Ouvrage Rochonvillers
Encyclopedia
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. It is located between the petit ouvrage d'Aumetz
and the gros ouvrage Molvange
, facing the border between Luxembourg
and France
with nine combat blocks. Rochonvillers saw little action during World War II
, but due to its size it was repaired and retained in service after the war. During the Cold War
it found a new use as a hardened military command center, first for NATO and then for the French Army.
, in late 1927.
The Rochonvillers site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1929. Work by the contractor, Campernon-Bernard, began the next year, and the position became operational in 1935, at a cost of 123 million francs, the third most expensive ouvrage in the Northeast.
Rochonvillers covers an unusually large area. The combat blocks are connected to each other and to the subterranean barracks, magazines and entries at the rear by underground galleries at an average depth of 30 metres (98.4 ft). The locations of the entrances in a ravine allowed a relatively short inclined descent to the gallery complex. Stairs, ammunition hoists and chutes for spent casings rise to the surface at each block. The central utility plant or usine is just inside the personnel entry. Rochonvillers, as one of the largest ouvrages, was given a large "M1" magazine some distance in from the munitions entrance, an arrangement would be useful for a command post in later years. A large barracks is located at the junction of the personnel and munitions galleries.
An emergency exit was proposed via an access gallery to the nearby Rochonvillers iron ore mine in 1934, but was not pursued. An abortive plan of 1939 proposed a connection between the Abri du Grand Lot, the Abri du Bois d'Escherange and on to gros ouvrage Molvange.
was armed with two JM/AC47 embrasures, two heavy twin machine gun embrasures, and two GFM cloches. Both were built by CORF.
A series of casemates and infantry shelters extend in an arc in the direction of Molvange, including
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other.
The Observatiore du Réservoir, located near Ouvrage Bréhain
, reported to Rochonvillers.
Peacetime quarters for the garrisons of Rochonvillers and Molvange were at the Camp d'Angevillers, just to the south of the Rochonvillers entries, near the town of Angevillers
. With the establishment of the CENTAG wartime headquarters at Rochonvillers, the French 125th Régiment d'Instruction des Transmissions and the 2nd Régiment du Génie occupied the camp, along with the 175th Signal Company and the 208th Signal Support Company of the US Army. US Air Force units occupied portions of Molvange, which housed the 4th Allied Tactical Air Force
wartime headquarters. The camp was later occupied by the 40th Régiment de Transmissions stationed at the Jeanne d'Arc barracks in Thionville
and the Guyon-Gellin barracks in Hettange-Grande
, near the Ouvrage Immerhof
.
Rochonvillers did not see significant action in the Battle of France
in 1940, nor in the Lorraine Campaign
of 1944. The Germans in 1940 largely bypassed the area, 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. On 21 June a 75mm gun in Block 5 exploded, killing one gunner and seriously wounding another. The gun position has never been repaired. Rochonvillers was bombarded by heavy artillery on 22 June, with a projectile penetrating and exploding in Block 5. On June 30, 1940, the troops of the 169th RIF were ordered to evacuate their positions by the French command, seven days after the 22 June 1940 armistice.
The occupying Germans used Rochonvillers' barracks and magazine areas as troop quarters. After its occupation by the Americans in 1944, the Americans used some of the turrets and cloches in Blocks 5, 6 and 7 for experiments with armor-piercing weapons, in preparation for their assault on the Siegfried Line
.
.:
through Germany. A number of the larger ouvrages were selected to form defensive ensembles or môles around which a defense might be organized and controlled. Rochonvillers was chosen in 1951 to become the center of the môle de Rochonvillers, in company with Molvange and Bréhain
, and later Immerhof
. Block 5 was re-equipped with 105mm and 135mm guns and 12.7mm machine guns, while the 135mm turret of Block 6 was repaired with parts from the turret from Four-à-Chaux. Repairs to waterproofing and tunnel lining were undertaken at this time. By 1956 the ouvrage was restored to its original state, apart from the renovations to Blocks 5 and 6.
s in 1960, the Maginot fortifications began to be viewed as an expensive anachronism. Funding was provided for maintenance, but for little more. 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. In 1960 the French Army initiated inquiries among the other French forces and among NATO members concerning the use of Maginot fortifications as storage depots or as command centers. In 1961, after discussions with the Americans and West Germans, Rochonvillers, Molvange and Soetrich
were placed at the disposal of NATO. Rochonviller's main magazine, with its two entries and circulation loop crossed by five galleries, was made into a wartime command center for the NATO Central Army Group (CENTAG) (normally located at Fontainebleau
) at a cost of 380 million francs. Rochonvillers functioned in this role until 1967, when France withdrew from NATO's integrated command structure. The command center is located close to and between the personnel entry and the munitions entry, with connections to each. It is more than a kilometer from the command center to the main combat blocks via the main underground gallery.
