Ouvrage Michelsberg
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Michelsberg A 22 | ||
| Type: | Artillery plant | |
| Fortress section: | Boulay | |
| Crew: | 495 men of the 164th RIF a. 153rd RAP including 20 officers | |
| Commander: | Major Pelletier | |
| construction | ||
| Entrance: | 1x combined block for teams and ammunition (at ground level) | |
| Combat blocks: | 3 × artillery, 2 × infantry | |
| Power supply: | 4 × SGCM units with 125 HP each | |
| Ammunition and armament | ||
| The ammunition was delivered by truck. An electric factory railway is installed inside. The system was designed for an ammunition consumption of approx. 100 t per day of major combat . | ||
| Ammunition storage: | Only secondary ammunition storage right next to the artillery blocks. | |
| Block 1: | 1 × machine gun turret, 1 × GFM bell, 1 × JM bell | |
| Block 2: | 1 x 4.7 cm PAK / JM, 1 x JM, 2 x GFM bells | |
| Block 3: | 1 × 8.1 cm tower, 2 × GFM bells | |
| Block 4: | not realized | |
| Block 5: | 1 × 7.5 cm tower (Mod. 33), 1 × GFM bell | |
| Block 6: | 1 × 13.5 cm tower, 1 × GFM bell, 1 × LG bell, 1 × emergency exit bell | |
| Mixing input: | 1 x 4.7 cm PAK / 1 x JM, 2 x GFM bells | |
The Gros Ouvrage du Michelsberg (factory number A22) is located between the villages of Dalstein and Ébersviller ( Moselle department ) and is one of the four large fortresses of the Maginot line of the Boulay fortress section. It was supported in combat by the Gros Ouvrage Mont des Welsches and the Petit Ouvrage Hobling .
Structure of the plant
The plant (fortress construction) was built according to the standards of the Commission d'Organisations des Regions Fortifiés (CORF). It consists of five combat blocks, six of which were originally planned, and an entrance that was used for the delivery of ammunition and as a crew entrance.
entrance
- Combined crew and ammunition entrance (ground level entrance)
- a slot for twin machine guns
- a 47 mm anti-tank gun (Pak)
- two GFM domes (observation and machine-gun domes)
power plant
- four SGCM with 125 HP each
Combat blocks
- Block 1: Infantry block with a machine gun turret, a GFM cupola and a twin MG cupola (JM)
- Block 2: Infantry block with a notch for a twin machine-gun and a 47 mm anti-tank cannon (JM / AC47), a twin machine-gun notch (JM) and two GFM domes
- Block 3: Artillery block with an 81 mm combat turret and two GFM domes
- Block 4: not built
- Block 5: Artillery block with a 75 mm combat turret (Mod. 33) and a GFM dome
- Block 6: Artillery block with a 135 mm combat turret, a GFM dome, a grenade launcher dome (LG) and a dome with an emergency exit (unique in the entire Maginot Line)
particularities
The artillery plant has some structural features. The emergency exit of the Ouvrage is in an artillery block . A separate entrance for ammunition and crew, as planned by the CORF, is missing. So there is only one entrance. The main ammunition depot M1 was not built and there is an observation block for artillery observation, as the plant did not have its own observation bunker (observator).
history
The plant was built between 1930 and 1935. However, once it was completed, it was not immediately manned by soldiers, but rather, similar to the neighboring plants, only started up with a group of around 30 pioneers. The team from the Michelsberg plant was housed in the Ising barracks with comrades from the Hobling plant and the soldiers from the casemates and shelters in the area.
From August 1939 the plant was in a state of alarm and the crew was billeted at the Michelsberg plant even before the declaration of war on September 3, 1939.
In June 1940 the team consisted of 20 officers, 495 NCOs and soldiers, who were under the command of the Major (plant commander) Pelletier. The crew belonged to the 164th RIF (Fortress Infantry Regiment), 153rd RAP (Artillery Regiment).
Fighting
Since June 13, 1940, when the Maginot Line around the Michelsberg artillery plant was completely enclosed by German troops, the plant repeatedly participated in fire strikes on enemy patrols combined with neighboring plants. Colonel Beisswänger, the commander of the 195 artillery regiment, received the order on June 22nd to carry out a decisive blow against the Mont des Welsches and Michelsberg plants. From 7:30 a.m. both of these fortifications were under fire. The advantages in the battle that followed were clearly with the French fortress garrisons. They were very familiar with the area around the facilities. The positions of their fortress guns, which were very numerous in this sector of the Maginot Line, were designed so that there were practically no blind spots. As a rule, only one clear target identification was required in order to be able to fight enemy vehicles, artillery or infantry immediately and successfully. At around 4 p.m., the Germans managed to position an 8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun against the Michelsberg artillery plant. In a short time the gun scored more than 200 hits on Block 2 and Block 3. The outer walls of the casemate and the armored bells of Block 3 were already showing serious damage, and two observers were injured when the French finally determined the exact position of the battery in the forest could make out of sound. Two salvos from the 13.5 cm howitzer destroyed the German gun. At 5:30 p.m., the observation posts reported three German parliamentarians who were approaching Michelsberg and demanding the task, which the plant commander Pelletier vigorously rejected. No further fighting then took place until the unconditional surrender of all works on the Maginot Line to the right of the Moselle on June 30th.
society
The association Association Ouvrage du Michelsberg -22 was founded. June 1940- in 1993. Since then, the members have been taking care of the maintenance and restoration of the Michelsberg Fortress. At the beginning of the work, the work was in very poor condition. Years of mushroom cultivation and vandalism destroyed large parts of the complex. After the factory had been thoroughly cleaned, the factory's power supply was restored. The plant was opened to the public in 1996 and now opens its doors regularly.
sightseeing
The entrance area with the defense system and the air supply, the power station with the diesel engines, various workrooms and the locomotive shed, the spacious barracks area, the kitchen rooms as well as the fire control station and combat block 5 with a 265 ton rotating tower are shown.
Pictures from the museum
Usine / power plant
Substation
The kitchen in Michelsberg
Filter system in Michelsberg
Tunnel branching in Michelsberg
75mm double cannon, Ouvrage du Michelsberg
Detail from the 75mm tower, block 5
Gallery of the fighting blocks
a filter
Elevator shaft to block 5
Retractable tower
See also
List of ouvrages of the Maginot Line , Maginot Line
literature
- Alain Hohnadel: Le Fort du Hackenberg . Veckring 1992 (on the combat operations section).
- Jean-Yves Mary: Hommes Et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot . Paris 2001, ISBN 2-908182-88-2 .
- Libor Vítěz: Glory and Fall of the Maginot Line . Unchanged reprint, Emmelshausen 2005, ISBN 3-936946-16-7 .
- Jean Bernhard Wahl: The Maginot Line. Then and now . Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-8132-0685-8 .
Web links
- Pictures and information about the Michelsberg plant - German and English
- Deep Darkness - More pictures from the museum
- A22 - The Michelsberg artillery plant
swell
Coordinates: 49 ° 18 ′ 1.4 " N , 6 ° 24 ′ 40.4" E