Ouvrage Welschhof
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Welschhof is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line
, located near Rohrbach-lès-Bitche
in the Moselle department of northeastern France
. Located in the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
, the ouvrage consists of three infantry blocks, and is located between petit ouvrage Haut-Poirier
and gros ouvrage Simserhof
, facing Germany
. Welschhof was attacked by German forces during the Battle of France
on 21 June 1940 and was forced to surrender after a heavy artillery bombardment. It was re-equipped after the war, but was abandoned in the 1970s.
s and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Welschof, including
's 262nd Infantry Division attacked Welschof and was stopped by fire from the 75 mm gun turret at Simserhof
. The observers at Welschof spotted counter-battery fire for Ouvrage Haut-Poirier
against a German 150 mm gun.
During the night of 21-22 June, Haut-Poirier and Casemates Wittring, Grand-Bois and Nord-Est d'Achen surrendered to the Germans. During the morning of 22 June the Germans assembled a battery of light artillery to attack Welschhof, which was no longer covered by the positions to the west. The 75 mm turret at Simserhof fired in support of the Welschhof block. The Germans moved two 150 mm guns from the entrance to Simserhof and began to attack Block 1 at Welschof and Casemate Ouest de Singling. 111 150mm rounds were fired at the façade of Block 1, breaching it, but the covering fire from Simserhof Block 5 continued to prevent the Germans from attacking the top of the block. On the morning of 24 June the tide turned and Simmerhof, at the limit of its range, could no longer fire on the top of Welschhof. Having learned of the fall of the Casemate de Bining, which protected Welschhof's flank, Captain Lhuisset decided to surrender at 10:00.
. Welschof and its neighbors were designated the môle de Bitche, a fortified strongpoint. After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force
, the importance of the Line declined.Welschof was among the first positions to be deactivated in 1970.
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 near Rohrbach-lès-Bitche
Rohrbach-lès-Bitche
Rohrbach-lès-Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The village is part of the Pays de Bitche and of the Moselle-est basin.-Géographie:...
in the Moselle department of northeastern 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...
. Located in the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
Fortified Sector of Rohrbach
The Fortified Sector of Rohrbach was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the vicinity of Bitche. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector of the Sarre and to the east by the Fortified Sector of the Vosges...
, the ouvrage consists of three infantry blocks, and is located between petit ouvrage Haut-Poirier
Ouvrage Haut-Poirier
Ouvrage Haut-Poirier is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry and three infantry blocks, and is located between the Saare valley and petit ouvrage Welschhof, facing Germany. It is the only ouvrage in the Fortified Sector of the Sarre, the remainder of the area being...
and gros ouvrage Simserhof
Ouvrage Simserhof
Ouvrage Simserhof is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Sierstal in the French département of Moselle. Simserhof is adjoined by petit ouvrage Rohrbach and gros ouvrage Schiesseck, and faces the German frontier. Located 4 km to the west of Bitche, the ouvrage...
, 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...
. Welschhof was attacked by German forces during 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...
on 21 June 1940 and was forced to surrender after a heavy artillery bombardment. It was re-equipped after the war, but was abandoned in the 1970s.
Design and construction
The Rohrbach sector was built somewhat later than its neighbors to the east and west, and in company with positions on the extreme western end of the Maginot Line, became one of the "New Fronts." The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, and was approved for construction in February 1934. The petit ouvrage was to be expanded in a second phase with an 81mm mortar turret and a separate entrance block several hundred meters to the rear, behind the Welschof farm for which the ouvrage was named.Description
Welschof comprises three combat blocks. The blocks are linked by an underground gallery system containing baracks spaces, ammunition storage and utility services. The galleries are excavated at an average depth of up to 30 metres (98.4 ft). The majority of the service areas, barracks and magazines are located in the area of Block 1.- Block 1: Infantry/entrance block, combined with the entry, with one machine gun (JM)/47mm 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), one machine gun embrasure (JM) and one mixed-arms embrasure (unique in the Line). The block is surmounted by a mixed arms cloche (AM)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...
and two automatic rifle cloches (GFM-B)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...
