In 1697, in accordance with the Ryswick treaties, France had to give back all those towns situated on the right bank of the Rhine, including Brisach. She was thus to lose her foothold in Germany and leave the centre of the Alsace undefended. In 1698 Vauban was despatched to the town and started to build three projects, of which the third one, the most complete, was retained by Louis XIV on 6 September 1698. The highly experienced Vauban, closely following the layout already achieved in Landau, designed a town with a double defensive main front part to increase its resistance to attack and make it less vulnerable to ricochet fire, which he himself had invented.

The town, a perfect octagon, comprises an internal fortified "secure" part, whose fortified defensive walls are flanked by fortified towers and an outer "fighting" area. This is made up of two defensive levels. The first consists of counter-guards serving as an artillery platform, which conceal the fortified towers and tenailles to protect the defensive walls. The second level is made up of half-moons in front of the tenailles, of which only those above the doors have a reduit, and of a covered walkway that encircles the whole town. Within the walls, Neuf-Brisach is arranged into 48 areas around the Place d'Armes. This ias how Neuf-Brisach came to be built from scratch on the left bank of the Rhine a short distance from the old town of Brisach. Construction work, which began in 1700, was carried out quickly so that by March 1702, the town could be used as a defence.
However, the return of Brisach to French rule in 1703 was to be the death knell for Neuf-Brisach. This is why, due to lack of funds, the crowning work that featured in Vauban's plans was abandoned and the first stone of the church of Saint-Louis was not laid until 1731, while the construction of the governor's hall would not be started until 1772. Only a small amount of modernisation work was carried out in the middle of the 19th century to compensate for some defects, in particular the lack of casemates. It was also a question of adapting its defences after the construction of the canal between the Rhone and the Rhine that runs along the slope to the east, by adding a lunette covering a floodgate. After a few alarms in 1814 and 1815, it wasn't until 1870 that Neuf-Brisach was to witness its first siege: besieged from 6th October 1870, it was subjected to violent artillery fire between the 2nd and 10th November before capitulating on the 11th November.
However Neuf-Brisach's military purpose was never to be fulfilled. The Germans would significantly alter the ramparts, as well as the urban layout of the ancient fortified town, turning it into a key constituent of the Neuf-Brisach bridgehead, intended to protect an important crossing point on the Rhine using several very modern fortifications. In June 1940, the breaching of the Rhine by the Germans in the Neuf-Brisach area was to be marked by intense fighting, before the town temporarily became the largest prisoner of war camp in France. Neuf-Brisach was to be severely bombarded once more, this time by American troops at the end of the Second World War.
Tourist Office Point I Neuf-Brisach 6, place d'Armes 68600 Neuf-Brisach Tel. 03 89 72 56 66 Fax: 03 89 72 91 73 E-mail: info@tourisme-rhin.com

Bastion No. 6, known as "Bastion Saint-Jean", is situated in the commune of Avesnes-sur-Helpe, in the North of France, in the region called Nord-Pas-de-Calais. This fortified city clinging to the side of a rocky cliff was founded by Wédric Le Barbu in the 11th century. Philippa de Hainaut, future queen of England who persuaded King Edward to spare the lives of the Burghers of Calais, was born into the family of Avesnes.

The edifice was established on the south-eastern boundary of the town, against a rocky outcrop, opposite the high grounds of Malassise and Guersignies to the south; it dominates the Helpe valley. The first elements of the motte-and-bailey castle were built in the 11th century; two ramparts circled the town in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the second half of the 16th century, the town of Avesnes was the site of Franco-Spanish rivalry to take control of the Netherlands. Avesnes had six bastions built according to the plans of Devanter and Guichardin.

Reference is made to a "Bastion in front of the tower of Saint Jean" in written sources dating to 1559. It has the form of an "arrow-head" and the odd characteristic of a truncated salient. When it became too small to meet the needs of the growing artillery, Bastion Saint-Jean was extended in 1650 with a new polygonal shape on two levels and was doubled in size. This configuration can still be seen. The firing chambers and the countermine shafts soon became obsolete as they were too far from the new installations.

