Maginot Line fort with guns still inside the turrets (pics)

A tour around Ouvrage de Soetrich: a Maginot Line fort with guns still inside the turrets

Ouvrage de Soetrich is a large fort that forms part of the Maginot Line: the extensive system of elaborate defensive structures built in the 1930s to prevent a German invasion of France.

It is located near the town of Hettange-Grande, close to the France-Luxemberg border, on the north-east of France. It was part of the fortified sector of Thionville.

Ouvrages were forts which were specifically developed for the Maginot Line. They formed the backbone of the defensive line, as they were the sturdiest structures with the largest number of weapons and heaviest artillery.

An ouvrage is not your typical fort; it is an underground facility made up of blocks and sectors connected to each other by a network of tunnels, with combat and observation blocks and entrances emerging above the surface. Ouvrage de Soetrich was a gros ouvrage (GO) – a larger fort armed with artillery and infantry weapons.

Construction began in 1930 and it became operational in 1935. From then on, it was part of the system that provided the French a comforting – but illusory – sense of security.

Like many Maginot Line structures, Ouvrage de Soetrichit did not see much combat action. In June 1940, it was bombed by German forces, but this caused almost no damage. It was surrendered as part of the Armistice of June 22, 1940.

During the Cold War, Ouvrage de Soetrich and two neighboring forts were used by NATO as a command center. Now the structure is abandoned and unauthorized entry is prohibited.

Buckle in and prepare for a long ride full of surprises and amazing discoveries about this underground world – a world that is a testimony to the expensive and elaborate but ultimately useless work of French engineering wizardry.

Before we embark on our tour, we say a big thank you to technolirik for the photos and information! See more of his work here: technolirik

The fort is hidden in a dense forest. These sharp metal pegs shaped like pigs’ tails were used to hold up barbed wire, which was stretched between them. There are many such remains of infantry obstacles still scattered nearby in the forest:



All entrances were filled in the early 2000s, but eventually, diggers dug out one of the embrasures, which is now the only way to get into the facility. The entrance leads to one of the six combat blocks.


©technolirik



The structure of Ouvrage de Soetrich is typical of a Maginot Line GO. It had six combat blocks – three infantry and three artillery – and two entrances: a smaller one for personnel and a larger one for ammunition. These were connected to each other and other sectors – the living quarters, ammunition storage, command center, and other facilities – by a system of underground tunnels. The total garrison of the fort was 583 soldiers and 20 officers.





Read more and more pics: A tour around Ouvrage de Soetrich: a Maginot Line fort with guns still inside the turrets - Abandoned Spaces

 

Nice report, but it should be noted that most (the great majority) of the Maginot forts still have guns in the turrets. In fact, I think of only a small handful of forts where any guns have been removed from the turrets.