The Galgenberg artillery structure was built starting in 1931. Its mission was to control the Moselle Valley, and it was from its command centre that the surrounding artillery structures received their orders, which is why it was called “the Guardian of the Moselle”. Due to the firepower of the artillery at Galgenberg and the surrounding structures, the Wehrmacht did not launch any massive attacks against the sector.

Its weaponry comprises an infantry casemate (Blocks 1 and 2), a machine gun turret (Block 3) and an 81-mm turret (Block 4). Block 5 houses an observatory and Block 6 has a 135-mm turret. It could house 445 men. Four 125-horse SGCM engines ensured operations.

 

LM SFBC – Maginot Line of the Fortified Sector of the Forest of Cattenom
Allée des Platanes 57570 Cattenom

E-mail : contact@forticat.com

Find opening dates and times and practical information in the “visits” section of the website: www.forticat.com

Website dedicated to the Maginot Line

LM SFBC website

Fortweb website on European fortifications

Quizz : Forts and citadels

Constructed between 1930 and 1935, the Immerhof is situated within the limits of the town of Hettange-Grande, 7 km to the north of Thionville. The only completely open-air fort to have been constructed on the Line, it forms part of the fortified Thionville sector, in the Fortified Region of Metz, the most powerful part of the Maginot system. It was named A10, "the Tiburce", in reference to Saint Tiburtius and also Immerhof after the name of a nearby farm. In addition to its purpose of providing fire cover with its two neighbours, Molvange and Soetrich, its role was to protect the Hettange to Grande Dudelange road and the Thionville to Luxembourg railway line. It is a fort built in four blocks, including two machine gun towers, a mixed block with infantry casemate and an 81 mm mortar tower and entrance block. At the fort's core are the living quarters required for the 198 strong company to resist a siege of up to three months: kitchen, infirmary and bedrooms etc. Its armaments consisted of two machine gun towers, Blocks 2 and 3, and an 81 mm tower, as well as an infantry casemate. It could accommodate 200 men.

Ouvrage A10 Immerhof Association "Le Tiburce" 5, rue des Sorbiers 57330 Hettange-Grande Contacts Chairman of the association sapeur@neuf.fr Webmaster of the site and member of the association richardjm@neuf.fr The fort can be visited from April to November with groups welcome all year round. Charges Individuals Adults 3.50 € Children (up to 14 years old) 1.50 € Groups (more than 10 people) Adults 3 € School groups 1.50 € Free for ex-servicemen

In 1603, Henri IV decided to found a college and donated his Château de La Flèche to the Jesuits. The college grew and was reorganised as a cadet school in 1764. It was during this period that it took on its military mission before the Prytanée de Saint-Cyr was transferred here in 1808. It contains a remarkable library.

In September 1603, Henri IV decided to found a college to “instruct young people and get them to love sciences, honour and virtue, to be able to serve the public...” and donated his Château de La Flèche to the Jesuits, a château that his grandmother had had built in the 16^th century. One of its first students, René Descartes, who stayed there from 1607 to 1615, told, notably in the first part of the Discourse on Method, the story of the education he received there.

The college was then expanded: a vast church and large buildings were constructed. The main structure of the Church of Saint-Louis was built between 1607 and 1621. Its Baroque interior decoration was completed in 1693. Three components of the décor are of particular notice: the large retable by Pierre Corbineau (1633), the organ and its tribune (1640) and the royal cenotaphs containing the hearts of Henri IV and Marie de Medici.

In 1764, two years after the expulsion of the Jesuits, Louis XV and Choiseul reorganised the college as a “École de Cadets ou École militaire préparatoire à l'École militaire du Champ de Mars” (Cadet School or Military School preparing for admission to the Champ de Mars Military School). It was during this period that it took on its true military mission.

In 1808, Napoleon I decided to transfer the Prytanée de Saint-Cyr to La Flèche. It is located in two quarters.

The historic quarter (16 ha / 40 acres), located in the centre of La Flèche, is home to the command, preparatory classes for admission to the military “Grandes écoles”, the medical centre, workshops, etc.

