Introduction

It is the strengthened rough work of the Maginot Line. In May-June 1940 it is attacked by the German troops but will never seriously be worried.

Localization

Tactical localization: Strengthened sector of Boulay, under-sector of Hombourg Budange.

Code name: A19 (19th strengthened work, starting from Longuyon, in direction of the East).

Establishment: Peak of the same name bordered in North by the forest of the Four Lords.

Altitude 343 meters.

Gypso-marly ground.

Maximum depth of the gallery: 96 meters under the blocks observatories 11 and 12.

Construction: Company of Company for Work of Fortification, 29 Boulevard Haussmann in Paris.

Initial studies October 1928 at May 1930.

Plan of mass approved in June 1930.

Work articulated in 2 half-forts connected by gallery.

Site foreman: captain Andre Olmi

Concretings: 64.110 m3 including 23.550 out of reinforced concrete.

Earthworks: 365.090 m3 including 138.850 m3 for the blocks, 85000 m3 for the ditch and the escarpment anti-tank devices and 58000 m3 extracted the galleries.

Work finished to 98% at January 1, 1934. On this date, the majority of the turrets and artillery casemates are equipped, the first tests of shooting will be able to take place soon, the armoured bells are in place and the networks of wire are posed to 80%. The observatories required the drilling of service shaft adding up 77 meters height.

Cost price: 171,4 franc million (value 1935).

Characteristics

19 blocks of combat including 7 of infantry, 7 of artillery, a mixed block, 2 observatories and two entries one for the men the other for the ammunition (supply by rail sees 60cm since the back deposits of Reinange and the Orchards of Chailly).

Caption plan. H: men; B: crenel under concrete; C: bell; T: turret.

Block 8. Crenels of 75/29 destroyed by American in 1944


Block 9. Crenel of bomb thrower of 135


Block 11. Bell of observation to periscopic vision


Block 22 of protection of the ditch anti-tank devices


Block 23 of protection of the ditch anti-tank devices


Blocks of engagements and entries in overpressure (allowing the rejection of gases of shooting and depriving of effectiveness the enemy toxic shells) and provided with filters air gauze to activated carbon. Purging attends filters essential to avoid the rotting (by the air in charge of moisture) of the sheets of paper filters contained inside.

Protection of the blocks: 3,50m of reinforced concrete for the flagstones and walls exposed to the blows.

Total development of the galleries and local undergrounds: approximately 10 kilometers including more than 3 served by the way of 60 (3 electric power trolleys Schneider Westinghouse fed in 600 volts D.C. current on 2,3kms of gallery and about fifty tip trucks. 8 Crochat power trolleys of 90CV (pétroléo-electric) assembling back deposits by a long antenna of way of 60 and penetrating by the gallery with three coaches of ammunition (platforms model 1888, each one generally charged with 7,5 tons) into the underground station of exchange - Has (with approximately 100 meters of the entry of the ammunition). There, the service of the railroads exchanges platforms 1888 full with those with the oar empties preceding.

Armament

Material

8 howitzers of 75mm under casemates (75mm model 1929) or turret (parts of 75mm model 1933 equipped during the funny one with war with semi-automatic cylinder heads) maximum theoretical range approximately 12000 meters, gives rhythm maximum shooting 12 blows per part and minute for the casemates and 13 for the turret. Limit before shooting of the casemates of 75mm (blocks 8 and 5) respectively Oudrenne in the West and Chémery Both in the East.

75/29 of casemate. Museum of Fermont


1 gun of 75mm model 1932 short cut under casemate intended to beat the Western end of the anti-tank escarpment: rich solution reserved for the only works of Hackenberg and Hochwald (Alsace of North). Safety of shooting at the time of the movement of part reinforced during the winter by the personnel of the work.


5 bomb throwers of 135mm model 1932 with curved shooting under casemate and turrets (projectile of 19 kg, gives rhythm maximum 6 blows per part and minute, range maximum 5600 meters).

Bomb thrower of 135, in its casemate. As example, a bomb of 135 is exposed to the top of the gun


4 mortars of 81mm model 1932 (shooting curves) under turret (15 blows per part and minute, maximum range 3600 meters).


7 anti-tank guns of 37mm model 1934, gives rhythm maximum shooting 15 blows per part and per minute, range practises approximately 800 meters (guns especially built for the fortification and not coming from stocks of the Navy as one often intends it to say.

Anti-tank device of 37mm of the museum of H.


30 machine-guns Reibel MAC 1931F (15 twinnings under casemates, turrets with eclipse or armoured bell fixes) gauges 7,5mm, gives rhythm 500 blows per minute (maximum 750 blows per minute), carried practical approximately 600 meters, maximum range 2400 meters (stray bullets).

Twinning of machine-guns of casemate.


61 light machine guns (including two gone up in twinning at the entry of the ammunition supplied with 70 magazine pockets) model 24-29 range 400 meters, gives rhythm shooting 200 blows per minute.

FM 24/29. Collection Cima Truttmann.


3 mortars of 50mm (shooting curves) under casemate.


30 mortars of 50mm (shooting curves) under armoured bell Guet-FM supplied chacunes with 195 blows.

Mortar places from there on GFM.


(3 bells grenade thrower posed and planned for mortar of 60 Misters Their equipment was in hand in June 1940 but they were never armed).


29 grenade chutes (F1) acting in the ditches diamonds of the blocks and entries.

Chute in place, on a wall of ditch.


A workshop of pyrotechny (provided with - device of Belfort intended to arm the grenades with the networks was installed with the foot of the block 22 in spring 1940).

Not very important individual armament: rifles and revolvers. Complementary drive carried out from June 2, 1940 on targets laid out with the bottom of the ditch (with the foot of the block 24).

