Ouvrage Schiesseck
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Schiesseck is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line
, located near Bitche
in the French
département of Moselle. Schiesseck is adjoined by gros ouvrage Simserhof
and petit ouvrage Otterbiel
, all part of the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
, and faces the German
frontier. Schiesseck saw comparatively little activity during the Battle of France
, surrendering with other positions in its sector on 30 June 1940. During the Lorraine Campaign
of 1944 Schiesseck was occupied by German forces and presented a point of resistance to American advances, requiring heavy bombardment and infantry assaults by engineer units to capture. The area was abandoned during the Battle of the Bulge
, but was recaptured in March 1945. In the 1950s Schiesseck was repaired as part of a program to re-arm the Maginot Line against a potential advance by Warsaw Pact
forces. It was abandoned in the early 1970s. Schiesseck is on military land and is not visitable by the public.
s and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Simserhof, including
under General Alexander Patch
had reached the Vosges region. Schiesseck was occupied by elements of the German 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. From 17 November the U.S. 100th Infantry Division assaulted Schiesseck, in December after an aerial and artillery bombardment, even using captured German 8.8cm guns and 8" howitzer
s. The most effective bombardment used American tank destroyer
s in direct fire against the position's embrasures. By late on the 18th the Americans occupied the surface in all areas except Block 2, which resisted until 20 December. The following day tank-dozers covered the firing positions and ditches.
The American advance was interrupted by the Battle of the Bulge
in late December. The Seventh Army was pulled back to occupy positions previously held by the U.S. Third Army
, abandoning Schiesseck. The 100th returned on 15 March 1945 and attacked the area on a broad front. Because Schiesseck's visible installations had been effectively destroyed in December, the ouvrage itself played no role in the German defense. The area was quickly captured.
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,...
, located near Bitche
Bitche
Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is known for its large citadel. The surrounding territory is known as le Pays de Bitche in French and Bitscherland in German.-Geography:...
in the French
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...
département of Moselle. Schiesseck is adjoined by gros ouvrage Simserhof
Ouvrage Simserhof
Ouvrage Simserhof is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Sierstal in the French département of Moselle. Simserhof is adjoined by petit ouvrage Rohrbach and gros ouvrage Schiesseck, and faces the German frontier. Located 4 km to the west of Bitche, the ouvrage...
and petit ouvrage Otterbiel
Ouvrage Otterbiel
Ouvrage Otterbiel forms part of the Maginot Line in the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach, Sub-sector of Bitche, and is located on the Camp de Bitche of the French Army. It is located between gros ouvrage Schiesseck and petit ouvrage Grand Hohekirkel. Part of the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach, the petit...
, all part of the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
The Fortified Sector of Rohrbach was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the vicinity of Bitche. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector of the Sarre and to the east by the Fortified Sector of the Vosges...
, and faces the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
frontier. Schiesseck saw comparatively little activity during 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...
, surrendering with other positions in its sector on 30 June 1940. During 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 Schiesseck was occupied by German forces and presented a point of resistance to American advances, requiring heavy bombardment and infantry assaults by engineer units to capture. The area was abandoned during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, but was recaptured in March 1945. In the 1950s Schiesseck was repaired as part of a program to re-arm the Maginot Line against a potential advance by Warsaw Pact
Warsaw 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...
forces. It was abandoned in the early 1970s. Schiesseck is on military land and is not visitable by the public.
Design and construction
The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency; Schiesseck was approved for construction in June 1931, after several proposals had been rejected. The gros ouvrage is of the typical fort palmé ("palm-shaped") form for a large position. The fort palmé is a distributed fortification, with its entrances and underground support areas more than a kilometer to the rear, connected to the combat blocks by a long underground gallery. The "palm" is composed of the grouped combat blocks, linked by galleries to the main trunk.Description
Schiesseck comprises two separate entrance blocks for ammunition and personnel, four infantry blocks, four artillery blocks and one observation block. The munitions and personnel entries are located far to the rear of the combat blocks. The underground barracks are located at the junction of the two entry galleries. From there a long gallery runs at an average depth of 30 metres (98.4 ft) to the combat blocks. Anzeling was served by a 60 cm-gauge narrow-gauge railway, which enters at the munitions entrance and runs all the way out through the galleries to the combat blocks. On the surface, the railway connects to supply points to the rear and to other ouvrages. Schiesseck lacks a large "M1" magazine.- Block 1: Artillery block with one retractable twin machine gun turret, one automatic rifle cloche (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 retractable 81mm mortar turret. - Block 2: Infantry block with 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...
, one GFM cloche, two 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...
