|
Mougin Turret
The Mougin turret is a land-based revolving gun turret that housed some of the heaviest armament in French fortifications of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While not reliably resistant to the explosive shells of opposing artillery, Mougin turrets remained active through 1940, when they engaged German and Italian forces during the Battle of France and the Italian invasion of France. The turrets were used at twenty-two forts of the Séré de Rivières system built in the 1870s. The Mougin turret was named for its designer, Commandant Mougin, who developed the first turret in 1875. The turret consists of two 155mm guns under a bowl-shaped armor shield, sunk into the ground and surrounded by a thick concrete apron that protected the multi-level traverse and loading facilities below. The turret is distinguished from naval turrets by the absence of protruding barrels. Two oval ports show just the muzzles of the guns. By contrast with naval practice, in which guns pivot in elev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Giromagny
Fort de Giromagny, also known as Fort Dorsner, was built near Belfort in northeastern France between 1875 and 1879. The fort forms the southern end of the defensive curtain of the Haute Moselle Region, abutting the fortified region of Belfort, which lies to its south. The Haute Moselle defenses form a link between the fortified encampments of Épinal and Belfort. The fort overlooks the main roads to the northeast of Belfort, which form a crossroads at Giromagny. The fort was built as part of France's Séré de Rivières system of fortifications to defend France against a recurrence of the Prussian invasion of the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War. The fort was among the most strongly armed forts in the northeast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It received the first rotating armored turrets to be installed in a land fortification in France. The fort's official name, Fort Dorsner, commemorates General Jean Philippe Raymond Dorsner, who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Joux
The Fort de Joux or Château de Joux is a castle, later transformed into a fort, located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux in the Doubs department in the Jura mountains of France. It commands the mountain pass ''Cluse de Pontarlier''. History The Château de Joux has undergone several transformations. The original structure was built in the 11th century and was made of wood. Over the next century, the lords of Joux rebuilt the keep and the external fortifications out of stone. In 1454, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, bought the château and transformed it into a border fort, adding a moat and barracks. The château then passed to Charles the Bold, Mary of Burgundy, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (Habsburgs), Margaret of Austria, and Charles Quint, with each successive owner making further improvements. Its most famous remodeler was Vauban, who modernised it between 1678 and 1693. It was finally annexed by France in 1678 under Louis XIV. The Austrians captured the château in 1814. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Condé-sur-Aisne
The Fort de Condé, or Fort Pille, is a fortification of the Séré de Rivières system, built in France between 1877 and 1883 to defend the area between Soissons and Laon. It is located on the heights of the confluence of the Aisne and the Vesle near the communes of Condé-sur-Aisne and Chivres-Val. Although the fort was considered obsolete at the start of World War I, its command of strategic ground made it a coveted objective throughout the war, changing hands several times. Following the war it was used in support service before its abandonment and purchase by a local community. It has been under preservation since 1979 and may be visited. Military function The Fort de Condé comprised part of the outermost defenses fortifications that denied access to Paris for an invading force, one of several similar forts in the vicinity of Laon. These forts were constructed in response to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, in which France lost its eastern provinces to Germany, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Du Mont Bart
Fort du Mont Bart is located to the south of Montbéliard, France. It was built between November 1874 and July 1877 as part of the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications. The fort overlooks the valleys of the Doubs and the Allan at an elevation of , standing to the south and rear of the fortified region of Belfort and in control of the road to Besançon. The fort was intended to augment the Belfort fortifications and to prevent an enemy from bypassing them. The most striking feature of the Fort du Mont Bart is its "interior street", originally constructed in the open air as a sunken court, then covered before World War I with reinforced concrete. Strategic position The strategic importance of the Belfort fortification system became apparent in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and increased as a result of the loss of Alsace and Lorraine as a result of the war. The defenses of France had to be reconsidered in light of the changes in France's frontiers and in view of advances ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Stains
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Domont
The Fort de Domont was built following the Franco-Prussian War to defend Paris. Located to the north of Paris in Domont, the fort was part of an outer ring of fortifications built in response to improvements in the range and effectiveness of artillery since the construction of the Thiers fortifications of the 1840s. It was built between 1875 and 1879 in accordance with improved principles of fortification developed for the Séré de Rivières system. Work on the fort began in 1874 and were completed in 1878. The fort covered an area of and its garrison comprised 1175 men and officers. The fort's artillery fire supported its neighbors, the Fort de Montmorency and the Fort de Montlignon. The pentagonal fort was entered through the south side, facing Paris. It featured a double caponier on the point facing outward, and two flanking caponiers on the east and west sides. The fort's main armament was a 155mm Mougin turret, added in 1884. Other artillery on the firing terrace, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Suchet
Ouvrage Barbonnet is a work (''gros ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also called the Little Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block and one infantry block facing Italy. The ''ouvrage'' was built somewhat behind the main line of fortifications on the old Fort Suchet, which was already armed with two obsolete Mougin 155mm gun turrets.Kaufmann 2006, p. 76 Fort Suchet was built between 1883 and 1888 at 850 metres altitude two kilometres to the south of Sospel, dominating the road from Nice to the Col de Tende. This corridor represented the main invasion route to Nice from the north. Fort Suchet and Ouvrage Barbonnet operated separately, the former manned in 1940 by elements of the 157th and 158th ''Régiments d'Artillerie de Position'' (RAP) and the latter by the 95th ''Brigade Alpin de Forteresse'' (BAF), which also provided infantry support on the surface. The entire position was commanded by Captain Imbault. The Maginot fort's k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Corbas
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Liouville
The Fort de Liouville, also known as Fort Stengel, located between the communes of Saint-Agnant-sous-les-Côtes and Saint-Julien-sous-les-Côtes, near the town of Commercy in the Meuse departement of France, is one of the forts built at the end of the 19th century to defend the valley of the Meuse. The fort was located on what was then the French frontier facing the German-occupied province of Lorraine. The Fort de Liouville was located between the Fort de Gironville and the Camp des Romains. History In 1870, France was partly occupied by the Prussian army. As a result of this defeat, the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications was planned and constructed to defend the nation. Construction started in 1876 on the roughly rectangular fort with a garrison of 691 troops. Work was completed in 1880, at a cost of 2,108,000 francs. The fort was updated between 1892 and 1910 with a protected magazine, replacement of caponiers with counterscarps, and preparations for a Mougin turr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Frouard
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Vaujours
The Fort de Vaujours, located in the commune of Courtry, Seine-Saint-Denis, near the town of Vaujours, is one of the forts built at the end of the 19th century to defend Paris. It became a research center for the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA), France's Atomic Energy Commission. The center was closed in 1997. History In 1870, France was partly occupied by the Prussian army. As a result of this defeat, the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications was built from 1874–1881 to defend Paris, consisting of 18 forts, five redoubts and 34 batteries. Construction started in 1876 on a roughly pentagonal fort with 48 artillery pieces and a garrison of 691 troops. Work was completed in 1882. The fort was updated in 1911 with a machine gun turret and a Mougin turret with two 155mm guns. The Fort de Vaujours is unique in its association with two annexes connected by a covered way to the main fort. The fort's barracks were burned in 1944. In 1947 the Sevran explosives works u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