The Gallieni quarter (13 ha / 32 acres) is on the edge of the town. Originally, it comprised the La Tour d'Auvergne barracks, built in 1876 for the 117^th Infantry Regiment. In 1921, it became the secondary school quarter.

The present school infrastructure was put in place starting in the 1950s. The library, in the shape of a long, vaulted vessel decorated with two frescos depicting Calliope and Urania, holds over 30,000 encyclopaedic volumes. It notably has over a thousand books from the old Jesuit collection. The oldest book is an incunable of “The City of God” by Saint Augustine dating from 1470. Amongst its other treasures, there is a Homer and a Virgil from the 16^th century, a multilingual Bible from 1645 and the Encyclopédie by Diderot and d'Alembert.

All of the buildings are classified or listed in the inventory of historic monuments. Today, the Prytanée National Militaire is one of six military high schools around the country under the authority of the Ministry of Defence. It is also at the crossroads of the Ministries of Education and Culture. Furthermore, it is the heir to the Prytanée established by Napoleon as of 1800 and transferred to the town in the Sarthe department in 1808. Since then, it has pursued the same educational mission and, since 1982, has the dual vocation of assisting families for the secondary school and assisting in the recruitment of officers for the preparatory classes.

The Prytanée covers a total surface area of 29 hectares (72 acres). It is located in two quarters, Henri IV and Gallieni.

The Henri IV quarter

The Henri IV quarter, covering 16 hectares (40 acres), is located in the centre of La Flèche.

Today, this quarter is home to:

• The Prytanée command (staff headquarters and academic administration).

• Preparatory classes for admission to the military “Grandes écoles”, with some 300 students in an academic environment (dormitories, cafeteria service and recreation rooms).

• Support to ensure the establishment’s proper operations.

• Library and documentation centre.

• Saint-Louis Church.

• Several sports facilities (swimming pool, military equestrian section, gymnasium and sports fields).

The Gallieni quarter

The Gallieni quarter is 800 metres as the crow flies from the Henri IV quarter. It covers 13 hectares (32 acres) on the edge of the town of La Flèche. Originally, it comprised the “La Tour d'Auvergne” barracks, built in 1876 for the 117^th Infantry Regiment.

Today, this quarter is home to:

• The 3 years of high school classes, with some 450 students in an academic environment (dormitories, cafeteria service and recreation rooms and clubs).

• A documentation centre.

• A sports complex.

This historic monument, entrusted to the Ministry of Defence, is part of a Defence Culture protocol signed on 17 September 2005.

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Prytanée National Militaire

22, rue du Collège 72208 La Flèche Cedex

Ministry of Defence

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

(Secretary General for Administration, Department of Remembrance, Heritage and Archives)

14 rue Saint-Dominique 00450 Armées

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

In Landrethun-le-nord, in a place called "Mimoyecques", a secret base was built underground. It was intended to launch hundreds of V3 missiles per day on London. It was destroyed on 6 July 1944 with Tallboy bombs.

Excavations have uncovered an entrance, and some of the shafts can be visited. The V-3 (Vergeltungswaffen) was planned to bombard England, and more precisely London, its only target. But the lack of mobility of this kind of weapon made it extremely vulnerable to bombarding and air raids. This is why it had to be contained in a fortified system.

Five of these shafts were constructed in Mimoyecques, in the commune of Marquise in the Pas-de-Calais, along with an entire network of service shafts, tunnels and rooms on several levels, essential for troops staying there and for the many technical departments. An interior railway line was even built to provide transport from one end to the other. On the surface, a particularly vulnerable zone, angled drifts opened onto a reinforced concrete slab 5.5 metres thick. The openings in the slab were protected by 20 cm thick steel plate.

The site was chosen due to its proximity to the target (168 km from London), and also to it being set back from the coastline, to avoid any naval attacks. The site also had to be near to a railway line to transport the gun's spare parts and the heavy material necessary for it to work, to evacuate rubble and to provide munitions and explosives, and also had to be near a power line to supply this underground city. The Germans requested 5,000 kilowatts from the North-West electrical power station. 5,000 workers and 120,000 m3 were required for this installation.