The upper part of the bastion, to the south, occupies two-thirds of the area, and rises over 20 metres above the valley. The lower part, which is smaller, controlled the sluice bridge – the Pont des Dames –, which controlled flooding of the eastern-side approaches of the town and flanked the curtain wall. The two levels are separated by a covered way, the purpose of which was to prevent ricochet shootings and enfilade firing of the firing step on the left side from the southern high ground. A ramp to the left connects the two levels. Nine years later, Avesnes became part of the kingdom of France. Vauban modified the bastion from 1690 to 1723 by adding a cavalier in the gorge of the bastion to dominate the whole structure and at the same time provide surveillance for its southern and eastern approaches. The two levels were decorated with formal French gardens in the 18th century.

In 1831-1832, the building, now small and out-of-date, was renovated and modernised, but it was finally decommissioned in 1867. The bastion and its land were sold.

The Bastion Saint Jean was registered on the French supplementary inventory of historic monuments in 1995 and was restored between June 1999 and September 2001.

bastion Saint-Jean

Avesnes-sur-Helpe Tourist Information Office

41, place du Général Leclerc BP 208 - 59363 Avesnes-sur-Helpe

Tel./Fax: +33 3.27.56.57.20

E-mail : ot.avesnes@wanadoo.fr

Quizz : Forts et citadels

From the beginning of the 16th century, the inhabitants of Toulon were heavily preoccupied with sheltering their town from an attack by sea. And although, with its fortified wall dating from the 14th century, Toulon could consider itself sheltered from a sudden attack from the land, its harbour remained entirely open to enemy fleets. Listening to the pleas of the province and alerted by the town council, in 1513 KIng Louis XII ordered the construction of a fortification in the form of a tower in the entrance to the port to defend its access. Originally called the Royal Tower, this fortification was immediately called the Great Tower or the Big Tower by the people, who were amazed at its size. In a municipal debate held on the 16th July 1513, the town council decided that this tower would be built on the cape known as la Manègue, in the entrance to the port, as the king had wanted. The execution of the work was under the supervision of an Italian engineer of great renown, Jean-Antoine de la Porta, who arrived at the port in early May 1514. The work was started on the 14th May, the date of the first excavations, to public rejoicing and would continue, often halted due to financial difficulties, for ten years. The Great Tower was completely finished and armed in May 1524. Command of it was entrusted to the unsavoury individual Captain Jehan du Mottet, famous for the cowardice with which he surrendered it to the Imperials, without a struggle, for 500 gold Ecus, when the latter invaded Provence in 1524. The enemy found 3 canons and 9 other artillery pieces there, which they drove to their camp outside Marseille, opening up the first route through the Ollioules gorges, in order to avoid the harsh climb up the Corps de Garde pass. Amongst the canons taken were the famous culverin, called Lézarde, which was later to cause so much harm to the French on the day of the Battle of Pavia (24th February 1525) and which was partly responsible for the victory. In 1529, the Great Tower was rearmed and as a result was able to resist in July and August 1536, when the fleet of Andréa Doria entered Toulon. It could not, however, prevent it from occupying the harbour during the new invasion of Provence by Charles Quint. During the persecutions suffered by the protestants in the province as a result of the Saint-Barthélémy massacre, about twenty Reformist families found asylum in the Great Tower.