, one twin machine gun embrasure and one machine gun (JM)/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). - Block 3: Infantry block with two GFM cloches and one VDP cloche.
- Block 4: Artillery block with one GFM cloche, one JM cloche and two 81mm mortar embrasures.
- Block 5: Infantry block with two GFM cloches and one JM cloche.
- Block 6: Infantry block with one GFM cloche and one retractable twin machine gun turret.
- Block 7: Artillery block with one GFM cloche, one LG cloche and one retractable twin 75mm gun turret.
- Block 8: Artillery block with one VDP cloche, one GFM cloche and one retractable twin 135mm gun turret.
- Block 9: Observation block with one VDP cloche and one VDP/observation cloche.
- Personnel entry: Shaft-style entry block with one GFM cloche and one JM/AC47 embrasure.
- Munitions entry: Direct entry block with two GFM cloches and two JM/AC47 embrasures.
Casemates and shelters
A series of detached 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 and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Simserhof, including
- Abri du Freudenberg: Subsurface abri-caverne with two GFM cloches, linked by an underground gallery to the Observatoire du Freudenberg.
- Observatoire du Freudenberg: Observation post with one VP cloche and one GFM cloche.
- Casemate du Freudenberg: SIngle block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and one GFM cloche. The casemate is immediately adjacent to Block 9 and covers the road and the block, but is not connected to the ouvrage.
- Abri de Reyerswiller: Subsurface abri-caverne with two GFM cloches.
- Casemate de Ramstein Ouest: SIngle block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche.
- Casemate de Ramstein Est: SIngle block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche.
- Observatoire de la Citadelle: Observation post in the Citadel of Bitche, reporting to Schiesseck.
Manning
The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Chef de Bataillon Stoquer comprised 679 men and 223 officers of the 37th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 150th Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 5th Army. The nearby Casernement du Freudenberg provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Schiesseck and other positions in the area.History
- See Fortified Sector of RohrbachFortified Sector of RohrbachThe Fortified Sector of Rohrbach was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the vicinity of Bitche. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector of the Sarre and to the east by the Fortified Sector of the Vosges...
for a broader discussion of the Rohrbach sector of the Maginot Line.
1940
Schiesseck saw relatively little action in 1940 compared to its neighbors, and surrendered to the Germans with the rest of the Bitche fortifications on 30 June 1940.1944 and 1945
At the end of November 1944 the U.S. Seventh ArmyUnited States Army Europe
United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, is an Army Service Component Command of the United States Army and the land component of United States European Command. It is the largest American formation in Europe.-Invasion of Sicily:...
under General Alexander Patch
Alexander Patch
General Alexander McCarrell "Sandy" Patch was an officer in the United States Army, best known for his service in World War II. He commanded Army and Marine forces during the invasion of Guadalcanal, and the U.S...
had reached the Vosges region. Schiesseck was occupied by elements of the German 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. From 17 November the U.S. 100th Infantry Division assaulted Schiesseck, in December after an aerial and artillery bombardment, even using captured German 8.8cm guns and 8" howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s. The most effective bombardment used American tank destroyer
Tank destroyer
A tank destroyer is a type of armored fighting vehicle armed with a gun or missile launcher, and is designed specifically to engage enemy armored vehicles...
s in direct fire against the position's embrasures. By late on the 18th the Americans occupied the surface in all areas except Block 2, which resisted until 20 December. The following day tank-dozers covered the firing positions and ditches.
The American advance was interrupted by the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
in late December. The Seventh Army was pulled back to occupy positions previously held by the U.S. Third Army
United States Army Central
United States Army Central is an Army Service Component Command of the United States Army and is also dual-hatted as the "United States Third Army". It is the Army Component of U.S...
, abandoning Schiesseck. The 100th returned on 15 March 1945 and attacked the area on a broad front. Because Schiesseck's visible installations had been effectively destroyed in December, the ouvrage itself played no role in the German defense. The area was quickly captured.
Cold War
Following World War II, interest revived in the use of the Maginot Line to defend against a possible Soviet advance through southern Germany. Funds were allocated for restoration of the gros ouvrages, but work was limited to restoration of systems and improvements to existing armament, with work completed by 1953. In 1951, Schiesseck had been designated part of the Mòle de Bitche, a strongpoint in the northeastern defenses against Soviet attack. By the late 1950s interest in fixed fortifications was waning after France developed a nuclear deterrent. The money needed to maintain and upgrade the fortifications was diverted for the nuclear programs. Schiesseck was not manned or maintained after the early 1970s.Current status
Schiesseck's entrances are visible from the road, but the combat blocks are located on military land and are not accessible.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...