Ouvrage Simserhof
Encyclopedia
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 derived its name from a nearby farm. It was a part of the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
. During the Battle of France
in 1940, Simserhof supported its neighboring fortifications with covering artillery fire, with partial success. After the surrender of France, it was occupied by the Germans as a storage depot for torpedoes, and later resisted the American advances of late 1944. Taken by the Americans, it was briefly re-occupied by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge
. Following the war it was repaired for use by the French Army, but was proposed as a museum of the Maginot Line as early as the 1960s. Retained by the Ministry of Defense, Simserhof now functions as a museum, and has the most extensive visitor infrastructure of any of the preserved Maginot fortifications.
The second concept envisioned two ouvrages 300 metres (984.3 ft) apart, arranged for mutual support. This plan was adopted in September 1929 at the direction of Maréchal Pétain
, despite increasing costs estimated at 38 million francs. Further modifications raised the projected cost to 62 million francs. Ultimately, eight combat blocks were constructed, with a single mixed entry, the principal work spanning from 1930 to 1933. The entire project ran from 1929 to 1938. By 1934 the central utility plant (usine) was in place, along with ammunition lifts and the internal railway. In 1938 the anti-tank obstacles were complete. Final costs were 118 million francs (equivalent to €30 million). Plans to provide blockhouses covering an anti-tank ditch were dropped.
Blocks 1, 2, and 5 comprised the west wing, and 3, 4 and 6 the east. Blocks 7 and 8, with their turrets, we located between the two wings and to the rear, along with the command post.
s and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Simserhof, including
In times of peace, the active troops were stationed in newly built regular barracks in Légeret. When the ouvrage was on combat alert, daily life was similar to that of a warship.
for a broader discussion of the Rohrbach sector of the Maginot Line.
in September 1938 and further augmented in March 1939. On 21 August 1939 the Maginot Line was brought to a state of readiness for war. General mobilization was ordered on 2 September, and a state of war was declared the following day. Simserhof fired for the first time on 12 October, when a 75mm gun turret supported troops twelve kilometers in front of the fortified line. On 10 May 1940, Germany launched the Blitzkrieg
against the West, but in front of the Maginot Line, the front remained calm. On 12 May, Simserhof responded to the bombardment of advanced French posts.
On 13 June the troops of the field army in the intervals between fortifications began to withdraw towards the south. According to the plan, Simserhof would cover the withdrawal and the garrison troops would withdraw in turn after sabotaging the equipment. Simserhof provided covering fire from 15 June, but by the 16th it was apparent that the retreat was nearly impossible. Lt. Colonel Bonlarron stopped the sabotage and prepared for a siege. From 21 June the ouvrages artillery fired to prevent German troops from advancing on its neighbor, Welschof. Simserhof was too distant to support Ouvrage Haut-Poirier, and the position surrendered on the 22nd. The same day the Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed, which provided for a cease-fire from the 25th.
One the 24th the situation at Welschoff had declined, and the ouvrage surrendered. The same day, Simserhof protected Rohrbach
against German attack, firing approximately 13,500 shells in defense of its neighbor. The fate of the garrisons under the armistice terms remained ambiguous. The Germans tried to negotiate with the ouvrages but were rebuffed each time, as the commanders of the ouvrages awaited orders from their superiors. On 30 June, at a meeting at Grand-Hohekirkel
, Lt. Colonel Simon brought the ouvrage commanders the order to relinquish their fortifications to the victors.
On June 30 Simserhof formally surrendered and the Germans rendered honors to the garrison. Maintenance was continued by French technicians, and the ouvrage was used by the Germans as a storage facility for torpedo
es.
under General Alexander Patch
pursued the Germans. Simserhof was occupied by elements of the German 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. From 15 November the [U.S. 44th Infantry Division assaulted Simserhof, using tank destroyer
s to fire at firing apertures in block 5. Combat engineers were assigned to attack individual blocks. The Germans abandoned Simserhof by an emergency exit after booby-trapping the installations during the night of 19–20 November. The 44th Infantry yielded to the [U.S. 100th Infantry Division, which occupied the ouvrage during the first days of 1945, but the German counter-offensive Operation Nordwind
caused the occupiers to leave the fort. It was re-occupied on 15 March without resistance from the Germans. Bitche was finally liberated on 16 March.
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 the community of Sierstal 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. Simserhof is adjoined by petit ouvrage Rohrbach
Ouvrage Rohrbach
Ouvrage Rohrbach is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line located in the community of Bettvillier, near Rohrbach-lès-Bitche in the Moselle département, facing Germany...
and gros ouvrage Schiesseck
Ouvrage Schiesseck
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...