Ammunition

Theoretical firepower of the work (all weapons including those acting as brought closer defense): approximately 4 tons of projectiles per minute.

Supply in ammunition necessary: 240 tons per day (transport by railway).

Theoretical equipments in ammunition: 75500 artillery blows about half to the central store with ammunition M1 (9 cells where all the gauges from 37 to 135 mm are stored). The work also lays out in theory of 36000 empennées grenades of gauge 50 mm (18948 listed on April 14) and of 4200 shells of gauge 37 mm as well as 3,5 million cartridges of 7,5 mm (Reibel machine-guns and FM) of which a part for the instruction.

It is advisable to add to these figures the ammunition recovered from June 7, 1940 in the field artillery deposits neighbors. An ammunition dump of work set up outside (area of Kédange) is then kept by the crew.

Consumed ammunition (May and June 1940): 8050 blows of 75mm; 2340 bombs of mortars of 81mm; 1336 bombs of 135mm; 600 bombs of 50mm; 110.000 cartridges of 7,5mm; 280 lighting rockets.

Transmissions

Remote observation

(observatories connected by telephone to the service of artillery of Hackenberg): 2 blocks observatories provided with armoured bells equipped on the whole with 2 periscopes B (enlargement 25 weights 320 kilos) or C (enlargement 12 weights 260 kilos) working with the profit of artillery.

Bell with periscopic vision of B11.


Headquarters of the work with middle height of the well of the observatories.

Combined and brought closer observation: 30 Periscopes F2 (periscopes of infantry for armoured Guet-FM bells (enlargement 1,1) and J2 for bells Guet-FM equipped in artillery observatory combined (enlargement 7).

For these observatories, it is necessary to add many observatories of close works, interval (CORF) or countryside working to the profit of Hackenberg.

Transmissions

Buried phone network of fortress dense and with a grid comprising specific stations, stations complementary to countryside (in equipment with the work), distributors and boxes with multiple connections.

Telephone centre of work been useful by 8 sappers telegraphists. An air line of countryside is connected to the observatory of countryside of coast 307 (crossed regularly by the falls of trees then definitively abandoned in June).

As from on May 24, 2 air lines of countryside (penetrating in the work by blocks 21 and 25) are connected to the troops defending covering it of the Four Lords.

Radio operator stations transmitting and receiving located in the entries and block-casemate and being useful in the event of breakdown of the phone network or intrusions on the network (antennas in frontage or along the wall of the ditch diamond of the block. Radio silence broken from June 7, 1940).

Autonomy

Water

700 m3 stored out of sheet steel tanks (water being used with consumption and cooling of the diesels).

Energy

4 diesel engines of 350CV (started at the time of the stop of the power supply by the back. Buried network H.T). Electric factory dug on 200 meters of linear development (volume of the buildings 12500m3) to which is added a cell High voltage. Food of the diesels: a little more than 300 m3, allowing nearly three months of operation the diesels (tanks out of sheet steel isolated from the factory by doors fire with release ordered by fuse).

One of 4 generators SGCM.


cell high voltage with transformers to be able to use the current sector (power supply by the back).


Theoretical autonomy of the work

3 months out of water, gas oil, vivres (of which a part are stored in cold rooms), armament and ammunition.

Crew

Commanders of work

A major (infantry) of 1933 to 1936. Lieutenant-colonel (infantry) Miserey (1937-1938), Draper of Holy Cross (1938), major (artillery) Ebrard (temporarily from November 1938 to February 1939, then definitively from March 1939 to July 1940).

Crew

Theoretical manpower: 34 officers, 139 warrant officers and 854 troops belonging to the infantry (164 ème regiments of infantry of fortress, personnel resulting from the 4th Company of crew of works of the 162ème RIF), to the artillery (163ème then 153ème and finally 151ème regiments of artillery of position) 24th and 25th batteries of work (arming each one a half-work and services), to the minor genius-sappers and electro mechanics, sappers of railroad and sappers radio operator and telegraphists - respectively of 2nd, 15th and 18th regiments of the genius (4th then 202 battalion) - like at the department of health.

Manpower did not cease varying taking into account the changings, of the permissions and various unavailabilities. Thus, it was to the maximum of 34 officers, 135 warrant officers and 872 troops (that is to say 1041 men of crew) on November 7, 1939, it clearly bent during the winter then went up appreciably after the release of the hostilities.

Manpower carried out by weapon (at September 5, 1939): Infantry: 297, artillery: 466, genius: 238, department of health: 11.

Human losses (occurred in May-June 1940)

2 died, 2 seriously injureds, 4 serious casualties.

Reconstitution of scenes

After the armistice of June 1940, Hackenberg was used as underground factory with the German army and its quartering was deeply modified for the circumstance. For example, the majority of the buildings without mission of war (rooms, hospital, etc), were decompartmentalized. They remained it after war and the reconstitutions of scenes of time, sometimes, are thus carried out apart from their initial context.

Reconstitutions

Cook with electric pressure-cookers.


Backs kitchens.


Dentist's surgery (the material is not time).


Infirmary (the material is not time).


Operating theatre suite.


Radio operator telephone centre and room (associates for the reconstitution).


SF Boulay.

Overall description.

List armament.

Transmission and observation aids.

Autonomy of H.

General information on the personnel.

Reconstitution of scenes.

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SF Boulay. Hackenberg (Data sheet); Technical document written by Mr. Michel Truttmann and photographs of various origins. Thank you with all. E_R Cima ©1998-2008

0_*; Local files; 1_*; Introduction; 2_*; Localization; 3_*; Characteristics; 4_*; Armament; 5_*; Transmissions; 6_*; Autonomy; 7_*; Crew; 8_*; Life in H.