Fort des Hautes Perches

Stairway to the wall

Plan of the fort

The Fort des Hautes Perches (temporary name: Fort Rapp ) was part of the belt fortress Fester Platz Belfort .

designation

For a few months it was named after Général Jean Rapp . 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 current 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 commissioning took place on July 1, 1877.

It was a new construction of the old fort of the same name from the years 1815 to 1870. It was part of the eastern fortifications (Fortifications de l'Est) of France and belonged as an intermediate work (ouvrage) to the type "à cavalier" of the Système Séré de Rivières. It is located at an altitude of 433 meters east of Belfort in the municipality of Pérouse . 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.

tasks

Together with Fort de Roppe , the sister company Fort des Basses Perches , Fort de Bessoncourt and Fort de Vézelois , and the Ouvrage de Chèvremont, it formed the eastern part of the fortress ring of Belfort. Among other things, it had the task of monitoring the eastern access routes (from Basel and Mulhouse ) to Belfort, as well as preventing enemy access to the fortress in this area.

description

It is a system that is surrounded by a dry ditch and the front faces approximately to the southeast. The building is made of sandstone masonry and reinforced with an earth cover against bombardment. The barracks are centrally located with the magazines on the ceiling of which there are several gun placements. The trench weir was secured in the front by three capons . At each shoulder point of the front there is a simple caponier that secured the left and right flank trench. These are only accessible from Wallstraße (rue de rempart). The front ditch was covered by a double caponier at the top of the work. It can be entered both from Wallstrasse and through a postern from the barracks . The throat ditch was not defended from covered positions, but from a bastion-like arsenal, which can also be accessed via a drawbridge. All guns fired "over the bank" (except for those of the trenches ) that is, they were not placed inside the building, but stood freely on the ramparts and were only covered by the parapets and cross-beams in between.

• Budget-based crew: 2 officers - 8 NCOs - 216 men
• Ammunition magazine capacity: 48 tons of black powder

in the cartridge chamber: 5324 bullets 138 mm and 2696 bullets 70 mm

• Bakery: no bakery
• Sanitary area with 20 beds
• Water supply:

a well and a cistern with a capacity of 142 m³

• Access via a drawbridge
• Optical connection: no traffic light station
• Telegraphic connection to the other forts

Modernizations according to budget

There were no modernization measures, only in 1893 the fort was connected to the network of the fortress railway (chemin de fer stratégique).

Armament

1879

On the ramparts	Trench defenses
5 × guns 155L - Canon de 155 mm L modèle 1877 (155 mm) 8 × guns 138 - Canon de 138 modèle 1873–74 (138 mm) 4 × cannons 12 - Canon 12 de culasse modèle 1884 2 × mortars Mortier lisse de 32 (320 mm)	6 × howitzers 16 - obusiers lisses de 16 (160 mm)

1882

On the ramparts	Trench defenses
5 × guns 155L - canon de 155 long modèle 1877 (155 mm) 8 × artillery 138 - canon de 138 modèle 1873–1874 (138 mm) 3 × field guns 8 - canon de 8 (8 pounders) 2 × mortars - Mortier lisse de 32 (320 mm)	6 × howitzers 16 - obusiers lisses de 16 (160 mm) 2 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879

1886

On the ramparts	Trench defenses
5 × guns 155L - canon de 155 long modèle 1877 (155 mm) 3 × guns 120L - Canon de 120 mm L modèle 1878 (120 mm) 2 × mortars - Mortier lisse de 32 (320 mm)	4 × howitzers 16 - obusiers lisses de 16 (160 mm) 2 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879

1906

On the ramparts	Trench defenses
2 × guns 155L - Canon de 155 long modèle 1877 (155 mm) 4 × field guns 90 - Canon de 90 mm modèle 1877 (90 mm) 2 × mortars - Mortier lisse de 27 (270 mm) 1 × mortar - Mortier lisse de 32 (320 mm)	2 × cannons 12 - Canon 12 de culasse modèle 1884 2 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879

1912

On the ramparts	Trench defenses
4 × cannons 120L - canon de 120 long modèle 1878 (120 mm) 4 × field guns 90 - Canon de 90 mm modèle 1877 (90 mm) 2 × mortars - Mortier lisse de 27 (270 mm) 1 × mortar - Mortier lisse de 32 (320 mm)	2 × cannons 12 - Canon 12 de culasse modèle 1884 2 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879

1914

On the ramparts	Trench defenses
2 × cannons 120L - canon de 120 long modèle 1878 (120 mm) 2 × mortars - Mortier lisse de 27 (270 mm) 1 × mortar - Mortier lisse de 32 (320 mm)	2 × cannons 12 - Canon 12 de culasse modèle 1884 2 × Canon revolver de 40 mm modèle 1879

War events

During the First World War and the Second World War , the fort was not involved in any combat operations. After 1940 the steel parts were removed by the German occupation and scrapped.

Current condition

The fort has been left to decay for many years and is in a poor structural condition. It is in the possession of the French army, entry is not permitted.

literature

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

Web links

Commons : Fort des Hautes Perches  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Fortiff 'sere (French)

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. ↑ with the note n ° 14980 from the same date
3. ↑ Gun emplacements
4. ↑ Earth walls between the gun positions to protect the cannons against cross fire and fragmentation
5. ↑ The original name "canon de revolver" is misleading, as it is a multi-barrel gun based on the Gatling system. This is also sometimes referred to in French as a mitrailleuse.

Coordinates: 47 ° 37 ′ 48 ″  N , 6 ° 52 ′ 40 ″  E