Ouvrage Saint Ours Bas is a lesser work (''petit ouvrage'') of the
Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the
Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one infantry block. The location is unusual in lacking the underground galleries typical of a Maginot fortification, making it more like a blockhouse than an ''ouvrage''. It was armed with two
machine gun cloches and three heavy twin machine guns and six light machine gun embrasures.
The interior is laid out on two levels.
[Mary, Tome 5, p. 34]
Construction began in July 1931, and cost 4.2 million francs to complete.
[Mary, Tome 4 - La fortification alpine, p. 29] The position controlled movement along RN 100.
:''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.''
Present condition
Saint-Ours Bas has been preserved and is now a museum, associated with
Ouvrage Saint Ours Haut
Ouvrage Saint Ours Haut is a work (''gros ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also known as the Little Maginot Line. The ouvrage consists of one infantry block, one artillery block, two observation blocks and one c ...
, as part of the Museum of Saint-Ours-Bas.
[Kaufmann 2011, pp. 264-264]
See also
*
List of Alpine Line ouvrages
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
Saint-Ours (petit ouvrage bas)at fortiff.be
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ours Bas, Ouvrage
BASO
Maginot Line
Alpine Line
World War II museums in France
Museums in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence