Fort de Bicêtre
Encyclopedia
The Fort de Bicêtre is a military structure built between 1841 and 1845 during the reign of Louis-Philippe during a time of tension between France and England, in the Paris
suburb of Kremlin-Bicêtre. The fort is part of the Thiers Wall]] fortifications of Paris, built under a program of defensive works initiated by Adolphe Thiers
. The fort served as a prison for those involved in the French coup of 1851
.
Occupied by the Prussia
ns in 1871, the fort was briefly occupied by communards during the Paris Commune
. After 1874, under the direction of General Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières
, the ring of Thiers fortifications was reinforced by a second ring of forts, reflecting the increased range of artillery during the intervening years. The Fort de Bicêtre was not modernized at this time, since it was considered too close to Paris to be useful.
From 1940 to 1944 the fort was occupied by German troops. After World War II
the fort remained a military post, successively accommodating an artillery unit, an Marine infantry battalion, and from 1946 a military radio facility.
The forts were cited in advance of the city walls to keep an enemy out of artillery range of the capital. As a result of shortages of money, manpower and materièl, some of the forts' armament and personnel were drawn from the Navy.
The Fort de Bicêtre was initially commanded by naval Capitaine de Frégate Fournier, with an armament of 86 artillery pieces. Like many locations around Paris, the ground under the fort had been tunneled and quarried for stone. These quarries were sealed or fortified. Like all of the detached forts, the Fort de Bicêtre was composed of an enclosing masonry wall with battlements and interior earth embankments, and was surrounded by a cleared glacis
. WIth an area of 25 hectares (61.8 acre), the fort is pentagonal in shape, enclosed by a wall, ditch and counterscarp
.
s in two groups of fifteen, one located between bastions 2 and 3, and the other between 3 and 4. The casemates measure 20 metres (65.6 ft) by 6 metres (19.7 ft), on a vaulted platform covered with earth. Three mortars for close defense were located on the south side. Each casemate protected a thirty-eight-man gun crew.
At present, the casemates have been renovated as office space.
In 1914 the fort was again manned by naval personnel.
During the Second World War, the Germans occupied the fort, a strategic point on the road to Fontainebleau
. The Germans built three concrete blockhouses, a subterranean hospital and a water reservoir. The hospital totaled 80 square metres (861.1 sq ft) in area under 2 metres (6.6 ft) of earth and 1 metres (3.3 ft) of concrete. The facility also sheltered a command port. The reservoir was used in the 1960s as a swimming pool.
From July 2003 the units were reorganized into the Direction interarmées des réseaux d'infrastructure et des systèmes d'information (DIRISI) under the Ministry of Defense.
in September.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
suburb of Kremlin-Bicêtre. The fort is part of the Thiers Wall]] fortifications of Paris, built under a program of defensive works initiated by Adolphe Thiers
Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French politician and historian. was a prime minister under King Louis-Philippe of France. Following the overthrow of the Second Empire he again came to prominence as the French leader who suppressed the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871...
. The fort served as a prison for those involved in the French coup of 1851
French coup of 1851
The French coup d'état on 2 December 1851, staged by Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , ended in the successful dissolution of the French National Assembly, as well as the subsequent re-establishment of the French Empire the next year...
.
Occupied by the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
ns in 1871, the fort was briefly occupied by communards during the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
. After 1874, under the direction of General Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières
Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières
Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières was a French military engineer and general whose ideas revolutionized the design of fortifications in France. He gave his name to the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications constructed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870...
, the ring of Thiers fortifications was reinforced by a second ring of forts, reflecting the increased range of artillery during the intervening years. The Fort de Bicêtre was not modernized at this time, since it was considered too close to Paris to be useful.
From 1940 to 1944 the fort was occupied by German troops. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the fort remained a military post, successively accommodating an artillery unit, an Marine infantry battalion, and from 1946 a military radio facility.
Description
In the 1840s, prime minister Adolphe Thiers proposed that Paris be transformed into a fortified city. The Thiers plan envisioned a wall around the city, reinforced by a ring of forts in the city's suburbs. Built between 1841 and 1845, the Fort de Bicêtre was one of seventeen bastioned forts.The forts were cited in advance of the city walls to keep an enemy out of artillery range of the capital. As a result of shortages of money, manpower and materièl, some of the forts' armament and personnel were drawn from the Navy.
The Fort de Bicêtre was initially commanded by naval Capitaine de Frégate Fournier, with an armament of 86 artillery pieces. Like many locations around Paris, the ground under the fort had been tunneled and quarried for stone. These quarries were sealed or fortified. Like all of the detached forts, the Fort de Bicêtre was composed of an enclosing masonry wall with battlements and interior earth embankments, and was surrounded by a cleared glacis
Glacis
A glacis in military engineering is an artificial slope of earth used in late European fortresses so constructed as to keep any potential assailant under the fire of the defenders until the last possible moment...
