Ouvrage de Schoenenbourg
Ouvrage de Schoenenbourg (French, German Artillery Works Schoenenbourg , French also Fort de Schoenenbourg ) is one of the few works of the Maginot Line that can be visited. The AALMA association (Association des Amis de la Ligne Maginot d'Alsace, Association of Friends of the Maginot Line in Alsace) oversees the plant. It is located 18 kilometers northeast of Haguenau , eight kilometers south of Wissembourg and four kilometers northeast of Soultz-sous-Forêts . The access is signposted from the village of Schœnenbourg .
construction
As the right cornerstone of the Maginot Line, the Schoenenbourg group of works is a typical artillery group of medium strength (size class 2). The shell was built between 1930 and 1933. In 1935 interior fittings and armament were installed; they were further improved and would have been expanded beyond 1940. Most parts of the factory are 17 to 30 m underground; only the two factory entrances and the combat bunker are on the surface. The two entrances, one of which was used for the crew and one for the delivery of materials, are on the side of a hill facing away from the enemy. Shafts with stairs and elevators lead from the entrance structures to the underground parts of the factory. There are barracks with a kitchen and hospital, a power station, workshops, ammunition stores and command posts. A narrow-gauge railway operated in the plant , which transported the material from the material input through a tunnel over 1 kilometer long to the combat blocks. The combat bunkers on the enemy side in the hill consist of two infantry casemates flanking the sides (blocks 1 and 6), a retractable machine-gun tank turret , two retractable tank turrets with cannons and a retractable tank turret with a grenade launcher.
The crew consisted of about 20 officers , 70 NCOs and 500 ranks ; the manning often fluctuated between 510 and 630 men. 183 men of the crew, including about eight officers, were infantrymen, 230 men including ten officers were artillerymen and 133 men including two to three officers were pioneers and members of the supply services. Some of the crew were handed over to the casemates Hoffen-Ost, Aschbach-Ost and the observation bunker Hatten as artillery observers. The group of works in 1939/40 was commanded by Major Reynier, who was supported by Captains Cortasse as commander of the factory artillery, Kieffer as commander of the infantry and Stroh as pioneer commander.
The individual systems of the group of works and their armament:
Block 1: Infantry Casemate North. 1 × 4.7 cm anti -tank gun ( Canon de 47 mm AC modèle 1934 ), 2 twin machine guns, 2 machine gun domes.
Block 2: MG tank turret. 1 twin machine gun in armored turret , 1 machine gun armored dome .
Block 3: tank turret. 2 × 7.5 cm howitzer (model R 32), 1 MG armored dome.
Block 4: tank turret. 2 × 7.5 cm howitzer (model R 32), 1 observation dome, 1 machine-gun armored dome.
Block 5: tank turret. 2 × 8.1 cm grenade launchers, 1 grenade launcher dome, 1 MG armored dome.
Block 6: Infantry Casemate South. 1 × 4.7 cm anti-tank gun, 1 twin machine gun, 1 machine gun armored dome.
Block 7: ammunition entrance. 1 × 4.7 cm anti-tank gun, 1 twin machine gun, 2 machine gun domes.
Block 8: crew entrance. 1 × 4.7 cm anti-tank gun, 1 twin machine gun, 1 grenade launcher dome, 1 machine gun tank dome.
The original plan included two artillery casemates, each with two 7.5 cm howitzers, which were supposed to act as a flank, and an artillery tank turret as a frontal defense. Because of the flat terrain, the two mighty gun casemates were replaced by armored turrets and their number was reduced from three to two. An armored turret with two 13.5 cm howitzers, postponed to the second construction phase as combat block 9, was never built because the second construction phase was not realized due to the outbreak of war.
