séré des Rivières belt's "first generation" forts, like those at Belleville, Saint Michel and Tavannes. In 1888, the gunpowder magazine was reinforced with 2.5m of concrete and a 1m thick layer of sand. Connecting passageways were built, as well as six 18m by 5m shelters, each protected by an 8m thick layer of blocks made from rock, marl, and loose stones. The fort housed the district's telephone exchange, consisting of two underground lead circuits that connected it to Fort Douaumont and the fortification at Thiaumont, plus two overhead cables linking other forts and the Verdun citadel exchange. Before conflict began, there were plans to establish a communication system for clear days, using lights, with the fortified town of Longwy, more than 35km away as the crow flies
An organic garrison: 2 infantry troops, 2 artillery sections, reinforcement gun crews for sixteen machine guns and various service personnel indispensable to the life of the fort. In peacetime, the fort was accessed via a gravel path -- named "le chemin de Souville," it is still in use today. It leads to the drawbridge of the wartime entrance, an underground shelter with room for 300 seated men. Serpentine back alleys lead from this introductory path, winding out of the path of gunfire. A Bussière system eclipse gun turret for two 155 mm canons, built in 1890-1891 150 metres west of the fort. Around 600 shells were fired from this turret between 24 February and 6 March 1916, but when one of its two tubes exploded on 10 April of the same year, it was decommissioned. It was March 1917 before it was back in action, now just a single tube powered by a twelve horsepower electric motor instead of the original steam one. From this time on, the turret was linked to the fort and the emergency exit via a 140m long bombproof alley. A De Bange 155 terraced fortress battery built in 1882, with built-in recessed niches for weaponry half a metre thick. The niches faced West, and were situated about 100m from the Bussière turret. Some remains of the battery can still be seen today and are indicated on the massif's discovery trail, which begins at the memorial.
Criss-crossing alleys form a communication network that can still be seen all over the fortification -- it ensures that relief soldiers can arrive, the injured can be taken to safety, food supplies, arms and equipment can arrive. The network begins both at the Marceau barracks (one of the entrances to the battlefield) towards Souville and at the village of Fleury, then heads for the river and the village of Vaux (the Carrières alley), the Vaux Régnier, Fumin woods and Fort Vaux. It means that even without underground passageways, there are internal connections at the heart of the massif between the fort, the 155mm gun turret and the fortress battery. In May and June 1916, it comes under attack from 380 mm (750 kg) and 420 mm (1 000 kg) shells, which destroy all the stone spaces, the caponniers, the barbed wire fence, the five 90mm carriage cannons and two 15mm mortars. Afterwards, the defenders and lookouts have to occupy the holes made by the shells, and are totally unprotected. After the Battle of Verdun is over, major work begins to restore the fortified massif at Souville: wells yielding 1 500 litres a day, underground shelters linked by tunnels, lined with 10 to 15 metres of protective compacted marl, a 140m tunnel linking the fort to the renovated 155mm gun turret, with a 12 horsepower electric motor replacing the previous slow and complicated steam system, an emergency exit for the 155mm gun turret with a Digoin concrete observation post. It is surrounded by a barbed wire fence between 20 and 30 m thick. In 1917, three Pamart casemates weighing 2.5 tonnes with 14cm shields are installed on the fort's slopes for its imminent defence. These fixed gun turrets cannot be withdrawn, and each one features two carriage-mounted machine guns. Because of their design, they have a 160 degree range, less than that of the 1900 model machine gun turret (360 degrees). However, their more modest dimensions and weight mean that they are easier to build and to install during a campaign on the particularly troubled terrain of Verdun. They are also more reliable than the eclipse gun turret, which often gets blocked by rubble when shells explode.

1917: Making the forts stronger

Developed during the war by Commander Pamart serving at Fort Génicourt, these machine gun casemates were also built and installed in the heat of the battle, from 1917 on, to enhance the firepower of several forts and ensure their defence. In 1917, three of these casemates were installed at Fort Souville for the imminent defence of the glacis. They weighed 2.5 tonnes apiece, providing a 14cm shield. Each of them featured two carriage-mounted machine guns with a small arm range of 160 degrees, less than that of the 1900 model machine gun turrets, two of which can be seen on the Froideterre fortification. The Pamart casemate could not be withdrawn; however, their more modest dimensions and weight meant that they were easier to build and to install during a campaign on the troubled terrain of Verdun. They were also more reliable than the eclipse gun turret, which often got blocked by rubble when shells exploded. The Pamart casemate had two small openings at or close to floor level which could be filled with metallic plugs. Inside, two superimposed Hotchkiss machine guns alternated firing. One fired through one of the two openings while the other waited below. Simply by rotating the guns, the sniper could charge one gun while firing the other. The machine gun cannon being fired projected 30cm out from the opening. A ventilator assured that the air was breathable inside the casemate, pushing combustion gases outside. Some casemates had two blockable holes in the roof for a periscope.
Practical Information:

