Ouvrage Hochwald is a ''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 ...

, one of the largest fortifications in the Line. Located on the Hochwald ridge in the Fortified Sector of Haguenau in the community of Drachenbronn-Birlenbach in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of northeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, it was designed to protect the northern

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

region of

. Ouvrage Hochwald is sometimes considered as two ouvrages because of its separation of the western and the eastern portions of the ouvrage. Uniquely, the original plans for the position included an elevated battery to the rear with long-range 145 mm or 155 mm gun turrets of a new kind. Hochwald is used by 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; ...

as an armoured air defense coordination center.

Design and construction

The Hochwald site was surveyed by CORF (''Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées''), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1928. Work began the next year, and the position became operational in 1933.Kaufmann 2006, p. 25 The ''gros ouvrage'' is unique in size and extent. The ''reduit'' at the peak of the Hochwald would have provided heavy, long-range artillery cover for the entire sector.

Description

Hochwald is flanked on the west by

Ouvrage Four-à-Chaux Ouvrage Four-à-Chaux is a ''gros ouvrage'' of the Maginot Line, located in the community of Lembach, France, in the Bas-Rhin département. Four à Chaux was adjoined by ''petit ouvrage'' Lembach and ''gros ouvrage'' Hochwald, and faced the ...

and on the east by

Ouvrage Schoenenbourg Ouvrage Schoenenbourg is a Maginot Line fortification. It is located on the territory of the communes of Hunspach, Schœnenbourg and Ingolsheim, in the French ''département'' of Bas-Rhin, forming part of the Fortified Sector of Haguenau ...

, comprising one of the strongest points on the Line. The height of the Hochwald ridge overlooks the area of

Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is situated on the li ...

to the east, which forms a gap between the hills of the northern Vosges and the Palatinate forest on the west and the

Bienwald The Bienwald is a large forested area in the southern Pfalz region of Germany near the towns of Kandel and Wörth am Rhein. The western edge defines the eastern extent of the Wissembourg Gap, a corridor of open terrain between the Bienwald and ...

on the east. The landscape on the French side of the border is an open farmed plain for eastwards to the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. The ''ouvrage'' formed part of the "principal line of resistance", an element of defense in depth that was preceded by a line of advance posts close to the border and backed by a line of shelters for infantry. Hochwald's fighting elements were placed in the line of resistance, with the entrances and their associated supply lines protected by infantry in the third line, or more to the rear. The entrances were served by narrow-gauge railways, that branched from a line paralleling the front and connecting to supply depots. The rail lines ran directly into the munitions entry of the ''ouvrage'' and all the way out to the combat blocks, a distance of nearly .Mary, Tome 2, p. 53 Ouvrage Hochwald includes ten combat blocks and three entrance blocks: five combat blocks located on each side of the Hochwald massif, an ammunition entrance, a personnel entrance located on the back (south) side and an intermediate personnel entrance located in the middle of the principal gallery.Mary, Tome 3, pp. 135–137 Hochwald was equipped in 1940 with the following armament:

Eastern wing (O 720)

* Block 1: Artillery block with one 135mm gun turret, one 135mm gun embrasure, one automatic rifle cloche (GFM) and one observation cloche (VDP). * Block 2: A submerged (in the earth) block with one 81mm mortar turret, one GFM cloche and one machine gun cloche (JM). * Block 3: A casemate block with two 75mm gun embrasures, two machine gun/ 47mm anti-tank gun embrasures (JM/AC47), two GFM cloches and two 50mm grenade launcher embrasures. * Block 4: unbuilt. * Block 5: A submerged block with one machine gun turret. * Block 6: A casemate with three 75mm gun embrasures, one grenade launcher cloche (LG), one GFM cloche and one JM cloche. * Block 7: East entry block with two GFM cloches and two machine gun/47mm anti-tank gun embrasures (JM/AC47). A shaft connects to the galleries below and the eastern underground barracks. * Block 7 bis: Submerged block with one 75mm gun turret and one GFM cloche.

Western wing (O 703)

* Block 12: A casemate block with two 75mm gun embrasures, one GFM cloche and one VDP cloche. * Block 13: A casemate block with one 135mm gun embrasure, one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one LG cloche and two GFM cloches * Block 14: A submerged block with one 135mm gun turret, one GFM cloche and one VDP cloche. * Block 15: A submerged block with one machine gun turret and one GFM cloche. * Block 16: A casemate block with two 75mm embrasures, two JM/AC47 embrasures, two 50mm mortar embrasures and two GFM cloches.

Anti-tank ditch and casemates

A chevroned ditch runs over the ridge between the east and west wings with a series of casemates located to sweep the ditch with fire. The casemates are not connected to each other or to the ''ouvrage''. * Casemate 1: Single-sided, firing to the west with one JM embrasure, one JM/AC47 embrasure and one GFM cloche. * Casemate 2: Single-sided, firing to the west with two JM embrasures, one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche. * Casemate 3: Single-sided, firing to the west with four JM embrasures and one GFM cloche. * Casemate 4: Double-sided, firing east and west with four JM embrasures on two levels, two mortar cloches and one GFM cloche. * Casemate 5: Single-sided, firing to the east with two JM embrasures, one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche. * Casemate 6: Single-sided, firing to the east with four JM embrasures on two levels and one GFM cloche. * Casemate 7: Single-sided, firing to the east with two JM embrasures, one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche. * Casemate 8: Single-sided, firing to the east with two JM embrasures and two GFM cloches. * Casemate 9: Single-sided, firing to the east with one JM embrasure, one JM/AC47 embrasure, one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche.

