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{{Use British English|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox Military Structure
{{Infobox Military Structure
|name=Ouvrage Kobenbusch
|name=Ouvrage Kobenbusch
|partof=[[Maginot Line]]
|partof=[[Maginot Line]]
|location=Northeast [[France]]
|location=Northeast [[France]]
|coordinates = {{coord|49.43382|6.23796|type:landmark|display=inline}}
|coordinates=
|image=[[Image:Go-kobenbusch-em-2004-03-14.jpg|280px]]
|image=[[File:Go-kobenbusch-em-2004-03-14.jpg|280px]]
|caption=Ammunition entrance
|caption=Ammunition entrance
|map_type = France
|map_type = France
|latitude = 49.43382
|longitude = 6.23796
|map_size = 300
|map_size = 300
|map_alt =
|map_alt =
Line 35: Line 34:
|type=GO
|type=GO
|year=
|year=
|sector=Fortified Sector of Thionville
|sector=[[Fortified Sector of Thionville]]
|sub-sector=
|sub-sector=Hettange-Grande
|number=A13
|number=A13
|regiment=169th Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF), 151st Position Artillery Regiment (RAP)
|regiment=169th Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF), 151st Position Artillery Regiment (RAP)
Line 46: Line 45:
}}
}}


'''Ouvrage Kobenbusch''' is a ''gros ouvrage'' of the [[Maginot Line]], located in the Fortified Sector of [[Thionville]] in the [[Cattenom]] forest. It possesses seven combat blocks and two entrance blocks, one for ammunition and the other for men. It is located between ''petit ouvrage'' [[Ouvrage Bois-Karre|Bois-Karre]] and ''petit ouvrage'' [[Ouvrage Oberheid|Oberheid]], and was named for the surrounding Kobenbusch forest. The position saw little action during [[World War II]]. Its deep passages have been flooded by the construction of a cooling water lake for a nearby nuclear power plant, but its surface features are being developed with an interpretive path through the surrounding forest.
'''Ouvrage du Kobenbusch''' is a ''gros ouvrage'' of the [[Maginot Line]], located in the [[Fortified Sector of Thionville]] in the [[Cattenom]] Forest. It possesses seven combat blocks and two entrance blocks, one for ammunition and the other for men. It is located between ''petit ouvrage'' [[Ouvrage Bois-Karre|Bois-Karre]] and ''petit ouvrage'' [[Ouvrage Oberheid|Oberheid]], and was named for the surrounding Kobenbusch Forest.
The position saw little action during [[World War II]]. Its deep passages have been flooded by the construction of a cooling water lake for a nearby [[Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant|nuclear power plant]], but its surface features are being developed with an interpretive path through the surrounding forest.


== Design and construction ==
== Design and construction ==
The Kobenbusch position forms the point of the Cattenom salient, where the east-west defensive line turns to the south.<ref name="LMSFBC2">{{cite web|url=http://forticat.com/spip.php?page=carte|title=Kobenbusch|date=2009|publisher=Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref> The site was surveyed by CORF (''Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées''), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1930. Work by the contractor Verdun-Fortifications began in 1931,<ref name="hetou3-1">{{cite book|last=Mary|first=Jean-Yves|coauthors=Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques|title=Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3|publisher=Histoire & Collections|date=2003|page=94||isbn=2-913903-88-6|language=French}}</ref> and the position became operational in 1935,<ref name="kauffmann1">{{cite book|last=Kauffmann|first=J.E.|coauthors=Kauffmann, H.W.|title=Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II|publisher=Praeger Security International|location=Westport, CT|date=2006|pages=25|isbn=0-275-98345-5}}</ref> at a cost of 65 million francs.<ref name="dkpl1">{{cite web|url=http://www.darkplaces.org/Frankreich/WW2/Ligne_Maginot/SF_de_Thionville/GO/Kobenbusch/Kobenbusch.html|title=Infanteriewerk (P.O.) Immerhof&nbsp;— A10 |last=Wahl|first=J.B.|publisher=darkplaces.org|language=German|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref><ref name="hetou1-1">{{cite book|last=Mary|first=Jean-Yves|coauthors=Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques|title=Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 1|publisher=Histoire & Collections|year=2001|page=52||isbn=2-908182-88-2|language=French}}</ref> Kobenbusch was served by a 60cm-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''.{{#tag:ref|English-language sources use the French term ''ouvrage'' as the preferred term for the Maginot positions, in preference to "fort", a term usually reserved for older fortifications with passive defensives in the form of walls and ditches.<ref>Kauffmann, p.13</ref> The literal translation of ''ouvrage'' in the sense of a fortification in English is "work." A ''gros ouvrage'' is a large fortification with a significant artillery component, while a ''petit ouvrage'' is smaller, with lighter arms.<ref>Kauffmann, p.20</ref>|group="nb"}}
The Kobenbusch position forms the point of the Cattenom salient, where the east-west defensive line turns to the south.<ref name="LMSFBC2">{{cite web|url=http://forticat.com/spip.php?page=carte|title=Kobenbusch|date=2009|publisher=Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010}}</ref> The site was surveyed by CORF (''Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées''), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1930. Work by the contractor Verdun-Fortifications began in 1931,<ref name="hetou3-1">Mary, Tome 3, p. 94</ref> and the position became operational in 1935,<ref name="kaufmann1">Kaufmann 2006, p. 25</ref> at a cost of 65 million francs.<ref name="dkpl1">{{cite web|url=http://www.darkplaces.org/Frankreich/WW2/Ligne_Maginot/SF_de_Thionville/GO/Kobenbusch/Kobenbusch.html|title=Infanteriewerk (P.O.) Immerhof&nbsp;— A10 |last=Wahl|first=J.B.|publisher=darkplaces.org|language=de|access-date=11 March 2010}}</ref><ref name="hetou1-1">Mary, Tome 1, p. 52</ref>
Kobenbusch was served by a 60&nbsp;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''.{{#tag:ref|English-language sources use the French term ''ouvrage'' as the preferred term for the Maginot positions, in preference to "fort", a term usually reserved for older fortifications with passive defensives in the form of walls and ditches.<ref>Kaufmann 2006, p.13</ref> The literal translation of ''ouvrage'' in the sense of a fortification in English is "work." A ''gros ouvrage'' is a large fortification with a significant artillery component, while a ''petit ouvrage'' is smaller, with lighter arms.<ref>Kaufmann 2006, p. 20</ref>|group="nb"}}


== Description ==
== Description ==
Kobenbusch is a relatively compact ''gros ouvrage'', with a short main gallery leading in from the munitions and personnel entrances past to underground barracks to the combat blocks. Unusually for a ''gros ouvrage'', it possesses no "M1" main ammunition magazine.<ref name="hetou3-1"/>
Kobenbusch is a relatively compact ''gros ouvrage'', with a short main gallery leading from the munitions and personnel entrances past to underground barracks to the combat blocks. Unusually for a ''gros ouvrage'', it possesses no "M1" main ammunition magazine.<ref name="hetou3-1"/>
