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Ouvrage Le Lavoir
Ouvrage Le Lavoir 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 two entry blocks, one infantry block, three artillery blocks and one observation block south of Modane, France, guarding the Col de Fréjus. The surface barracks at Le Lavoir were connected to Charmaix by an aerial tram.Mary, Tome 5, p. 18 Description *Block 1 (artillery): one heavy twin machine gun cloche, one anti-tank gun embrasure and two 75mm gun embrasures. *Block 2 (artillery): two 75mm gun embrasures. *Block 3 (observation): one observation cloche. *Block 4 (infantry): one grenade launcher cloche and two heavy twin machine gun embrasures. *Block 5 (artillery): one machine gun cloche, two 75mm gun embrasures and four 81mm mortar embrasures. *Block 6 (ventilation): unarmed. *Personnel entry: three machine gun embrasures. *Supply entry: one machine gun cloche, one heavy twin machine gun cloche, one heavy twin ...
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Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around the fortifications. The Maginot Line was impervious to most forms of attack. In consequence, the Germans invaded through the Low Countries in 1940, passing it to the north. The line, which was supposed to be fully extended further towards the west to avoid such an occurrence, was finally scaled back in response to demands from Belgium. Indeed, Belgium feared it would be sacrificed in the event of another German invasion. The line has since become a metaphor for expensive efforts that offer a false sense of security. Constructed on the French side of its borders with Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium, the line did not extend to the English Channel. French strategy therefore envisioned a move into Belgium ...
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Alpine Line
The Alpine Line (french: Ligne Alpine) or Little Maginot Line (French: ''Petite Ligne Maginot'') was the component of the Maginot Line that defended the southeastern portion of France. In contrast to the main line in the northeastern portion of France, the Alpine Line traversed a mountainous region of the Maritime Alps, the Cottian Alps and the Graian Alps, with relatively few passes suitable for invading armies. Access was difficult for construction and for the Alpine Line garrisons. Consequently, fortifications were smaller in scale than the fortifications of the main Line. The Alpine Line mounted few anti-tank weapons, since the terrain was mostly unsuitable for the use of tanks. Ouvrage Rimplas was the first Maginot fortification to be completed on any portion of the Maginot Line, in 1928. The Alpine Line was unsuccessfully attacked by Italian forces during the Italian invasion of France in 1940. Following World War II, some of the larger positions of the Alpine Line were retai ...
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France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its Metropolitan France, metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin (island), ...
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Italian Invasion Of France
The Italian invasion of France (10–25 June 1940), also called the Battle of the Alps, was the first major Italian engagement of World War II and the last major engagement of the Battle of France. The Italian entry into the war widened its scope considerably in Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. The goal of the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, was the elimination of Anglo-French domination in the Mediterranean, the reclamation of historically Italian territory (''Italia irredenta'') and the expansion of Italian influence over the Balkans and in Africa. France and Britain tried during the 1930s to draw Mussolini away from an alliance with Germany but the rapid German successes from 1938 to 1940 made Italian intervention on the German side inevitable by May 1940. Italy declared war on France and Britain on the evening of 10 June, to take effect just after midnight. The two sides exchanged air raids on the first day of the war, but little transpired on the Alpine front since Fran ...
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Modane
Modane (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in southeastern France. The commune is in the Maurienne Valley, and it also belongs to the Vanoise National Park. It was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia until the Treaty of Turin (1860), Treaty of Turin in 1860. Geography Location The commune of Modane is located in the Alps in the department of Savoie between the Vanoise massif to the north and between the and the Massif des Cerces to the south. Crossed by the Arc (Savoie), Arc river, it extends to the doors of the Haute-Maurienne. The issue of the attachment or not of Modane in the Maurienne Valley or Haute-Maurienne differs depending on the disciplines of economics, geography or geology. For economists, Modane is attached to Haute Maurienne, arguing that the city has a very strong influence on the villages of Haute Maurienne, through economic and administrative infrastructure s ...
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Col De Fréjus
In geomorphology, a col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 103. . It may also be called a gap. Particularly rugged and forbidding cols in the terrain are usually referred to as notches. They are generally unsuitable as mountain passes, but are occasionally crossed by mule tracks or climbers' routes. The term col tends to be associated more with mountain rather than hill ranges. It is derived from the French ''col'' ("collar, neck") from Latin ''collum'', "neck". The height of a summit above its highest col (called the key col) is effectively a measure of a mountain's topographic prominence. Cols lie on the line of the watershed between two mountains, often on a prominent ridge or arête. For example, the highest col in Austria, the ''Obere Glocknerscharte'' ("Upper Glockner Col", ), lies between the Kleinglockner () and Grossglockner () mountains, giving the Kleinglockn ...