It played no active role during the siege of 1707, but as it was powerfully armed, the ships of Admiral Showel's English fleet did not dare to break through the harbour. Towards the end of the 17th century, this fortress, which had for a long time provided the only defence of Toulon from the sea, was already no longer capable of providing a useful service. However, in 1746, it was still equipped with fifteen 24 canons, ten 18's, four 12's and two 6's, making a total of thirty one canons. From 1770 onwards, which was when Fort Lamalgue was finished, the Great Tower no longer played a major role in the defence of the harbour. The Revolution was to turn it into a jail; many victims were imprisoned and perished there. It had the same use during the counter-revolution of 1793. On the 19th May 1798, Josephine came to the Tower to say goodbye to Bonaparte as he set off on his expedition to Egypt. Although it was a pleasant prison in 1809 for the crew of the English frigate the Proserpine, captured off Sicié on the 27th February, for the duration of the First Empire it would accommodate in a more rudimentary fashion the many draft dodgers awaiting trial or their departure to the companies of pioneers. In 1825, the chapel was demolished and the small cemetery deconsecrated. The Tower had twenty-one canons in 1844. During the Franco-German war of 1870-1871, its basements were used to store the gold of the Bank of France. A project to install a battery of two 370mm canons there was abandoned in 1900. Since then, the Great Tower has been used as a store for naval construction, and to service torpedoes etc. In the 1914-1918 war German prisoners of war were interned there. During the 1939-1945 war it was occupied by the Germans and armed with various weapons, most notably anti-aircraft canons. It was hit several times and was badly damaged during the allied bombardments of 1943-1944. Between 1947 and 1948 it was cleared of rubble and a few minor repairs were carried out. Since the 11th April 1947 it has been listed as a historic monument.
A canon tower, almost circular in shape, 60 metres in diameter, with walls varying in thickness from 5 m to 3 m, it consists of a central nucleus, a low casemated battery with eight embrasures, a platform at access level with a drawbridge and an upper terrace protected by a solid wall forming a parados. It is surrounded by a wide moat. Several modifications have been carried out to the fort over the years: the addition of two low batteries at the end of the 17th century, whose embrasures are now blocked up; the establishment of a barracks on the platform and then a guard house; the development of the upper terraces to accommodate anti-aircraft artillery.
The central nucleus contains a collection of premises laid out on three levels, one above the other and linked by spiral staircases. In addition to two water tanks, there are vaulted halls used as storerooms and dungeons. It was all originally lit by natural light. The nine casemated cells are accessed by a circular gallery. A canon ramp links the stores with the upper terraces, allowing the transportation of artillery and ammunition.
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 ...
Toulon Tourist Information Office Place Raimu 83000 Toulon Tel.: + 33 (0) 4 94 18 53 00

This, as well as its four lakes, means that the Pays de Langres defence system is one of the best preserved in comparison to its original state.

Context

After the 1870 war, Alsace and Moselle were annexed by the German Empire, depriving France of the natural defences provided by the Rhine and the majority of the Vosges mountain range. The country's entire defence system had to be modified. This task was completed by the General of the Engineers, Raymond Séré de Rivières.

Having noted the disadvantaged new borders and the fact that it would be impossible to stop the enemy on them, he decided to construct "defensive curtains" designed to help concentrate and move troops. With strongly fortified towns at each end (Verdun, Toul, Epinal and Belfort), these curtains formed a string of separate forts, preventing any passage. Two large breaches were left (at Charmes and Stenay) for troop manoeuvres.

This system, designed to offer support and openings for a French attack or channel German troops if they broke through, was complemented behind the front line by a second line of immense fortified camps (Besançon, Dijon and Langres). Their role was to support the curtains by coordinating an offensive or strategic retreat.

This colossal project, started in 1874, was practically complete within a decade.

Defensive structure

Modernisation of the structure, inherited directly from the mid-17th century, began in the mid-19th century: construction of the citadel (1842-1860), reconstruction of the enclosed town (1844-1856) and the start of work on Bonnelle and Peigney forts (1869). The project was rudely interrupted by the war of 1870. The lessons learned during the conflict confirmed the credibility of detached fortifications, and justified moving these away from the site itself due to rapid progress in artillery. From 1874, the aims of the system at Langres were to: support a reserve army amassed around Langres, provide backing for an army forced to abandon the Vosges or Franche-Comté, shelter the town and supply routes to the citadel from bombing and control the railway lines and prevent the enemy from using them.