Mont-Valérien was a medieval hermitage and later a popular place of pilgrimage from the 17th to 19th centuries. In the middle of 19th century one of the forts forming part of the Parisian belt was built there. During the Second World War, the site was the German authorities' principal place for executions in France. From 1944 onwards, thanks to support from General de Gaulle and the work of the organisations of the families of those who were shot, it became a memorial site. The Mémorial de la France combattante was built there in 1960 and in 2010 new museum exhibition areas were opened.

Throughout the Second World War, Mont-Valérien was used by the Germans as a place for executing resistance fighters and hostages. The prisoners were shot in a sunken glade. Recent historical research has allowed the identification of more than a thousand of those who were shot.

On the 1st November 1944, General de Gaulle paid tribute to the dead of the Résistance by first of all engaging in private prayer in the glade at Mont-Valérien, before continuing to the fort at Vincennes, another place where shootings were carried out in Paris, and finally to the cemetery in Ivry-sur-Seine, the main burial place of those from the Île-de-France area who were shot. In 1945, Mont-Valérien was chosen by General de Gaulle as the site of the monument to those who died in the 1939-1945 war.

The bodies of fifteen servicemen, symbolising the various forms of combat carried out for the Liberation, were placed in a temporary crypt and joined in 1952 by a sixteenth body representing soldiers in Indochina who fought against the Japanese. A 17th vault was later prepared to receive the remains of the last Companion of the Liberation.

In 1954, an urn containing the ashes of deportees was placed in the crypt. Having become President of the Republic, General de Gaulle decided to create the Mémorial de la France combattante, which was designed by Félix Brunau and inaugurated on the 18th June 1960.

At the beginning of 2000, it was decided to build a monument to those who were shot at Mont-Valérien, which was designed by Pascal Convert. Engraved upon it are all the names of those shot at Mont-Valérien, along with a dedication: "To the resistance fighters and hostages shot at Mont-Valérien by Nazi troops 1940-1944 and to all those who have never been identified".

For a long time Mont-Valérien has remained just as it was, which gives it a great evocative power. Since 2006, the site has been the subject of a special drive by the remembrance, heritage and archives department of the Ministry of Defence to carry out developments to provide the general public with the written resources necessary for an understanding of this important and complex, unrecognised place of national remembrance.

Located on the esplanade of the Mémorial de la France combattante, the information centre allows visitors to consulter biographical papers, as well as digitalised letters, photographs, and archive and Ile-de-France documents about those who were shot, using interactive terminals.

A special area is devoted to the Companions of the Liberation. In addition, there are screens showing archive images of the history of the shootings and about the Mémorial de la France combattante and the ceremonies that have been held there. A permanent exhibition "Résistance and repression 1940-1944" is held in the old stable building. Dedicated to the Résistance, those who were shot and repression in the Ile-de-France area, it helps to put Mont-Valérien in a historical and geographical context.

The exhibition thus retraces the development of the policies of repression and the journey of those who were shot, from their arrest and internment up to their execution. It shows the various places of imprisonment, execution and burial in the Ile-de-France. The central part is more intimate and dedicated to the last letters of those who were shot, the last traces left for their families, which bear witness to the commitment and martyrdom of these men.
 

Le Mont Valérien

Avenue du Professeur Léon Bernard 92150 Suresnes

Tel.: + 33 (0) 1 47 28 46 35

Email: info@montvalerien.fr

Tours of Mont-Valérien are free and guided; they last an hour and thirty minutes and are at set times, every day except Monday: Low Season*: 10h00, 15h00 High season*: 9h30-11h00, 14h30-16h00 Groups of more than 10 people by appointment only

The reception and information Centre is open every day except Monday, Low season*: 9 am to 12 pm and 1pm to 5 pm High season*: 9 am to 12 pm and 1pm to 6 pm Low season: November-February, July-August High season: March-June, September-October

How to get to the Memorial BY TRAIN: The Paris Saint Lazare to Versailles line to Suresnes station BY RATP: RER line A La Défense or line no. 1 La Défense and then bus no. 360 (Mont Valérien or Hôpital Foch Cluseret stops) BY TRAMWAY: Val de Seine T2 La Défense to Issy-les-Moulineaux - Suresnes: Longchamp Station BY CAR: Porte Maillot - Pont de Suresnes The site is closed to the public on the 1st January, 15th August, 1st November and 25th and 31th December.

