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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 France, the Alpine Line traversed a mountainous region of the Maritime Alps, the Cottian Alps and the Graian Alps, with relatively few passes suitable for invading armies. Access was difficult for construction and for the Alpine Line garrisons. Consequently, fortifications were smaller in scale than the fortifications of the main Line. The Alpine Line mounted few anti-tank weapons, since the terrain was mostly unsuitable for the use of tanks. Ouvrage Rimplas was the first Maginot fortification to be completed on any portion of the Maginot Line, in 1928. The Alpine Line was unsuccessfully attacked by Italian forces during the Italian invasion of France in 1940. Following World War II, some of the larger positions of the Alpine Line were retai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its Metropolitan France, metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin (island), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort De Tournoux
The Fort de Tournoux is a fortification complex in the Ubaye Valley in the French Alps. It was built between 1843 and the early 20th century to defend France against invasion from Italy and Savoy. It was described as the "Military Versailles of the 19th century," resembling a Tibetan monastery on the mountainside above the Ubaye. The fort is actually an ensemble of fortifications, including some "batteries" that rival the main fort in size and power. Prehistory Earliest records show that the position of the village of Tournoux was a strategically important one, with the tiny plateau offering food and watering facilities to armies crossing the Col de Larche from modern day Italy and the Col de Vars. There is evidence of Roman occupation of the plateau. Of later times little survives, but there are the traces of a 7th-century fortified church in the valley. Between the 7th century and the 17th century, the upper Ubaye Valley changed hands between states about 17 times â ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. History and remains The town dates back to the 5th century, when it served as an important staging post on the royal road from Nice to Turin. Its main monument is the former cathedral. * The old toll bridge used by travellers to cross the Bévéra, built in the 13th century, still stands. It was bombed by the Germans during World War II to prevent contact between the French Resistance ("The Maquis") and the Italians. Much of the town was destroyed. Renovated after World War II it now houses the tourist office. * The ruins of a tower, part of a château (residential castle) belonging to the counts of Provence, are all that remain of the 14th century city walls. Ecclesiastical history During the Western Schism, the Diocese of Ventimiglia ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Col De Larche
The Maddalena Pass (Italian: ''Colle della Maddalena'' French: ''Col de Larche'', historically ''Col de l'Argentière'') (elevation 1996 m.) is a high mountain pass between the Cottian Alps and the Maritime Alps, located on the border between Italy and France. It connects Barcelonnette in France with Cuneo in Italy. Its French name ''Col de Larche'' refers to the village Larche on its northwestern side. Under its earlier name, Col de l'Argentière it has historically linked Lyon with Italy; the Col de l'Argentière was in the possession of the house of Savoy from 1388 to 1713, offering an easy route between Piedmont and its outlying valley of Barcelonnette, which came into Savoyard possession in 1388, when Amadeus VI of Savoy purchased it for the sum of 60,000 ecus,W. A. B. Coolidge, "The Passages of the Alps in 1518" ''The English Historical Review'' 30 No. 120 (October 1915:681-691) pp 687-88, 690. it was of such strategic and commercial importance. A few hundred metres from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
