Ligne Maginot GO Michelsberg / France



Ouvrage Michelsberg, one of the Maginot Line fortifications, formed part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay as well as the fortified region of Metz. The ouvrage is located in Moselle (département) between the towns of Dalstein and d’Ebersviller, about 23km from Thionville. It is located between gros ouvrage Mont des Welches and petit ouvrage Hobling, facing Germany. Michelsberg did not see significant action in the Battle of France until June 1940, when it was attacked from the rear by German forces that had bypassed the Maginot Line. It successfully resisted these attacks, but was compelled to surrender in accordance with the 25 June 1940 armistice. After the Second World War it was renovated as a Cold War fortification against a potential Soviet invasion, then abandoned. It is presently operated as a museum, and may be visited.
Michelsberg was approved for construction by CORF (Commission d’Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line’s design and construction agency, in April 1930 and became operational by 1935, at a cost of 56 million francs.
Michelsberg is a gros ouvrage, arranged in a linear fashion along a central underground gallery connecting the single combined personnel/ammunition entry block to the rear with the combat blocks about 800 metres (2,600 ft) to the east. It lacks a central „M1“ ammunition magazine. It does possess an electrified 60cm internal rail network, used to move personnel and munitions within the ouvrage. The galleries are excavated at an average depth of up to 30 metres (98 ft).
The manning of the ouvrage in June 1940 comprised 472 men and 19 officers of the 164th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 153rd Position Artillery Regiment.
After being abandoned, the ouvrage was used between 1978 and 1988 for the cultivation of mushrooms. The ouvrage was damaged and vandalized during this time. Renovations and repairs started in 1992 and are ongoing. Since 1993 it has been protected by a charitable organization.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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