# Maginot Line Gros ouvrage Mont des Welches - ***IMAGE INTENSIVE***



## TeeJF

As some of you may already know we put together a long weekend trip for members of the forum to visit bpoth the fortifications around Verdun and a Maginot Line ouvrage. Tracy and I went out a day earluier than everyone else so that we could check access to our first fort but also so that we could explore another Maginot Line ouvrage for our own pleasure. And pleasure us it certainly di!!!

*The history...*​
I have already covered the highly flawed thinking behind the construction of the Maginot Line fortifications in some depth however if you are new to our Line reports you may wish to read this rather more in depth explanation of the Line's raison d'etre first on our previous Gros Ouvrage Latiremont report from last year.

Gros Ouvrage Mont des Welches is situated in the Fortified Sector of Boulay. It is a quite unusual ouvrage in that it is a very compact design, no more than 330 metres from end to end, where as most of the other Maginot ouvrages are constructed in a much more linear fashion with a very long underground corridor, in some cases almost a mile long, connecting the distant fighting blocks to the barracks, magazine, usine etc. *There is no 'M1' main ammunition magazine, and its 60cm internal railway was not electrified, relying instead on man power to move the carriages. It is also rather on the small side to be classified as a 'gros ouvrage' having only five blocks in total. There are separate entry blocks for men (EH) and munitions (EM), one infantry block, one artillery block, one observation block and two combination blocks. The average depth of the fort floor is 30 metres below the surface and it is located between petit ouvrage Coucou and gros ouvrage Michelsberg, facing the German border.

Mont des Welches was built by Gianotti of Nice at a cost of 49 million Francs, and became operational in 1935. The ouvrage did see some nasty action quite briefly during the battle for France in June 1940, when German forces moving along the rear of the Maginot Line engaged the position without success. Along with many of the other Maginot installations some renovation work was carried out on the ouvrage in the 1950s in order to present a serious obstacle to the potential threat of a Soviet Red Army advance through southern Germany however at that time fighting a conventional land war became increasingly unlikely as the nuclear arms race escalated, and due to the prohibitive cost of maintaining and operating the Maginot Line most of the retained ouvrages, including Mont Des Welches, were abandoned in the 1970s.
The garrison of the ouvrage in June 1940 was 17 officers and 490 other ranks of the 167th. Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 151st. Position Artillery Regiment, commanded by Chef de Bataillon (Battalion Chief) Tari. These units were under the command of the 42nd. Fortress Corps of the 3rd. Army, Army Group 2. Casernement de Férange provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to this and other ouvrages and associated positions in the area.

*The ouvrage during World War II...​*
The German army did not attack this section of the Maginot Line frontally, preferring instead to outflank the sector via the west end of the Line. Mont des Welches provided covering fire to the other ouvrages in the sector throughout this time. On the 15th. June, 1940, the German 1st Army broke through at the Saar and fanned out to the east and west behind the line. The German 95th. Infantry Division under General von Amim attacked the rear of Mont des Welches on 21st. June. Blocks 2 and 3 were engaged by formidable 88mm artillery guns - BELOW - but the attack was disrupted by return fire from the two entry blocks, blocks 4 and 5, and supporting fire from nearby gros ouvrage Hackenberg, which effectively silenced the German 88mm battery. 





The ouvrage fought on until the armistice was declared on the 25th. June, 1940, and the garrison finally left on the 4th. July, at which point the ouvrage served the Germans as a Reichspost mail depot. 

In 1944 during the Lorraine Campaign the allied armies attacked sections of the Line which had been 'turned around' by the Germans however in this sector only Hackenberg was occupied as a fighting fort and therefore Mont des Welches was not attacked. 

*The ouvrage today...​*
Mont des Welches is in really quite good condition today when compared to many of the other abandoned Maginot positions. There is little in the way of flooding but sadly there has inevitably been a fire or fires, presumably occasioned by the actions of metal thieves cutting the armour from the power cables with Stihl saws or the like in order to get at the copper. These cables were insulated with cloth and of course it only takes one spark to cause a smouldering time bomb which will erupt sooner rather than later. There was a lot of discolouration to the ceilings in one section of the fort and the ammunition entrance was also rather smoke blackened in places. The kitchen is still almost completely equipped and the fighting block we entered (Bloc 1) still had its mortars in place in the turret. The usine however has seen some serious salvage work at some time, in all likelihood by owners of other Maginot Line forts looking for spare parts for their own generators and engines.

