Initial work in the sector established a series of casemates in the Mormal Forest, well to the rear of Maubeuge. The casemates were built by the Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées (CORF), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency. At the same time, studies proceeded on the fortification of the exposed salients, or môles of Bavai and Maubeuge. As the fortification of the Maubeuge Front was commenced later than the main section of the Line to the east, funds were restricted by the impact of the Great Depression, which had reached France. A relatively ambitious project was nevertheless advanced, planning for five artillery ouvrages (Eth, Bavai, Quatre-Bras, L'Épine and Boussois) between Valenciennes and the Ardennes. The plan was progressively scaled back to four infantr
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| - Fortified Sector of Maubeuge
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| rdfs:comment
| - Initial work in the sector established a series of casemates in the Mormal Forest, well to the rear of Maubeuge. The casemates were built by the Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées (CORF), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency. At the same time, studies proceeded on the fortification of the exposed salients, or môles of Bavai and Maubeuge. As the fortification of the Maubeuge Front was commenced later than the main section of the Line to the east, funds were restricted by the impact of the Great Depression, which had reached France. A relatively ambitious project was nevertheless advanced, planning for five artillery ouvrages (Eth, Bavai, Quatre-Bras, L'Épine and Boussois) between Valenciennes and the Ardennes. The plan was progressively scaled back to four infantr
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| abstract
| - Initial work in the sector established a series of casemates in the Mormal Forest, well to the rear of Maubeuge. The casemates were built by the Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées (CORF), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency. At the same time, studies proceeded on the fortification of the exposed salients, or môles of Bavai and Maubeuge. As the fortification of the Maubeuge Front was commenced later than the main section of the Line to the east, funds were restricted by the impact of the Great Depression, which had reached France. A relatively ambitious project was nevertheless advanced, planning for five artillery ouvrages (Eth, Bavai, Quatre-Bras, L'Épine and Boussois) between Valenciennes and the Ardennes. The plan was progressively scaled back to four infantry ouvrages in front of Maubeuge, resembling larger-than-usual casemates more than the mutually-supporting artillery positions of the main Line. Sarts and Boussois, the last-surviving artillery ouvrages, were reduced to infantry positions. Geological and groundwater conditions made construction of deep ouvrages of the kind found in the main Line difficult in the Maubeuge area. The plan was also affected by political considerations, in which the fortification of the Belgian frontier was seen as a betrayal of the French plan for forward defense on Belgian territory. The CORF lines were augmented by lesser positions in the principle line of resistance constructed in 1937-38, backed by further fortifications about to the rear, built in 1940. A total of 300 fortifications were built to cover of frontier, but in 1940 there were only enough fortress troops to fully man the CORF positions and 125 of the hastily-built reinforcing positions.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)