Ouvrage Molvange
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Molvange is a large work, or gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line
. The fortification complex faces the France
-Luxembourg
border from a height near Entrange
in the Moselle département. The complex, armed and occupied in 1935, is located on the heights of Entrange
, at an altitude of about 400 metres (1,312.3 ft). Molvange is flanked by the even larger Ouvrage Rochonvillers
to the west and smaller petit ouvrage Immerhof
to the east, part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville
. Molvange was not involved in significant combat during World War II
, but due to its size it was repaired and retained in service after the war. During the Cold War
Molvange's underground barracks and former ammunition magazine became a hardened military command center.
Molvange occupies the lip of a wooded height that runs roughly perpendicular to the fortified front, sloping steeply on the east side. Compared with Rochonvillers, its companion to the west, Molvange's entries are closer to the front. They were, however, linked to the rear via a 60 cm narrow-gauge railway, which continued through the ouvrage to the combat blocks.
In 1939 a plan was proposed to connect Molvange to Rochonvillers via an underground galley to the Abri du Bois d'Escherange, then to the Abri du Grand Lot, and on to Rochonvillers through the existing connection. The plan never came to fruition.
was armed with one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche.
Several other casemates and infantry shelters are located to the east of Molvange, including
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other. All were built by CORF
Peacetime quarters for the garrisons of Rochonvillers and Molvange were at the Camp d'Angevillers, just to the south of the Rochonvillers entries, near the town of Angevillers
. With the establishment of the CENTAG wartime headquarters at Rochonvillers, the French 125th Régiment d'Instruction des Transmissions and the 2nd Régiment du Génie occupied the camp, along with the 175th Signal Company and the 208th Signal Support Company of the US Army. US Air Force units occupied portions of Molvange, which housed the 4th Allied Tactical Air Force wartime headquarters. The camp was later occupied by the 40th Régiment de Transmissions stationed at the Jeanne d'Arc barracks in Thionville
and the Guyon-Gellin barracks in Hettange-Grande
, near the Ouvrage Immerhof
.
Molvange did not see significant action in the Battle of France
in 1940, nor in the Lorraine Campaign
of 1944. The Germans largely bypassed the area, advancing along the valley of the Meuse and Saar rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan. The garrison therefore remained in place and surrendered to the Germans following the Second Armistice at Compiègne of 22 June.
through Germany. The Maginot Line, while obsolete in terms of its armament, was viewed as a series of useful deeply-buried and self-sufficient shelters in an era of air power and nuclear weapons. A number of the larger ouvrages were selected to form defensive ensembles or môles around which a defense might be organized and controlled. In 1951 Molvange was planned to become part of the môle de Rochonvillers, in company with Rochonvillers and Bréhain
, and later Immerhof.
s in 1960, the Maginot fortifications began to be viewed as an expensive anachronism. Funding was provided for maintenance, but for little more. In 1960 the French Army initiated inquiries among the other French forces and among NATO members concerning the use of Maginot fortifications as storage depots or as command centers. In 1961, after discussions with the Americans and West Germans, Rochonvillers, Molvange and Soetrich
were placed at the disposal of NATO. Rochonviller's main M1 magazine, with its two entries and circulation loop crossed by five galleries, was made into a wartime command center for the 4th Allied Tactical Air Forces
at a cost of 320 million francs. Molvange functioned in this role until 1967, when France withdrew from NATO's integrated command structure. 4th ATAF's command center was relocated to Kindsbach
, Germany, close to Ramstein Air Base
, occupying the so-called "Kindsbach Cave" until 1987. The Molvange command center is still the responsibility of the 40th Communications Regiment, based in Thionville, but has been inactive since 1999.
In 1971 the names of the Maginot ouvrages were declassified by the French military. Molvange remains the property of the French military and access is forbidden to the public. The Abri du Zeiterholz has been restored and may be visited in summer months.
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 fortification complex faces the France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
border from a height near Entrange
Entrange
Entrange is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
in the Moselle département. The complex, armed and occupied in 1935, is located on the heights of Entrange
Entrange
Entrange is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
, at an altitude of about 400 metres (1,312.3 ft). Molvange is flanked by the even larger Ouvrage Rochonvillers
Ouvrage Rochonvillers
Ouvrage Rochonvillers is one of the largest of the Maginot Line fortifications. Located above the town of Rochonvillers in the French region of Lorraine, the gros ouvrage or large work was fully equipped and occupied in 1935 as part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville in the Moselle...
to the west and smaller petit ouvrage Immerhof
Ouvrage Immerhof
Ouvrage Immerhof, also known as Ouvrage Ferme-Immerhof, is one of the largest petit ouvrages of the Maginot Line of northeast France. Located near the community of Hettange-Grande, it is 7 km north of Thionville between the gros ouvrages of Molvange and Soetrich, the closest ouvrage to the...
to the east, part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville
Fortified Sector of Thionville
The Fortified Sector of Thionville was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line immediately to the north of Thionville. The sector describes an arc of about , about halfway between the French border with Luxembourg and Thionville. The Thionville...
