Fort du Mont Bart: Difference between revisions

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|condition = Abandoned
|condition = Preserved
|ownership = Commune of the region of Montbéliard
|ownership = Commune of the region of Montbéliard
|open_to_public = yes
|open_to_public = yes
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|occupants = 700
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==Description==
==Description==
The pentagonal fort is surrounded by a ditch, which is traversed by fire from the [[caponier]]s. The central barracks is sunken into the earth and encircled by firing positions on the surface of the fort. The fort's surface was originally armed with four 155mm and five 120mm guns, with one 138mm gun. Four 220 mm mortars completed the exposed armament. Casemates were armed with one 155mm Mougin gun and four 138mm guns, with smaller arms defending the fort's walls, and a separate battery with four 95mm guns. By 1914 the surface armament had been augmented with four 90mm guns and an additional three 120mm guns. Revolving guns defended the fort. The fort was entered via a drawbridge.<ref name="fortiffsere1">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiffsere.fr/troueedebelfort/index_fichiers/Page2623.htm|title=Le fort du Mont Bart|last=Vauborg|first=Cédric|coauthors=Vauborg, Julie|date=2010|publisher=Fortiff' Séré|language=French|accessdate=1 March 2010 2010}}</ref>
The pentagonal fort is surrounded by a ditch, which is traversed by fire from the [[caponier]]s. The central barracks is sunken into the earth and encircled by firing positions on the surface of the fort. The fort's surface was originally armed with four 155mm and five 120mm guns, with one 138mm gun. Four 220 mm mortars completed the exposed armament. Casemates were armed with one 155mm Mougin gun and four 138mm guns, with smaller arms defending the fort's walls, and a separate battery with four 95mm guns. By 1914 the surface armament had been augmented with four 90mm guns and an additional three 120mm guns. Revolving guns defended the fort. The fort was entered via a drawbridge.<ref name="fortiffsere1">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiffsere.fr/troueedebelfort/index_fichiers/Page2623.htm|title=Le fort du Mont Bart|last=Vauborg|first=Cédric|coauthors=Vauborg, Julie|date=2010|publisher=Fortiff' Séré|language=French|accessdate=1 March 2010 2010}}</ref>

Mont Bart covers a surface area of about {{convert|3.5|ha|ac}}. The fort's stonework came from the Bavans quarry at the foot of the massif.<ref name="ftmtbt1">{{cite web|url=http://monsite.wanadoo.fr/fort-du-mont-bart/page1.html#gotop|title=La genèse du Fort|date=19 August 2005|publisher=Association "Le Mont-Bart"|language=French|accessdate=1 March 2010}}</ref>


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 15:41, 1 March 2010

Fort du Mont Bart
Part of Fortifications of Montbéliard
Montbéliard, France
Entry. Photo:Bresson Thomas
TypeFort, Séré de Rivières system
Site information
OwnerCommune of the region of Montbéliard
Controlled byFrance
Open to
the public
yes
ConditionPreserved
Site history
Built1875 (1875)
Garrison information
Occupants700

Fort du Mont Bart is located to the south of Montbéliard, France. It was built between November 1875 and July 1878 as part of the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications. The fort overlooks the valleys of the Doubs and the Allan at an elevation of 497 metres (1,631 ft), standing to the rear of the fortified region of Belfort and in control of the road to Besançon. The fort was intended to augment the Belfort fortifications and to prevent an enemy from bypassing them. The most striking feature of the Fort du Mont Bart is its "interior street", originally constructed in the open air as a sunken court, then covered before World War I with reinforced concrete.[1]

Strategic position

The strategic significance of the Belfort fortification system was significant in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and increased as a result of the loss of Alsace and Lorraine as a result of the war. The defenses of France had to be reconsidered in light of the changes in France's frontiers and in view of advances in artillery during the second half of the 19th century. The new fort was planned to respond to these new developments and to support the neighboring fortification systems.[1]

Description

The pentagonal fort is surrounded by a ditch, which is traversed by fire from the caponiers. The central barracks is sunken into the earth and encircled by firing positions on the surface of the fort. The fort's surface was originally armed with four 155mm and five 120mm guns, with one 138mm gun. Four 220 mm mortars completed the exposed armament. Casemates were armed with one 155mm Mougin gun and four 138mm guns, with smaller arms defending the fort's walls, and a separate battery with four 95mm guns. By 1914 the surface armament had been augmented with four 90mm guns and an additional three 120mm guns. Revolving guns defended the fort. The fort was entered via a drawbridge.[2]

Mont Bart covers a surface area of about 3.5 hectares ([convert: unknown unit]). The fort's stonework came from the Bavans quarry at the foot of the massif.[3]

History

The fort was modernized in 1889 with a magazine excavated within the rock of the foundations. In 1913-1914 the fort was reinforced with 1.65 metres (5.4 ft) of reinforced concrete over the central barracks and court, uniquely in the Séré de Rivières system. A second Mougin casemate was proposed in 1878, but never carried out.[2]

During the second world war the fort was stripped of its armament. It remained occupied by the military until the 1960s, when it was abandoned. It is presently owned by the Montbéliard regional government and is under restoration.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Association "Le Mont-Bart". "Fort du Mont Bart (25)" (in French). Chemins de mémoire. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Vauborg, Cédric (2010). "Le fort du Mont Bart" (in French). Fortiff' Séré. Retrieved 1 March 2010 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "La genèse du Fort" (in French). Association "Le Mont-Bart". 19 August 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2010.

External links