The Casemate de Wittring is a component of the

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 the ...

fortifications in northeastern France. It is located in the

Fortified Sector of the Sarre The Fortified Sector of the Sarre (''Secteur Fortifié de la Sarre'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line on either side of the Sarre river. The sector's defenses relied primarily on a system ...

section of the line and was associated with

Ouvrage Haut-Poirier Ouvrage Haut-Poirier is a lesser work (''petit ouvrage'') 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 ...

, a ''petit ouvrage'' of the main Line. Wittring has been restored and is operated as a museum. The

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

was armed with a machine gun/anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/ AC47), one twin machine gun embrasure, two mixed-arms cloches (AM) and two automatic rifle (GFM-B) cloches. Wittring controlled access to dikes and floodgates in the area that were intended to inundate portions of the Sarre valley to block an invasion from Germany.The commander of the casemate in 1940 was Adjutant-Chef Hillaire, in charge of an element of the 133rd Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF). The Casernement d'Achen provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Wittring and other positions in the area.

History

:''See

for a broader discussion of the Sarre sector of the Maginot Line.'' Wittring was attacked by units of the German 262nd Infantry Division on 21 June 1940 during the Battle of France, surrendering the same day after heavy bombardment.Mary, Tome 3, p.213 Wittring was sold to private owners in 1987, with restoration starting in 1992. The association ''L'Amicale de la Casemate de Wittring'' restored the destroyed entry with 14 cubic meters of concrete, among other less complex work.

Current condition

The Casemate de Wittring is maintained as a museum and may be visited.

References

External links

Casemate de Wittring

Casemate de Wittring/Casemate von Wittringen
(in German)
Casemate de Wittring
at fortiff.be
Casemate de Wittring : Position on map, photos and infos on
wikimaginot.eu {{DEFAULTSORT:Wittring, Casemate WITT Maginot Line World War II museums in France