CENTAG's headquarters were moved to Brunssum
, the Netherlands, where the deactivated Hendrik coal mine was available for use. In 1971 the names of the Maginot ouvrages were declassified by the French military. At the same time, Rochonvillers was demoted from a fortified position of the first rank to a lower status, foreshadowing a general divestment of the Maginot Line's function as a fortification.
to Metz
in 1989, in part to be closer to Rochonvillers. From 1981 to 1998 the command center was maintained by a small staff in between full-scale exercises. With the disappearance of the Soviet threat, the command center was deactivated.
The Camp d'Angevillers is the above-ground component associated with the command center, located to the northeast of Angevillers
. The entries to the ouvrage and the command center are located just to the northeast of the camp, with more than a kilometer of galleries connecting to the combat blocks on the hill above Rochonvillers.
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,...
fortifications. Located above the town of Rochonvillers
Rochonvillers
Rochonvillers is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department*Ouvrage Rochonvillers, a nearby Maginot Line fortification...
in the French region of Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
, the gros ouvrage or large work was fully equipped and occupied in 1935 as part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville
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...
in the Moselle. It is located between the petit ouvrage d'Aumetz
Ouvrage Aumetz
Ouvrage Aumetz is a small work, or petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line. It is part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes and is located near the community of Aumetz in the Moselle département of France. The petit ouvrage flanked by the gros ouvrages Bréhain and Rochonvillers, all facing the...
and the gros ouvrage 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...
, facing the border between 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...
and 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...
with nine combat blocks. Rochonvillers saw little action during 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...
, but due to its size it was repaired and retained in service after the war. During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
it found a new use as a hardened military command center, first for NATO and then for the French Army.
Design and construction
Rochonvillers was considered an early priority for construction, and as such went through several concepts in early design while the overall concept of the Maginot Line was being investigated. It was initially proposed in 1926 as a single massive fort shielding two artillery turrets in the rear. The next concept envisioned a closely grouped arrangement of works, four peripheral units around a turreted artillery block., located somewhat to the south of the present installation. A third iteration was termed the "village", a very large and expensive concept that was opposed by the residents of Rochonvillers. The fourth version was described as a fort palmé (or palmate), based on the ideas of Colonel Tricaud, first published in the Revue du Génie in 1917. The fort palmé proposed a dispersed set of fortifications fanning out from a central subterranean trunk which would contain barracks, utilities and ammunition magazines. This concept was adopted for the entire Line, with the strong support of Marshal Philippe PétainPhilippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
, in late 1927.
The Rochonvillers site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1929. Work by the contractor, Campernon-Bernard, began the next year, and the position became operational in 1935, at a cost of 123 million francs, the third most expensive ouvrage in the Northeast.
Description
Rochonvillers is located on the heights of the Aumetz plateau, giving it a command of the surrounding countryside. As a powerful position in the Line, Rochonvillers' role was to control the open country between the Moselle and the Meuse, in concert with its neighbors. The ouvrage formed part of the "principal line of resistance", an element of defense in depth that was preceded by a line of advance posts close to the border, and backed by a line of shelters for infantry. The gros ouvrages like Rochonvillers were so large that their fighting elements were in the line of resistance while their entrances, and hence their supply lines, were in the third line, surrounded by infantry, as much as a kilometer to the rear. The entrances were in turn served by narrow-gauge (60 cm) railways that branched from a line paralleling the front and in turn connecting to supply depots. The rail lines ran straight into the munitions entry of the ouvrage and all the way out to the combat blocks, a distance of 2250 metres (7,381.9 ft).Rochonvillers covers an unusually large area. The combat blocks are connected to each other and to the subterranean barracks, magazines and entries at the rear by underground galleries at an average depth of 30 metres (98.4 ft). The locations of the entrances in a ravine allowed a relatively short inclined descent to the gallery complex. Stairs, ammunition hoists and chutes for spent casings rise to the surface at each block. The central utility plant or usine is just inside the personnel entry. Rochonvillers, as one of the largest ouvrages, was given a large "M1" magazine some distance in from the munitions entrance, an arrangement would be useful for a command post in later years. A large barracks is located at the junction of the personnel and munitions galleries.
- Ammunition entry: inclined plan, with the 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...
, 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....
embrasure (JM/AC47), modified during the 1980s. Access forbidden. - Personnel entry: shaft, two GFM cloches, one JM/AC47 embrasure. Access forbidden.
- Block 1: Infantry block with one machine gun turret, one GFM cloche and 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...
. - Block 2: Artillery block with one 75mm gun turret.
- Block 3: Artillery block with one 75mm gun turret and two GFM cloches.