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Aerial Tram
An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip of an aerial tramway cabin is fixed onto the propulsion rope and cannot be decoupled from it during operations. In comparison to gondola lifts, aerial tramways generally provide lower line capacities and higher wait times. Terminology Because of the proliferation of such systems in the Alpine regions of Europe, the French and German names, ''téléphérique'' and ''Seilbahn'', respectively, are often also used in an English language context. ''Cable car'' is the usual term in British English, as in British English the word ''tramway'' generally refers to a railed street tramway while in American English, ''cable car'' may additionally refer to a cable-pulled street tramway with detachable vehicles; e.g., San Francisco's cable cars. ...
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JM Cloche
The 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 for ''Jumelage de Mitrailleuses'' (twin machine guns). While the MAC 31 heavy machine guns were of the same caliber (7.5mm) as those in GFM cloches, they had a longer practical range and a maximum range of , with a 500 round per minute rate of fire.Mary, Tome 2, page 109 Description The JM cloche closely resembles the GFM cloche in size and construction. It exists in three versions, all designed Model 1930: small, large and two-man. JM cloches had a single firing port, which was flanked on either side by trapezoidal observation ports. The blank rear was frequently backed by a concrete-covered embankment, which provided additional cover and reduced the prominence of the cloche. AM ...
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VDP Cloche
The VDP cloche was an element of the Maginot Line fortifications. A ''cloche'' (bell) 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 were used for observation of the surrounding area for artillery direction. VDP is an acronym for ''Vision Directe et Périscopique''. By comparison with the GFM cloche, the VDP cloche had narrower ports and was consequently lower in profile. Description VDP cloches were equipped with three embrasures or crenels for direct vision, providing protection to observers. VDP cloches were also equipped with periscopes that allowed a greater arc of view. The cloches were embedded in a thick concrete carapace over a combat, entrance or observation block element of a largely subterranean Maginot fortification. A platform, identical to that used in the GFM cloche, was installed for the obser ...
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LG Cloche
The 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 close defense against enemy troops on top of the bunker. 75 units were installed in the Maginot Line. LG refers to ''Lance-Grenade'' (grenade launcher). Unlike other cloches such as the GFM or the JM, the LG cloche was effectively "blind", possessing a single shuttered orifice in diameter in its flat crown. It had no observation ports at all, as it did not project appreciably above the surrounding surface. The LG cloche came in three models: a small version, high, a large version, and a cloche for two persons, tall. All were in diameter. LG cloches were usually found in the vicinity of an entrance block. The LG cloche was armed with a grenade launcher that could fire at an angle f ...
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Ouvrage Sapey
Ouvrage Sapey is a work (''gros ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also known as the Little Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, three artillery blocks and one observation block two kilometers west of Modane. The ''ouvrage'' was built beneath the older Fort du Sapey. The new work cost 12.8 million francs.Mary, Tome 4, p. 29 The ''ouvrage'' and fort were accessed by an aerial tram built in 1908, which also connected to Fort du Replaton, located down the slope from Sapey. Fort du Sapey The Fort du Sapey is the center of an ensemble of fortifications designed to protect Modane, the valley of the Arc and the terminus of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel to Italy, which was completed in 1871. The fort was built to the west of Modane at an altitude of about , on a hill that dominates the entire valley. The principal fort was built between 1884 and 1892 as part of the Séré de Rivières system. Construction was initially of stone, but concret ...
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1 Mountain Infantry Division Superga
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. In conventions of sign where zero is considered neither positive nor negative, 1 is the first and smallest positive integer. It is also sometimes considered the first of the infinite sequence of natural numbers, followed by  2, although by other definitions 1 is the second natural number, following  0. The fundamental mathematical property of 1 is to be a multiplicative identity, meaning that any number multiplied by 1 equals the same number. Most if not all properties of 1 can be deduced from this. In advanced mathematics, a multiplicative identity is often denoted 1, even if it is not a number. 1 is by convention not considered a prime number; this was not universally accepted until the mid-20th century. Additionally, 1 is the s ...
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