The fortified camp was transformed up until 1893. After a half-century of intensive work it was made up of over forty structures (citadel, 8 detached forts, 20 batteries and infantry structures, 9 underground magazines and 4 strategic wells), linked by 60km of strategic roads.

Montlandon Fort (or Mortier Fort) was built between 1883 and 1885, 10km east of Langres. It covered an area of 8.5 hectares and could house 7 officers and 350 men. Today, it has been converted into a farm with accommodation. Visitors can enjoy meals and snacks, buy local produce and visit the fort and farm. Open for visits. Status: private property.

Le Cognelot or Vercingétorix Fort was built between 1874 and 1877 to control the Culmont-Chalindrey railway node, protect an army retreating towards the plateau and play a pivotal role in allowing an army to garrison the east and south-east ridges of the plateau, preventing the enemy from besieging them.

Le Congelot Fort covers an area of 29 hectares and is located 8 kilometres south-east of Langres. It could house 13 officers and 623 men (and up to 1,083 in wartime). As it needed to be autonomous, supplies were designed to last 3 months: in addition to 100,000 individual rations, 585 cubic metres of water (6 litres per man per day) were required. Guided visits are available to individuals every Sunday in July and August except when events are being held. Groups: all year round by appointment.

Peigney or Constance Chlore Fort was built between 1869 and 1875, 2.5km east of Langres. It is a trapezoidal point defence fort which covers an area of 18 hectares. It was designed to house 8 officers, 18 non-commissioned officers and more than 336 men. Its weaponry was made up of 49 pieces of artillery (plus 22 in reserve). Status: property of the civilian emergency service.

Pointe de Diamant or Defrance Fort is the smallest fort in the defence system. Its role, in combination with La Bonnelle Fort, was to control the plateau west of the site. It is situated 3.2km from Langres and was built between 1874 and 1877. It covers an area of almost 12.76 hectares and was capable of housing 8 officers, 18 non-commissioned officers, 334 troops and 29 pieces of artillery. Status: the fort, which belongs to a private company, has been abandoned and is therefore not open for visits.

Saint-Menge or Ligniville Fort. Saint-Menge Fort (also known as Ligniville fort after the first Prefect of Haute-Marne) formed an integral part of the 19th-century Langres defensive system. It is located 8km north of Langres. This trapezoidal stop fort covering an area of 22 hectares is equipped with two batteries and a fortified camp. Its construction, on the site of a promontory fort at the point where the Marne valley opens out, began in 1874. Once completed in 1881 it was capable of housing 19 officers, 37 non-commissioned officers, 754 troops and 68 pieces of artillery. Status: private property. Not open for visits.

La Bonnelle or Décres Fort This fort, construction of which had hardly begun at the time of the 1870 war, is the only structure to have come under enemy fire when the Prussians circumvented the fortifications in January 1871. The building of the fort commenced in 1869 and was finally completed in 1885, after two phases of works (1869-1875 and 1881-1885). It is a trapezoidal point defence fort covering an area of 18 hectares. It was capable of housing 13 officers, 50 non-commissioned officers, 610 troops, 4 horses and 45 pieces of artillery. Status: property of Saint-Geosmes village. Open for visits for groups only, by appointment. Contact: Pays de Langres tourist office.

Dampierre or Magalotti Fort is the most distant, but also the largest, of the eight forts of the Langres curtain. It was built between 1874 and 1879 between the Coudre and Traire valleys, and is France's largest fort (52 hectares). It is surrounded by 4 kilometres of ditches and was designed to house 43 officers, 146 non-commissioned officers and 1,350 troops. Its immense size is matched only by its weaponry capability - up to 142 pieces of artillery. Status: property of the Ministry of Defence. Not open for visits.

Plesnoy or Medavy Fort was built between 1877 and 1881, 11.8km north-east of Langres. It is a 38-hectare stop fort designed to house 25 officers, 48 non-commissioned officers, 768 men (and 300 artillerymen) and 47 pieces of artillery. Around it stand four batteries, one of which is built against the fort, and a detached powder magazine at Bois Salicaut. Status: private property. Closed to the public.

