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The Maginot Line (/ ˈ m æ ʒ ɪ n oʊ /; French: Ligne Maginot [liɲ maʒino]), [a] [1] 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 Nazi Germany and force them to move around the fortifications.
In the 16th century the House of Savoy built a fortification in Sainte-Agnès, which was a strategic location between the Counts of Provence and Genoa. The fortress saw actions between the French and the Sardinians, becoming a possession of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia between 1814 and 1860 before returning to France.
GFM Type A cloche at Ouvrage Molvange Interior of a GFM cloche, looking upward at the Abri de Hatten GFM Type B cloche at Ouvrage Schoenenbourg. The GFM cloche was one of the most common defensive armaments on the Maginot Line. A cloche (bell) was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its ...
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.
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".
A change in the design philosophy was noticeable in the "pillboxes" and larger blockhouses similar to the French Maginot line when the massive construction program began in 1936. The original plan was to have the first stage of construction finished in 1941–1942, whilst the full system should have been completed by the early 1950s.
Here is the list of all ouvrages of the Maginot Line, organized by sector and type of fortification. Ouvrage translates as "works" in English: published documents in both English and French refer to these fortifications in this manner, rather than as "forts".
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, facing Germany. At the east end of the Alsace portion of the Maginot Line, its neighbour is the gros ouvrage ...