Ouvrage Janus
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Janus is a work of the Maginot Line
's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line
, located to the east of Briançon
on near the Col de Montgenèvre
. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, two infantry blocks, two artillery blocks, two observation blocks and one combination block at an altitude of 2540 metres (8,333.3 ft), the second highest fortification on the Alps in 1940. Built on the site of the old Fort Janus, it retained the old fort's 95mm naval guns and added two 75mm guns
-era round tower. In 1883 a Séré de Rivières system
fortification was begun on the massif, called the Fort du Janus. Work continued until 1889 with a blockhouse in top of the position and a rock-cut battery in the face of the mountain, which housed four 95mm naval guns. In 1891-92 the blockhouse was expanded to two levels for a barracks, and from 1898 to 1906 a subterranean barracks was excavated. The whole was surrounded by a perimeter wall. The fort was armed with six guns on the ramparts in addition to the four naval guns in their unique casemate, which was added between 1898 and 1906. The garrison was 120 men. The perimeter was laid out with re-entrant angles to sweep the walls with fields of fire.
The underground component comprised three large chambers, a cistern with a capacity of 100 cubic meters of water, a kitchen, a small magazine and a connection to the 95mm gun casemate. The gun positions were separated by prominent buttresses to prevent fragments from afffedcing the entire battery, and each gun was provided with an exhaust hood for gun fumes. The 95mm battery provided flanking fire to the Gondran line
on the Montgenèvre massif.
agreement with Italy, but re-started in 1938 as relations with Italy and Germany deteriorated. The cost of the new work amounted to 10.3 million francs (not including armament). When the position was occupied in 1938, numerous deficiencies in heat, ventilation and optical sighting equipment were uncovered.
The Maginot ouvrage incorporates subterranean elements of the old fort, particularly the entry and underground barracks. New galleries were extended to the ends of the rock fin to Blocks 4, 5, 6 and 7 on the north and blocks 1 and 2 on the south. The massive Block 8 inherited from the original fort occupies the center of the ridge, facing southeast.
On 19 June 1940 the ouvrage was fired upon by the 149mm guns of the Italian Fort Chaberton, 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) higher in altitude. The bombardment continued the next day and on the 21st, with significant damage to the surface installations and the 95mm gun embrasures.The 6th Battery of the 154th Régiment d'Artillerie de Position, armed with four 280mm mortars, established dispersed positions and opened fire on 21 June, guided by observers at Janus, and silencing the Chaberton guns. On 23 and 24 June Janus fired on Italian positions, with continued heavy French mortar fire directed at Chaberton. Janus's commanding officer altered the guns' shields to open a broader line of fire against the Col de Montgenèvre. The armistice of 25 June brought fighting to an end.
After the 1940 armistice, Italian forces occupied the Alpine ouvrages and disarmed them. In August 1943, southern France was occupied by the German 19th Army
, which took over many of the Alpine positions that had been occupied by the Italians until Italy's withdrawal from the war in September 1943.
Janus was recaptured by Free French forces on 4 September, 1944.. Immediately after the war, the Briançon region was regarded as an area of medium priority for restoration and reuse by the military. By the 1950s the positions in the Southeast of France were restored and operational again. However, by 1960, with France's acquisition of nuclear weapons, the cost and effectiveness of the Maginot system was called into question. Between 1964 and 1971 nearly all of the Maginot fortifications were deactivated.
The site is presently owned by Montgenèvre and is under study for public access. The above-ground portion of the site is unsecured. Damage from the 1940 Italian bombardment has not been repaired. The Maginot positions are closed to access.
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,...
's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line
Alpine Line
The Alpine Line or Little Maginot Line was the component of the Maginot Line that defended the southeastern portion of France...
, located to the east of Briançon
Briançon
Briançon a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department....
on near the Col de Montgenèvre
Col de Montgenèvre
The Col de Montgenèvre is a high mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, between France and Italy.The pass takes its name from the village Montgenèvre , which lies in the vicinity...
. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, two infantry blocks, two artillery blocks, two observation blocks and one combination block at an altitude of 2540 metres (8,333.3 ft), the second highest fortification on the Alps in 1940. Built on the site of the old Fort Janus, it retained the old fort's 95mm naval guns and added two 75mm guns
Fort du Janus
The location was known from the end of the 18th century as the Château Jouan, occupied by a VaubanVauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
-era round tower. In 1883 a Séré de Rivières system
Séré de Rivières system
The Séré de Rivières system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 and first used at the beginning of the First World War along the frontiers and coasts of France...
fortification was begun on the massif, called the Fort du Janus. Work continued until 1889 with a blockhouse in top of the position and a rock-cut battery in the face of the mountain, which housed four 95mm naval guns. In 1891-92 the blockhouse was expanded to two levels for a barracks, and from 1898 to 1906 a subterranean barracks was excavated. The whole was surrounded by a perimeter wall. The fort was armed with six guns on the ramparts in addition to the four naval guns in their unique casemate, which was added between 1898 and 1906. The garrison was 120 men. The perimeter was laid out with re-entrant angles to sweep the walls with fields of fire.