. WIth an area of 25 hectares (61.8 acre), the fort is pentagonal in shape, enclosed by a wall, ditch and counterscarp
Counterscarp
A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides of a ditch used in fortifications. In permanent fortifications the scarp and counterscarp may be encased in stone...
.
Entry and drawbridge
The fort is entered by a large gate with flanking guardhouses. A counterweighted Poncelet drawbridge originally spanned the ditch.Magazines
The magazines, located in the bastions flanking the entrance and on the fort's surface amount to 142 square metres (1,528.5 sq ft) in area, holding fifty tons of black powder. The rectangular magazines are constructed of stone with wall thicknesses of over two meters, with a blast wall at the main door to limit damage in the event of an explosion. The interior of the magazines has two levels, with wooden floors, fastened with wood pegs or bronze nails to avoid inadvertent sparks. The top of the magazine was protected by a lightning conductor.Officers' quarters and barracks
The officers' quarters are joined with the troop barracks along the place d'armes. In 1859-60 a separate infirmary was constructed to free space for married officers. The barracks was a four story building, accommodating about seven hundred men. The roof was a terrace, less prone to fire than a roof, and offering a firing platform under combat. The ground floor housed the mess halls and non-commissioned officers' quarters. A separate kitchen was later built to expand the barracks. Only one wll remains of the barracks, which have been replaced by more modern buildings.Casemates
The Fort de Bicêtre features thirty casemateCasemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s in two groups of fifteen, one located between bastions 2 and 3, and the other between 3 and 4. The casemates measure 20 metres (65.6 ft) by 6 metres (19.7 ft), on a vaulted platform covered with earth. Three mortars for close defense were located on the south side. Each casemate protected a thirty-eight-man gun crew.
At present, the casemates have been renovated as office space.
Latrines
Located behind the barracks and officers' quarters, the latrines were served by an aqueduct system.Construction to the Second World War
In 1851 the Fort de Bicêtre was a prison for plotters in a coup d'état against Napoleon III. Several casemates were transformed into jails to hold prisoners before execution or deportation. During the Franco-Prussian War, the Fort de Bicêtre and the other southern Paris forts were shelled by the Prussians. In early 1871 the French government capitulated and the Prussians occupied the fortifications of Paris. Bicêtre was occupied by the Prussian 6th Corps from 29 January to 20 March 1871. As the Prussians began to withdraw in March, the Paris Commune uprising took place, occupying several southern forts including Bicêtre. After bloody attacks by French government forces, the communards left the fort during the night of 24–25 May.In 1914 the fort was again manned by naval personnel.
During the Second World War, the Germans occupied the fort, a strategic point on the road to Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
. The Germans built three concrete blockhouses, a subterranean hospital and a water reservoir. The hospital totaled 80 square metres (861.1 sq ft) in area under 2 metres (6.6 ft) of earth and 1 metres (3.3 ft) of concrete. The facility also sheltered a command port. The reservoir was used in the 1960s as a swimming pool.
After the Second World War
From 1946, the fort was transformed into a military radio communications facility manned by the 1st Battalion of the 8th Transmissions Regiment. From 1949 the Munitions Service (ERGM) moved to Bicêtre from Versailles and the Etablissement Régional du Matériel des Transmissions was moved there from 1967. From 1968 the Etablissement annexe du Matériel des Transmissions (EAMT) became the Centre Spécialisé des Transmissions Nord (CST Nord). In 1979 the fort acquired the Direction des Transmissions d’Infrastructure/Administration Centrale DTI/AC). In 1983 the Centre de Contrôle des Fréquences (CCF/Nord) moved to Bicêtre from Mont Valérien. In 1991 the Centre National de Soutien des Transmissions arrived at the fort, becoming the Centre de Soutien Spécialisé des Transmissions 2 (CSST2). In 1992 the Direction Centrale des Transmissions (DCT/DCTSI/DCTEI) arrived. In 1994 CSST2 amalgamated with CSST1 in Suresnes and CSST3 in Toulouse to become the Centre National de Soutien Spécialisé des Transmissions (CNSST). In 1996 the Centre d’Études et de Réalisation des Systèmes d’Information de l’Armée de Terre, Bureau Architecture Études (CERSIAT/BAE) was created to manage Army information technology. In 1997 the Système d’Information des Formations de l’Armée de Terre (SIFAT) appeared.From July 2003 the units were reorganized into the Direction interarmées des réseaux d'infrastructure et des systèmes d'information (DIRISI) under the Ministry of Defense.
Public access
Since it is still used by the Ministry of Defense, the fort is closed to the public. However, tours are organized for European Heritage DaysEuropean Heritage Days
European Heritage Days is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, Europe: a common heritage. The annual programme offers opportunities to visit buildings, monuments and sites, many of...
in September.
Source
- This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding French Wikipedia article as of October 19, 2010.
External links
- Le fort de Bicêtre at the Ville du Kremlin-Bicêtre