Ouvrage Restefond is a work (''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 ...
'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 ...
. The ouvrage consists of one artillery block and three observation blocks at the summit of the Col de la Bonette. The entry block and an artillery block were not completed, and a further block was never built.
At , Restefond is the highest Maginot ''ouvrage''.
Description
*Block 1 (unfinished entry): one
machine gun cloche and one heavy twin machine gun embrasure. A 47mm anti-tank gun was planned.
*Block 2 (infantry block): one machine gun cloche and two 81mm mortar embrasures.
*Block 3 (infantry block): one machine gun cloche and one heavy twin machine gun embrasure.
*Block 4 (infantry block): one
observation cloche, one machine gun cloche and one heavy twin machine gun embrasure.
*Block 5 (uncompleted artillery block): three 75mm gun embrasures.
*Block 6 (artillery block): three 75mm gun embrasures, intended primarily for indirect fire.
*Block 7 (unbuilt): three 75mm gun embrasures, later proposed to be armed with a twin 75mm gun turret.
[Mary, Tome 5, p. 42]
Restefond includes 668 meters of underground galleries at a depth of 64 meters. The position remains the property of the French military, with much of its equipment intact.
Some of the uninstalled equipment remains at the Restefond barracks nearby.
1940
:''See
Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné The Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné (''Secteur Fortifié du Dauphiné'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Alpine Line portion of the Maginot Line facing Italy in the vicinity of Briançon. By compar ...
for a broader discussion of the Dauphiné sector of the Alpine Line.''
Block 6 fired on Italian forces in June 1940 as they advanced toward the Col des Fourches.
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
Rimplas (gros ouvrage du)at fortiff.be
{{DEFAULTSORT:Restefond, Ouvrage
REST
Rest or REST may refer to:
Relief from activity
* Sleep
** Bed rest
* Kneeling
* Lying (position)
* Sitting
* Squatting position
Structural support
* Structural support
** Rest (cue sports)
** Armrest
** Headrest
** Footrest
Arts and entert ...
Maginot Line
Alpine Line