*The photos...​*









* Due to the dense woodland on top of most of the Maginot Line ouvrages you can practically walk into the surfae blocks before you see them!  *











* Many of the ouvrages have had huge earth bankings bulldozed up against them to prevent entry. *












* ...and we're off  *













* This 60 cm light railway runs down a steep incline into the fort working level. *













* A machine gun protected this upper level of the fort. *










* The nature of the internal blast/gas proof doors reminds one very much of being on board a fighting ship. *










* The incline was used to run railway trucks full of ammunition etc down into the fort from the external railway network which connected all the forts in the immediate vicinity. *













*At the bottom of the incline now looking back up the way we have just come from. *













* This appears to have been a sand filled safety tub for incendiary devices. We saw an identical one later marked 'incendie'. *













*In the usine (engine or plant room) now and here is what remains of the first of the generators. *










* These huge diesel engines were very similar to those used in submarines with an open construction affording easy access to engine components for maintenance even whilst the engine is running. *










* Colour coded feed pipes on the engines, something we have not seen in any other Maginot ouvrage to date. *













* All the Maginot ouvrages were connected up to the French national grid and the generators were for back up. 
We think this is one of the oil filled step down transformers used to reduce the grid to the fort's working voltage. *













*We think this is a single stage air compressor used to fill compressed air tanks used to start the generator engines. Its donkey engine to drive it is missing. *













* This looks like a workshop area. *










* As we moved away from the usine down the gare (railway) we came to a guard room with amachine gun covering the corridor. *










* The so called 'cuisine'... no prizes for guessing what happened here  *













* An electrically heated oven. *













* The range. It is fairly unusual to find an equipped kitchen in a Line ouvrage nowadays because most have been stripped out by the owners of the show forts like Hackenberg etc. *













* Le temps de manger. Et qu'est-ce qui vous tente parmi notre vaste menu aujourd'hui ma chère?   *












* The dining arrangements are a tad primitive, especially in view of the fact that these drop down tables outside cuisine are right on the railway  *













*Pot wash or ablutions  It wasn't clear though they are also situated right by cuisine. *













* The points on the gare were man-draulicly actuated in this fort. *













* A gas tight, blast proof door closes off the entrance to fighting block 1. *










* Ammunition went up via the lift but the poilus had to use the staircase running around the outside of the lift column. *










* Due to the fact that this ouvrage is relatively dry most of the wall painting has survived. *













* Almost at the surface some 30 metres up from fort floor level we arrive at the base of the turret block. *













* More blast proof, gas tight doors at the entrance to the block base level. *













* This is a heavily armoured, retractable, double barreled mortar turret. *










* Looking up towards the floor of the fighting compartment housing the mortar barrels. *










* The see-saw counterweight mechanism seen here moved the heavily armoured turret up and down in relative ease.
In the event of a power failure it could even be manually raised and lowered it was so effectively balanced. *













* Electrically driven fume extraction for the compartment. *













* The turret commander's position Note the stereoscopic periscope eyepieces and the red coloured speaking tube. *













* The loader's access to the turret. Look how tight the hatch is through which the gunners had to climb. 
I could not get through this at all easily and had to strip my camera pouch off my belt to even get up high enough to look in . *












* What it was all about - one of the two mortars with its recoli mechanism above the firing tube. *













* Each block had its own dedicated observation cupola accessed by climbing a vertical ladder. *













* The fort achieved proof against poisonous gas attack by making the inside air pressure higher than outside. 
Air was filtered through these huge activated charcoal filter stacks to maintain the positive pressure. *













* Duty crew's rest room and bunk beds. *










* Another unusual feature, this observation block is accessed by an inclined staircase for part of the way and 
then a conventional staircase for the rest. We have not seen this anywhere else in the Line to date. *










* The obligatory dose of stair porn  *













* Back down at fort floor level again. *













* The ammunition monorail running into this block lift gives away the fact that this block was armed with 75mm artillery weapons. *












