Fort de Seclin

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Entrance to the fort

The Fort de Seclin , (for short periods Fort Duhoux ) called, is a semi-underground fort in Seclin , the part was a belt of forts Lille surrounded.

designation

It was originally named Fort de Seclin . By presidential decree of January 21, 1887, the war minister Georges Boulanger implemented that all forts, fortified artillery installations and barracks of the Système Séré de Rivières had to bear the names of former military commanders, which is why the fort was then named Fort Duhoux after the revolutionary general Charles François Duhoux received. On October 13, 1887, Boulanger's successor, Théophile Ferron , canceled it with the note n ° 14980 of the same date and the fort was given its original name.

history

In the Franco-Prussian War in the autumn of 1870, the French armies were defeated within a few weeks and Emperor Napoléon III. captured. However, France continued the war as a republic and was only ready for the peace of Frankfurt after an extensive siege of Paris in the spring of 1871 .

After the end of the war there was massive revanchism in France . With this in mind, over 400 forts and other defenses were built. The war had shown that the new French mitrailleuse machine gun was a formidable weapon that could keep large numbers of enemies in check or mow down them when attacked.

The fortifications around Lille système Séré de Rivières were built between 1873 and 1875. Seclin Fort had a building area of ​​approximately 5 hectares (50,000 m²) on an area of ​​17 hectares. It contained a bakery, a hospital and space for 1,000 soldiers and a few horses.

Explosive bullets spread from around 1890 . They had a significantly greater destructive effect than the artillery projectiles used before. The fort was not adapted to the further development or - like other forts - reinforced with concrete reinforcement.

In 1914 the fort was occupied by a Bavarian regiment and on October 17, 1918 the fort was occupied by the British.

As part of the western campaign in May and June 1940, the fort was occupied by the Wehrmacht. On June 7, 1944, seven Resistance members were executed in the fort.

In 1989 the fort was officially demilitarized and sold to a private individual in 1996. Today it is the only defensive fort near Lille in a very good state of preservation.

museum

Since October 2003 the owners have set up a museum. It shows exhibits on artillery, cavalry and infantry from 1870 to 1920, most of them from the First World War.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ^ Note n ° 5285 of March 25, 1886 from War Minister Boulanger to the General Commanders of the Military Regions; Presidential decree of January 21 on the renaming of forts, fortified artillery installations and barracks, as proposed by M. le général Boulanger, Minister of War.

Coordinates: 50 ° 33 '20.8 "  N , 3 ° 3' 11.1"  E