, 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. Located 4 km to the west of 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:...
, the ouvrage derived its name from a nearby farm. It was a 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...
. 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...
in 1940, Simserhof supported its neighboring fortifications with covering artillery fire, with partial success. After the surrender of France, it was occupied by the Germans as a storage depot for torpedoes, and later resisted the American advances of late 1944. Taken by the Americans, it was briefly re-occupied by the Germans 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...
. Following the war it was repaired for use by the French Army, but was proposed as a museum of the Maginot Line as early as the 1960s. Retained by the Ministry of Defense, Simserhof now functions as a museum, and has the most extensive visitor infrastructure of any of the preserved Maginot fortifications.
Design and construction
Initial project planning was led by Colonel Frossard. The first concept consisted of five closely spaced blocks fronted by an anti-tank ditch. The entry for the ouvrage was to be built in a ravine to the rear, with a 60 cm rail line running to a supply network farther behind the lines. The plan was rejected in July 1929 by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the central planning agency for the Maginot Line. A number of objections were raised, including the amount of clear-cutting required, and an insufficient field of fire with dead ground exploitable by an attacker.The second concept envisioned two ouvrages 300 metres (984.3 ft) apart, arranged for mutual support. This plan was adopted in September 1929 at the direction of Maréchal Pétain
Philippe 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...
, despite increasing costs estimated at 38 million francs. Further modifications raised the projected cost to 62 million francs. Ultimately, eight combat blocks were constructed, with a single mixed entry, the principal work spanning from 1930 to 1933. The entire project ran from 1929 to 1938. By 1934 the central utility plant (usine) was in place, along with ammunition lifts and the internal railway. In 1938 the anti-tank obstacles were complete. Final costs were 118 million francs (equivalent to €30 million). Plans to provide blockhouses covering an anti-tank ditch were dropped.
Description
Simserhof was, like most Maginot fortifications, composed of a combat section and a support section. Two separate entries were provided for personnel and ammunition, with underground utilities, mess halls and barracks nearby the personnel entrance. A large "M1" magazine was provided near the munitions entrance. The combat blocks were as much as 1800 meters from the entry. The entire ouvrage was provided with a 60 cm gauge electric railway that connected the service areas with the combat blocks, and which extended outside the position to a network of similar surface railways behind the main Line. The gallery system was excavated at an average depth of 27 metres (88.6 ft) below the surface.- 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...
, one twin machine gun embrasure, one 135mm 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 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, one 81mm mortar cloche, one twin machine gun embrasure and one JM/AC47 embrasure. - Block 3: Infantry block with two GFM cloches, one 81mm mortar turret, one twin machine gun embrasure and one JM/AC47 embrasure.
- Block 4: Artillery block with one GFM cloche, one retractable twin machine gun turrets, one twin machine gun embrasure, one JM/AC 37AC 37 anti-tank gunThe AC 37 was a French anti-tank gun of 37mm caliber, developed by the Ateliers de Puteaux. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930's...
embrasure and one 135mm gun embrasure. - Block 5: Artillery block with three 75 mm gun embrasures, one GFM cloche, one VDP 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...
. - Block 6: Artillery block with three 75mm gun embrasures, one VDP cloche, one LG cloche and one GFM cloche.
- Block 7: Artillery block with one 135 mm gun turret and two GFM cloches.
- Block 8: Artillery block with two GFM cloches and one retractable twin 75mm gun turret.
- Personnel entry: Entry block with two GFM cloches, one LG cloche and one JM/AQC47 embrasure.
- Munitions entry: Entry block with two GFM cloches and one JM/AC47 embrasure.
Blocks 1, 2, and 5 comprised the west wing, and 3, 4 and 6 the east. Blocks 7 and 8, with their turrets, we located between the two wings and to the rear, along with the command post.
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
- Casemate du Sinnerberg Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche.
- Casemate du Sinnerberg Est: SIngle block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche.
- Casemate de Petit-Réderching Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche.
- Casemate de Petit-Réderching Est: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche.
- Abri de Réderching: Subsurface abri-caverne with three arms ports and three GFM cloches
- Casemate du Seelberg Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche, functioning as an observation post.
- Casemate du Seelberg Est: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche.
- Casemate de Judenhoff: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, two twin machine gun embrasures and two GFM cloches.
- Abri de Fröhmühle: Subsurface abri-caverne with two automatic rifle embrasures.
- Casemate de Hohlbach: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure, a mortar cloche and two GFM cloches.
