Fort of the Basses Perches

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Barracks with hollow trusses above
Fort-basses-perches-fr-FR.svg

The Fort des Basses Perches (briefly Fort Valmy ) was part of the Belfort Belt Fortress .

designation

It was originally named Fort des Basses Perches . 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 had to bear the names of former military commanders, which is why the fort was named Fort Valmy after François-Christophe Kellermann duc de Valmy 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.

description

It was built as a result of the lost war against Germany and the associated border shifts to the west. Construction began on April 20, 1874, and was completed on July 1, 1877.

It was a new construction of the old fort (1815 to 1870) of the same name that stood at this point and was part of the eastern fortifications (Fortifications de l'Est) of France, belonged as an intermediate work (ouvrage) to the type "à cavalier" and was one of the first works of the Système Séré de Rivières . It is located at an altitude of 425 meters southeast of Belfort in the area of ​​the municipality of Danjoutin on the site of an abandoned redoubt that was laid out in 1870 during the siege (to defend the citadel ) of Belfort. In contrast to the other works of the Festes Platz Belfort (2nd fortification line) it was still in the 1st fortification line for this reason.

Building

It is an object in masonry, which at the time of completion no longer met the artillery requirements (in terms of both firepower and protection). It was completely surrounded by a dry moat, and access was via a drawbridge to the “Place d'Arms”, which also served as a bastion to defend the throat. The fort had no armored parts, the guns stood freely on the ramparts and were only covered by the parapet and hollow beams between the gun posts. The front was broken inwards and at the respective angles to the flank, however, was already equipped with double trench weirs in the Contreescarpe (contrary to the construction with capons that was still common at the time ) . This secured the front trench and the trenches on the flanks. Access to the moat defenses was through postern below the moat. The fort did not have a bakery and there was no line of sight to the neighboring fort.

After the construction of the forts of Bessoncourt , Vézelois and the Ouvrage de Chèvremont , the fort was in the second line and no more modernizations were made. In 1893 it was only connected to the Festungs-Ring (iron) railway and received an electrical power supply from 1913–1914. During the First World War , a concrete observation post was built on one of the hollow trusses.

Armament

1879

  • On the ramparts
4 × 155L guns " Canon de 155 mm L modèle 1877 " (155 mm)
9 × artillery pieces 138 " Canon de 138 modèle 1873-74 " (138 mm)
4 × cannons "Canon de 12" (120 mm)
2 × mortars " Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 "
1 × Mortier lisse de 22
  • Moat weir
6 × howitzers "Obusier de 16" (160 mm smooth barrel)

1882

  • On the ramparts
4 × 155L cannons "Canon de 155 L modèle 1877"
4 × artillery pieces 138 "Canon de 138 modèle 1873–1874"
4 × cannons 120L " Canon de 120 mm L modèle 1878 " (120 mm)
2 × Mortier lisse de 22
1 × Mortier lisse de 27
1 × mortar " Mortier de 220 modèle 1881 " (220 mm)
  • Moat weir
2 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879 "canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879 système Hotchkiss"
4 × howitzers "Obusier de 16" (160 mm smooth barrel)
"Mortier de 220 modèle 1881"

1886

  • On the ramparts
4 × 155L cannons "Canon de 155 long modèle 1877" (155 mm)
4 × artillery pieces 138 "Canon de 138 modèle 1873–1874" (138 mm)
4 × cannons 120L "Canon de 120 long modèle 1878" (120 mm)
2 × Mortier lisse de 22 (220 mm)
1 × Mortier lisse de 27 (270 mm)
1 × mortar "Mortier de 220 modèle 1881" (220 mm)
  • Moat weir
4 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879
2 × casemate guns Canon 12 de culasse modèle 1884

1906

  • On the ramparts
2 × 155L cannons "Canon de 155 long modèle 1877"
4 field guns "Canon de 90 de campagne modèle 1877"
2 × Mortier lisse de 22
1 × Mortier lisse de 27
  • Moat weir
4 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879
2 × casemate guns "Canon de 12 culasse modèle 1853"

1912

  • On the ramparts
2 field guns " Canon de 90 mm modèle 1877 " (90 mm)
4 × cannons 120L "Canon de 120 long modèle 1878" (120 mm)
2 × Mortier lisse de 22
  • Moat weir
4 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879
2 × casemate guns "Canon de 12 culasse modèle 1853" (121 mm with screw crank lock)
"Canon de 120 long modèle 1878"

1914

  • On the ramparts
2 × cannons 120L "Canon de 120 long modèle 1878" (120 mm)
2 × Mortier lisse de 22
  • Moat weir
4 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879
2 × casemate guns "Canon 12 de culasse modèle 1884"

More information

  • Crew: two officers , four NCOs , 176 men
  • Powder magazine capacity: 24.3 t of black powder and 4078 grenades of 138 mm caliber
  • Drinking water supply: a well and a cistern (208 m³ content)
  • Sleeping places in the Friedenskaserne: 204
  • Communication: to the other forts by electric telegraph
  • Total cost: 939,000 francs d'or

The fort was not involved in any combat operations and was finally abandoned during World War II . It has been owned by the Danjoutin Municipality since 1999 and is open to visitors on Monument Day . Restoration work is being carried out. Since the fort remained almost unchanged in its structural fabric, it is one of the few of this type to show the state in its original form.

See also

literature

  • Le Petit Larousse de l'histoire de France , Éditions Larousse
  • Alain Hohnadel et Philippe Bestetti, La Bataille des forts , Editions Heimdal, Bayeux, 1995 ISBN 2-8404-8087-5

Web links

Commons : Fort des Basses Perches  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  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.
  2. ↑ The original name "canon de revolver" is misleading, as it is a multi-barrel gun based on the Gatling system. This is sometimes referred to in French as a mitrailleuse.

Coordinates: 47 ° 37 ′ 35.5 "  N , 6 ° 52 ′ 7.6"  E