* The buffer pit beneath this lift is flooded completely with clear, green water at least 5 feet deep  *










* Playing with the light  *










* Another compressor exactly like the one we saw earlier but this one still has its donkey engine attached. *













* Time to head back along the gare. *













* The gare widens periodically to allow passage of carriages going in opposite directions. *













*Heading back up the incline towards daylight though it is a long way away yet  *










* The fort's main filter plant - more activated carbon poison gas filters. *










* Daylight Again... cue Crosby, Stills and Nash   *
​

 *Thanks for looking y'all... see you next time...​*


----------



## krela

Amazing as always you two! Looks pretty clean that one.


----------



## TeeJF

It certainly is. It's possibly the cleanest after Welschof which we did in February. When we took the group into Brehain last week I was appalled at the deterioration in just twelve months - a fire, loads of stuff stripped ready to take out, the automatic blast doors tripped and wedged open (they would literally crush you if they went as you walked through) and man-pats dotted around all over the shop. Bit of a bummer really because Brehain was superb so recently.

Time and tide (and pykeys) wait for no explorer!


----------



## night crawler

Amazing another detailed report keeping me well informed about the line.


----------



## gingrove

Outstanding report and great images as usual ! Thanks


----------



## clinka

Fantastic - lovely pics and I am sure a great experience whilst exploring.


----------



## Paulytwotanks

Wow! I am enthralled with this report. The clear explanations accompanying each photograph are so helpful to enable understanding of this fantastic relic of the war. I can't believe just how intact it is. You clearly know your subject. If you organise another trip I would be very interested in attending, even if we don't get to see one quite as good as this! First class.


----------



## flyboys90

Great report & photos,thanks for sharing.


----------



## chris

Lovely looking Maginot. Really like the way you lit the flooded lift pit


----------



## tank2020

Wow. I should have come a day earlier. Great report, it also means so much more to me after our trip, which was amazing! Thanks again to you both.


----------



## TeeJF

Thanks fellas.

You are very welcome Mark. I get almost as much pleasure seeing someone else enjoying themselves as I do exploring myself.

Now get saving for a "Beatche" trip in July!!!


----------



## Walrus75

Brilliant. Just when one thinks the bar can't be raised any further you two squeeze it up another few inches. 
It never fails to amaze me that given the failure that the Maginot Line was in WW2 how it was adopted as a defence against the imagined Red Hordes for another 30 years. Mind you, better that than nowt I suppose.


----------



## RichCooper

Superb stuff again


----------



## Neverwillchange

Wow again brilliant pics and report !


----------



## jjstenso

Thorough documentation, nice. Looking to visit a couple of these again this summer.


----------



## oldscrote

Usual highest standards maintained,a cracking report,thanks the pair of you.


----------



## perjury saint

*Looks MASSIVE!! Bostin report that!! *


----------



## Big Bill

Looks amazing and surprised how bright the colours still are on the engines, even look as if many parts still were greased up!

Looks like you all had an amazing visit!


----------



## TeeJF

Cheers fellas. I think the paintwork is in good nick because this particular fort is quite dry relatively speaking and of course despite the Line beiung a WW2 relic many of the ouvrages, this one included, were kept up to right into the 70s due to the Cold war. You'd think the French would have learnt that a line can be passed by going around it after two attempts to rely on standingf forts ion an incomplete line wouldn't you!


----------



## borntobemild

great pics and very informative too.


----------



## sparky.

Fantastic report and pictures as always mate


----------



## Winch It In

Top quality report and stunning set of pic's, Well done to you both.


----------



## shatners

Absolute top class... thanks so much for sharing, always get excited when I see one of your French reports pop up in the new threads 

Is it so intact because of the remote location? Looks to be next to no graffiti etc.....


----------



## sonyes

Fantastic report and pics as always guys. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## TeeJF

Thank you one and all for your kind comments. No more French forts for a 'oui' while I'm afraid but I hope to stick a little urbex-Sicilia report up within the next few days. 

Thanks again.


----------



## Infraredd

Hi
Utterly amazed at this. For 2 people to go down an abandoned hole in France where there is no light and miles of potentially dangerous tunnel work is dedication personified. The pictures are great, multiple flash usage in pitch black isn't easy and you got out alive. What do you do in the real world teach archeology?