. Molvange was not involved in significant combat during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but due to its size it was repaired and retained in service after the war. During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
Molvange's underground barracks and former ammunition magazine became a hardened military command center.
Design and construction
The Molvange site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1930. Work by the contractor, Quintin & Lesprit, began the same year, and the position became operational in 1935, at a cost of 106 million francs.Molvange occupies the lip of a wooded height that runs roughly perpendicular to the fortified front, sloping steeply on the east side. Compared with Rochonvillers, its companion to the west, Molvange's entries are closer to the front. They were, however, linked to the rear via a 60 cm narrow-gauge railway, which continued through the ouvrage to the combat blocks.
Description
The ouvrage includes two entries and nine combat blocks. As a large ouvrage, Molvange has an "M1" ammunition magazine near the entries, in the vicinity of Block 10. The underground barracks are farther out the main gallery on the other side of Block 10. These spacious subterranean facilities would become useful as command centers after the war. The main gallery extends 1750 metres (5,741.5 ft) out to Block 1, at an average depth of 30 metres (98.4 ft). All blocks are within a security zone and are not accessible to the public.- Ammunition entry: an incline, 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 machine gun/47 mm anti-tank gunAC 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....
embrasure (JM/AC47). - Personnel entry: a shaft, one GFM cloche, one JM/AC47 embrasure and onemachine gun embrasure.
- Block 1: Observation block with one GFM cloche, one periscope 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...
and one machine gun cloche (JM)JM clocheThe JM cloche is an element of the Maginot Line. It is a non-retractable non-rotating cupola of steel alloy like GFM cloches, but are armed with twin heavy machine guns, as opposed to the lighter automatic rifles associated with the GFM. There are 179 JM cloches on the Maginot Line.JM is an acronym...
. - Block 2: Infantry block with machine gun turret and two GFM cloches.
- Block 3: Artillery block with one 81 mm mortar turret, one GFM cloche and one grenade launcher cloche.
- Block 4: Artillery block with one 135 mm gun turret and one GFM cloche.
- Block 5: Artillery block with one 75 mm gun turret. The turret was removed and taken to Ouvrage FermontOuvrage FermontOuvrage Fermont is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes in northeastern France, near the community of Montigny-sur-Chiers. It is located near the commune of Montigny-sur-Chiers, between the petit ouvrage Ferme Chappy and the gros ouvrage Latiremont...
's museum. - Block 6: Infantry block with one machine gun turret, one GFM cloche and one JM cloche.
- Block 7: Infantry block with one GFM cloche and one VDP cloche. A modern communications tower formerly occupied the site, removed by 2006.
- Block 8: Artillery block with 75 mm gun turret and two GFM cloches.
- Block 10: Artillery block with one 75 mm gun turret, one GFM cloche and one grenade launcher cloche (LG)LG clocheThe LG cloche was a defensive element common to many Maginot Line ouvrages. The fixed cupola was deeply embedded into the concrete on top of a combat block, with only the top surface visible. The opening permitted the ejection of grenades from the interior of the cloche, providing a means of...
.
In 1939 a plan was proposed to connect Molvange to Rochonvillers via an underground galley to the Abri du Bois d'Escherange, then to the Abri du Grand Lot, and on to Rochonvillers through the existing connection. The plan never came to fruition.
Casemates and shelters
The Abri du Petersberg is nearby in the direction of Rochonvillers 49°24′39.44"N 06°04′58.03"E, just to the west of Block 8. The infantry shelter (or abri) was armed with one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche. The Casemate d'Entrange is located at the bottom of the slope to the east of Block 1 49°25′06.97"N 06°05′59.74"E. 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:...
was armed with one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche.
Several other casemates and infantry shelters are located to the east of Molvange, including
- Casemate du Bois-de-Kanfen Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and one GFM cloche.
- Casemate du Bois-de-Kanfen Est: Single block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and one GFM cloche.
- Abri du Bois-de-Kanfen: Single surface shelter for two infantry sections, with two GFM cloches.
- Abri du Zeiterholz: Shelter for two infantry sections, two GFM cloches. The abri has been restored and may be visited.
