Ouvrage Thonnelle
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Thonnelle is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line
, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy
between the towns of Thonnelle
and Verneuil-Petit
, facing Belgium
. It possesses four combat blocks. It is located between gros ouvrages Vélosnes
and Chesnois
. The position was sabotaged and abandoned by French forces that were ordered to retreat from the exposed position in June of 1940 during the Battle of France
. The ouvrage is abandoned.
Thonnelle is one of four positions in the so-called Tête du Pont de Montmédy, a salient in the French defensive lines along the Belgian border. The isolated area was one of the "New Fronts" to the west of the main Maginot Line, created to defend against the increased threat of a German advance through Belgium. The New Front positions suffered from restricted funding, as well as discontinuity in the fortification lines. Large distances between fortifications compared to earlier portions of the Line made mutual support between ouvrages difficult.
The unbuilt portions of the ouvrage were projected to include an artillery block with a twin 75mm gun turret, a combination ammunition/personnel entrance block and an expanded utility and barracks space, linked to the first phase by a long gallery. The third phase was planned to add another 75mm gun turret, an 81mm mortar turret and a twin 135mm gun turret.
A number of small blockhouses are associated with Thonnelle, as well as three casemates:
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other.
During the Battle of France
the garrisons of the Tête de Pont de Montmédy were ordered to withdraw the night of 10-11 June 1940 to straighten French lines. The fortifications' arms and infrastructure were sabotaged before they were abandoned. Evacuation was complete by 12 June. The German 169th Infantry Division advanced to take possession of Thonnelle and other ouvrages in the salient on 13 June 1940. The nearby Ouvrage La Ferté
was less fortunate. It had already been taken by the Germans, its entire garrison killed, on 20 May. The fate of La Ferté influenced the decision to evacuate the remaining three positions.
The area saw no action during the Lorraine Campaign
of 1944. The interior of the ouvrage had been stripped by the Germans, and again after the war by scrap dealers.
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 in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy
Fortified Sector of Montmédy
The Fortified Sector of Montmédy was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line between Sedan and Longuyon, a distance of about . The sector sector was not as strongly defended as other sections of the Maginot Line, facing the southern Ardennes region...
between the towns of Thonnelle
Thonnelle
Thonnelle is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
and Verneuil-Petit
Verneuil-Petit
Verneuil-Petit is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
, facing Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It possesses four combat blocks. It is located between gros ouvrages Vélosnes
Ouvrage Vélosnes
Ouvrage Vélosnes is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy between the towns of Othe and Vélosnes, facing Belgium. It possesses four combat blocks and one entrance block. It is located to the east of petit ouvrage Thonnelle...
and Chesnois
Ouvrage Chesnois
Ouvrage Chesnois, also known as Ouvrage Chênois, is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy, facing Belgium. The ouvrage lies between the towns of Montlibert and Thonne-le-Thil. It possesses six combat blocks. It is located between gros ouvrage Thonnelle and...
. The position was sabotaged and abandoned by French forces that were ordered to retreat from the exposed position in June of 1940 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...
. The ouvrage is abandoned.
Design and construction
The site was approved in 1934. Work by the contractor GTBA began in 1935 at a cost of 23.7 million francs. A planned second phase was to add one artillery block and support facilities, while a third phase was to add three artillery blocks, making Thonnelle a gros ouvrage. The rise in tensions between France and Germany in the late 1930s prevented the second and third phases from being pursued.Thonnelle is one of four positions in the so-called Tête du Pont de Montmédy, a salient in the French defensive lines along the Belgian border. The isolated area was one of the "New Fronts" to the west of the main Maginot Line, created to defend against the increased threat of a German advance through Belgium. The New Front positions suffered from restricted funding, as well as discontinuity in the fortification lines. Large distances between fortifications compared to earlier portions of the Line made mutual support between ouvrages difficult.
Description
Thonnelle is a large petit ouvrage It is located at the crest of a hogback ridge, with Block 4 in the steep northern slope, Block 2 at the crest and Block 3 in the gentler southward slope.- Block 1: infantry block with one automatic rifle cloche (GFM-B)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 mixed-arms cloche (AM)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...
, one twin machine gun embrasure 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. - Block 2: infantry block with one GFM-B cloche and two AM cloches
- Block 3: entry block with one GFM-B cloche, one GFM/observation cloche, one AM cloche, one grenade launcher clocheLG 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 two automatic rifle embrasures. - Block 4: infantry block with two GFM-B cloches, one twin retractable machine gun turret, one twin machine gun embrasure and one JM/AC47 embrasure.
The unbuilt portions of the ouvrage were projected to include an artillery block with a twin 75mm gun turret, a combination ammunition/personnel entrance block and an expanded utility and barracks space, linked to the first phase by a long gallery. The third phase was planned to add another 75mm gun turret, an 81mm mortar turret and a twin 135mm gun turret.
A number of small blockhouses are associated with Thonnelle, as well as three casemates:
- Casemate d'Avoith: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, two AM cloches and one GFM-B cloche.
- Casemate de Fresnois: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, two JM embrasures, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches.
- Casemate de Saint-Antoine: Single block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, one JM embrasure, two AM cloches and one GFM-B cloche.
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other.
Manning
The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Captain Gatellier comprised 186 men and 3 officers of the 155th Fortress Infantry Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 2nd Army, Army Group 1. The Casernement de Montmédy provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Thonnelle and other fortifications in the area.History
- See Fortified Sector of MontmédyFortified Sector of MontmédyThe Fortified Sector of Montmédy was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line between Sedan and Longuyon, a distance of about . The sector sector was not as strongly defended as other sections of the Maginot Line, facing the southern Ardennes region...
for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Montmédy sector of the Maginot Line.
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...
the garrisons of the Tête de Pont de Montmédy were ordered to withdraw the night of 10-11 June 1940 to straighten French lines. The fortifications' arms and infrastructure were sabotaged before they were abandoned. Evacuation was complete by 12 June. The German 169th Infantry Division advanced to take possession of Thonnelle and other ouvrages in the salient on 13 June 1940. The nearby Ouvrage La Ferté
Ouvrage La Ferté
Ouvrage La Ferté, also known as Ouvrage Villy-La-Ferté, is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy, facing Belgium. The ouvrage lies between the towns of Villy and La Ferté-sur-Chiers. It possesses two combat blocks...
was less fortunate. It had already been taken by the Germans, its entire garrison killed, on 20 May. The fate of La Ferté influenced the decision to evacuate the remaining three positions.
The area saw no action 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. The interior of the ouvrage had been stripped by the Germans, and again after the war by scrap dealers.
Current condition
The site is abandoned, stripped, and open to the elements. It is reported to be partly flooded and dangerous to enter.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
- Thonnelle at darkplaces.org