Ouvrage Plan Caval is a lesser work (''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 ...
'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 known as the Little Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks and one observation block facing
Italy. The ''ouvrage'' is located on the heights of L'Authion, surrounded by older fortifications. Three additional blocks were planned to make it a ''gros ouvrage'' but were not built. Cost for the full ensemble was estimated at 23 million francs.
[Mary, Tome 5, pp. 53–54]
The ''ouvrage'' consists of three blocks facing
Italy at an altitude of . The ''ouvrage'' was manned by 287 soldiers in 1940, under the command of Captain Philipp.
Plan-Caval was located to control the Maglia and Cayros valleys, as well as providing flanking cover the
La Béole and
Saint-Véran
Saint-Véran (; oc, Sent Veran sã vˈʀã is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France in the Queyras Regional Natural Park.
Geography
Saint-Véran, located in the French Alps, is the most elevated commune in France and ...
. An extensive set of underground barracks and magazines near the uncompleted entrances was never started, so that the ''ouvrage'' as constructed consists mostly of a single narrow gallery connecting the combat blocks.
Description
*Block 1 (unbuilt entry block): planned to have one
observation/machine gun cloche and one twin heavy machine gun embrasure.
*Block 2 (unbuilt artillery block): planned to have one 75mm/31cal gun embrasure.
*Block 3 (partially built artillery block): planned to have one observation/machine gun cloche and one 81mm mortar turret. Neither was installed and the block is blocked off from the gallery below.
*Block 4 (infantry block): one
heavy twin machine gun cloche and one twin machine gun embrasure.
*Block 5 (infantry block): one
observation/machine gun cloche.
*Block 6 (infantry block): two heavy twin machine gun embrasures.
Plan Caval is also associated with a nearby casemate with one machine gun embrasure and one advance post bunker.
The advanced post is a small blockhouse with three machine gun embrasures.
Other, older fortifications exist in the same neighborhood. The Batterie du Plan Caval and its associated barracks are immediately to the west of the ''ouvrage''.
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 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
Ouvrage Plan Cavalat Subterranea Britannica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plan Caval, Ouvrage
PLAN
Maginot Line
Alpine Line