. - Block 2: Submerged (in the ground) block with a retractable mixed-arms turret and a Type B GFM cloche.
- Block 3: Infantry block opposite Block 1, with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, two GFM cloches (Type B) and one AM cloche. The usine used two 85 hp SNIM engines.
Casemates and shelters
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 are in the vicinity of Welschof, including
- Casemate de l'Ouest de Singling: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, one twin machine gun embrasures, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches.
- Casemate de Nord-Ouest de Singling Gauche: SIngle block with one JM/AC47 embrasure and one twin machine gun embrasure with a caponierCaponierA caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" - which strictly means capon-cote i.e. chickenhouse.The fire coming from the feature A caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" -...
facing Singling Driote armed with one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM-B cloche. - Casemate de Nord-Ouest de Singling Droite: Single block with one JM embrasure, two AM cloches and one GFM-B cloche.
- Casemate de Bining: Double block with twoJM/AC47 embrasures, one twin machine gun embrasure, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches.
Manning
In 1939 the garrison comprised 158 men and three officers of the 166th Fortress Infantry Regiment under the command of Captain Lhuisset. The units were under the umbrella of the 4th Army, Army Group 2. The Casernement de Bining provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Welschof and other positions in the area.History
- See Fortified Sector of RohrbachFortified Sector of RohrbachThe Fortified Sector of Rohrbach was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the vicinity of Bitche. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector of the Sarre and to the east by the Fortified Sector of the Vosges...
for a broader discussion of the Rohrbach sector of the Maginot Line.
1940
On 21 June 1940 the WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
's 262nd Infantry Division attacked Welschof and was stopped by fire from the 75 mm gun turret at Simserhof
Ouvrage Simserhof
Ouvrage Simserhof is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located near the community of Sierstal in the French département of Moselle. Simserhof is adjoined by petit ouvrage Rohrbach and gros ouvrage Schiesseck, and faces the German frontier. Located 4 km to the west of Bitche, the ouvrage...
. The observers at Welschof spotted counter-battery fire for Ouvrage Haut-Poirier
Ouvrage Haut-Poirier
Ouvrage Haut-Poirier is a lesser work of the Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry and three infantry blocks, and is located between the Saare valley and petit ouvrage Welschhof, facing Germany. It is the only ouvrage in the Fortified Sector of the Sarre, the remainder of the area being...
against a German 150 mm gun.
During the night of 21-22 June, Haut-Poirier and Casemates Wittring, Grand-Bois and Nord-Est d'Achen surrendered to the Germans. During the morning of 22 June the Germans assembled a battery of light artillery to attack Welschhof, which was no longer covered by the positions to the west. The 75 mm turret at Simserhof fired in support of the Welschhof block. The Germans moved two 150 mm guns from the entrance to Simserhof and began to attack Block 1 at Welschof and Casemate Ouest de Singling. 111 150mm rounds were fired at the façade of Block 1, breaching it, but the covering fire from Simserhof Block 5 continued to prevent the Germans from attacking the top of the block. On the morning of 24 June the tide turned and Simmerhof, at the limit of its range, could no longer fire on the top of Welschhof. Having learned of the fall of the Casemate de Bining, which protected Welschhof's flank, Captain Lhuisset decided to surrender at 10:00.
1945
American forces reached the area at the very end of 1944, with the U.S. 397th Infantry Regiment taking up positions around Welschof, with no resistance from the ouvrage, which was not occupied by the Germans.Post-War
By 1951 work was proceeding on renovation of many of the northeastern ouvrages, including Welschoft, with the aim of restoring their combat capability to block a potential advance 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...
. Welschof and its neighbors were designated the môle de Bitche, a fortified strongpoint. After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force
France and weapons of mass destruction
France is known to have an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. France is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; but is not known to possess or develop any chemical or biological weapons. France was the fourth country to test an independently...
, the importance of the Line declined.Welschof was among the first positions to be deactivated in 1970.
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...