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Ouvrage Four-à-Chaux
Ouvrage Four-à-Chaux is a ''gros ouvrage'' of the Maginot Line, located in the community of Lembach, France, in the Bas-Rhin département. Four à Chaux was adjoined by ''petit ouvrage'' Lembach and ''gros ouvrage'' Hochwald, and faced the German frontier as part of the Fortified Sector of the Vosges. A "four à chaux" is a lime kiln in French, and the ''ouvrage'' was located in the area of a limestone quarry and kiln, which operated until 1939. Four-à-Chaux was bombarded by the invading Germans in late June 1940 during the Battle of France with both aerial attacks and artillery bombardments. Four-à-Chaux survived to surrender at the end of the month. Block 1 was destroyed by the Germans before retreating in the face of American advances in 1945. During the 1950s Four-à-Chaux was renovated and reoccupied against a perceived threat from the Soviet Union. It fell out of use in the 1970s, and is now operated as a museum. Design and construction The site was surveyed by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Nazi Germany and force them to move around the fortifications. It was impervious to most forms of attack; consequently, the Germans invaded through the Low Countries in 1940, passing it to the north. The line, which was supposed to be fully extended further towards the west to avoid such an occurrence, was finally scaled back in response to demands from Belgium. Indeed, Belgium feared it would be sacrificed in the event of another German invasion. The line has since become a metaphor for expensive efforts that offer a false sense of security. Constructed on the French side of its borders with Kingdom of Italy, Italy, Switzerland, Nazi Germany, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium, the line did not extend to the English Channel. French st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AC 47 Anti-tank Gun
The AC 47 was a French anti-tank gun of 47 mm calibre. It was principally used in the ''ouvrages'' and casemates of the Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ... in the late 1930s; another version was created for naval use. AC stands for anti-char, char being French for "tank". The AC 47 was principally used as a defensive weapon, since its portability was intentionally limited to prevent the weapon from being turned on defending troops if a fortification was captured. Characteristics * Length of the tube : 2.52 m (8.26 ft) * Rifling: 16, right-handed * Penetration: At an incidence of 30° it could penetrate 77 mm of armour at 500 metres and 56 mm at 1000 metres. See also * 47 mm APX anti-tank gun References Sources * Wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortified Sector Of The Vosges
The Fortified Sector of the Vosges (''Secteur Fortifiée des Vosges'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line at the northern end of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach and to the east by the Fortified Sector of Haguenau. The sector featured two ''gros ouvrages'' mounting heavy artillery at either end of the sector and one ''petit ouvrage'' mounting infantry weapons, linked by a line of casemates. The sector was attacked in 1940 by German forces in the Battle of France. German forces penetrated the casemate line and moved behind French lines. Despite the withdrawal of the mobile forces that supported the fixed fortifications, the three ''ouvrages'' successfully fended off German assaults before the Second Armistice at Compiègne, but were unable to hinder German activities to their south. The positions and their garrisons finally surrendered on 1 July ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
