Ouvrage Grand-Hohékirkel is a ''petit 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 ...

, located near

Bitche Bitche ( , ; German and Lorraine Franconian: ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments of France, department, administrative regions of France, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. It ...

in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

''département'' of

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

. Grand-Hohékirkel is adjoined by ''gros ouvrage'' Otterbiel to the west and ''petit ouvrage''

Lembach Lembach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. Etymology The toponym ''Lembach'' is of Germanic origin, cognate to modern German Lehm, denoting ''clay''. The Germanic hydronym '' *-bak(i)'' entered ...

at some distance to the east, and faces the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

frontier. It was part of the

Fortified Sector of the Vosges The Fortified Sector of the Vosges (''Secteur Fortifiée des Vosges'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line at the northern end of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France. The sector was bo ...

. Grand-Hohékirkel comprises two separate entrance blocks for ammunition and personnel, three infantry blocks, one artillery block and one observation block. Grand-Hohékirkel saw no significant action in 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 ...

, and limited action during the 1944/45 Lorraine Campaign. It was renovated for use during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. Grand-Hohékirkel is now unused, on restricted military land.

Design and construction

The site was surveyed by the Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées (CORF), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency; Grand-Hohékirkel was approved for construction in August 1931. The ''petit ouvrage'' is a typical ''gros ouvrage'' of the smaller sort, with separate personnel and munitions entries a few hundred meters to the rear of the combat blocks, which are sited on an eminence controlling the terrain to the north. A second phase of construction, planned but not carried out, envisioned the addition of an 81mm mortar turret and an additional 75mm gun turret.Mary, Tome 3, p. 130

Description

Grand-Hohékirkel comprises two entrance blocks, three infantry blocks, one artillery block and an observation block. The munitions and personnel entries are located to the rear of the compactly arranged combat blocks. A small barracks and ''usine'' or service area are located near the personnel entry. Grand-Hohékirkel lacks a main "M1" magazine, usually provided in a ''gros ouvrage''. From the junction of the entry galleries a gallery runs at an average depth of to the combat blocks. *Block 1: Infantry block with one retractable twin machine gun turret and one automatic rifle cloche (GFM). *Block 2: Infantry block with two GFM cloches, two twin machine gun cloches, one twin machine gun embrasure and one machine gun (JM)/ 47mm anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/AC47). *Block 3: Infantry block with two GFM cloches, one twin machine gun cloche, one twin machine gun embrasure and one JM/AC 47 embrasure. *Block 4: Artillery block with one GFM cloche, one observation cloche (VDP), one grenade launcher cloche (LG) and one 75mm gun embrasure. *Block 5: Observation block with one GFM cloche and one GFM/observation cloche. *Personnel entry: Shaft-style entry block with one GFM cloche and one JM/AC47 embrasure. *Munitions entry: Direct entry block with two GFM cloches and one JM/AC47 embrasure.

Casemates and shelters

A series of detached

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 ...

s and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Grand-Hohékirkel, including * Abri du Dépôt: Subsurface ''abri-caverne'' with two GFM cloches * Abri de Wolfschlachen: Subsurface ''abri-caverne'' with two GFM cloches. Additionally, the space between Grand-Hohékirkel and Lembach, its neighbor to the east, is filled by more than forty casemates and blockhouses along the river Schwartzbach and across the ridge to the

Sauer river The Sauer (German and Luxembourgish, , ) or Sûre ( French, ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. A left tributary of the Moselle, its total length is . Rising near Vaux-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium, the Sauer ...

Manning

The 1939 manning of the ''ouvrage'' under the command of Commandant Fabre comprised 179 men and 7 officers of the 154th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 168th Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 5th Army. The nearby Casernement de Neunhoffen provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Grand-Hohékirkel and other positions in the area.

History

:''See

for a broader discussion of the Vosges sector of the Maginot Line.''

1940

Grand-Hohékirkel saw relatively little action in 1940 compared to its neighbors, and surrendered to the Germans with the rest of the Bitche fortifications on 30 June 1940. Its chief action was artillery support of the line of casemates to the east of Grand-Hohékirkel which were attacked by the German 215th Infantry Division on 19 June 1940, breaking the French line.Romanych, pp. 75–76,

1944 and 1945

At the end of November 1944 the

U.S. Seventh Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fran ...

under General

Alexander Patch General Alexander McCarrell Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars, rising to rank of general. During World War II, he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps force ...

had reached the Vosges region. Grand-Hohékirkel was occupied by elements of the German 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. Otterbiel and Grand-Hohékirkel were to be the next positions to be attacked by the U.S. 100th Infantry Division, but the planned operation was disrupted by the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

. The Seventh Army withdrew to cover areas vacated by the

U.S. Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

, which moved to confront the German offensive. The 100th returned in March 1945 attacked the area on a broad front. Grand-Hohékirkel was lightly defended, and the Americans, backed up by heavy artillery, were able to capture Grand-Hohékirkel and the ''Ensemble de Bitche'' with few casualties.

Cold War

Following World War II, interest revived in the use of the Maginot Line to defend against a possible Soviet advance through southern Germany. Funds were allocated for restoration of the ''gros ouvrages'', but work was limited to restoration of systems and improvements to existing armament, with work completed by 1953.Mary, Tome 5, p. 161 By 1953, Grand-Hohékirkel had been designated part of the ''Mòle de Bitche'', a strongpoint in the northeastern defenses against Soviet attack. By the late 1950s interest in fixed fortifications was waning after France developed a nuclear deterrent. The money needed to maintain and upgrade the fortifications was diverted for the nuclear programs. Grand-Hohékirkel was not manned or maintained after the early 1970s.Mary, Tome 5, p. 173

Present condition

Grand-Hohékirkel is on military land and is not accessible to the public.

Notes

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 2.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. *Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. *Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009.

External links

L'ouvrage du Grand-Hohékirkel
at alsacemaginot.com

at lignemaginot.com
Grand Hohékirkel (gros ouvrage du)
at fortiff.be {{DEFAULTSORT:Grand-Hohekirkel, Ouvrage Maginot Line GRAN GRAN