* '''Ammunition entrance''': Shaft entry, two [[GFM cloche|automatic rifle cloches (GFM)]], 3 FM embrasures and a machine gun/[[AC 47 anti-tank gun|47mm anti-tank gun]] (JM/AC47) embrasure.<ref name="fortiffbe1a">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3363|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Entrée Munitions|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Ammunition entrance''': Shaft entry, two [[GFM cloche|automatic rifle cloches (GFM)]], 3 FM embrasures and a machine gun/[[AC 47 anti-tank gun|47 mm anti-tank gun]] (JM/AC47) embrasure.<ref name="fortiffbe1a">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3363|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Entrée Munitions|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|last2=Aublet |first2=Jean-Louis |last3=Mainguin |first3=Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Personnel entrance''': Shaft entry, one GFM cloche and one JM/AC47 embrasure.<ref name="fortiffbe1b">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3363|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Entrée Munitions|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Personnel entrance''': Shaft entry, one GFM cloche and one JM/AC47 embrasure.<ref name="fortiffbe1b">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3363|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Entrée Munitions|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
* '''Block 1''': one machine gun turret and GFM cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe1">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3355|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 1|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Block 1''': one machine gun turret and GFM cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe1">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3355|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 1|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
* '''Block 2''': one machine gun embrasure (JM), a JM/AC47 embrasure and two GFM cloches.<ref name="fortiffbe2">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3356|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 2|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Block 2''': one machine gun embrasure (JM), a JM/AC47 embrasure and two GFM cloches.<ref name="fortiffbe2">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3356|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 2|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
* '''Block 3''': one [[VDP cloche|observation cloche (VDP)]] and a GFM cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe3">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3357|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 3|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Block 3''': one [[VDP cloche|observation cloche (VDP)]] and a GFM cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe3">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3357|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 3|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
* '''Block 4''': one machine-gun turret, a [[JM cloche|machine gun cloche (JM)]] and a GM cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe4">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3358|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 4|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Block 4''': one machine-gun turret, a [[JM cloche|machine gun cloche (JM)]] and a GM cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe4">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3358|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 4|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
* '''Block 5''': one 75mm turret and a GFm cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe5">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3359|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 5|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Block 5''': one 75 mm turret and a GFm cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe5">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3359|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 5|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
* '''Block 6''': one 50mm mortar turret and a GFM cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe6">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3360|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 6|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Block 6''': one 50 mm mortar turret and a GFM cloche.<ref name="fortiffbe6">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3360|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 6|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
* '''Block 7''': three 75mm gun embrasures, two GFM cloches and a [[LG cloche|grenade launcher cloche (LG)]].<ref name="fortiffbe7">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3361|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 7|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|coauthors=Aublet, Jean-Louis & Mainguin, Sylvie|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
* '''Block 7''': three 75 mm gun embrasures, two GFM cloches and a [[LG cloche|grenade launcher cloche (LG)]].<ref name="fortiffbe7">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3361|title=Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 7|last=Puelinckx|first=Jean|date=2010|work=Index de la Ligne Maginot|publisher=fortiff.be|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
[[Image:Kobenbusch-B2-2004-03-14.jpg|thumb|right|Block 2, embrasures and the diamant ditch]].
[[File:Kobenbusch-B2-2004-03-14.jpg|thumb|right|Block 2, embrasures and the diamant ditch]].