Fortress of Mimoyecques

Landrethum-le-Nord 62250 Marquise

Tel.: +33 3.21.87.10.34

Fax: +33 3.21.83.33.10

E-mail: Mimoyecques@wanadoo.fr

Opening times From 18 April to 18 October, from 9 am to 6 pm. In July and August, from 10 am to 7 pm. Groups can visit from 9 am to 7 pm subject to booking.

Prices Adults: €5.50. Children: €4.00. Group of at least 15 persons - Adults: €4.50. Children: €3.35. School groups: €3.35

The site is south of Calais on the D249 between Leubringhen and Landrethum le Nord.

Sound projection in 3 languages: French, English and Dutch. The visit lasts around one hour. It is chilly inside, so bring a warm item of clothing. Constant temperature around 8°C

Base V3 - Mimoyecques

Quizz : Forts and citadels

A Sénan native stands before a granite Cross of Lorraine.

A monument dedicated to the Free French Forces was erected at Men-Neï. Sculpted by Quillivic, in clear view of the lighthouse overlooking it, it bears two inscriptions: "Kentoc'h Mervel" (I’d rather die) & “Le soldat qui ne se reconnaît pas vaincu a toujours raison” (The soldier who does not recognise defeat is always right).

On 7 September 1960, General de Gaulle, President of the Republic, paid an official visit to the Île de Sein to inaugurate this monument of remembrance and gratitude. It was a solemn moment, with the huge aircraft carrier Clemenceau just off the island and a helicopter landing. The giant of a man stepped off. The Sénan people were all there to welcome “their” General. The women were wearing their Sunday best, even the Mayor, Mrs Kerloc'h, who was also wearing a jibilinenn bonnet. A chorus of Sénan singers, vibrant with contained emotion, sang “Le Libéra”. Everyone was singing and, with their voices they sang the trials and tribulations they had suffered twenty years earlier, their dedication, their loyalty, death, hunger, injuries and especially their thirst for victory.

General de Gaulle was touched by the sight and understood the message of these simple people, so strong, so natural and so spontaneous. On the rostrum set up in his honour, he thanked the men and woman standing there with their proud, handsome faces looking up at him. “Here is the sea, in perpetual motion. Here is the sky, constantly changing. And here is the granite of Brittany, which never changes. When the time came, the Île de Sein was an example for us all. The movement at the time was natural and spontaneous, because it was for the island and its children, and because over the centuries, you have been confronted with struggles and because it was a question of you and your courage. With the “Le Libéra” that you sang earlier, I understood your sacrifice back in 1940. That remains in Sein and it remains in the spirit of all of France. France has been through many misfortunes, but thanks to its efforts, thanks to yours, it has undergone rebirth. In our dreams, France is what we have always wanted it to be: great, prosperous and fraternal. I have come here in the name of France to pay tribute to the Île de Sein, to this land of courage and exemplarity, to my companion, the Île de Sein. For the rest of my life, I will carry an imperishable memory of this ceremony.”

Then, to the population’s emotional applause, President de Gaulle raised his arms in an immense V for victory. He then visited the town hall and wrote in the registry, “To the Île de Sein, my companion, I offer my best wishes, with all my heart”. General de Gaulle held the Île de Sein and its residents in high esteem. For example, in his office in rue Solferino in Paris, he always kept nearby a gift that the people of the island had given him on 12 June 1949. It was a statue of a Breton woman made of Quimper faience, a work by R. Micheau-Vemez. He had placed it on a pedestal table, in full view, and the face on the ceramic constantly reminded him of his companion, a single word representing the entire Sénan community for him.

Sein is still in the news and is linked to the memory of the illustrious general. In 2002, a copy of the Mouez Enez Sun from November 2000 was given to the Charles de Gaulle Museum, located in the house where he was born in Lille. This monthly is the local paper on the Île de Sein. This issue of the Mouez Enez Sun reported on the ceremonies organised in the General’s memory upon his death in 1970, thirty years earlier.

