Ouvrage Rohrbach (or Fort Casso) 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 in the community of Bettvillier, near Rohrbach-lès-Bitche in the Moselle ''département'', facing

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The

Fortified Sector of Rohrbach The Fortified Sector of Rohrbach (''Secteur Fortifié de Rohrbach'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line in the vicinity of Bitche. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector ...

was built somewhat later than its neighbors to the east and west, and in company with positions on the extreme western end of the Maginot Line, became one of the "New Fronts."

Design and construction

Early designs contemplated a powerful fortification of thirteen blocks. However, the scale of works in the Rohrbach sector was reduced in 1933 to two ''gros ouvrages'', one ''petit ouvrage'' (Rohrbach), fifteen

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 eight shelters (''abris''). The fortifications center around the military camp at

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 ...

and the village of Petit-Réderching. No works were constructed in Rohrbach itself. As a result of the decision of

Marshal Pétain Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

in 1929, priority was given to the Vosges and the defense of the plain of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. Aware of the weakness of the area between the rivers Sarre and Lauter, three ''gros ouvrages'' were proposed, to be completed between 1929 and 1933. However, in 1934, due to budget restrictions, plans were deferred for artillery blocks at Rohrbach, and only the infantry blocks were ultimately constructed. As the project progressed, it was distributed among Rohrbach and its neighbors. The site was surveyed by CORF (''Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées''), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, and was approved for construction in June 1934. The ''petit ouvrage'' was to be expanded in a second phase to a ''gros ouvrage'' with separate munitions and personnel entries, an "M1" magazine, full underground ''caserne'', two 75mm gun turrets, a 135 mm gun turret, a casemate block with three 75mm guns and a long-range 145mm gun turret.Mary, Tome 3, p. 124

Description

The town of Rohrbach-lès-Bitche is located on a shelf between the

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 ...

mountains and the valley of the Sarre, tunneled beneath by

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...

mines. The valley extends into Germany and forms a natural axis of attack. The constructed portions of Rohrbach are on the edge of an escarpment, while most of the proposed additional blocks, as well as the entries, were to be located several hundred meters to the rear in a ravine, tunneled under the village. The ''ouvrage'' itself comprises one entrance block and two infantry blocks. * Block 1: Infantry block with one machine gun (JM)/ 47mm anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/AC47), two machine gun embrasure (JM), one retractable mixed arms turret and two automatic rifle cloches (GFM). * Block 2: Infantry block with three automatic rifle embrasures, one mixed arms cloche (AM) and one GFM cloche * Block 3: Infantry block with two twin machine gun embrasures, one JM/AC437 embrasure, one retractable twin machine gun turret and two GFM cloches.

Casemates and shelters

A series of detached

s and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Rohrbach, including * Casemate de la Station-de-Rohrbach: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, one twin machine gun embrasure, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches. * Abri de Rohrbach: Surface shelter or ''abri'' with two GFM-B cloches

Manning

In 1939 the garrison comprised 173 men and 3 officers of the 166th Fortress Infantry Regiment under the command of Captain de Saint-Ferjeux. The units were under the umbrella of the 4th Army, Army Group 2. The Casernement de Bining provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Rohrbach and other positions in the area.

History

:''See

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

1940

The garrison at Rohrbach made its first direct contact with German forces on 15 June 1940, when a patrol from the ''ouvrage'' ran into German troops of the 262nd Infantry Division, resulting in the death of Lieutenant Damour, in charge of the patrol, and one other French soldier. Later in the day the sector's positions were ordered to prepare to withdraw, sabotaging their equipment before leaving. On the 16th the Germans sent large formations through the gap they had exploited in the Sarre valley, moving behind the Maginot Line. By the 17th Rohrbach was surrounded. On 19 June infiltrators in the vicinity of Rohrbach were fired upon by Simserhof. On the 21st a large-scale attack was opened against Welschhof, which was interrupted by fire from Simserhof. Haut-Poirier, farther to the west and out of range of Simserhof, was forced to surrender. Further firing occurred on the 22nd and 23rd, while individual casemates were assaulted by the Germans and taken. Both Rohrbach and Simserhof continued to fire back at the Germans on the 24th, ceasing fire at midnight in accordance with the terms of 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, ...

. The garrison formally surrendered on 30 June.

1944

Rohrbach was liberated by advancing American forces on 10 December 1944, after the German evacuated, sabotaging the installation.Mary, Tome 5, p. 142

Post-War

By 1951 work was proceeding on renovation of many of the northeastern ''ouvrages'', including Rohrbach, with the aim of restoring their combat capability to block a potential advance 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 ...

.Mary, Tome 5, p. 162 Rohrbach and its neighbors were designated the ''môle de Bitche'', a fortified strongpoint. After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force, the importance of the Line declined. Rohrbach was among the first positions to be deactivated in 1970.

Preservation

From 1987 local residents worked to restore to ''ouvrage'' with support from the town of Rohrbach-lès-Bitche. The ''Association Fort Casso'' was established in 1989 to support the work. The association presently operates Rohrbach as a museum. The present name memorializes Rohrbach's engineering officer, Lieutenant Casso.Kaufmann 2011, p. 241

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.

External links

Website

Ouvrage de Rohrbach-les-Bitche, Fort Casso

Ouvrage de Rohbach
at Chemins de mémoire
Petit Ouvrage de Rochbach - Fort Casso
at wikimaginot.eu
L'ouvrage de Rohrbach
at alsacemaginot.com

at lignemaginot.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohrbach, Ouvrage Maginot Line World War II museums in France Môle de Bitche Fortified sector of Rohrbach