Ouvrage Fermont

Ouvrage Fermont is a "gros ouvrage" of the Maginot Line, part of the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes in northeastern France, near the community of Montigny-sur-Chiers. It is located near the commune of Montigny-sur-Chiers, between the "petit ouvrage" Ferme Chappy and the "gros ouvrage" Latiremont. The position is near the western end of the Line, about four kilometers east of Longuyon, facing Belgium. There was significant combat at Fermont during the last stages of the Battle of France. It was repaired and reactivated during the 1950s and 1960s as a strongpoint in the event of an invasion by Soviet forces. After being abandoned by the military, it has been restored and is maintained as a museum.
Design and construction.
The site was surveyed by the Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées (CORF), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in early 1931. Fermont was approved for construction in May 1931. It was completed at a cost of 77 million francs by the contractor Allary of Paris. While the existing "ouvrage" is a fully realized "gros ouvrage" of the typical "fort palmé" ("palm-shaped") form, a second phase, never executed, was planned to add four more combat blocks. The "fort palmé" is a distributed fortification, with its entrances and underground support areas more than a kilometer to the rear, connected to the combat blocks by a long underground gallery. The "palm" is composed of the grouped combat blocks, linked by galleries to the main trunk.
Description.
Fermont comprises two entrance blocks, three infantry blocks, three artillery blocks, and one observation block. The combat blocks are connected to the entries and support areas by a gallery system extending over from end to end. The munitions and personnel entries are located far to the rear of the compactly arranged combat blocks, with the entries hidden in the woods. Both entry blocks required elevators to reach the level of the gallery, as the preferred inclined or level tunnel could not be achieved in the local topography. A partial "M1" ammunition magazine is located just inside the ammunition entry, while the underground barracks are located near the junction of the two entry galleries. From there a long, straight gallery runs at an average depth of to the combat blocks. Fermont was served by a 60 cm-gauge narrow-gauge railway, which enters at the munitions entrance and runs all the way out through the galleries to the combat blocks. On the surface, the railway connects to supply points to the rear and to other "ouvrages".
Unbuilt blocks:
The additional blocks were planned for the late 1930s, but were not built as resources were diverted elsewhere. The M1 magazine was to be doubled in size at the same time.
Casemates and shelters.
A series of detached casemates and observation points surround Fermont, including the:
None of these are connected to the "ouvrage" or to each other. The Caserne Lamy provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Fermont and other fortifications in the area.
Manning.
The 1940 manning of the "ouvrage" under the command of Captain Aubert comprised 553 men and 19 officers of the 149th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 152nd Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2.
History.
At the opening of the Battle of France in May 1940 Fermont exchanged gunfire with the Wehrmacht. On 11 May Fermont's 75mm turret opened fire on the German 17th Infantry Division. On the 13th, Fermont provided covering fire for French forces retreating from Longwy, which was between the Maginot Line and the German border and was therefore regarded as indefensible against a determined attack. In late May and early June the German attack was focused farther to the west, eventually breaking out behind the Line. From June 15 to June 20, 1940, Fermont helped to repel attacks on the neighboring "ouvrage" Ferme Chappy, as well as firing to the north. On June 17, German artillery of the 183rd Infantry Division opened fire on the rear of Block 4 with 88mm guns. By chance, the firing stopped after the last shot had weakened the concrete to the point that another shot would have pierced it. The breach was repaired that night. The 161st Infantry Division under General Wilck then attacked Fermont and Latiremont on June 21 with 210mm and 305mm siege mortars, 105mm guns and 88mm high-velocity guns, causing a single death when a round penetrated a mortar cloche at Block 5.
In early 1941 the Germans staged an attack on Blocks 1 and 4 for movie cameras, promoting the resulting propaganda film as documentation of the June 1940 attacks. The Fermont area did not see significant fighting during the Lorraine Campaign of 1944, but Fermont's "caserne" was used as a place for rest and recuperation for American troops during the Battle of the Bulge.
Post-War.
By 1951 work was proceeding on renovation of many of the northeastern "ouvrages", including Fermont, with the aim of restoring their combat capability to block a potential advance by the Warsaw Pact. Fermont and Latiremont were designated the "môle de Crusnes", a fortified strongpoint. After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force, the importance of the Line declined. The "ouvrage" was abandoned by the military in 1967. In 1975 the property was transferred from the Ministry of Defense to an association for the restoration and preservation of Fermont, and in 1977 it was opened to the public.
Current condition.
The "ouvrage", which retains a large portion of its equipment, was restored in 1977 and may be visited during the summer months. The museum is operated by the "Association des Amis de l'Ouvrage de Fermont et de la Ligne Maginot". The "ouvrage" contains a working 60 cm rail line, which is used to carry visitors from the entry to the combat blocks. A museum on the surface features turrets from other "ouvrages", including three from Bréhain and one from Molvange.