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other. All were built by CORF
Manning
The manning of the ouvrage in 1940 comprised 711 men and 24 officers of the 169th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 151st Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2.Peacetime quarters for the garrisons of Rochonvillers and Molvange were at the Camp d'Angevillers, just to the south of the Rochonvillers entries, near the town of Angevillers
Angevillers
Angevillers is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department*Ouvrage Rochonvillers, a Maginot Line fortification that was used as the NATO Central Army Group war headquarters in the 1960s, accessed from the Camp de...
. With the establishment of the CENTAG wartime headquarters at Rochonvillers, the French 125th Régiment d'Instruction des Transmissions and the 2nd Régiment du Génie occupied the camp, along with the 175th Signal Company and the 208th Signal Support Company of the US Army. US Air Force units occupied portions of Molvange, which housed the 4th Allied Tactical Air Force wartime headquarters. The camp was later occupied by the 40th Régiment de Transmissions stationed at the Jeanne d'Arc barracks in Thionville
Thionville
Thionville , is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.-Demographics:...
and the Guyon-Gellin barracks in Hettange-Grande
Hettange-Grande
Hettange-Grande is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-Geography:Hettange-Grande is located close to the borders between France, Germany, and Luxembourg.-History:...
, near the Ouvrage Immerhof
Ouvrage Immerhof
Ouvrage Immerhof, also known as Ouvrage Ferme-Immerhof, is one of the largest petit ouvrages of the Maginot Line of northeast France. Located near the community of Hettange-Grande, it is 7 km north of Thionville between the gros ouvrages of Molvange and Soetrich, the closest ouvrage to the...
.
History
- See Fortified Sector of ThionvilleFortified Sector of ThionvilleThe Fortified Sector of Thionville was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line immediately to the north of Thionville. The sector describes an arc of about , about halfway between the French border with Luxembourg and Thionville. The Thionville...
for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Thionville sector of the Maginot Line.
Molvange did not see significant action in 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, nor in 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. The Germans largely bypassed the area, advancing along the valley of the Meuse and Saar rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan. The garrison therefore remained in place and surrendered to the Germans following the Second Armistice at Compiègne of 22 June.
Renovation
In the 1950s the French government became concerned about a possible invasion by the Warsaw PactWarsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
through Germany. The Maginot Line, while obsolete in terms of its armament, was viewed as a series of useful deeply-buried and self-sufficient shelters in an era of air power and nuclear weapons. A number of the larger ouvrages were selected to form defensive ensembles or môles around which a defense might be organized and controlled. In 1951 Molvange was planned to become part of the môle de Rochonvillers, in company with Rochonvillers and Bréhain
Ouvrage Brehain
Ouvrage Bréhain is part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Bréhain-la-Ville in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département of France. Bréhain is flanked by petits ouvrages Mauvais Bois and Aumetz. The gros ouvrage was equipped with long-range...
, and later Immerhof.
NATO command center
With France's acquisition of nuclear weaponNuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s in 1960, the Maginot fortifications began to be viewed as an expensive anachronism. Funding was provided for maintenance, but for little more. In 1960 the French Army initiated inquiries among the other French forces and among NATO members concerning the use of Maginot fortifications as storage depots or as command centers. In 1961, after discussions with the Americans and West Germans, Rochonvillers, Molvange and Soetrich
Ouvrage Soetrich
Ouvrage Soetrich is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line in northeastern France. Soetrich is located between petits ouvrages Immerhof and Bois Karre, facing the France-Luxembourg border near the town of Hettange-Grande, part of the Fortified Sector of Thionville...
were placed at the disposal of NATO. Rochonviller's main M1 magazine, with its two entries and circulation loop crossed by five galleries, was made into a wartime command center for the 4th Allied Tactical Air Forces
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was the headquarters for NATO air forces in Central Europe from 1951 to 1967 and from 1974 to 1993.-History:It was first based at Fontainebleau , and originally activated in April 1951...
at a cost of 320 million francs. Molvange functioned in this role until 1967, when France withdrew from NATO's integrated command structure. 4th ATAF's command center was relocated to Kindsbach
Kindsbach
Kindsbach is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
, Germany, close to Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation...
, occupying the so-called "Kindsbach Cave" until 1987. The Molvange command center is still the responsibility of the 40th Communications Regiment, based in Thionville, but has been inactive since 1999.
In 1971 the names of the Maginot ouvrages were declassified by the French military. Molvange remains the property of the French military and access is forbidden to the public. The Abri du Zeiterholz has been restored and may be visited in summer months.
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...
External links
- Abri du Zeiterholz
- - Le Gros Ouvrage de Molvange (A9)
- Molvange at darkplaces.org