- Block 4: Observation block with one GFM cloche 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 5: Artillery block with three 75 mm gun embrasures, one 135mm gun embrasure, one GFM cloche and 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...
. Access forbidden. - Block 6: Artillery block with one 135 mm gun turret, one GFM cloche and one grenade launcher cloche. Access forbidden.
- Block 7: Artillery block with one 135 mm gun turret and two GFM cloches. Access forbidden.
- Block 8: Infantry block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM machine gun embrasure, one machine gun turret and two GFM cloches. Access forbidden.
- Block 9: Infantry block with one machine gun turret and one GFM cloche.
An emergency exit was proposed via an access gallery to the nearby Rochonvillers iron ore mine in 1934, but was not pursued. An abortive plan of 1939 proposed a connection between the Abri du Grand Lot, the Abri du Bois d'Escherange and on to gros ouvrage Molvange.
Casemates and shelters
In addition, the rear portion of the complex, near the underground barracks, is connected via gallery to the Abri du Grand Lot49°24′10.9"N 06°03′55.045"E. The two-block infantry shelter (or abri) provided flanking cover to the Rochonvillers entrances, located in a wooded ravine out of sight from the main ouvrage, and covered the space between Rochonvillers and Molvange. It was armed with two GFM cloches. The Casemate du Grand Lot is nearby on higher ground 49°24′28.13"N 06°03′45.65"E, but not connected to the gallery system. The 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:...
was armed with two JM/AC47 embrasures, two heavy twin machine gun embrasures, and two GFM cloches. Both were built by CORF.
A series of casemates and infantry shelters extend in an arc in the direction of Molvange, including
- Casemate d'Escherange Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and two GFM cloches.
- Casemate d'Escherange Est: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and one GFM cloche.
- Casemate du Petersberg Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and two GFM cloches.
- Casemate du Petersberg Est: One mortar cloche, one GFM cloche.
- Abri Bois d'Escherange: Shelter for two infantry sections, two GFM cloches.
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other.
The Observatiore du Réservoir, located near Ouvrage Bréhain
Ouvrage Brehain
Ouvrage Bréhain is part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Bréhain-la-Ville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département of France. Bréhain is flanked by petits ouvrages Mauvais Bois and Aumetz. The gros ouvrage was equipped with long-range...
, reported to Rochonvillers.
Manning
The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Commandant Guillemain comprised 756 men and 26 officers of the 169th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 151st Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2.Peacetime quarters for the garrisons of Rochonvillers and Molvange were at the Camp d'Angevillers, just to the south of the Rochonvillers entries, near the town of Angevillers
Angevillers
Angevillers is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department*Ouvrage Rochonvillers, a Maginot Line fortification that was used as the NATO Central Army Group war headquarters in the 1960s, accessed from the Camp de...
. With the establishment of the CENTAG wartime headquarters at Rochonvillers, the French 125th Régiment d'Instruction des Transmissions and the 2nd Régiment du Génie occupied the camp, along with the 175th Signal Company and the 208th Signal Support Company of the US Army. US Air Force units occupied portions of Molvange, which housed the 4th Allied Tactical Air Force
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was the headquarters for NATO air forces in Central Europe from 1951 to 1967 and from 1974 to 1993.-History:It was first based at Fontainebleau , and originally activated in April 1951...
wartime headquarters. The camp was later occupied by the 40th Régiment de Transmissions stationed at the Jeanne d'Arc barracks in Thionville
Thionville
Thionville , is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.-Demographics:...
and the Guyon-Gellin barracks in Hettange-Grande
Hettange-Grande
Hettange-Grande is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-Geography:Hettange-Grande is located close to the borders between France, Germany, and Luxembourg.-History:...
, near the Ouvrage Immerhof
Ouvrage Immerhof
Ouvrage Immerhof, also known as Ouvrage Ferme-Immerhof, is one of the largest petit ouvrages of the Maginot Line of northeast France. Located near the community of Hettange-Grande, it is 7 km north of Thionville between the gros ouvrages of Molvange and Soetrich, the closest ouvrage to the...
.
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.
Rochonvillers 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. The Germans in 1940 largely bypassed the area, 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. On 21 June a 75mm gun in Block 5 exploded, killing one gunner and seriously wounding another. The gun position has never been repaired. Rochonvillers was bombarded by heavy artillery on 22 June, with a projectile penetrating and exploding in Block 5. On June 30, 1940, the troops of the 169th RIF were ordered to evacuate their positions by the French command, seven days after the 22 June 1940 armistice.
The occupying Germans used Rochonvillers' barracks and magazine areas as troop quarters. After its occupation by the Americans in 1944, the Americans used some of the turrets and cloches in Blocks 5, 6 and 7 for experiments with armor-piercing weapons, in preparation for their assault on the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The 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...
.