The underground parts of the factory
Power supply / power plant
During normal operation, the plants on the Maginot Line were supplied with 22,000 volts from outside via an underground cable . Because an interruption of the external power supply had to be expected in the event of war, all plants were equipped with their own power plants. Many functions of a Maginot plant depended on a supply of electricity :
- Lighting (approx. 2000 lamps)
- Transport (six elevators, two electric locomotives )
- Communication (radio, telephone, machine telegraph)
- Ventilation (35 fans)
- Water supply (ten pumps)
- Operation of the armored turrets
- Kitchen (electric stove, boiler, etc.)
Four diesel generators stood in the machine room of the power plant. Two generators were sufficient for normal operation. When the plant was in combat, a third generator was switched on to compensate for the increased energy requirements caused by lifting, lowering and rotating the armored turrets, the more frequent ammunition lifts, the increased traffic on the electric narrow-gauge railways and possibly increased use of ventilation. The fourth generator was in reserve. In the event of a sudden power failure, a small emergency generator was available in the power plant for a black start , which could be started by hand and only supplied the power plant with electricity until the large diesel generators could be started.
These units were diesel engines from Sulzer , each with four cylinders and a total output of 117.68 kW with a consumption of 20 liters of fuel per hour. They were started with compressed air. Each engine powered a generator that delivered 115 kVA in 440 volts. All four generators could optionally be coupled with one another. The very robust engines came from submarines and were dismantled for this purpose by the German Wehrmacht after the plant was closed . In the power plant there is also a conversion and transformer station, which converted the 440 volts alternating current into 110 volts alternating current for the lighting network, 600 volts direct current for the electric locomotives and 3000 volts for the supply of the combat blocks. Due to the higher voltage, the transmission losses were reduced, in the combat blocks the 3000 volts were re-tensioned according to one's own needs.
In addition to the machine room and the forming station, the power plant also includes workshops, offices, spare parts stores and large storage tanks for 96,000 liters of diesel oil, 184,000 liters of cooling water and 6,000 liters of lubricating oil. The plant's main ventilation with a filter room is also located here.
In an emergency, all of the plant's electrically operated equipment could also be operated manually.
Water supply / sewage
Because of the dramatic events that forced the surrender of Fort Vaux in the First World War because the crew was dying of thirst, special emphasis was placed on the water supply for the Maginot works. At the Schoenenbourg plant, 263,000 liters were available across 14 reservoirs. These reservoirs were fed from a 117 meter deep well, which guaranteed the independence of the plant. When driving the tunnels, three water veins were cut, which were captured and supplemented the water supply.
barracks
The barracks are located near the crew entrance and not far from the power plant . It houses the accommodations for men and officers, the kitchen, the hospital, wash and shower rooms, the clothes closet as well as food and drinking water supplies. There were toilets in every fighting block.
Main command post
All communications converged in the main command post. The reports from the individual combat blocks and from other bunkers and plants were recorded and evaluated here. This is where the fortress commander's room and the switchboard are located, which was also in constant contact with the radio room, which for technical reasons was located in the ammunition entrance. Once the reports received were evaluated and there was an overview of the situation, the fire control center of the artillery issued the orders to the combat blocks. The orders were issued from here via machine telegraph directly to the gun posts. It often only took a few minutes from a reported enemy sighting to the opening of fire.
history
The Ouvrage de Schoenenbourg was one of those who fought the most in June 1940. From September 3, 1939 to June 25, 1940, it fired 15,792 75 mm and 682 shells of 81 mm. That was a total of 16,474 shells in 10 months, of which 13,388 in 10 days (from June 14th to 25th), including 723 shells of 120 mm caliber. During this period, the plant received 56 hits from 420 mm shells, 33 from 280 mm shells, 160 from aerial bombs and 3000 from shells of 105 or 150 mm.
Individual evidence
- ^ Jean-Yves Mary, Alain Hohnadel, Jacques Sicard, François Vauviller: Hommes et ouvrages de la ligne Maginot. Volume 3: Le destin tragique de la ligne Maginot . Histoire & collections, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-908182-88-2 , p. 205.
Web links
Coordinates: 48 ° 58 ′ 14.8 " N , 7 ° 55 ′ 24" E