=== Casemates and shelters ===
=== Casemates and shelters ===
The '''Abri du Bois-de-Cattenom'''{{#tag:ref|An ''abri'' is an infantry shelter, sometimes underground or under earth cover. An ''abri'' in the main Maginot Line often closely resembles a casemate, but is more lightly armed and can hold more occupants.<ref>Kauffmann, p. 14</ref>|group="nb"}} is nearby to the west. There are no other casemates, observation points or shelters associated with Kobenbusch, although the ''petit ouvrage'' Oberheid is close at hand on the east.<ref name="hetou3-1"/>
The '''Abri du Bois-de-Cattenom'''{{#tag:ref|An ''abri'' is an infantry shelter, sometimes underground or under earth cover. An ''abri'' in the main Maginot Line often closely resembles a casemate, but is more lightly armed and can hold more occupants.<ref>Kaufmann 2006, p. 14</ref>|group="nb"}} is nearby to the west, and may be visited.<ref name="kaufmann2011">Kaufmann 2011, p. 221</ref> There are no other casemates, observation points or shelters associated with Kobenbusch, although the ''petit ouvrage'' Oberheid is close at hand on the east.<ref name="hetou3-1"/>


== Manning ==
== Manning ==
The manning of the ''ouvrage'' in 1940 comprised 513 men and 14 officers of the 169th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 151st Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2.<ref>Mary, Tome 3, p. 79</ref> The ''commandant de l'ouvrage'' in 1940 was Commandant Charnal.<ref name="hetou3-1"/> The Casernement de Cattenom provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Kobenbusch and other ''ouvrages'' in the area.<ref name="dkpl0">{{cite web|url=http://www.darkplaces.org/Frankreich/WW2/Ligne_Maginot/SF_de_Thionville/SF_de_Thionville.html|title=Festungsabschnitt Thionville|last=Wahl|first=J.B.|publisher=darkplaces.org|language=German|accessdate=3 May 2010}}</ref>
The manning of the ''ouvrage'' in 1940 comprised 513 men and 14 officers of the 169th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 151st Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2.<ref>Mary, Tome 3, p. 79</ref> The ''commandant de l'ouvrage'' in 1940 was Commandant Charnal.<ref name="hetou3-1"/> The Casernement de Cattenom provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Kobenbusch and other ''ouvrages'' in the area.<ref name="dkpl0">{{cite web|url=http://www.darkplaces.org/Frankreich/WW2/Ligne_Maginot/SF_de_Thionville/SF_de_Thionville.html|title=Festungsabschnitt Thionville|last=Wahl|first=J.B.|publisher=darkplaces.org|language=de|access-date=3 May 2010}}</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
:''See [[Fortified Sector of Thionville]] for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Thionville sector of the Maginot Line.''
Kobenbusch did not see significant action in the [[Battle of France]] in 1940, nor in the [[Lorraine Campaign]] of 1944. Kobenbusch provided suppressing fire against German infiltrators on the surface of Oberheid. About the same time, a party of Germans infiltrated the area of Kobenbusch Block 5.<ref name="hetou5-1">{{cite book|last=Mary|first=Jean-Yves|coauthors=Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques|title=Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5|publisher=Histoire & Collections|date=2009|page=208||isbn=978-2-35250-127-5|language=French}}</ref> The Germans largely bypassed the area, advancing along the valley of the [[Meuse (river)|Meuse]] and [[Saar (river)|Saar]] rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan.<ref>Kauffmann, pp. 168-169</ref> The garrison therefore remained in place. Following negotiations, the positions on the left bank of the Moselle finally surrendered to the Germans on 30 June, 1940.<ref>Mary, Tome 5, p. 230</ref>
Kobenbusch did not see significant action in the [[Battle of France]] in 1940, nor in the [[Lorraine Campaign]] of 1944. Kobenbusch provided suppressing fire against German infiltrators on the surface of Oberheid. About the same time, a party of Germans infiltrated the area of Kobenbusch Block 5.<ref name="hetou5-1">Mary, Tome 5, p. 208</ref> The Germans largely bypassed the area, advancing along the valley of the [[Meuse (river)|Meuse]] and [[Saar (river)|Saar]] rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan.<ref>Kauffmann 2006, pp. 168-169</ref> The garrison therefore remained in place. Following negotiations, the positions on the left bank of the Moselle finally surrendered to the Germans on 30 June 1940.<ref>Mary, Tome 5, p. 230</ref>


== Present status ==
== Present status ==
While the entry and combat blocks remain visible, the underground galleries, barracks, ammunition magazine and utility areas, which lie at an average depth of {{convert|30|m|ft|sp=us}} below the surface,<ref name="hetou2-1">{{cite book|last=Mary|first=Jean-Yves|coauthors=Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques|title=Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2|publisher=Histoire & Collections|year=2003|page=35||isbn=2-908182-97-16|language=French}}</ref> have been flooded by the cooling water lake of the nearby [[Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant]]. The site is maintained by the ''Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom'', which manages Bois Karre, [[Ouvrage Sentzich]] and [[Ouvrage Galgenberg]]. A pedestrian path through the surface installation is under development.<ref name="LMSFBC1">{{cite web|url=http://forticat.com/spip.php?article2|title=Kobenbusch|date=2009|publisher=Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom|language=French|accessdate=11 March 2010}}</ref>
While the entry and combat blocks remain visible, the underground galleries, barracks, ammunition magazine and utility areas, which lie at an average depth of {{convert|30|m|ft|sp=us}} below the surface,<ref name="hetou2-1">Mary, Tome 2, p. 35</ref> have been flooded by the cooling water lake of the nearby [[Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant]]. The site has been owned by [[Électricité de France|EDF]] since the construction of the power plant in 1981.<ref>Kaufmann 2011, p. 181</ref> It is maintained by the ''Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom'', which manages Bois Karre, the Abri du Bois de Cattenom, [[Ouvrage Sentzich]] and [[Ouvrage Galgenberg]]. A pedestrian path through the surface installation is under development, and the Abri du Bois de Cattenom may be visited at times.<ref name="kaufmann2011"/><ref name="LMSFBC1">{{cite web|url=http://forticat.com/spip.php?article2|title=Kobenbusch|date=2009|publisher=Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom|language=fr|access-date=11 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929160959/http://www.forticat.com/spip.php?article2|archive-date=29 September 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 89: Line 93:


== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
*Allcorn, William. ''The Maginot Line 1928-45.'' Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-84176-646-1
*Allcorn, William. ''The Maginot Line 1928-45.'' Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003. {{ISBN|1-84176-646-1}}
*Kauffmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. ''Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II'', 2006. ISBN 0-275-98345-5
*Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. ''Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II'', Stackpole Books, 2006. {{ISBN|0-275-98345-5}}
*Kaufmann, J.E., Kaufmann, H.W., Jancovič-Potočnik, A. and Lang, P. ''The Maginot Line: History and Guide'', Pen and Sword, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-84884-068-3}}
⚫
*Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. ISBN 2-913903-88-6 {{fr}}
*Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009. ISBN 978-2-35250-127-5 {{fr}}
*Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 1.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001. {{ISBN|2-908182-88-2}} {{in lang|fr}}
*Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. {{ISBN|2-908182-97-1}} {{in lang|fr}}
⚫
*Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. {{ISBN|2-913903-88-6}} {{in lang|fr}}
*Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. ''Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5.'' Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009. {{ISBN|978-2-35250-127-5}} {{in lang|fr}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
⚫
{{commons|Ouvrage Kobenbusch}}
* [http://forticat.com/spip.php?article2 Kobenbusch] at Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom (LM SFBC) {{fr}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100929160959/http://www.forticat.com/spip.php?article2 Kobenbusch] at Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom (LM SFBC) {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.mablehome.com/molvange/sfthi/go/kobenbusch/kobenbusch-plan.htm Gros Ouvrage du Kobenbusch] {{fr icon}}
* [http://www.mablehome.com/molvange/sfthi/go/kobenbusch/kobenbusch-plan.htm Gros Ouvrage du Kobenbusch] {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.lignemaginot.com The Maginot Line]
* [http://www.lignemaginot.com The Maginot Line]
* [http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3354 Kobenbusch] at fortiff.be {{fr}}
* [http://www.fortiff.be/maginot/index.php?p=3354 Kobenbusch] at fortiff.be {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.wikimaginot.eu/visu.php?id=10627 Ouvrage du Kobenbusch] at wikimaginot.eu {{in lang|fr}}
* [http://www.alsacemaginot.com/pages/racine-decouverte-thionville-kobenbusch L'ouvrage du Kobenbusch] at alsacemaginot.com {{in lang|fr}}



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{{Maginot Line list}}
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[[Category:Fortified Sector of Thionville|KOBEN]]
[[Category:Fortified Sector of Thionville|KOBEN]]
[[Category:Maginot Line]]
[[Category:Maginot Line]]

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[[fr:Ouvrage du Kobenbusch]]

Latest revision as of 00:29, 23 October 2021

Ouvrage Kobenbusch
Part of Maginot Line
Northeast France
Ammunition entrance
Ouvrage Kobenbusch is located in France
Ouvrage Kobenbusch
Ouvrage Kobenbusch
Coordinates49°26′02″N 6°14′17″E / 49.43382°N 6.23796°E / 49.43382; 6.23796
Site information
Controlled byFrance
Open to
the public		Surface only
ConditionFlooded
Site history
Built byCORF
MaterialsConcrete, steel, deep excavation
Battles/warsBattle of France, Lorraine Campaign
Ouvrage Kobenbusch
Type of work:Large artillery work (Gros ouvrage)
sector
└─sub-sector		Fortified Sector of Thionville
└─Hettange-Grande
Work number:A13
Regiment:169th Fortress Infantry Regiment (RIF), 151st Position Artillery Regiment (RAP)
Number of blocks:9
Strength:14 officers, 513 men

Ouvrage du Kobenbusch is a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Thionville in the Cattenom Forest. It possesses seven combat blocks and two entrance blocks, one for ammunition and the other for men. It is located between petit ouvrage Bois-Karre and petit ouvrage Oberheid, and was named for the surrounding Kobenbusch Forest.

The position saw little action during World War II. Its deep passages have been flooded by the construction of a cooling water lake for a nearby nuclear power plant, but its surface features are being developed with an interpretive path through the surrounding forest.

Design and construction

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The Kobenbusch position forms the point of the Cattenom salient, where the east-west defensive line turns to the south.[1] The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1930. Work by the contractor Verdun-Fortifications began in 1931,[2] and the position became operational in 1935,[3] at a cost of 65 million francs.[4][5]

Kobenbusch 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.[nb 1]

Description

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Kobenbusch is a relatively compact gros ouvrage, with a short main gallery leading from the munitions and personnel entrances past to underground barracks to the combat blocks. Unusually for a gros ouvrage, it possesses no "M1" main ammunition magazine.[2]

Block 2, embrasures and the diamant ditch

.

