Casemate de Rountzenheim Sud
Encyclopedia
- See Fortified Sector of HaguenauFortified Sector of HaguenauThe Fortified Sector of Haguenau was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the most easterly section of the Maginot Line, to the north of Strasbourg...
for a broader discussion of the Haguenau sector of the Maginot Line.
The Casemate de Rountzenheim Sud is an interval infantry casemate of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
. The casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
is in the town of Rœschwoog in France, behind the campsite, to the south of the railway.
Description
The casemateCasemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
is a simple flanking one, meaning that it has just only one firing chamber which is directed towards the north. It has an underground gallery connecting to its neighbor, the Casemate de Rountzenheim Nord
Casemate de Rountzenheim Nord
The Casemate de Rountzenheim Nord is a casemate of interval infantry of the Maginot Line. The casemate is in the town of Rœschwoog in France, behind the camping site, in the north of the railway.-Description:...
. It was built in 1932 to accommodate 15 troops, a warrant officer and an officer. Its dimensions are: 19 by 14 meters, for 7.5 meters height. The concrete top measures 2 meters thickness and the external walls 2.25 meters for the exposed walls and 1 meter for the back walls.
The interior is organized on only one level, with:
- An entrance corridor
- A rest room
- A firing chamber
- A latrines
- An access shaft to the underground gallery
- A water reserve
Armament
For its close defense, the casemate has two light machine guns of 7.5 mm and a GFM clocheGFM cloche
The GFM cloche was one of the most common defensive armaments on the Maginot Line. A cloche was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant...
. One machine gun protects the entrance door, and the other is at the embrasure of the firing chamber and the diamant ditch.
In the firing chamber are two twin 7.5mm machine guns, one of them may be replaced by a 37mm anti-tank gun
AC 37 anti-tank gun
The AC 37 was a French anti-tank gun of 37mm caliber, developed by the Ateliers de Puteaux. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930's...
.
A 50mm mortar could be fitted to GFM cloche.