Ouvrage Molvange is a large work, or ''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 ...

. The fortification complex faces the

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 ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

border from a height near

Entrange Entrange (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department of France. The communes coopera ...

in the Moselle department. The complex, armed and occupied in 1935, is located on the heights of

, at an altitude of about . Molvange is flanked by the even larger

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 ...

to the west and smaller ''petit ouvrage'' Immerhof to the east, part of the

Fortified Sector of Thionville The Fortified Sector of Thionville (''Secteur fortifié de Thionville'') was the French military organisation that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line immediately to the north of Thionville. The sector describes an arc of about , ...

. Molvange was not involved in significant combat 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 ...

, but due to its size it was repaired and retained in service after the war. 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 ...

, Molvange's underground barracks and former ammunition magazine became a hardened military command centre.

Design and construction

The Molvange site was surveyed by CORF (''Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées''), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1930. Work by the contractor, Quintin & Lesprit, began the same year,Mary, Tome 3, p. 79 and the position became operational in 1935,Kaufmann 2006, p. 25 at a cost of 106 million francs.Mary, Tome 1, p. 52 Molvange occupies the lip of a wooded height that runs roughly perpendicular to the fortified front, sloping steeply on the east side. Compared with Rochonvillers, its companion to the west, Molvange's entries are closer to the front. They were, however, linked to the rear via a 60 cm narrow-gauge railway, which continued through the ''ouvrage'' to the combat blocks.

Description

The ''ouvrage'' includes two entries and nine combat blocks. As a large ''ouvrage'', Molvange has an "M1" ammunition magazine near the entries, in the vicinity of Block 10. The underground barracks are farther out of the main gallery on the other side of Block 10. These spacious subterranean facilities would become useful as command centres after the war. The main gallery extends out to Block 1, at an average depth of .Mary, Tome 2, p. 35 All blocks are within a security zone and are not accessible to the public. *Ammunition entry: an incline, two automatic rifle cloches (GFM), one machine gun/ 47 mm anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/AC47). *Personnel entry: a shaft, one GFM cloche, one JM/AC47 embrasure and one machine gun embrasure. *Block 1: Observation block with one GFM cloche, one periscope cloche (VDP) and one machine gun cloche (JM). *Block 2: Infantry block with one machine gun turret and two GFM cloches. *Block 3: Artillery block with one 81 mm mortar turret, one GFM cloche and one grenade launcher cloche. *Block 4: Artillery block with one 135 mm gun turret and one GFM cloche. *Block 5: Artillery block with one 75 mm gun turret. The turret was removed and taken to

Ouvrage Fermont Ouvrage Fermont is a ''gros ouvrage'' of the Maginot Line, part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes in northeastern France, near the community of Montigny-sur-Chiers. It is located near the commune of Montigny-sur-Chiers, between the ''pe ...

's museum. *Block 6: Infantry block with one machine gun turret, one GFM cloche and one JM cloche. *Block 7: Infantry block with one GFM cloche and one VDP cloche. A modern communications tower formerly occupied the site, removed by 2006. *Block 8: Artillery block with 75 mm gun turret and two GFM cloches. *Block 10: Artillery block with one 75 mm gun turret, one GFM cloche and one grenade launcher cloche (LG). In 1939 a plan was proposed to connect Molvange to Rochonvillers via an underground galley to the Abri du Bois d'Escherange, then to the Abri du Grand Lot, and on to Rochonvillers through the existing connection. The plan never came to fruition.Mary, Tome 3, p. 90

Casemates and shelters

The Abri du Petersberg is nearby in the direction of Rochonvillers , just to the west of Block 8. The infantry shelter (or ''abri'') was armed with one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche. The Casemate d'Entrange is located at the bottom of the slope to the east of Block 1 . The

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 ...

was armed with one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche. Abri-zeiterholz-2004-05-22

Several other casemates and infantry shelters are located to the east of Molvange, including * Casemate du Bois-de-Kanfen Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and one GFM cloche. * Casemate du Bois-de-Kanfen Est: Single block with one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and one GFM cloche. * Abri du Bois-de-Kanfen: Single surface shelter for two infantry sections, with two GFM cloches. *Abri du Zeiterholz: Shelter for two infantry sections, two GFM cloches. The ''abri'' has been restored and may be visited.Kaufmann 2011, p. 214 None of these are connected to the ''ouvrage'' or to each other. All were built by CORF

Manning

The manning of the ''ouvrage'' in 1940 comprised 711 men and 24 officers of the 169th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 151st Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2. Peacetime quarters for the garrisons of Rochonvillers and Molvange were at the Camp d'Angevillers, just to the south of the Rochonvillers entries, near the town of

Angevillers Angevillers (Lorraine Franconian ''Aasler'', German: Arsweiler) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Moselle department * Ouvrage Rochonvillers, a Maginot Line T ...

