Ouvrage Castillon is a work (''gros ouvrage'') 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 ...

's Alpine extension, the

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 Fra ...

, also called the Little Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, two infantry blocks, and two artillery blocks in a narrow ridge just to the west of

Castillon, Alpes-Maritimes Castillon (; oc, Castilhon; it, Castiglione) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department The following is a list of the 163 communes of the Al ...

. It was built on the original site of Castillon, destroyed by an earthquake in 1887.Mary, Tome 5, p. 65 It is the next ''gros ouvrage'' in the line to the north of

Ouvrage Sainte-Agnès Ouvrage Sainte-Agnès was a work (''gros ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also called the Little Maginot Line. The fortification was built between 1932 and 1938. The site is at the south edge of the hill tow ...

, and is within firing range of the Mediterranean coastline. Ouvrage Castillon was built by a contractor named Borie from November 1931 to October 1934 at a cost of 15.6 million francs.Mary, Tome 4, p. 29 Castillon was manned in 1940 by 344 men under the command of Captain Finton.

Description

Castillon was arranged on multiple levels, with the combat blocks significantly higher than the entry block, which is directly off paved road. However, because of the vulnerability of its supply line, Castillon was provided with two levels of utility, supply and magazine space, capable of holding four times the usual quantities of supplies and munitions. *Block 1 (entry): three machine gun embrasures. *Block 2 (ventilation), unoccupied. *Block 3 (artillery block): one machine gun cloche, one grenade launcher cloche, two 75mm/1929 guns and two 81mm mortars. *Block 4 (infantry block): one machine gun cloche, one grenade launcher cloche, one twin machine gun cloche and one twin machine gun embrasure. *Block 5 (combat block): one machine gun cloche and one grenade launcher cloche one twin machine gun embrasure. *Block 6 (infantry block): one machine gun cloche and two 81mm mortars.

Advanced posts

Castillon was associated with two ''avants-postes'' located about halfway between the ''ouvrage'' and the Italian frontier. These posts were built by MOM (''Main d’Œuvre Militaire'') in 1930 to a lesser standard than the CORF (''Commission d'organisation des régions fortifiées'')-built main line ''ouvrage''. The ''avant-poste'' Baisse-de-Scuvion at an altitude of controlled Mont-Mulcier and the Col de Cuore, with 32 men assigned. The post consisted of one entry block, one observation block with an observation cloche, and one block with a machine gun port, connected by a gallery with limited accommodations. The ''avant-poste'' Pierre-Pontue to the south at an altitude of was larger, although it too was assigned 32 men. Pierre-Pontue comprised two entry blocks, one observation block with an observation cloche, and two casemates with machine gun ports. A modest set of galleries connected the blocks. Five observation posts were attached to Castillon, including Mont-Ours-Sud, Baisse-du-Loup and Croix-de-Fossa.

History

The Italian ''Modena'' Division attacked toward Castillon beginning on 22 June 1940 as part of an advance on

Sospel Sospel (; Mentonasc: Sospèl, Italian Sospello) is a commune (municipality) and former schismatic episcopal seat (1381-1418) in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France near the Italian border and not far from Monte Carlo. Hist ...

, but was unable to advance before the armistice of 25 June.Kaufmann 2006, p. 180 Italian troops attacked the ''avants-postes'' at Pierre-Pontue and Scuvion, but were discouraged by fire from Castillon itself on the 22nd. Further action took place the next day around the ''avants-postes'', which were supported by fire from

Ouvrage Barbonnet 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 ...

and

Ouvrage Mont Agel Ouvrage Mont Agel is a work (''gros ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also called the Little Maginot Line. The 1930s ''ouvrage'' was built in and around the earlier mountaintop Fortress of Mont Agel. The ''ouv ...

as well as Castillon. In 1944, Castillon was a center of German resistance to

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...

. On 10 September 1944 Castillon was attacked by American troops, supported by land and naval artillery, largely destroying the entry block, which faced toward the guns, and heavily damaging the combat blocks. The

French battleship Lorraine ''Lorraine'' was a battleship of the French Navy built in the 1910s, named in honor of the region of Lorraine in France. She was a member of the ''Bretagne'' class, alongside her two sister ships, ''Bretagne'' and ''Provence''. ''Lorraine'' w ...

participated in the bombardment. Castillon was abandoned by the Germans on 25 October 1944. Castillon's war damage was repaired in the 1950s as part of a program to restore many of the ''gros ouvrages'' to military usefulness against an advance through Italy by the Warsaw Pact. However, by the 1970s nearly all ''ouvrages'' were decommissioned and sold. Castillon had already been decommissioned in 1964. The ''ouvrage'' is owned by the commune of Castillon, but is presently abandoned.Kaufmann 2011, p. 277

References

Bibliography

*Allcorn, William. ''The Maginot Line 1928-45.'' Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003. *Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. ''Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II'', Stackpole Books, 2006. *Kaufmann, J.E., Kaufmann, H.W., Jancovič-Potočnik, A. and Lang, P. ''The Maginot Line: History and Guide'', Pen and Sword, 2011. *Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 1.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001. *Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 4 - La fortification alpine.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009. *Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009.

External links

Castillon (gros ouvrage)
at fortiff.be {{DEFAULTSORT:Castillon, Ouvrage CAST Maginot Line Alpine Line 1934 establishments in France