Fort de la Pompelle

Le Fort de la Pompelle (2006)

Aerial photo 1918.

The Fort de la Pompelle , (temporarily: Fort de Herbillon ) was built between 1880 and 1883 to complete the belt of fortifications around Reims . It thus belonged to the fortification system that was built after the war of 1870 on the French eastern border by General Séré de Rivières . It became the key to the defense of Reims and a focal point during the First World War .

designation

At times it was named after General Émile Herbillon . By presidential decree of January 21, 1887, the Minister of War, Georges Boulanger , implemented that all forts, fortified artillery installations and barracks of the Système Séré de Rivières must bear the names of former military commanders. On October 13, 1887, this was reversed by Boulanger's successor, Théophile Ferron, and the fort was given its original name.

description

The area amounts to 2.31 hectares, the fort was armed with six Canon de 155 mm C modèle 1881 and four Canon de 138 modèle 1873-74 . There were also five revolver cannons as flanking guns and a few mitrailleuses . As relics, three old twelve-pounder Canon 12 de culasse modèle 1884 belonged to the inventory in the ditch weirs. The crew consisted of an artillery company with a strength of 277 men. The complex had the base of a rectangle with a bluntly receding throat and was surrounded by a ditch with a steel mesh fence. A drawbridge led over this throat . On the left shoulder there was a double trench caponier to cover the front and left flank , on the right shoulder a simple caponier to cover the right flank. The throat ditch was secured by two valley trenches on either side of the entrance . The fort was built in stone with an approx. 2.5 m high earth covering on the roof. Due to the design, infantry defense was not planned from here. At the end of the war, some underground passages had been driven several hundred meters through the chalk to the rear lines to allow safe access. It was built as an intermediate works to cover the flanks of the main works Fort Nogent l 'Abessee in the north and Fort de Montbré in the southwest.

location

The fort is still in the area of the municipality of Puisieulx , about five kilometers southeast of Reims on route Départementale 944 (ex-Nationale 44), which leads from Reims to Châlons-en-Champagne . In the meantime, Reims and its suburbs have grown close to the fort.

Role in the First World War

Disarmed in 1913, the fort was captured on September 4, 1914 by the advancing German troops. Due to the retreat of the Germans after the Battle of the Marne , the French 138th Infantry Regiment (138 ^e régiment d'infanterie) was able to reoccupy it on September 24, 1914. From then on it remained permanently in French hands and withstood heavy German artillery fire and repeated infantry attacks. In the further course of the war, the "Pumpenburg" played a formative role, because the danger posed by the Germans from the fort resulted in serious bombardments and not inconsiderable collateral damage in the city of Reims.

The fortification was defended as part of the rotation system practiced by the French army by a total of 180 different infantry regiments and by two Russian units (Brigades spéciales russes), which Tsar Nicholas II had personally assigned to France in 1916. They were supported by a few gunboats of the French Navy, which were anchored on the Canal de l'Aisne à la Marne between Sept-Saulx and Courmelois and from there fired at the German lines. During the Third Aisne Battle , the fort was massively attacked three times by the German troops. a. on June 1, 1918 with 15 armored cars. It was briefly captured by Infantry Regiment No. 465 of the 238th Infantry Division . However, due to the weak forces, it could not be held. The fort was built by units of the “1. Colonial Army Corps "(" 1st Corps d'Armée Colonial ") recaptured under Général Mazillier, these associations kept the fort occupied until the armistice.

The strength of the defenders was up to 2,000 men, who were housed in the partly destroyed fort under poor conditions.

Post-war condition

After the end of the First World War, the fort was abandoned and was left to its own devices. On March 23, 1922, it was declared a monument historique .

In 1955, the domain administration (l'administration des Domaines) offered the site and the building for sale. This caused the associations of former front-line fighters (Associations d'anciens combattants) to be in a state of excitement, whereupon the fort was acquired by the “Fédération nationale André Maginot” for a symbolic franc for the city of Reims for permanent use was left. Reims has owned the facility since then.

The museum in the Fort de la Pompelle

Today the "Musée du Fort de la Pompelle" is located in the accessible part of the complex. It was inaugurated on November 10, 1972 by Michel Debré , then Minister of Defense. The museum exhibits, unique in the world, a collection of 560 German military headgear, a large collection of sabers, orders and medals, as well as uniforms.

In the museum, a plaque commemorates the fallen French fighter pilot René Dorme , who was shot down over the fort by the German fighter pilot Heinrich Kroll in 1917 .

On November 11, 1968, Jean Taittinger, Mayor of Reims, said in a speech:

"The city of Reims reconnaissante du sacrifice des milliers de ses défenseurs, a decidé que ce sol sacré ferait désormais partie du patrimoine de la Cité. Le nom du Fort de la Pompelle mérite d'être gravé pour l'éternité dans les annales de la patrie! »

“The city of Reims gratefully acknowledges the sacrifices that thousands of its defenders have made here and it has been decided that this sacred earth is part of the heritage of this city. The name Fort de la Pompelle deserves to be immortalized forever in the annals of the Fatherland. "

Web links

Commons : Fort de la Pompelle - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ However, it was not a closed belt, as the fortresses were laid out in a three-quarter circle with a front facing northeast. The rest of the way was unpaved.
^ 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.
↑ with the note n ° 14980 from the same date
↑ The first bombardment of Reims took place by French troops, who covered their retreat to the Marne (Reichsarchiv "Das Marnedrama, Part 2")
^ History of the Infantry Regiment No. 463. 1930.

49.216111111111 4.1291666666667Coordinates: 49 ° 12 ′ 58 " N , 4 ° 7 ′ 45" E

[1] However, it was not a closed belt, as the fortresses were laid out in a three-quarter circle with a front facing northeast. The rest of the way was unpaved.

[2] 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.

[3] with the note n ° 14980 from the same date

[4] The first bombardment of Reims took place by French troops, who covered their retreat to the Marne (Reichsarchiv "Das Marnedrama, Part 2")

[5] History of the Infantry Regiment No. 463. 1930.