Site internet

http://www.mairie-iledesein.com/a_visiter.htm

From the 17th century to the present day, this abbey has enjoyed a rich and eventful history. It is currently home to Ministry of Defence departments. History Pentemont Abbey was founded in 1217 at Beauvais, by Philippe de Dreux. Transferred to Paris in 1672, at the wishes of King Louis XIV, the Abbey then settled in the former buildings of the Order of the Word Incarnate; on the site of what is now 104 rue de Grenelle. In 1745, Abbess Marie-Catherine Béthisy de Mézières entrusted the reconstruction of the Abbey to Constant d'Ivry, architect to the Duc d'Orléans and known for his work on the Palais-Royal. The buildings were completed in 1783, but a lack of finance prevented their decoration. Later, in 1835, the building of the extension to rue de Bellechasse meant the demolition of part of the buildings. Up until the Revolution, Pentemont Abbey served as a convent for nuns, as well as an educational establishment for the daughters of nobility. Some apartments were also reserved for ladies of good standing seeking rest. This was the case when Joséphine de Beauharnais stayed here, while the case of her separation from her husband was heard.

After the Revolution, the building was used for military purposes. The abbey buildings housed the National Guard, then the Imperial Guard under the First Empire, before becoming the barracks for the Cent Gardes under the Second Empire. In 1915, Pentemont Abbey was put at the disposal of the Pensions Department of the Ministry of War, which became the Ministry of War Pensions, Bonuses and Benefits in 1920. The building still houses Ministry of Defence departments to this day. Main courtyard The buildings to the left and at the far end of the main courtyard were built in the 19th century, for military purposes. Today they house Ministry of Defence departments. The building on the right, from the 17th century, was the main building of Pentemont Abbey. The first-floor windows at the centre of the facade, used to open into the Abbess's salon. The monumental entrance on the ground floor, which used to lead directly to the Abbey chapel, was converted into the grand salon between the wars.
War memorial and commemorative plaques The war memorial bears the inscription "From veterans to their comrades who gave their lives for their country. In memoriam". It is accompanied by a stele, dedicated to Ministry of Veterans' staff and the victims of war who died for France. Four commemorative plaques to députés and Veterans' Ministers (André Maginot, Robert Lasalle, Albert Aubry and Henri Frenay) are mounted on the building at the far end of the courtyard. There is also a plaque to the victims of the attack on the UTA DC 10 on 19th September 1989. This site is closed to the public, except on heritage days. This historical monument, under the administration of the Ministry for Defence, is part of a Defence Culture protocol, signed on 17th September 2005. Click here to see the list of other buildings included ...
Ministère de la défense Secrétariat Général pour l'Administration Direction de la Mémoire, du Patrimoine et des Archives Bureau des actions culturelles et muséographiques 14 rue Saint-Dominique 00450 Armées E-mail: [email=dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr]dmpa-sdace-bacm@sga.defense.gouv.fr[/email

In the 16th century, the harbour of Toulon was surrounded by a system of defences designed to protect its access, firstly by sea and then by land, as offensive artillery gradually increased its range. Constructed between 1672 and 1680, at the end of the 17th century this fort provided effective protection for the port of Toulon as well as for the shores of the Seyne. The name Eguillette seems to come from the presence in the area of soft water lakes (ayguades), where ships would come to take on fresh supplies. Unlike the round structures of the forts of Balaguier and the Royal Tower, the Eguillette Tower is square and flanked by two oblique wings: a corridor and an open air battery with parapets and embrasures, behind which 22 canons commanded the harbour with their grazing fire. The Fort de l'Eguillette is a fort with a low battery: at the time when the navy used sailboats, it was used to fire on the hulls of the ships. With the advances in artillery during the middle of the 19th century, the right-hand battery was casemated with stone vaults. The left-hand battery, which could be turned against the arsenal in the event of seizure of the fort, was filled in. The Fort de l'Eguillette is now rented by the town of Seyne-sur-Mer.

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 Tel.: +33 (0) 4 94 18 53 00

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