. With the establishment of the CENTAG wartime headquarters at Rochonvillers, the French 125th Régiment d'Instruction des Transmissions and the 2nd Régiment du Génie occupied the camp, along with the 175th Signal Company and the 208th Signal Support Company of the US Army. US Air Force units occupied portions of Molvange, which housed the 4th Allied Tactical Air Force wartime headquarters. The camp was later occupied by the 40th Régiment de Transmissions stationed at the Jeanne d'Arc barracks in

Thionville Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...

and the Guyon-Gellin barracks in

Hettange-Grande Hettange-Grande (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Grouss-Hetténgen'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The town gives its name to the Hettangian age, the earliest age of the Jurassic period of the geologic ...

, near the

Ouvrage Immerhof Ouvrage Immerhof, also known as Ouvrage Ferme-Immerhof, is one of the largest ''petit ouvrages'' of the Maginot Line of north-east, France. Located near the community of Hettange-Grande, it is 7 km north of Thionville between the ''gros ouvr ...

History

:''See

for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Thionville sector of the Maginot Line.'' Molvange did not see 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 ...

in 1940, nor in the Lorraine Campaign of 1944. The Germans largely bypassed the area, advancing along the valley of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

and

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Est ...

rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on June 17 was reversed by O'Sullivan. The garrison therefore remained in place and surrendered to the Germans following the

Second Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 18:36 near Compiègne, France, by officials of Nazi Germany and the Third French Republic. It did not come into effect until after midnight on 25 June. Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel, ...

on June 22.

Renovation

In the 1950s the French government became concerned about a possible invasion by the

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 ...

through Germany. The Maginot Line, while obsolete in terms of its armament, was viewed as a series of useful deeply buried and self-sufficient shelters in an era of air power and nuclear weapons. A number of the larger ''ouvrages'' were selected to form defensive ensembles or ''môles'' around which a defence might be organised and controlled. In 1951 Molvange was planned to become part of the ''môle de Rochonvillers'', in company with Rochonvillers and

Bréhain Bréhain (; german: Bruchheim) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department o ...

, and later Immerhof.Mary, Tome 5, p. 161

NATO command centre

With France's acquisition of

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s in 1960, the Maginot fortifications began to be viewed as an expensive anachronism. Funding was provided for maintenance, but for little more. In 1960 the French Army initiated inquiries among the other French forces and among

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 ...

members concerning the use of Maginot fortifications as storage depots or as command centres. In 1961, after discussions with the Americans and West Germans, Rochonvillers, Molvange and Soetrich were placed at the disposal of NATO. Rochonviller's main M1 magazine, with its two entries and circulation loop crossed by five galleries, was made into a wartime command centre for the 4th Allied Tactical Air Forces at a cost of 320 million francs. Molvange functioned in this role until 1967, when France withdrew from NATO's integrated command structure. 4th ATAF's command centre was relocated to

Kindsbach Kindsbach is a municipality in the Kaiserslautern (district), district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Notable people *Paul Westrich (born 1947), insect specialist *Peter Immesberger (born 1960), weight lifter Refere ...

, Germany, close to

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

, occupying the so-called Kindsbach Cave until 1987. The Molvange command centre is still the responsibility of the 40th Communications Regiment, based in Thionville, but has been inactive since 1999. In 1971 the names of the Maginot ''ouvrages'' were declassified by the French military.Mary, Tome 5, p. 175 Molvange remains the property of the French military and access is forbidden to the public. The Abri du Zeiterholz has been restored and may be visited in summer months.

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Allcorn, William. ''The Maginot Line 1928-45.'' Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003. *Degon, André; Zylberyng, Didier, ''La Ligne Maginot: Guide des Forts à Visiter,'' Editions Ouest-France, 2014. *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.