Ouvrage Berenbach
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Berenbach, also known as Ouvrage Behrenbach, is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line
. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay
, the ouvrage is located between gros ouvrage Anzeling
and petit ouvrage Bovenberg
, facing Germany
. The ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks and one observation block. Uniquely, the blocks are not connected by subterranean galleries, as is the case in virtually all other Maginot fortifications.
s and infantry shelters surround Berenbach, including
Berenbach played no significant role in either the Battle of France
in 1940 or the Lorraine Campaign
of 1944. After the Second World War it became part of the Mòle de Boulay, a strongpoint in the northeastern defenses against Soviet attack.
Berenbach remained under Army control until after 1971, when it was declassified and sold.
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,...
. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay
Fortified Sector of Boulay
The Fortified Sector of Boulay was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line to the north and east of Metz in northeastern France. The left wing of the Boulay sector was among the earliest and strongest portions of the Maginot Line...
, the ouvrage is located between gros ouvrage Anzeling
Ouvrage Anzeling
Ouvrage Anzeling is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay. It is located between petit ouvrage Bousse and petit ouvrage Berenbach, facing Germany just to the east of Bockange. With one of the longest main galleries of any Maginot position, it consists of two...
and petit ouvrage Bovenberg
Ouvrage Bovenberg
Ouvrage Bovenberg is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage is located between petits ouvrages Berenbach and Denting, facing Germany...
, facing Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks and one observation block. Uniquely, the blocks are not connected by subterranean galleries, as is the case in virtually all other Maginot fortifications.
Design and construction
The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency; Berenbach was approved for construction in August 1930. It was completed at a cost of 11 million francs by the contractor La Parisienne d'Enterprises. The petit ouvrage was planned as an annex to Anzeling.Description
Berenbach comprises three separate infantry blocks. Blocks 1 and 2 were planned for the deep underground gallery system to come in Phase 2. Since there was no central usine, each block has its own generating plant.- Block 1: infantry block with two automatic rifle cloches (GFM)GFM clocheThe 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 retractable twin machine gun turret, three automatic rifle embrasures, one twin machine gun embrasure and one machine gun/anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/AC47AC 47 anti-tank gunThe AC 47 was a French anti-tank gun of 47mm caliber. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930s; another version was created for naval use....
). The block has a shaft excavated to access the gallery system proposed for the second phase. Power provided by two 30 hp Renault generators. - Block 2: Infantry block with one GFM cloche, two automatic rifle embrasures, one twin machine gun embrasure and one JM/AC47 embrasure. The block has a shaft excavated to access the gallery system proposed for the second phase. Power provided by two 8 hp Renault generators.
- Block 3: infantry/observation block with one observation cloche (VDP)VDP clocheThe VDP cloche was an element of the Maginot Line fortifications. A cloche was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant. By comparison, turrets could be rotated and sometimes lowered so that only the top shell was exposed. VDP cloches...
, one GFM cloche and two automatic rifle embrasures. Power provided by two 8 hp Renault generators.
Casemates and shelters
In addition to the combat blocks, a series of detached 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:...
s and infantry shelters surround Berenbach, including
- Abri de Colming: Surface abri-casemate, a unique position in the Maginot Line, with two GFM cloches and with one JM/AC47 embrasure. The position was sited to control the defensive inundation of Gomelange that protected the low-lying area between Berenbach and Bovenberg.
- Abri de Gomelange: Surface abri with two GFM cloches.
Manning
The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Captain Ramaud comprised 97 men and 2 officers of the 162nd Fortress Infantry Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2. The Casernement de Bockange provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Berenbach and other positions in the area.History
- See Fortified Sector of BoulayFortified Sector of BoulayThe Fortified Sector of Boulay was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line to the north and east of Metz in northeastern France. The left wing of the Boulay sector was among the earliest and strongest portions of the Maginot Line...
for a broader discussion of the Boulay sector of the Maginot Line.
Berenbach played no significant role in either the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in 1940 or the Lorraine Campaign
Lorraine Campaign
Lorraine Campaign is a term used by U.S. Army historians to describe operations of the U.S. Third Army in Lorraine during World War II from September 1 through December 18, 1944. Official U.S. Army campaign names for this period and location are Northern France and Rhineland. The term was...
of 1944. After the Second World War it became part of the Mòle de Boulay, a strongpoint in the northeastern defenses against Soviet attack.
Berenbach remained under Army control until after 1971, when it was declassified and sold.
Current condition
The ouvrage has been stripped of much of its equipment and is in poor condition.See also
- List of all works on Maginot Line
- Siegfried LineSiegfried LineThe original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
- Atlantic WallAtlantic WallThe Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
- Czechoslovak border fortificationsCzechoslovak border fortificationsThe Czechoslovak government built a system of border fortifications from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany that later materialized in the German offensive plan called Fall Grün...