Ouvrage Cave-à-Canon is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. Started in 1937, the ouvrage consists of one infantry block about one kilometer east of Bourg St. Maurice, on the south bank of the Isère. A short gallery with cross galleries extends into the rock, with an emergency exit and ventilation shaft halfway back. The ouvrage was incomplete in 1940, under the command of Lieutenant Courteaud.[1][2]
| Ouvrage Cave à Canon | |
|---|---|
| Part of Maginot Line, Alpine Line | |
| Southeast France | |
 | |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | France |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1937 |
| Built by | CORF |
| In use | Abandoned |
| Materials | Concrete, steel, rock excavation |
| Battles/wars | Italian invasion of France |
| Ouvrage Cave-à-Canon | |
|---|---|
| Type of work: | Small artillery work (Petit ouvrage) |
| sector └─sub-sector | Fortified Sector of Savoy └─Tarentaise |
| Regiment: | 70th Batailllon Alpin de Fortresse |
| Number of blocks: | 1 |
| Strength: | 1 non-commissioned officer, 18 men |
Cave-à-Canon, and with Ouvrage Chatelard across the valley to the north, and several pre-1914 forts on the heights around Bourg-Saint-Maurice, were placed to block an advance over the Little St Bernard Pass toward Albertville.[2]
Description
edit- Block 1 (combination): one machine gun turret planned and three machine gun embrasures, three heavy twin machine gun embrasures and one 47mm anti-tank gun embrasure.[1][2]
The Tarentaise region was liberated by Allied forces in March and April 1945.[3]
See also
editReferences
editBibliography
edit- 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 4 - La fortification alpine. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009. ISBN 978-2-915239-46-1 (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)
External links
edit- Cave à canons (petit ouvrage de la) at fortiff.be (in French)
- Petit ouvrage de la Cave à Canon at lignemaginot.com (in French)
- Petit ouvrage de la Cave à Canon Archived 2016-10-06 at the Wayback Machine at wikimaginot.eu (in French)
