Ouvrage Bois Karre
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Bois- Karre is located in the Fortified Sector of Thionville
of the Maginot Line
, facing the France
- Luxembourg
border. The petit ouvrage is situated in the Cattenom Forest between the gros ouvrages Soetrich
and Kobenbusch
, just south of Boust
. It is unusual for a Maginot fortification in its construction as a single blockhouse, with no underground gallery system or remotely-located entries. Bois-Karre has been preserved and is maintained as a museum.
Bois-Karre was planned as an anchor point for a fortified line of retreat from the Cattenom salient formed by Kobenbusch and Oberheid
. A firing chamber is arranged to cover the reinforcing line (bretelle de Cattenom), which was to be anchored at its other end by Block 2 of Ouvrage Galgenberg
. The reinforcing line was never built.
embrasure (JM/AC47). The east firing chamber was equipped with two JM/AC47 embrasures and a JM embrasure. Three automatic rifle cloches
(GFM) on the surface provided spotting for ouvrage Métrich
, along with a machine gun turret. The integral usine was equipped with two 40 hp Renault engines.
Several casemates, observatories and infantry shelters are located around Bois-Karre, including
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other. All were built by CORF. The Casernement de Cattenom provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Bois-Karre and other ouvrages in the area.
Fortified Sector of Thionville
The Fortified Sector of Thionville was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line immediately to the north of Thionville. The sector describes an arc of about , about halfway between the French border with Luxembourg and Thionville. The Thionville...
of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
, facing the France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
border. The petit ouvrage is situated in the Cattenom Forest between the gros ouvrages Soetrich
Ouvrage Soetrich
Ouvrage Soetrich is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line in northeastern France. Soetrich is located between petits ouvrages Immerhof and Bois Karre, facing the France-Luxembourg border near the town of Hettange-Grande, part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville...
and Kobenbusch
Ouvrage Kobenbusch
Ouvrage Kobenbusch is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Thionville in the Cattenom forest. It possesses seven combat blocks and two entrance blocks, one for ammunition and the other for men. It is located between petit ouvrage Bois-Karre and petit ouvrage...
, just south of Boust
Boust
Boust is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
. It is unusual for a Maginot fortification in its construction as a single blockhouse, with no underground gallery system or remotely-located entries. Bois-Karre has been preserved and is maintained as a museum.
Design and construction
Bois-Karre was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1930. Work by the contractor Degaine-Dubois began in 1931, and the position became operational in 1935, at a cost of 10 million francs.Bois-Karre was planned as an anchor point for a fortified line of retreat from the Cattenom salient formed by Kobenbusch and Oberheid
Ouvrage Oberheid
Ouvrage Oberheid, also called Ouvrage Oberheide, forms a portion of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line in northeast France...
. A firing chamber is arranged to cover the reinforcing line (bretelle de Cattenom), which was to be anchored at its other end by Block 2 of Ouvrage Galgenberg
Ouvrage Galgenberg
Ouvrage Galgenberg forms a portion of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line. It is situated in the Cattenom Forest, near the gros ouvrage Kobenbusch and petit ouvrage Oberheid. The ouvrage was tasked with controlling the Moselle valley and as such was called the "Guardian of the...
. The reinforcing line was never built.
Description
The single two-level combat block comprises two firing chambers and one machine gun turret. The west firing chamber was armed with a machine gun embrasure and a machine gun/47mm anti-tank gunAC 47 anti-tank gun
The AC 47 was a French anti-tank gun of 47mm caliber. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930s; another version was created for naval use....
embrasure (JM/AC47). The east firing chamber was equipped with two JM/AC47 embrasures and a JM embrasure. Three automatic rifle cloches
GFM cloche
The GFM cloche was one of the most common defensive armaments on the Maginot Line. A cloche was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant...
(GFM) on the surface provided spotting for ouvrage Métrich
Ouvrage Metrich
Ouvrage Métrich located in the village of Kœnigsmacker in Moselle, comprises part of the Elzange portion of the Fortified Sector of Thionville of the Maginot Line. A gros ouvrage, it is the third largest of the Line, after Hackenberg and Hochwald. It lies between petit ouvrage Sentzich and gros...
, along with a machine gun turret. The integral usine was equipped with two 40 hp Renault engines.
Several casemates, observatories and infantry shelters are located around Bois-Karre, including
- Casemate de Basse-Parthe Ouest: Single clasmate flanking to the west with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure and one GFM cloche.
- Casemate de Basse-Parthe Est: Single clasmate flanking to the east with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure and one GFM cloche.
- Abri du Bois-Karre: Surface shelter for one infantry section, with two GFM cloches.
- Abri du Rippert: Sub-surface shelter for two infantry sections and the quarter command post, two GFM cloches.
- Abri du Bois-de-Cattenom: Surface shelter for one infantry section, two GFM cloches.
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other. All were built by CORF. The Casernement de Cattenom provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Bois-Karre and other ouvrages in the area.
Manning
The garrison comprised 91 men and two officers of the 168th Fortress Infantry Regiment under Sub-Lieutenant Boulay.History
- See Fortified Sector of ThionvilleFortified Sector of ThionvilleThe Fortified Sector of Thionville was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line immediately to the north of Thionville. The sector describes an arc of about , about halfway between the French border with Luxembourg and Thionville. The Thionville...
for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Thionville sector of the Maginot Line.
Current condition
The ouvrage which retains a large portion of its equipment, has been restored and may be visited.See also
- List of all works on Maginot Line
- Siegfried LineSiegfried LineThe original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
- Atlantic WallAtlantic WallThe Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
- Czechoslovak border fortificationsCzechoslovak border fortificationsThe Czechoslovak government built a system of border fortifications from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany that later materialized in the German offensive plan called Fall Grün...
External links
- Boise-Karre at Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom (LM SFBC)
- Bois Karre at fortiff.be
- Bois-Karre at darkplaces.org