Ouvrage Métrich located in the village of Kœnigsmacker in Moselle, comprises part of the

Elzange Elzange (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department of France. The communes coopera ...

portion of the

Fortified Sector of Thionville The Fortified Sector of Thionville (''Secteur fortifié de Thionville'') was the French military organisation that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line immediately to the north of Thionville. The sector describes an arc of about , ...

of the Maginot Line. A ''gros ouvrage'', it is the third largest of the Line, after Hackenberg and Hochwald. It lies between ''petit ouvrage'' Sentzich and ''gros ouvrage'' Billig, 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 ...

. Located to the east of the Moselle, it cooperated with Ouvrage Galgenberg to control the river valley.

Design and construction

Métrich was approved for construction by CORF (''Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées''), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in November 1930 and became operational by 1935,Kaufmann 2006, p. 25 at a cost of 127 million francs. The contractor was Construction Générale.Mary, Tome 1, p. 52

Description

Métrich is a typical large Maginot ''gros ouvrage'' with separate ammunition and personnel entry blocks. It has a particularly heavy artillery component, with seven 75 mm guns, two 135 mm guns and four 81 mm mortars, making it the third most heavily armed unit in the Maginot Line. More than of underground galleries connect the entries to the farthest blocks 4 and 5, at an average depth of . An "M1" magazine, arranged with a horseshoe-shaped perimeter gallery connected by cross galleries between the legs, is located close to the ammunition entrance, while the underground barracks and utility areas are just inside the personnel entry. The gallery system was served by a narrow gauge (60 cm) railway that continued out the ammunition entry and connected to a regional military railway system for the movement of materiel along the front a few kilometres to the rear.Mary, Tome 2, p. 53 Several "stations" along the gallery system, located in wider sections of the gallery, permitted trains to pass or be stored. Several 60 cm wagons, which had remained at Métrich, were recovered in 1983 and were moved to the Maginot museum at

Ouvrage Schoenenbourg Ouvrage Schoenenbourg is a Maginot Line fortification. It is located on the territory of the communes of Hunspach, Schœnenbourg and Ingolsheim, in the French ''département'' of Bas-Rhin, forming part of the Fortified Sector of Haguenau ...

. ''Ouvrage'' Métrich comprises two entries and ten combat blocks: *Ammunition entry: at-grade, one machine gun/ 37 mm anti-tank gun embrasure (JM/AC37), one machine gun embrasure (JM), and two automatic rifle cloches (GFM). *Personnel entry: gently descending from the entry, one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure, and two GFM cloches. *Block 1: Artillery block flanking to the north with three 75 mm gun embrasures and two GFM cloches. *Block 3: Infantry block flanking to the north with one machine gun turret, one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure and one GFM cloche *Block 4: Infantry block with one machine gun turret *Block 5: Artillery block with one 81 mm mortar turret and two GFM cloches *Block 7: Observation block with one GFM cloche and one VDP periscope cloche. *Block 8: Mixed block with one 75 mm gun turret, one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure and two GFM cloches *Block 10: Artillery block with one 75 mm gun terret and one grenade launcher turret (LG). *Block 11: Artillery block with one 135 mm gun turret, one grenade launcher turret and one GFM cloche. *Block 14: Observation block with two GFM cloches and one periscope cloche (VDP). *Block 15: Artillery block with two 81 mm mortar embrasures and two GFM cloches. Due to the depth of the main galleries under the height of the Métrich Hill, blocks 8 and 11 are linked by a gallery at an intermediate level, containing an "M2" magazine. An intermediate level under Block 7 contains the command post.Mary, Tome 3, p. 96

Casemates and shelters

Métrich was associated with a number of smaller fortifications. These included: *Casemate de Koenigsmacker Nord: one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one GFM cloche *Casemate de Koenigsmacker Sud: one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one GFM cloche *Casemate de Métrich Nord: one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one GFM cloche *Casemate de Métrich Sud: one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one GFM cloche *Abri du Krekelbusch: buried infantry shelter for two sections, with one GFM clocheMary, Tome 3, p. 97 *Abri Sud de Métrich: buried infantry shelter for one section, with two GFM cloches *Abri du Nonnenberg: buried infantry shelter for one section, with two GFM cloches *Abri du Nord-du-Bichel: surface infantry shelter for one section, with two GFM cloches *Casemate du Bois-de-Koenigsmacker: one JM/AC37 embrasure, one JM embrasure, two GFM cloches *Abri du Sud-du-Bichel: surface infantry shelter for one section, with two GFM cloches, in the process of restoration.Kaufmann 2011, p. 223 None of these are connected to the ''ouvrage'' or to each other. All were built by CORF.

Manning

The ''ouvrage'' was manned by 795 men and 26 officers under the command of Commandant Lauga. The Casernement d'Elzange provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Bois-Karre and other ''ouvrages'' in the area.

History

:''See

for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Thionville sector of the Maginot Line.'' The principal mission of the ''ouvrage'' was to cover the east side of the Moselle Valley. In 1940 German forces largely bypassed the Moselle, enveloping

Thionville Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...

from the rear. Métrich and other ''ouvrages'' in the Thionville sector therefore surrendered after the

Second Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 18:36 near Compiègne, France, by officials of Nazi Germany and the Third French Republic. It did not come into effect until after midnight on 25 June. Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel, ...

of 22 June. During the

Occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

support areas of the ''ouvrage'' were transformed by German occupiers into offices and manufacturing facilities. Some of the combat blocks were used by the Germans for testing of explosives.Mary, Tome 5, p. 154 In 1944 Métrich was held by the 74th Volksgrenadier Regiment of the 19th Volksgrenadier Division. Métrich was attacked on 10 November 1944 by the U.S. 90th Infantry Division advancing around the north side of

. After an initial retreat, German resistance was strong. A second, cautious assault was launched on the 11th, and when the ''ouvrage'' had been surrounded the main force bypassed the position, leaving a holding force to clear the German defences, where resistance ended on the 12th. Following the war, the Maginot Line was viewed as a means of slowing an advance by

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...

forces and most of the north-eastern positions were renovated and rearmed. The renovations did not include the command post or the barracks. However, the program was abandoned, and after a period of routine maintenance, Métrich's status was lowered to inactive reserve, and finally abandoned.Mary, Tome 5, p. 175

Current condition

Métrich has been stripped of all materials by salvagers and vandals. The ''ouvrage'' is in a state of advanced dilapidation, primarily because the soil is composed of gypsum, causing the destruction of the floors and walls of the galleries. Magazine M1 was used for the cultivation of

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

in 1986-87. The entries and blocks with embrasures have been covered with rubble by the Army. The Abri du Sud-du-Bichel is under restoration by the ''Association mémoire des intervalles de la Ligne Maginot.

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.