The underground component comprised three large chambers, a cistern with a capacity of 100 cubic meters of water, a kitchen, a small magazine and a connection to the 95mm gun casemate. The gun positions were separated by prominent buttresses to prevent fragments from afffedcing the entire battery, and each gun was provided with an exhaust hood for gun fumes. The 95mm battery provided flanking fire to the Gondran line
Ouvrage Gondran
Ouvrage Granon is a lesser work of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, one infantry block and one observation block. Gondran was commenced in June 1933, and was intended to cover the gap between Janus and Les Aittes. The site is close to...
on the Montgenèvre massif.
Ouvrage du Janus
Given the existing facilities and the site's strategic importance, the site was selected for a Maginot ouvrage in 1926. Work began in 1931, abandoning some of the older work and creating new underground facilities to the Maginot Line standard. A gallery connected the new position to the Séré de Rivières works. Work stopped in July 1935 as a result of the Stresa FrontStresa Front
The Stresa Front was an agreement made in Stresa, a town on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Italy, between French foreign minister Pierre Laval, British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald, and Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini on April 14, 1935...
agreement with Italy, but re-started in 1938 as relations with Italy and Germany deteriorated. The cost of the new work amounted to 10.3 million francs (not including armament). When the position was occupied in 1938, numerous deficiencies in heat, ventilation and optical sighting equipment were uncovered.
The Maginot ouvrage incorporates subterranean elements of the old fort, particularly the entry and underground barracks. New galleries were extended to the ends of the rock fin to Blocks 4, 5, 6 and 7 on the north and blocks 1 and 2 on the south. The massive Block 8 inherited from the original fort occupies the center of the ridge, facing southeast.
Description
- Block 1 (entry): one machine gun embrasure and one heavy machine gun/47mm anti-tank gun embrasure.
- Block 2 (artillery): two heavy twin machine gun clochesJM 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 two 81mm mortar embrasures. - Block 3 (artillery): two 75mm gun embrasures.
- Block 4 (observation): one observation clocheVDP 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...
and one machine gun embrasure. - Block 5 (observation): no armament.
- Block 6 (infantry): one heavy twin machine gun cloche.
- Block 7 (infantry): one heavy twin machine gun cloche.
- Block 8 (artillery): four 95mm naval guns, incorporated from the earlier fort.
History
- See Fortified Sector of the DauphinéFortified Sector of the DauphinéThe Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Alpine Line portion of the Maginot Line facing Italy in the vicinity of Briançon...
for a broader discussion of the Dauphiné sector of the Alpine Line.
On 19 June 1940 the ouvrage was fired upon by the 149mm guns of the Italian Fort Chaberton, 600 metres (1,968.5 ft) higher in altitude. The bombardment continued the next day and on the 21st, with significant damage to the surface installations and the 95mm gun embrasures.The 6th Battery of the 154th Régiment d'Artillerie de Position, armed with four 280mm mortars, established dispersed positions and opened fire on 21 June, guided by observers at Janus, and silencing the Chaberton guns. On 23 and 24 June Janus fired on Italian positions, with continued heavy French mortar fire directed at Chaberton. Janus's commanding officer altered the guns' shields to open a broader line of fire against the Col de Montgenèvre. The armistice of 25 June brought fighting to an end.
After the 1940 armistice, Italian forces occupied the Alpine ouvrages and disarmed them. In August 1943, southern France was occupied by the German 19th Army
19th Army (Germany)
The 19th Army was a World War II field army of the German Army .-History:Formed in August 1943 in occupied southern France from Armeegruppe Felber The 19th Army (German: 19. Armee) was a World War II field army of the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer).-History:Formed in August 1943 in occupied southern...
, which took over many of the Alpine positions that had been occupied by the Italians until Italy's withdrawal from the war in September 1943.
Janus was recaptured by Free French forces on 4 September, 1944.. Immediately after the war, the Briançon region was regarded as an area of medium priority for restoration and reuse by the military. By the 1950s the positions in the Southeast of France were restored and operational again. However, by 1960, with France's acquisition of nuclear weapons, the cost and effectiveness of the Maginot system was called into question. Between 1964 and 1971 nearly all of the Maginot fortifications were deactivated.
The site is presently owned by Montgenèvre and is under study for public access. The above-ground portion of the site is unsecured. Damage from the 1940 Italian bombardment has not been repaired. The Maginot positions are closed to access.
External links
- Janus (gros ouvrage du) at fortiff.be
- Janus (fort du) at fortiff.be
- Patrimoine XXeme, Forteresse du Janus
- Fort du Janus at Fortiff' Séré