Ouvrage Haut-Poirier
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Ouvrage Haut-Poirier is a lesser work (''petit 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 ...
. The ouvrage consists of one entry and three infantry blocks, and is located between the Saare valley and ''petit ouvrage'' Welschhof, facing
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is the only ''ouvrage'' in the
Fortified Sector of the Sarre The Fortified Sector of the Sarre (''Secteur Fortifié de la Sarre'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line on either side of the Sarre river. The sector's defenses relied primarily on a system ...
, the remainder of the area being covered by smaller blockhouses and areas of inundation. It was assaulted by German forces during the
Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
and was captured after a seven-hour bombardment. Haut-Poirier is abandoned, although one of its satellite casemates is maintained as a museum.


Design and construction

The site was surveyed by CORF (''Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées''), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, and was approved for construction in November 1934. The ''petit ouvrage'' was to be expanded in a second phase to ''gros ouvrage'' status with separate personnel and munitions entrances, two 75mm gun turret blocks and a 75mm gun casemate block.Mary, Tome 3, pp. 120–121


Description

Haut-Poirier comprises three infantry blocks and a small entry block. The blocks are linked by an underground gallery system containing barracks spaces, ammunition storage and utility services. The galleries are excavated at an average depth of up to .Mary, Tome 2, p. 117 The provisional entry block is located a short distance behind the combat blocks, accessed by a large drain. The proposed new entrances would have been several hundred meters father back. *Block 1: Infantry block with two automatic rifle cloches (GFM), two mixed arms cloches (AM), and one machine gun/anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/ AC47). *Block 2: Infantry block with one GFM cloche and one retractable mixed arms turret. *Block 3: Infantry block with two GFM cloches, one mixed arms cloche, one twin machine gun embrasure and two JM/AC 47 embrasures. The block was heavily damaged by German bombardment in 1940. Haut-Poirier also has two false cloches.


Casemates and shelters

A series of detached
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
s and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Haut-Poirier, including * Casemate de Wittring: SIngle block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure, two AM cloches and two GFM-B cloches. * Casemate du Grand-Bois: SIngle block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one twin machine gun embrasure, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches. * Casemate de Nord-Ouest d'Achen: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, one twin machine gun embrasure, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches. * Casemate de Nord d'Achen: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, two twin machine gun embrasures, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches. * Casemate de Nord-Est d'Achen: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasures, two twin machine gun embrasures, one AM cloche and two GFM-B cloches.


Manning

The 1940 manning of the ''ouvrage'' under the command of Captain Gambotti comprised 158 men and 3 officers of the 133rd Fortress Infantry Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 4th Army, Army Group 2. The Casernement d'Achen provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Haut-Poirier and other positions in the area.


History

:''See
Fortified Sector of the Sarre The Fortified Sector of the Sarre (''Secteur Fortifié de la Sarre'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line on either side of the Sarre river. The sector's defenses relied primarily on a system ...
for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Sarre sector of the Maginot Line.'' On 15 June 1940 German forces broke through the Saar gap. The German 262nd Infantry Division approached Haut-Poirier from the rear on 21 June. The Germans opened fire with 150 mm artillery at 1500 hours, concentrating on Block 3. Without artillery support from a ''gros ouvrage'',and with Blocks 1 and 2 were unable to intervene, their fire blocked by terrain, Haut-Poirier surrendered at 2200 hours. The casemates nearby surrendered at the same time.Mary, Tome 3, p.p. 212-213 After the June 1940 armistice the Germans stripped Haut-Poirier of all equipment. The ''ouvrage'' was in poor condition after the war and was not chosen for renovation.Mary, Tome 5, p. 155


Current condition

Haut-Poirier is on private property and is sealed to access. The Casemate de Wittring is maintained as a museum and may be visited.


See also

* List of all works on Maginot Line *
Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...
*
Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...
*
Czechoslovak border fortifications Czechoslovakia built a system of border fortifications as well as some fortified defensive lines inland, from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany. The objective of the fortifications was to prevent t ...


Notes


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 2.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. *Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. *Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009.


External links


Casemate de Wittring

L'ouvrage du Haut-Poirier
at alsacemaginot.com
Haut-Poirier (petit ouvrage du)
at fortiff.be
PO du Haut-Poirier
, at wikimaginot.eu {{DEFAULTSORT:Haut-Poirier, Ouvrage
HAUT Haut may refer to: * ''Haut'' (newspaper), a newspaper published in Luxembourg {{disambiguation ...
Maginot Line