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Fort Janus
Ouvrage Janus is a work (''gros ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, located to the east of Briançon on near the Col de Montgenèvre. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, two infantry blocks, two artillery blocks, two observation blocks and one combination block at an altitude of , the second highest fortification on the Alps in 1940. Built on the site of the old Fort Janus, it retained the old fort's 95mm naval guns and added two 75mm guns Kaufmann 2006, p. 177 Fort du Janus The location was known from the end of the 18th century as the Château Jouan, occupied by a Vauban-era round tower. In 1883 a Séré de Rivières system fortification was begun on the massif, called the Fort du Janus. Work continued until 1889 with a blockhouse in top of the position and a rock-cut battery in the face of the mountain, which housed four 95mm naval guns. In 1891-92 the blockhouse was expanded to two levels for a barracks, and from 1898 to 1906 a subter ... [...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] |
Stresa Front
The Stresa Front was an agreement made in Stresa, a town on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Italy, between French prime minister Pierre-Étienne Flandin (with Pierre Laval), British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald, and Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini on 14 April 1935. Practically, the Stresa Front was an alliance between Interwar France, France, Fascist Italy, Italy, and the Interwar Britain, United Kingdom, aimed against Nazi Germany. Formally called the Final Declaration of the Stresa Conference, its aim was to reaffirm the Locarno Treaties and to declare that the independence of First Austrian Republic, Austria "would continue to inspire their common policy". The signatories also agreed to resist any future attempt by the Germans to change the Treaty of Versailles. A factor in the Abyssinia Crisis, it encouraged Italian imperialism under fascism, Italian imperial ambitions, motivated by the perception that France and Britain would not intervene if Italy attacked Ethiopia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortified Sector Of Dauphine
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ("strong") and ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large cyclopean stone walls fitted without mortar had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae. A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acted as a border gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Alpine Line Ouvrages
This is the list of all ''ouvrages'' of the Alpine Line or Little Maginot Line along the Franco-Italian border, organized by sector and type of fortification. ''Ouvrage'' translates as "works" in English; publications in both English and French refer to these fortifications in this manner, rather than as "forts". An ''ouvrage'' typically consists of a distributed series of concrete-encased strongpoints defending a region, linked by tunnels, as opposed to a fort, which typically refers to a defended surface enclosure, which may have underground galleries as an adjunct. For a list of the ''ouvrages'' of the main Maginot Line, refer to List of Maginot Line ouvrages. Voici la liste des ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot répartis par Secteurs Fortifiés et types d'ouvrages: Fortified Sector of Savoy (La Tarentaise) Ouvrage * 1 - Ouvrage Chatelard (PO) * 1 - Ouvrage Cave Canon (PO) Fortified Sector of Savoy (La Maurienne) Ouvrages * 2 - Ouvrage Sapey (GO) * 3 - Ouvrage Saint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
19th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 19th Army () was a field army of the German Army (Heer) that specialized in anti-aircraft warfare, anti-tank warfare, armoured warfare, coastal defence and fortification, combined arms, counterinsurgency, conventional warfare, and maneuver warfare. Active from 1943 to 1945 on the Western Front, it was tasked with defending Southern France and before being pushed back to the France–Germany border during Operation Dragoon and then into Southern Germany. History Formed in August 1943 in occupied southern France from ''Armeegruppe Felber'' (the '' LXXXIII. Armeekorps''), the 19th Army defended Southern France, the Vosges Mountains, Alsace, Baden and Southern Württemberg during the Allied invasion of Southern France and other large Allied military operations that had as their goal the liberation of Southern France and the invasion of Southern Germany. Although nominally a field army, the 19th Army was under strength and consisted of third tier soldiers, wounded ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VDP Cloche
The VDP cloche was an element of the Maginot Line fortifications. A ''cloche'' (bell) was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant. By comparison, turrets could be rotated and sometimes lowered so that only the top shell was exposed. VDP cloches were used for observation of the surrounding area for artillery direction. VDP is an acronym for ''Vision Directe et Périscopique''. By comparison with the GFM cloche, the VDP cloche had narrower ports and was consequently lower in profile. Description VDP cloches were equipped with three embrasures or crenels for direct vision, providing protection to observers. VDP cloches were also equipped with periscopes that allowed a greater arc of view. The cloches were embedded in a thick concrete carapace over a combat, entrance or observation block element of a largely subterranean Maginot fortification. A platform, identical to that used in the GFM cloche, was installed for the obse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
JM Cloche
The JM cloche was an element of the Maginot Line. It was a non-retractable non-rotating cupola of steel alloy like GFM cloches, but were armed with twin heavy machine guns, as opposed to the lighter automatic rifles associated with the GFM. There were 179 JM cloches on 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 .... JM is an acronym for ''Jumelage de Mitrailleuses'' (twin machine guns). While the MAC 31 heavy machine guns were of the same caliber (7.5mm) as those in GFM cloches, they had a longer practical range and a maximum range of , with a 500 round per minute rate of fire.Mary, Tome 2, page 109 Description The JM cloche closely resembles the GFM cloche in size and construction. It exists in three versions, all designed Model 1930: small, large and two- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
807594088 Ouvrage Du Janus
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate with Greek and Latin , both of which stems are reflected by the English prefix oct(o)-, as in the ordinal adjective ''octaval'' or ''octavary'', the distributive adjective is ''octonary''. The adjective ''octuple'' (Latin ) may also be used as a noun, meaning "a set of eight items"; the diminutive ''octuplet'' is mostly used to refer to eight siblings delivered in one birth. The Semitic numeral is based on a root ''*θmn-'', whence Akkadian ''smn-'', Arabic ''ṯmn-'', Hebrew ''šmn-'' etc. The Chinese numeral, written (Mandarin: ''bā''; Cantonese: ''baat''), is from Old Chinese ''*priāt-'', ultimately from Sino-Tibetan ''b-r-gyat'' or ''b-g-ryat'' which also yielded Tibetan '' brgyat''. It has been argued that, as the cardinal num ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ouvrage Gondran
Ouvrage Gondran is a lesser work (''petit ouvrage'') of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, one infantry block and one observation block. Gondran was commenced in June 1933, and was intended to cover the gap between Ouvrage Janus, Janus and Ouvrage Les Aittes, Les Aittes. The site is close to two older forts, designated Gondran C and Gondran D. The Maginot fortification became known as Gondran E.Mary, Tome 5, p. 28 The fortified area is near the Les Gondrans portion of the Montgenèvre ski area. Description :''See Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné for a broader discussion of the Dauphiné sector of the Alpine Line.'' The ''ouvrage'' was never completed. As the emergency exit was on the same level as the main portion it was used during peacetime as the main entrance. It is sometimes called "Gondran E."Kaufmann 2011, p. 261 *Block 1 (entry): one GFM cloche, machine gun cloche and one heavy twin machine gun embrasure. *Block ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpine Line
The Alpine Line () 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 retained in use through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Séré De Rivières System
The system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 along the frontiers, ridges and coasts of France. The fortifications were named after their architect, Brigadier-General Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières. The fortresses were obsolescent by 1914 but were used during the First World War. Background Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, France found itself seriously weakened and isolated from the rest of Europe, menaced by Germany and stung by the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. At the same time as the departure of the last German troops, France created the Defence Committee (), which was active between 1872 and 1888, whose mission was to reorganize the defence of the French frontiers and coasts. It was necessary to compensate for the lost territories of the north-east; to modernise old fortifications, which had been shown to be wanting in the last war and to create new fortifications proof against modern weaponry using new and more powerful explosives. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