Information

Pays de Langres Tourist Office

BP16 - 52201 Langres cedex

Tel: +33 (0)3 25 87 67 67

Fax: +33 (0)3 25 87 73 33

Langres Citadel

52200 LANGRES

Tel: +33 (0)3 25 87 67 67

Fax: +33 (0)3 25 87 73 33

E-mail: info@tourisme-langres.com
 

Pays de Langres

A Roman town from the first century A.D., Laon was a strategic location in the bids to control the north-eastern area of France. A stop-off point on the way to Paris, the town was well acquainted with troop movements during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the First and Second World Wars. The stele in honour of the four generals was inaugurated on the same square as the monument to the dead on 18 June 2006 by Evelyne Ratte, Prefect of Aisne. It faces the monument to the dead killed during both world wars, in international theatres of war and in North Africa.

A commemoration of the Liberation of the town from German troops, it is composed of a panel into which the Cross of Lorraine has been carved surrounded by biographic plaques of the four French generals, key members of the resistance who contributed to the liberation of a nation and its entry into the contemporary era:  Alphonse Juin (1888-1967), Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1887-1952), Marie-Pierre Koenig (1898-1970) and Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1902-1947).

Born in Rotterdam on 21 July 1877 to a prominent old Dutch family, Joost van Vollenhoven spent most of his childhood in Algeria, where his parents had moved and worked as merchants.

After earning a law degree and being naturalised French on 4 February 1899, he was admitted to the Colonial School that year. He completed the eight first years of his career in major political, administrative and diplomatic missions, first at the Ministry of Colonies, then in French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa, then once again in Paris. He received the Legion of Honour in a civilian capacity in 1912 and, at the age of 35, was named Governor of the Colonies and Secretary General of the Indochinese Federation before taking on the functions of interim Governor General when war was declared in 1914.

He was sent to the front in April 1915, at his own request, with the rank of Colonial Infantry Sergeant assigned to the Colonial Infantry Regiment of Morocco. He was named second lieutenant on 21 May.

Injured and with several commendations, he finally accepted the position of Governor General in Dakar in May 1917, a position from which he resigned eight months later in disagreement with the recruitment policy for African soldiers. Back on the front, he was once again commended in April 1918 and promoted Captain of the R.I.C.M. On 19 July 1918 he received a head injury near the village of Parcy-Tigny during an offensive by General Mangin’s 10th Army, engaged in the forest of Villers-Cotterêts since the 18th.

Joost van Vollenhoven died in the morning of 20 July. He was buried in the forest of Villers-Cotterêts, nearly the village of Longpont.

His commendation in the Army Order of 28 July 1918 is inscribed on Van Vollenhoven’s mausoleum: “An officer of ancient valour and virtue, the incarnation of the most admirable and solid military qualities, mortally wounded just as he was electrifying his troops by his example, taking a stubbornly defended enemy position. Ranking on the level of Bayard and La Tour d'Auvergne, and to be commended as an example for future generations, having been one of the most brilliant among the brave.”
 

Between the Aisne and the Ailette, not far from the N2 (the main road from Soisson to Laon), a field of memorials and steles echoes the poems of Louis Aragon "Traveller, remember the moulin de Laffaux".