Entries, observation post and réduit

* Block 8: A munitions entry for the west wing with two JM/AC47 embrasures and two GFM cloches. The entry connects at the level of the gallery system. * Block 9: A personnel entry for the west wing with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one LG cloche and one GFM cloche. The entry reaches the galleries below by a shaft. The planned ''réduit'' for long-range 145mm or 155mm guns was never built. Its entry was partially completed and never armed. Partially completed galleries run some hundreds of meters into the hill from the rear to the location of the planned combat blocks at the crest of the ridge.Mary, Tome 1, p. 56 Entry blocks 8 and 9 serve the main ammunition magazine, utility area (''usine'') and underground barracks. They are more than a kilometer from the west wing combat blocks and close to two kilometers from the east wing blocks, at a depth underground of approximately . The western underground barracks and the large "M1"-type magazine are just inside the entries. These areas were converted and expanded to form the basis of ''Base Aérienne 901 Drachenbronn'' in a manner similar to the adaptation of

Ouvrage Rochonvillers Ouvrage Rochonvillers is one of the largest of the Maginot Line fortifications. Located above the town of Rochonvillers in the French region of Lorraine, the ''gros ouvrage'' or large work was fully equipped and occupied in 1935 as part of the ...

for the NATO CENTAG headquarters of the 1960s. Block 20 is an isolated and unconnected observation block on the summit of the Hochwald with a VP cloche and a GFM cloche. The generating plant was split into two units: the west generating plant comprised four Sulzer engines of 240 hp each, and the east four Sulzer engines of 165 hp each.

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 Hochwald, including * Abri de Walkmühl: Subsurface ''abri-caverne'' for two infantry sections, with two GFM cloches. * Abri de Birlenbach: Sub-surface ''abri-caverne'' for two infantry sections with two GFM cloches. * Casemate de Drachenbronn Nord: SIngle block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche. * Casemate de Drachenbronn Sud: SIngle block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure and a GFM cloche. Drachenbronn Nord and Sud are linked by an underground gallery.

''Ouvrage Bremmelbach''

Two casemates to the east of Hochwald comprise the remainder of the planned ''petit ouvrage'' Bremmelbach, canceled in 1929. * Casemate Bremmelbach Nord: Double casemate with two JM/AC47 embrasures, two JM embrasures and one GFM cloche. * Casemate Bremmelbach Sud: Single casemate with one JM/Ac37 embrasure, one JM embrasure and one GFM cloche. The two casemates are linked by an underground gallery.

Manning

The 1940 manning of the ''ouvrage'' under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Miconnet comprised 1022 men and 41 officers of the 22nd Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 156th Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 5th Army, Army Group 2. Interval troops covering the areas between and outside the fortifications were assigned to the 16th and 70th Infantry Divisions, 12th Corps.Romanych, pp. 22–24 The nearby Casernement de Drachenbronn provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Hochwald and other positions in the area.

History

:''See Fortified Sector of Haguenau for a broader discussion of the Haguenau sector of the Maginot Line.'' Hochwald B7 1

Hochwald was one of the most active ''ouvrages'' during the

Phoney War The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germ ...

of 1939–1940. On 8–9 October 1939, Hochwald fired in support of French patrols, revealing deficiencies in gun mounts and ammunition. In November the ''ouvrage'' fired on German minelayers. 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 ...

in June 1940, Hochwald remained unmolested until 16 June, when it fired on Germans moving toward

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 ...

and received artillery fire and ''

Stuka The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Cond ...

'' attacks in return. Attacks came again on the 20th, and Hochwald fired in support of

. More aerial attacks followed on the 22nd. In 1944, the retreating Germans blew up blocks 1, 3 6 and 16, and all three entrance blocks, as well as all turrets.Mary, Tome 5, pp. 142, 155 In 1944 Hochwald (renamed ''Werk Hochwald'') was used as an underground factory. With the formation of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, French interest in a renewed fortification system against a

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

invasion caused the renovation of most of the larger Maginot fortifications by the 1950s. Hochwald joined Schoenenbourg, Four-à-Chaux and

in a system called the ''Môle de Haguenau'', with work at Hochwald proceeding in 1952 to repair the war damage. However, in 1956, Hochwald was transferred to the

for use as an air defense command center. New underground galleries were built in the rear (i.e., near the entrance blocks), and were even provided with an internal machine gun port. The facility was briefly known as ''Ouvrage H'' before its designation as ''Base Aérienne 901 Drachenbronn''.

Current condition

Hochwald is part of the

Drachenbronn Air Base Drachenbronn Air Base (''Base Aérienne 901 Drachenbronn'') of the French Air and Space Force is located in the community of Drachenbronn-Birlenbach in the Bas-Rhin département. It houses the '' Centre de détection et de contrôle 05/901.'' Th ...

, and is used as a hardened command center. It is closed to the public except for the Pierre Jost Museum, which is open on days of

national remembrance National memory is a form of collective memory defined by shared experiences and culture. It is an integral part to national identity. It represents one specific form of cultural memory, which makes an essential contribution to national group coh ...

. In 2015 the military base was closed, only the radar antennas are still in use and are remotely controlled. Another Maginot ''ouvrage'',

Mont Agel Mont Agel is a mountain on the border between France and Monaco. The summit of this mount, at above sea level, is on the French side, but the highest point of Monaco, lying on a pathway named Chemin des Révoires, is on its slopes, at an altitud ...

of 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 ...

, performs a similar function in southeastern France.

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.