Ouvrage du Janus
The Ouvrage du Janus is a fortress belonging to the French Maginot Line . It is located at 2450 meters sea level, not far northeast of the 2,565 meter high Sommet de Château Jouan , a summit of the Cottian Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes ( Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ).
etymology
The fortress ( French ouvrage ) with number O 354 is named after Mont Janus , an alternative name for the Sommet de Château Jouan.
geography
The fortress is located in the municipality of Montgenèvre , to Briançon in the west it is 5.2 kilometers. The Sommet de Château Jouan dominates the left-hand upper reaches of the Durance and the access to the Col de Montgenèvre with the state border with Italy .
geology
The north-east trending mountain range of the Sommet de Château Jouan is underlain in its rocky upper structure by the Upper Triassic Dolomites of the Norium . The dolomites resemble the main dolomite of the Eastern and Southern Alps and have been deposited on a subsidiary platform in an infra-, inter- and supratidal environment. Tectonically, they belong to the Rochebrune unit from the external Piedmont zone of the Penninic .
introduction
Fortresses positioned along the state border in the Alps block access to French territory . In particular, they seal off the main traffic axes that all follow the great valleys. In Briançonnais, the upper reaches of the Durance forms the gateway to the Col de Montgenèvre. This traffic axis is controlled by the old fortified town of Briançon. Its former fortress ring was modernized in the 1930s with several concrete structures and brought up to the level of the rest of the Maginot line. The highlight of the Briançon sub-sector was the Ouvrage du Janus above the city. At this artillery position to further the lined Ouvrage du Gondran with five line items and further to the southeast that the Aittes Ouvrage with control over the valley of Cerveyrette .
description
Fort Janus was designed as a large artillery position. Its altitude - it was the second highest structure within the Maginot Line - enabled effective fire protection for the lower-lying fortifications that defended the Col de Montgenèvre. The fort was built to the side and below the already existing fortress of the Système Séré de Rivières and incorporated its gun emplacements.
Like all other fortresses of the CORF ( Commission d'organization des régions fortifiées - Commission for the Organization of Fortified Areas), Fort Janus had barracks, a kitchen, latrines, a first aid station, fresh water tank, ammunition, fuel and food storage. The current was derived from commercial power, but three were for a possible power failure, power generators provided, the generators of diesel engines of the type CLM 408 were driven. The 100 hp motors ran at 750 revolutions per minute and were water-cooled.
Battle post
In total, the Fort Janus consisted of eight battle posts or blocks ( French bloc ).
The entrance to battle post 1 was combined and enabled both the access of the crew and the delivery of supplies. By means of an embrasure , which was designed for twin machine guns, he participated in the total fire rate of the fort. An armored bell (GFM bell) was also provided for close combat, including a further MG embrasure and a grenade launcher opening . The central defense was ensured by three machine gun loopholes, supplemented by three machine gun loopholes embedded in steel doors.
Battle post 2 was a casemate that could fire north and towards the road to Montgenévre. Two of their notches were designed for mortars of caliber 81 millimeters, two notches for twin machine guns and two notches for simple machine guns. The post had an emergency exit.
Battle post 3 was an artillery casemate facing north and towards the Clarée valley . It was equipped with two mortar notches (caliber 75 millimeters from 1931). The Fossé diamant (a trench depression in front of the casemate), into which an emergency exit led, was defended by a grenade launcher opening.
The fort's main observation bunker was battle post 4. It sat on a side spur northeast of the main summit and was equipped with two armored bells (a GFM bell and a VDP bell).
Battle post 5 was a pure observation bunker, which had only one observation slit facing north. Battle post 6 was an infantry casemate, which was also used for observation purposes. Their equipment consisted of a slot for twin machine guns, a southeast facing observation slot and two grenade launcher openings.
Battle post 7 was incorporated into the rock face and had a slot for twin machine guns. Its function was to flank the road to Montgenévre.
Finally, battle post 8 was a battery in the rock below the old Fort Janus. It was built during the modernization of the fort between 1898 and 1906 and was then added to the other battle posts. Its four notches pointed south and in the direction of Ouvrage du Gondran, each equipped with a 95-millimeter navy cannon. The dispositive was completed by an observation slit.
building-costs
The fort, classified as a third-class fortress, cost a total (without ammunition) of 10.316 million francs (currency status according to December 1936). The construction costs alone amounted to 7.923 million francs, the interior fittings 0.673 million francs. The power supply including connections amounted to 0.518 million francs. The armoring was estimated at 0.729 million francs. 0.473 million francs were spent on armament and optics. The building site was state property.
history
The strategic importance of Mont Janus had been known for a long time; an observation tower had already been built on the mountain towards the end of the 18th century. After the artillery had made enormous advances, a hundred years later in 1883 an uncovered battery position of the Séré de Rivière type was created. A separate road had to be built from the Crête du Gondran to transport the guns . Between 1886 and 1889 a square block house with two bastions was built. From 1889 a battery aimed at the border was cut out of the rock and equipped with four 95 millimeter cannons. Two more floors were then added to the log house between 1891 and 1892, so that a three-story barracks with an underground water reservoir for a workforce of 120 was created. Between 1898 and 1906, the actual combat shelter was built under this barracks, which could be entered from above via a staircase and from the south through a low door. All superstructures were protected by an infantry fence in which a portal was left open as the main entrance.
Construction of the actual battle post of the fort began on June 1, 1931. In July 1935, construction work was interrupted due to the Italian-French rapprochement ( Stresa Agreement ), but suddenly resumed in 1938 after Italy had definitely allied itself with Germany.
Shortly before the French mobilization, the fort was manned for the first time in August 1939. The regiments responsible were the 72 BAF ( Bataillon alpin de forteresse ) and 154 RAP ( Regiment d'artillerie de position ). On August 27, 1939, the crew consisted of 9 officers; on August 29, it consisted of 10 officers, 33 NCOs and 231 ranks. On June 11, 1940 there were 9 officers, 35 non-commissioned officers and 210 crew ranks. The fortress was commanded by the squadron commanders Lefaure and later Mandrillon. Between November 1939 and May 1940 it was abandoned due to the winter, with a small part of the workforce being relocated to Gondran A or Fort Randouillet .
On June 21, 1940, during the battle in the Western Alps (1940), the Italian artillery positions on Mont Chaberton were as good as rendered harmless. The observation posts in Fort Janus had directed the fire of the heavy French artillery, which was firing at the Italian positions from the hamlet of Poët-Morand , which is near the Fort de l'Infernet . In order to increase the firepower of Fort Janus, the 75 millimeter mortars were maneuvered directly into the doorway using Decauville wagons.
After the fortress was abandoned by the army at the end of the war, it became the property of the municipality of Montgenèvre.
literature
- Franck Marquilie: Le fort du Janus, aboutissement de 250 ans de fortification dans le Briançonnais . Éditions Atelier Rankki, 2012, ISBN 978-2-9544873-0-4 , p. 200 .
- Jean-Yves Mary, Alain Hohnadel, Jacques Sicard and François Vauviller (illustrations by Pierre-Albert Leroux): Hommes et ouvrages de la ligne Maginot . t. 4. Editions Histoire & collections, coll. "L'Encyclopédie de l'Armée française" (no 2), Paris 2009, ISBN 978-2-915239-46-1 , pp. 182 .
Web links
Coordinates: 44 ° 54 ′ 41 ″ N , 6 ° 42 ′ 38 ″ E