The taking of the position of the moulin de Laffaux was to be a stage in the mass offensive planned by General Nivelle, commander in chief of the French armies of the north and north west, in the Chemin des Dames sector. This offensive was responsible for 140,000 deaths in a few days. General Maistre's 6th army launched an assault on the plateau de Laffaux, to the south east of Vauxaillon on the 5th May at 4.45 am. The 1st Colonial Army Corps was charged with taking the Vauxaillon-Fruty sector. "Marsouins" of the 3rd I.D., cavaliers on foot of the 4th, 9th and 11th cuirassiers and foot soldiers of the 28th and 329th I.R., supported by the tanks of Lefebvre's task force, took the Cacatoès trench and advanced on the plateau de Moisy, taking the trenches of le Rossignol, Pertuisane and la Rade, as well as the Mennejean farm. The 9th and 11th cuirassiers both advanced from the moulin de Laffaux. Grenade offensives facilitated the taking of the trenches of le Môle, le Mousse and le Rouge-gorge, whilst Captain Robinet's tanks reached the vicinity of the quarry at Fruty and, on doubling back, overcame the last pockets of resistance in the moulin de Laffaux sector. Fighting started again on the 6th May at 4 pm. Supported by a barrage of artillery fire, the French army was engaged in the north eastern sector of Vauxaillon. The colonials were held in check at the Mont des Singes but the 4th cuirassiers took the position of the château de la Motte and the 9th cleaned up the Ravin d'Allemant. The German counter offensive was contained. After two days of fierce fighting, the position of the plateau de Laffaux was taken. 12 pieces of equipment were lost and 55 men put out of action, including 3 dead. Commemorative monuments pay tribute to the courage and tenacity of these soldiers who "Died for France".
Monument to the "crapouillots" (trench artillerymen) An imposing memorial in the shape of a mortar shell, this monument pays tribute to the 12,000 entrenched artillerymen who died between 1914 and 1918 on the French and Eastern fronts. "Crapouillot" is the name given to the French trench mortar because of the projectile's curved shape that resembles a leaping toad or "crapaud". Monument to the marine fusiliers Erected in 1938, this construction is dedicated to the battalion of marine fusiliers who fought at the moulin de Laffaux on the 14th September 1918, at a cost of heavy losses: 18 officers and 430 company men killed. A few metres behind this monument is the entrance to the Fruty quarry which still bears the scars of the fighting of the 14th September 1918. Monument to the stenographers Monument dedicated to the memory of French and allied stenographers who died for their country. Monument to the 4th cuirassiers This monument was erected to bear witness to the valour of the 4th, 9th and 11th Cuirassiers. Monument to General Estienne This stele, a tribute to General Estienne, the "father of French tanks", is a reminder that during the fighting of the 5th and 6th May 1917 at the moulin de Laffaux, the first heavy tanks, Schneider and Saint Chamond, were used - 32 Schneider and 16 Saint-Chamond tanks.
Monument to the 9th regiment of foot cuirassiers This monument is in memory of Captain René de Chasteignier, Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur and Croix de guerre (War Cross); of Lieutenant Michel Wagner, Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur and Croix de guerre; of Sub-Lieutenant Jean-Luc de Carbuccia, Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur and Croix de guerre; of the officers, sub-officers and cavaliers of the 9th Regiment of Foot Cuirassiers who died for France during the victorious assault of the moulin de Laffaux, on the 5th May 1917. Georges Damez Memorial "On the 19th August 1917, after an aerial battle 400 metres from here, the aeroplane of Pilot sergeant Georges Damez of squadron SM 106, who was awarded the Croix de guerre and with two citations to his name, was shot down in flames. A reverent tribute to his memory ". Maurice Thiriez Memorial "Here, on the 7th May 1917, fell gloriously Marshal des logis Maurice Thiriez of the 9th Cuirassiers, a great Christian and a great Frenchman ". Frédéric Taillefert Memorial "Frédéric Félix Taillefert, 21st Company of the 4th mixed Regiment of zouaves and fusiliers. An elite machine gunner, who proved during the offensive of the 23rd October 1917 (battle of la Malmaison) his heroic bravery and even rarer courage in leading the waves of assault and facilitating their advance using fuelled and fine-tuned fire. Fallen gloriously near the village of Chavignon. Marshal of France at army Headquarters on the 9th April 1919, commander in chief of the French armies in the east, Pétain". Henri Dupouy Memorial "In memory of Henri Dupouy, a teacher from Dax, who fell here on the 7th May 1917 at the age of 25".

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

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