Anlage Brunhilde
A concrete building near the entrance blocks is known as the Anlage Brunhilde, a lightly reinforced building that was built by the Luftwaffe in 1940. It has been described as a Fuehrer Bunker, but there is no indication that Hitler ever visited the site. An alternative name is FHQ ZigeunerFührer Headquarters
The Führer Headquarters , abbreviated FHQ, is a common name for a number of official headquarters used by the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and various German commanders and officials throughout Europe during World War II...
.:
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. A number of the larger ouvrages were selected to form defensive ensembles or môles around which a defense might be organized and controlled. Rochonvillers was chosen in 1951 to become the center of the môle de Rochonvillers, in company with Molvange and Bréhain
Ouvrage Brehain
Ouvrage Bréhain is part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Bréhain-la-Ville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département of France. Bréhain is flanked by petits ouvrages Mauvais Bois and Aumetz. The gros ouvrage was equipped with long-range...
, and later Immerhof
Ouvrage Immerhof
Ouvrage Immerhof, also known as Ouvrage Ferme-Immerhof, is one of the largest petit ouvrages of the Maginot Line of northeast France. Located near the community of Hettange-Grande, it is 7 km north of Thionville between the gros ouvrages of Molvange and Soetrich, the closest ouvrage to the...
. Block 5 was re-equipped with 105mm and 135mm guns and 12.7mm machine guns, while the 135mm turret of Block 6 was repaired with parts from the turret from Four-à-Chaux. Repairs to waterproofing and tunnel lining were undertaken at this time. By 1956 the ouvrage was restored to its original state, apart from the renovations to Blocks 5 and 6.
NATO command center
With France's acquisition of nuclear weaponNuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s in 1960, the Maginot fortifications began to be viewed as an expensive anachronism. Funding was provided for maintenance, but for little more. 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. In 1960 the French Army initiated inquiries among the other French forces and among NATO members concerning the use of Maginot fortifications as storage depots or as command centers. In 1961, after discussions with the Americans and West Germans, Rochonvillers, Molvange and 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...
were placed at the disposal of NATO. Rochonviller's main magazine, with its two entries and circulation loop crossed by five galleries, was made into a wartime command center for the NATO Central Army Group (CENTAG) (normally located at 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...
) at a cost of 380 million francs. Rochonvillers functioned in this role until 1967, when France withdrew from NATO's integrated command structure. The command center is located close to and between the personnel entry and the munitions entry, with connections to each. It is more than a kilometer from the command center to the main combat blocks via the main underground gallery.
CENTAG's headquarters were moved to Brunssum
Brunssum
Brunssum is a municipality and a town in the province of Limburg, the Netherlands. Brunssum was formerly a center of coal mining in the Netherlands and there are a few active mines remaining in the area...
, the Netherlands, where the deactivated Hendrik coal mine was available for use. In 1971 the names of the Maginot ouvrages were declassified by the French military. At the same time, Rochonvillers was demoted from a fortified position of the first rank to a lower status, foreshadowing a general divestment of the Maginot Line's function as a fortification.
French Army command center
After deactivation in 1967, Rochonvillers was renovated in 1980 as the French First Army's hardened command center. Work included replacement of the ventilation and filtration system and construction of a blast wall a short distance in front of the main entry. The installation was planned to house 500 people for an extended period, immune to the effects of electromagnetic pulse, radioactivity, chemical weapons and all but a direct hit with a nuclear weapon. The electrical generating plant and underground barracks were renovated. Most exposed concrete faces in the entry blocks were covered with earth as a blast shield, while the combat blocks themselves were used only as antenna mounts. The peacetime 1st Army headquarters was moved from StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
to Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
in 1989, in part to be closer to Rochonvillers. From 1981 to 1998 the command center was maintained by a small staff in between full-scale exercises. With the disappearance of the Soviet threat, the command center was deactivated.
The Camp d'Angevillers is the above-ground component associated with the command center, located to the northeast of Angevillers
Angevillers
Angevillers is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department*Ouvrage Rochonvillers, a Maginot Line fortification that was used as the NATO Central Army Group war headquarters in the 1960s, accessed from the Camp de...
. The entries to the ouvrage and the command center are located just to the northeast of the camp, with more than a kilometer of galleries connecting to the combat blocks on the hill above Rochonvillers.
Current condition
The ouvrage remains under the control of the French Army, but is no longer occupied. The combat blocks are sealed from the command center and abandoned. Access to the site is forbidden. The Casemate du Grand Lot is not within the security zone and is occasionally open for visits, with all of its equipment on display.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
- Rochonvillers (gros ouvrage A8 de) at fortiff.be
- Rochonvillers at Subterranea Britannica
- Rochonvillers at darkplaces.org
- Casemate du Grand Lot