The Fort du Trou-d'Enfer, also known as the Réduit du Trou-d'Enfer, is one of the fortifications of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, It is located in

Marly-le-Roi Marly-le-Roi () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the administrative region of Île-de-France, France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Marly-le-Roi was the location of the Château de Marly, t ...

, in the departement of

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, who blew up their ammunition when they evacuated the fort in August 1944, damaging the fort. The fort is named for the farm on whose land it sits, the ''ferme du trou-d'enfer'', literally "Hellhole Farm."

History

In 1870 France was partly occupied by the Prussian Army. Following this defeat, France put in place the

Séré de Rivières system The system was named after Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, its originator. The system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 along the frontiers and coasts of France. The fortresses were obsolescent by 1914 but were used during ...

of fortifications to modernize its fortifications and to adjust its defensive strategy to the new borders imposed in 1871. The portion of the system surrounding Paris amounted to 18 forts, 5 redoubts and 34 batteries constructed between 1874 and 1881, of which the Fort du Trou d'Enfer is a part.

OAS OAS or Oas may refer to: Chemistry * O-Acetylserine, amino-acid involved in cysteine synthesis Computers * Open-Architecture-System, the main user interface of Wersi musical keyboards * OpenAPI Specification (originally Swagger Specification) ...

members

Albert Dovecar Albert Dovecar (19 July 1937 – 7 June 1962) was a sergeant in the French 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment of the French Foreign Legion. He was executed by firing squad at the Fort du Trou d'Enfer for his part in the assassination of Frenc ...

and

Claude Piegts Claude Piegts (1 January 1934 – 7 June 1962) was a pied-noir and a member of the Organisation armée secrète (OAS). As a member of the OAS's Commando Delta, Piegts participated in the assassination of the Police Commissar of Algiers, for whi ...

were executed at the Fort du Trou-d'Enfer in 1962. The fort is presently assigned to the French

National Forests Office The National Forests Office (french: Office national des forêts), or ONF, is a Government of France agency that manages the state forests, city forests and biological reserves. ONF is based in Paris. The office is responsible for the sustaina ...

and is not open to the public. The ONF operates a pheasant hatchery on the site of the fort for the grounds of the nearby French Presidential retreat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trou-d'Enfer, Fort Du Fortifications of Paris Séré de Rivières system Buildings and structures in Yvelines

History

See also

References