Casemates and shelters

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The Abri du Bois-de-Cattenom[nb 2] is nearby to the west, and may be visited.[18] There are no other casemates, observation points or shelters associated with Kobenbusch, although the petit ouvrage Oberheid is close at hand on the east.[2]

Manning

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The manning of the ouvrage in 1940 comprised 513 men and 14 officers of the 169th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 151st Position Artillery Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2.[19] The commandant de l'ouvrage in 1940 was Commandant Charnal.[2] The Casernement de Cattenom provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Kobenbusch and other ouvrages in the area.[20]

History

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See Fortified Sector of Thionville for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Thionville sector of the Maginot Line.

Kobenbusch did not see significant action in the Battle of France in 1940, nor in the Lorraine Campaign of 1944. Kobenbusch provided suppressing fire against German infiltrators on the surface of Oberheid. About the same time, a party of Germans infiltrated the area of Kobenbusch Block 5.[21] The Germans largely bypassed the area, advancing along the valley of the Meuse and Saar rivers, threatening the rear of the Thionville sector. An order to fortress troops by sector commander Colonel Jean-Patrice O'Sullivan to prepare for withdrawal on 17 June was reversed by O'Sullivan.[22] The garrison therefore remained in place. Following negotiations, the positions on the left bank of the Moselle finally surrendered to the Germans on 30 June 1940.[23]

Present status

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While the entry and combat blocks remain visible, the underground galleries, barracks, ammunition magazine and utility areas, which lie at an average depth of 30 meters (98 ft) below the surface,[24] have been flooded by the cooling water lake of the nearby Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant. The site has been owned by EDF since the construction of the power plant in 1981.[25] It is maintained by the Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom, which manages Bois Karre, the Abri du Bois de Cattenom, Ouvrage Sentzich and Ouvrage Galgenberg. A pedestrian path through the surface installation is under development, and the Abri du Bois de Cattenom may be visited at times.[18][26]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ English-language sources use the French term ouvrage as the preferred term for the Maginot positions, in preference to "fort", a term usually reserved for older fortifications with passive defensives in the form of walls and ditches.[6] The literal translation of ouvrage in the sense of a fortification in English is "work." A gros ouvrage is a large fortification with a significant artillery component, while a petit ouvrage is smaller, with lighter arms.[7]
  2. ^ An abri is an infantry shelter, sometimes underground or under earth cover. An abri in the main Maginot Line often closely resembles a casemate, but is more lightly armed and can hold more occupants.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Kobenbusch" (in French). Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom. 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Mary, Tome 3, p. 94
  3. ^ Kaufmann 2006, p. 25
  4. ^ Wahl, J.B. "Infanteriewerk (P.O.) Immerhof — A10" (in German). darkplaces.org. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  5. ^ Mary, Tome 1, p. 52
  6. ^ Kaufmann 2006, p.13
  7. ^ Kaufmann 2006, p. 20
  8. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; Aublet, Jean-Louis; Mainguin, Sylvie (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Entrée Munitions". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  9. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Entrée Munitions". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  10. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 1". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  11. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 2". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  12. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 3". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  13. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 4". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  14. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 5". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  15. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 6". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  16. ^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Kobenbusch (go A13 du) Bloc 7". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  17. ^ Kaufmann 2006, p. 14
  18. ^ a b Kaufmann 2011, p. 221
  19. ^ Mary, Tome 3, p. 79
  20. ^ Wahl, J.B. "Festungsabschnitt Thionville" (in German). darkplaces.org. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  21. ^ Mary, Tome 5, p. 208
  22. ^ Kauffmann 2006, pp. 168-169
  23. ^ Mary, Tome 5, p. 230
  24. ^ Mary, Tome 2, p. 35
  25. ^ Kaufmann 2011, p. 181
  26. ^ "Kobenbusch" (in French). Association Ligne Maginot du Secteur Fortifié du Bois de Cattenom. 2009. Archived from the original on 29 September 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2010.

Bibliography

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  • Allcorn, William. The Maginot Line 1928-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-84176-646-1
  • Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II, Stackpole Books, 2006. ISBN 0-275-98345-5
  • Kaufmann, J.E., Kaufmann, H.W., Jancovič-Potočnik, A. and Lang, P. The Maginot Line: History and Guide, Pen and Sword, 2011. ISBN 978-1-84884-068-3
  • Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 1. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001. ISBN 2-908182-88-2 (in French)
  • Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. ISBN 2-908182-97-1 (in French)
  • Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003. ISBN 2-913903-88-6 (in French)
  • Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009. ISBN 978-2-35250-127-5 (in French)
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