Fort du Portalet, in the Pyrénées-Atlantique, was designed to defend the road from le Somport (Aspe Valley) and is famous for having been used as a prison for Léon Blum, Edouard Daladier, Georges Mandel and Paul Reynaud in 1941 and 1942 and later for Marshal Pétain. It was built following an order given by Louis-Philippe on the 22nd July 1842 to protect the Pyrenees border from a possible Spanish invasion.

The structure was built at an altitude of 765 metres on a cliff on the right bank of the Gave d'Aspe, downriver from Urdos. It takes its name from the former medieval commercial toll bridge, le "Portalet", of La Porte d'Aspe, situated 100 metres further down. The accommodation comprises a barracks for the troops and officers' lodge, both built on two levels. A small upper fort of three bastions equipped with batteries, protects the lanes from the le Rouglan plateau and la Mâture. The road and the Urdos were covered by the creation of crenulated galleries carved into the rock. Equipped with around ten canons, the stronghold could accommodate more than 400 men and seal off access for a siege lasting at least a week.
The 18th Infantry Regiment of Pau was stationed there from 1871; it remained there until 1925. From there, it saw action from 1875 to 1876 against Spanish Carlist soldiers. On the eve of the First World War, the fort was left in civilian hands and remained so until 1940, when the Vichy regime interned those people deemed to be "responsible for the defeat" following the Riom trial. Amongst them were Léon Blum, Edouard Daladier, Georges Mandel, Paul Reynaud and Maurice Gamelin. When, in November 1942, the Free Zone was invaded, the sector was used as a position for German troops. The fort was liberated on the 24th August 1944 by Resistance fighters from Aspe and Spanish Guerillas. Following the liberation, between August and November 1945, le Portalet was used as a place of internment for Marshal Pétain before he was transferred to the island of Yeu.
Aspe Valley Tourist Information Office Place Sarraillé 64490 Bedous Tel.: + 33 (0) 5 59 34 57 57 Email: aspe.tourisme@wanadoo.fr

The capital of the Basse-Navarre and an important crossing route over the Pyrenees, Saint Jean Pied de Port, known in Basque as Donibane Garazi, was founded at the end of the 12th Century under the reign of the last kings of Navarre to protect the course of the river and access to the Roncevaux and Bentarte passes. Built on the site of the former fortified château of the kings of Navarre, the Citadel, which has recently been restored, looks over the walled town. It is a fine example of the defensive system of "Vauban-style" fortifications, with a glacis, moats, walls flanked by bastions with arrow loops, firearms, swing bridges, draw bridges and portcullis.

Constructed by Chevalier Deville in 1628 under the reign of Richelieu, during a time of religious wars and Franco-Spanish conflicts, it was later modified by Vauban. Vauban improved the defensive system, which consisted of four bastions, and planned outlying forts such as the redoubts, as well as the fortification of the whole of the town - only the first part of the project would be carried out. It is accessed by a ramp. In the western demi-lune there is a view over the town and the Cize basin. Around the internal courtyard and against the ramparts constructed above the underground vaulted casemates, are huddled the barracks, the governor's quarters and chapel, the powder stores and the well.
It was from this military position that in 1793 and 1794 all the expeditions against Spain were carried out, during which the Volunteers and later, the 10 companies of Basque Chasseurs distinguished themselves under the command of the would-be Marshal Harispe. In 1814, the Citadel did not succumb under pressure from Anglo-Hispanic-Portuguese troops and the war ended before it surrendered. During the 1914-18 war, German prisoners and French disciplinarians were held there. The premises would be used as a barracks until 1923.
Between 1936 and 1939, having become council property, the Citadel accommodated 500 Basque refugee children fleeing from the Spanish Civil War. The fortress is now home to a secondary education college.
Mairie de Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 13 place Charles de Gaulle 64220 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Tél. : 05.59.37.00.92 Fax : 05.59.37.99.78 E-mail : mairie.stjeanpieddeport@wanadoo.fr Horaires d'ouverture du lundi au vendredi de 08h30 à 12h00 et de 14h00 à 17h30 Tourist Information Office 14, Place Charles de Gaulle 64220 Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Tel. +33 (0) 5 59 37 03 57 Fax: +33 (0) 5 59 37 34 91 E-mail:saint.jean.pied.de.port@wanadoo.fr