Casemate Pamart

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Casemate Pamart (a committee opening)
Casemate Pamart (two reject openings)
The well-preserved site of the Fort de Souville

The Casemate Pamart (also Cloche Pamart - Pamart bell ) was an armored machine gun stand in the fortifications of the Barrière de fer during the First World War .

description

After the beginning of the Battle of Verdun , the existing fortifications played a major role, even if they were initially considered unusable on August 5, 1915 and disarmed. In April 1916 the so-called “Travaux de 17” (about: Work “17”) began. This was intended to strengthen the forts and other facilities, as it had to be recognized that even the fortifications reinforced with concrete ( Fort de Douaumont ) were not able to withstand the extremely heavy calibers. The four fixed places in the east, Épinal , Toul , Belfort and Verdun were affected . Initially, only the forts in Verdun and on the ledge of the Meuse heights (Rideau défensif des Hautes de Meuse) were affected. This work mainly consisted of building deep, branched galleries under the forts, which reached into the apron and also had exits there, as well as creating brick or sandbag barriers in the corridors, partially walling up the main entrances, and reinforcing the ceilings and walls made of masonry with a layer of concrete and the construction of the fighting stalls Casemates Pamart .

To improve the defense capabilities , the Capitaine Pamart designed a combat post from September 1916, which consisted of an armored dome with a gun well made of reinforced concrete and was armed with one or two Hotchkiss M1900 or M1907 machine guns . They were intended to flank the fortifications, were installed at strategically important points in advance and were connected to the core structure via underground galleries. In principle, they had the same tasks as the armored, rotating and retractable machine gun turrets Tourelle de mitrailleuses modèle 1899 , but were more heavily armored and more robust due to their design. These fighting stalls, which protruded only slightly from the surface and were difficult to recognize, harbored an unpleasant surprise for the attackers.

The small armored stations could be installed quickly without the enemy particularly noticing the necessary work, which also prevented massive interference by enemy artillery.

The Casemate de Pamart came with one or two reject openings . The ventilation was carried out by a manually operated fan that exchanged the used air with that from the underground passages. Another hand-operated elevator was used to transport material and ammunition through the shaft of the gun well. Access was through underground passages, which were usually about 10 meters below the surface. Some of the stands also had an emergency exit in case the aisle was pushed in. The dome should withstand direct impact up to a caliber of 220 mm.

  • Type 1 - un créneau (with a reject opening )

The very flat domed ceiling was bordered all around by a concrete collar, which had a V-shaped notch in front of the reject opening, which limited the lateral straightening area to 70 °. The steel dome was 110 mm thick at the front and 60 mm thick at the rear. It weighed 2.5 tons. The machine gun was mounted on a pivot carriage with a pivot bolt in the front. Overall, no large numbers of items were produced from this model because of the insufficient side shot area. A periscope in the dome was used for target observation .

  • Type 2 - deux créneaux (with two reject openings )

This type had two reject openings and weighed 3.7 t. In front of each of these openings was a cylindrical so-called suitcase, each weighing 792 kg, the lid of which also served as armor armor . The openings had an armored shutter. Since they were arranged at an angle of 90 ° to one another, the result was a side straightening range of 165 °. The dome was equipped with two machine guns that were hung in a ring-shaped device, which inevitably meant that there was always only one rifle in the firing position for either the left or right hatch. The other was turned down in the front case. Since this system only allowed one direction of fire, the two rifles had to be swapped if necessary, which only took a short period of time. The dome was taller than the Type 1, and it didn't have the flat shape. The underground corridors were partially extended to the outside, creating external exits. A periscope in the dome was used for target observation.

In Fort de Landrecourt and Fort de Dogny , the domes had been reinforced with a layer of concrete.

Equipment of the forts

Eight type 1 units (all installed) and 39 type 2 units were produced, 27 of which were installed in the forts of the Verdun fixed place and the forts on the Meuse heights by the end of the war .

Fixed place in Verdun

Location number Type Whereabouts
Fort de Génicourt 6th

1

still available (with two mounts)
Fort de Dugny 1

1

still available (with concrete reinforcement of the external output)
Fort de Landrecourt 1

1

still there
Fort de Génicourt 2

2

still there
Fort de Dugny 1

2

still available (with concrete reinforcement of the external output)
Fort de la Chaume 2

2

still there
Fort de Choisel 2

2

still available (with mouth flaps)
Fort des Sartelles 2

2

still there
Fort de Vacherauville 2 2 scrapped in World War II
Fort de Bois Borrus 1

2

still there
Poste de Belle Épine 1

2

still there
Fort de Tavannes 2

2

still there
Fort de Souville 3

2

still available (with concrete reinforcement of the external exit and mounts)
Ouvrage de Chana 2

2

still there
Fort du Saint-Michel 1

2

still available (with concrete reinforcement of the external output)
Fort de Marre 1

2

still there

Forts on the Meuse Heights

Location number Type Whereabouts
Fort de Troyon 2

2

still there
Battery de Saint-Agnant 2

2

still there

The remaining 12 Type 2 domes were used on the Maginot Line in the 1930s .

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ meant the work planned until 1917 for reinforcement and modernization