Ouvrage Cave-à-Canon is a lesser work (''petit ouvrage'') of the
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...
's Alpine extension, the
Alpine Line
The Alpine Line () 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 ...
. Started in 1937, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block about one kilometer east of
Bourg St. Maurice, on the south bank of the
Isère
Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019. . A short gallery with cross galleries extends into the rock, with an emergency exit and ventilation shaft halfway back. The ''ouvrage'' was incomplete in 1940, under the command of Lieutenant Courteaud.
[Mary, Tome 5, pp. 9–12]
Cave-à-Canon, and with
Ouvrage Chatelard across the valley to the north, and several pre-1914 forts on the heights around Bourg-Saint-Maurice, were placed to block an advance over the
Little St Bernard Pass
The Little St Bernard Pass (French: ''Col du Petit Saint-Bernard'', Italian: ''Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo'') is a mountain pass in the Alps on the France–Italy border. Its saddle is at 2188 metres above sea level. It is located between Sa ...
toward
Albertville
Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France.
It is best k ...
.
Description
*Block 1 (combination): one
machine gun turret planned and three machine gun embrasures, three heavy twin machine gun embrasures and one 47mm anti-tank gun embrasure.
The Tarentaise region was liberated by Allied forces in March and April 1945.
[Mary, Tome 5, p.145]
See also
*
List of Alpine Line ouvrages
This is the list of all ''ouvrages'' of the Alpine Line or Little Maginot Line along the Franco-Italian border, organized by sector and type of fortification. ''Ouvrage'' translates as "works" in English; publications in both English and French ...
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 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
Cave à canons (petit ouvrage de la)at fortiff.be
at lignemaginot.com
Petit ouvrage de la Cave à Canon at wikimaginot.eu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cave-a-Canon, Ouvrage
CAVE
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
Maginot Line
Alpine Line