Ouvrage Saint-Roch 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 ...
, also known as the Little Maginot Line. Small for a ''gros ouvrages'', the ouvrage consists of one entry block, one artillery block and two observation blocks overlooking
Sospel
Sospel (; Mentonasc: Sospèl, Italian Sospello) is a commune (municipality) and former schismatic episcopal seat (1381-1418) in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France near the Italian border and not far from Monte Carlo.
Hist ...
at an altitude of . The position is located just to the southwest of Sospel, its entrance block in a narrow valley and the artillery block on the other side of the ridge overlooking Sospel. The ''ouvrage'' is laid out along a single line, with the entry block to the rear, immediately followed by the ''usine'', with barracks farther along and Blocks 2 and 3 at intervals. The position's main armament is concentrated in Block 4, a massive blockhouse designed to protect against rockfalls from higher up the mountain.
[Mary, Tome 5, pp. 60–61]
Description
Ouvrage Saint-Roch was built between November 1930 and June 1932, starting with a contractor named Marting and finishing with Roussel. The cost was 12.7 million francs, of which the armament cost 2,128,000 francs
[Mary, , Tome 4. p. 29]
*Block 1 (entry): one
machine gun cloche and two machine gun embrasures.
*Block 2 (observation): one machine gun/observation cloche.
*Block 3 (infantry): one machine gun cloche and one
grenade launcher cloche.
*Block 4 (artillery): three
twin machine gun cloches, two twin machine gun embrasures, one 75mm/29cal gun embrasure, and four 81mm mortar embrasures.
A fifth block on the crest of the mountain was proposed but not built, to house a GFM cloche. Two observation posts were associated with Saint-Roch, including Campoast, armed with one machine gun and twin automatic rifle positions.
Saint-Roch and an associated museum are open for visitation year-round.
The facilities are operated by the ''Association de l'Armée des Alpes'',
[Kaufmann 2011, p. 276]
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
Musée des fortifications alpines Fort Saint Roch
Saint-Roch (gros ouvrage)at fortiff.be
at Les Sentinelles des Alpes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Roch, Ouvrage
STRO
Maginot Line
Alpine Line
World War II museums in France