Ouvrage Galgenberg
Encyclopedia
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 Moselle." Galgenberg did not see significant action in 1940 or 1944. After a period of reserve duty in the 1950s and 1960s it was deactivated. It is presently a museum.
Galgenberg has a small "M1" main magazine compared to other 'gros ouvrages.
Galgenberg did not see significant action in the Battle of France
in 1940, nor in the Lorraine Campaign
of 1944. In 1940 Galgenberg fired on German infiltrators in the area. An accident with an 81mm mortar projectile damaged a mortar tube on 14 June 1940, which was repaired after three days.. The Germans largely bypassed the valley of the Moselle, advancing along the valley of the Meuse and Saar rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan. The garrison therefore remained in place. The garrison therefore remained in place. Following negotiations, the positions on the left bank of the Moselle finally surrendered to the Germans on 30 June, 1940.
through Germany. The Maginot Line, while obsolete in terms of its armament, was viewed as a series of useful deeply-buried and self-sufficient shelters in an era of air power and nuclear weapons. A number of the larger ouvrages were selected to form defensive ensembles or môles around which a defense might be organized and controlled. Galgenberg was nominated as a communications station, in concert with the command posts at Rochonvillers
, Soetrich
and Molvange
.
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,...
. It is situated in the Cattenom Forest, near the gros ouvrage 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...
and petit ouvrage 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...
. The ouvrage was tasked with controlling the Moselle valley and as such was called the "Guardian of the Moselle." Galgenberg did not see significant action in 1940 or 1944. After a period of reserve duty in the 1950s and 1960s it was deactivated. It is presently a museum.
Design and construction
The Galgenberg site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1930. Work began the next year, and the position became operational in 1935, at a cost of 48 million francs.The contractor was Verdun-Fortifications. The site occupies the heights of the Galgenberg. Ouvrage Sentzich is close by in the side of the Galgenberg massif, overlooking the town of Sentzich and the road to the north.Description
The ouvrage comprises two entries and six combat blocks:- Ammunition entry: at grade, two automatic rifle cloches (GFM)GFM clocheThe 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...
and one machine gun/47mm anti-tank gunAC 47 anti-tank gunThe 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....
(JM/AC47) embrasure. - Personnel entry: shaft, one GFM cloche and one JM/AC47 embrasure.
- Block 1: Infantry block with one JM/AC47 embrasure and one GFM cloche.
- Block 2: Infantry block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and two GFM cloches.
- Block 3: Infantry block with machine gun turret and one GFM cloche.
- Block 4: Artillery block with 81mm mortar turret and one GFM cloche.
- Block 5: Observation block with one GFM cloche, one machine gun cloche (JM)JM clocheThe JM cloche is an element of the Maginot Line. It is a non-retractable non-rotating cupola of steel alloy like GFM cloches, but are armed with twin heavy machine guns, as opposed to the lighter automatic rifles associated with the GFM. There are 179 JM cloches on the Maginot Line.JM is an acronym...
, and one observation cloche (VDP)VDP clocheThe VDP cloche was an element of the Maginot Line fortifications. A cloche was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant. By comparison, turrets could be rotated and sometimes lowered so that only the top shell was exposed. VDP cloches...
. - Block 6: Artillery block with 135mm gun turret, one grenade launcher cloche (LG)LG clocheThe LG cloche was a defensive element common to many Maginot Line ouvrages. The fixed cupola was deeply embedded into the concrete on top of a combat block, with only the top surface visible. The opening permitted the ejection of grenades from the interior of the cloche, providing a means of...
and one GFM cloche.
Galgenberg has a small "M1" main magazine compared to other 'gros ouvrages.
Casemates and shelters
The Observatoire de Cattenom is located behind Galgenberg, near the Casernement de Cattenom, which provided above-ground peacetime quarters for the garrisons of the nearby ouvrages. The observation point was armed with one GFM cloche and an observation cloche. Flanking Galgenberg to the north is the Casemate du Sonnenberg, armed with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure and one GFM cloche. None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other. All were built by CORFManning
The 445 men and 15 officers of the 167th Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF) and the 151st Position Artillery Regiment (RAP) were under the orders of Captain Guillaume de la Teyssoniére. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2. The Casernement de Cattenom provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Galgenberg and other ouvrages in the area.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.
Galgenberg did not see significant action in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in 1940, nor in the Lorraine Campaign
Lorraine Campaign
Lorraine Campaign is a term used by U.S. Army historians to describe operations of the U.S. Third Army in Lorraine during World War II from September 1 through December 18, 1944. Official U.S. Army campaign names for this period and location are Northern France and Rhineland. The term was...
of 1944. In 1940 Galgenberg fired on German infiltrators in the area. An accident with an 81mm mortar projectile damaged a mortar tube on 14 June 1940, which was repaired after three days.. The Germans largely bypassed the valley of the Moselle, advancing along the valley of the Meuse and Saar rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan. The garrison therefore remained in place. The garrison therefore remained in place. Following negotiations, the positions on the left bank of the Moselle finally surrendered to the Germans on 30 June, 1940.
Renovation
In the 1950s the French government became concerned about a possible invasion by the Warsaw PactWarsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
through Germany. The Maginot Line, while obsolete in terms of its armament, was viewed as a series of useful deeply-buried and self-sufficient shelters in an era of air power and nuclear weapons. A number of the larger ouvrages were selected to form defensive ensembles or môles around which a defense might be organized and controlled. Galgenberg was nominated as a communications station, in concert with the command posts at Rochonvillers
Ouvrage Rochonvillers
Ouvrage Rochonvillers is one of the largest of the Maginot Line fortifications. Located above the town of Rochonvillers in the French region of Lorraine, the gros ouvrage or large work was fully equipped and occupied in 1935 as part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville in the Moselle...
, 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 Molvange
Ouvrage Molvange
Ouvrage Molvange is a large work, or gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line. The fortification complex faces the France-Luxembourg border from a height near Entrange in the Moselle département. The complex, armed and occupied in 1935, is located on the heights of Entrange, at an altitude of about...
.
Current condition
The ouvrage is maintained by Association A15 and has been open to visits, although it has been closed in recent years.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
- La Ligne Maginot en Lorraine: le Galgenberg
- Site de l'association du Galgenberg
- Galgenberg at fortiff.be
- Galgenberg at Chemins de mémoire
- Bunkertours - Galgenberg
- Galgenberg at darkplaces.org