- Casemate de Légeret: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure, a mortar cloche and two GFM cloches.
- Abri de Légeret: Subsurface abri-caverne with two GFM cloches.
Manning
Simserhof was garrisoned by 28 officers and 792 men of the 153rd Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 155th Position Artillery Regiment, as well as elements of the 1st, 15th and 18th Régiments du Génie. The garrison was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Bonlarron from 25 April 1940. The ouvrage was under the overall command of the French 5th Army.In times of peace, the active troops were stationed in newly built regular barracks in Légeret. When the ouvrage was on combat alert, daily life was similar to that of a warship.
History
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...
for a broader discussion of the Rohrbach sector of the Maginot Line.
1940
Simserhof was first garrisoned in March 1936 while still incomplete. It was reinforced with fortress troops after the Munich AgreementMunich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
in September 1938 and further augmented in March 1939. On 21 August 1939 the Maginot Line was brought to a state of readiness for war. General mobilization was ordered on 2 September, and a state of war was declared the following day. Simserhof fired for the first time on 12 October, when a 75mm gun turret supported troops twelve kilometers in front of the fortified line. On 10 May 1940, Germany launched the Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
against the West, but in front of the Maginot Line, the front remained calm. On 12 May, Simserhof responded to the bombardment of advanced French posts.
On 13 June the troops of the field army in the intervals between fortifications began to withdraw towards the south. According to the plan, Simserhof would cover the withdrawal and the garrison troops would withdraw in turn after sabotaging the equipment. Simserhof provided covering fire from 15 June, but by the 16th it was apparent that the retreat was nearly impossible. Lt. Colonel Bonlarron stopped the sabotage and prepared for a siege. From 21 June the ouvrages artillery fired to prevent German troops from advancing on its neighbor, Welschof. Simserhof was too distant to support Ouvrage Haut-Poirier, and the position surrendered on the 22nd. The same day the Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed, which provided for a cease-fire from the 25th.
One the 24th the situation at Welschoff had declined, and the ouvrage surrendered. The same day, Simserhof protected Rohrbach
Ouvrage Rohrbach
Ouvrage Rohrbach is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line located in the community of Bettvillier, near Rohrbach-lès-Bitche in the Moselle département, facing Germany...
against German attack, firing approximately 13,500 shells in defense of its neighbor. The fate of the garrisons under the armistice terms remained ambiguous. The Germans tried to negotiate with the ouvrages but were rebuffed each time, as the commanders of the ouvrages awaited orders from their superiors. On 30 June, at a meeting at Grand-Hohekirkel
Ouvrage Grand Hohekirkel
Ouvrage Grand-Hohékirkel is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located near Bitche in the French département of Moselle. Grand-Hohékirkel is adjoined by gros ouvrage Otterbiel to the west and petit ouvrage Lembach at some distance to the east, and faces the German frontier...
, Lt. Colonel Simon brought the ouvrage commanders the order to relinquish their fortifications to the victors.
On June 30 Simserhof formally surrendered and the Germans rendered honors to the garrison. Maintenance was continued by French technicians, and the ouvrage was used by the Germans as a storage facility for torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es.
1944
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...
pursued the Germans. Simserhof was occupied by elements of the German 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. From 15 November the [U.S. 44th Infantry Division assaulted Simserhof, using 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 to fire at firing apertures in block 5. Combat engineers were assigned to attack individual blocks. The Germans abandoned Simserhof by an emergency exit after booby-trapping the installations during the night of 19–20 November. The 44th Infantry yielded to the [U.S. 100th Infantry Division, which occupied the ouvrage during the first days of 1945, but the German counter-offensive Operation Nordwind
Operation Nordwind
Operation North Wind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It began on 1 January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and it ended on 25 January.-Objectives:...
caused the occupiers to leave the fort. It was re-occupied on 15 March without resistance from the Germans. Bitche was finally liberated on 16 March.
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, Simserhof had been designated part of the Mòle de Bitche, a strong point 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. Simserhof was proposed as a potential museum in the 1960s.Preservation
Simserhof remains the property of the French Ministry of Defense. Its museum operations are managed by the Moselle département and the city of Bitche. Restoration work is ongoing. Simserhof has an extensive array of visitor services, including a gift shop, picnic area and café. The tour is limited to the entry, caserne and magazine, excluding the combat blocks.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...
Source
- This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding French Wikipedia article as of January 25, 2008.
External links
- Official site
- Fort Simserhof, Siersthal (57) at Chemins de mémoire
- 44th Infantry Division assault on Simserhof
- Ouvrage Simserhof and the Bitche fortifications