The Fort des Adelphes, or Fort Richepance, is part of the fortifications of
Épinal. It was built near the village of
Deyvillers
Deyvillers () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France.
See also
*Communes of the Vosges department
The following is a list of the 507 communes of the Vosges department of France.
The communes cooperate in th ...
between 1883 and 1885, and was modernized beginning in 1907. It is an example of a
Séré de Rivières system fortification. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the fort surrendered to German forces and was then used by the Germans to fire on neighboring forts
Longchamp and
Dogneville. The fort is now occupied by an activity of the
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
associated with
''Base aerienne 133'' Nancy-Ochey and is not accessible to the public.
Located northeast of Épinal, the Fort des Adelphes is part of a line of sixteen major fortifications around Épinal designed to bar the advance of a German army into France.
Description
The fort is situated at an altitude of , overlooking the road to
Saint-Dié between the
Fort de Razimont
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'' ...
and the Deyvillers works. The fort is laid out as a walled pentagon, surrounded by a ditch. Construction extended from 1883 to 1885. The fort includes fortified barracks, storage facilities and magazines, and shelters for troops. The initial garrison comprised 235 men, and the construction cost of the original fort amounted to about 1.2 million francs. The principal armament consisted of five 155mm and three 120mm guns on the fort's ramparts.
The Fort des Adelphes was almost immediately improved with a concrete covered barracks for 150 men in 1892-1894. Between 1900 and 1906 a number of spiral ''queues de cochon'' or pig-tail infantry shelters were constructed around the fort. From 1907 to 1914 the fort was extensively reinforced, including the replacement of the
caponier
A caponier is a type of defensive structure in a fortification. Fire from this point could cover the ditch beyond the curtain wall to deter any attempt to storm the wall. The word originates from the French ', meaning "chicken coop" (a ''capon'' ...
s guarding the ditch with more effective
counterscarps, while a second reinforced barracks was added, along with a casemate de Bourges covering the ground in the direction of the ''ouvrage'' de Deyvillers.Between 1907 and 1909, armored observation positions and a 75mm gun turret were added. A third observation cupola and a machine gun turret were added in 1909-1910. Finally, the fort was connected to the electrical grid in 1913. The fort's garrison was by this time 400 troops.
Two 155mm gun turrets were planned for a battery located outside the walls of the fort, but work was stopped by the outbreak of war in 1914.
History
The fort fired its 75mm gun turret at a German airplane during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, but failed to hit the airplane. The fort fired on German troops in June 1940 during the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
, but the fort surrendered to the Germans on 20 June and was then used to fire on its neighbors. The fort was stripped of equipment and armament in 1943.
Status
The Fort des Adelphes was significantly altered in 1990 to support a French Air Force electronic warfare squadron 48/351. It continues in that role until 2014.
From September 2018, it served as a training center for the 1st infantry regiment of Épinal which inaugurated on September 2, 2020 a Commando Initiation Center.
The fort is not accessible to the public.
References
External links
Association pour la Restauration du Fort d'Uxegney et de la Place d'Epinal Fort des Adelphes
at fortiffsere.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelphes, Fort des
Infrastructure completed in 1885
Séré de Rivières system
Fortifications of Épinal
Military installations of France