----------



## krela

No one uses flash in pitch black, not if they want good photos.


----------



## TeeJF

Infraredd said:


> Hi
> Utterly amazed at this. For 2 people to go down an abandoned hole in France where there is no light and miles of potentially dangerous tunnel work is dedication personified. The pictures are great, multiple flash usage in pitch black isn't easy and you got out alive. What do you do in the real world teach archeology?



Hee hee, no, although both TJ and I studied Egyptology for a while plus we were both in the TA so we have a tiny bit of weapons knowledge. But I suspect the main knowledge of the Line and places like Verdun that we have acquired is simply from studying stuff before and after explorations.

As to how we light the shots, they are a mix of flash and light painting. As Krela says, flash doesn't tend to give particularly terrific results although I would say he definitely hasn't realised just how much flash we actually do use!  All the shots in the kitchen area for example were flash only however I think you can tell that is the case because the foreground is well lit whilst the middle ground is rather dark, and the distant ground is very dark.

One trick I play is to use the camera on a forced long exposure but fire the flash to light the foreground whilst the distance is lit with a powerful torch we have which has a zoom facility. I zoom it slowly out, pause on out, then zoom in again, several times. 

Another trick is to use long exposures with light painting but then if needs be I also force the exposure in Adobe Lite Room. Carefully playing with the exposure, fill and recovery settings can sometimes make a decent pic from something you don't think ever will - for example: 







this shot was a flash shot and then I brought up the back of the room with processing in Lite Room.

Thanks for your kind comments.


----------



## fleydog

A Stunning set! Thank you.


----------



## Infraredd

TeeJF said:


> Hee hee, no, although both TJ and I studied Egyptology for a while plus we were both in the TA so we have a tiny bit of weapons knowledge. But I suspect the main knowledge of the Line and places like Verdun that we have acquired is simply from studying stuff before and after explorations.
> 
> As to how we light the shots, they are a mix of flash and light painting. As Krela says, flash doesn't tend to give particularly terrific results although I would say he definitely hasn't realised just how much flash we actually do use!  All the shots in the kitchen area for example were flash only however I think you can tell that is the case because the foreground is well lit whilst the middle ground is rather dark, and the distant ground is very dark.
> 
> 
> Hi
> Have you never tried slave flashes or magic eyes on an old non dedicated flash gun? I was trawling through e-bay and found an old cobra flash gun with 2 fag packet size slave flashes - they free stand & can add extra light from other angles. also if you use long exposures - a telephoto flash (not attached to the camera) can be manually fired several times from several angles before you activate the cable release or i/r remote. I tried light painting in the cave below a Welsh castle once & the rechargable battery kept going flat + it's a real art to get it subtle and not look like neon afterburn.
> The archeology ref was to raiders of the lost ark & your Indiana Jones style Urbex
> again .............respect.


----------



## skankypants

Top stuff!great pics considering the lack of light...realy like the stair shot...top work..


----------



## TeeJF

Infraredd said:


> Hi
> Have you never tried slave flashes or magic eyes on an old non dedicated flash gun?
> The archeology ref was to raiders of the lost ark & your Indiana Jones style Urbex
> again .............respect.



Hiya... yes I have tried slave flashes et all including tea lights too! The trouble is the Maginot Line and similar types of exploration which we do don't merit humping a great load of kit into them, especially given that on some of the Verdun fort explorations we carry ropes and climbing gear too. For example, to access one particular ouvrage we did last year we had to squirm down a narrow 'tube' of mud and then twist to the vertical, descend a section of gate that had been deployed as a ladder, twist back to the horizontal and squeeze through a hole burnt in a steel door and then climb another section of steelwork, all just to get in! On that occasion I didn't even bother with my main camera bag and just used a respirator case to carry flash, torches and camera. This particular ouvrage on this report was actually one of the easier ones so I carried the full bag this time. Also there is a serious amount of ground to cover in most of these ouvrages - GO Latiremont's gare is almost a mile long - and setting up a shot with umpteen slave flashes takes way too long. As it is we have never finished a complete ouvrage because humping up the 30 metres or so of stairs to each of the fighting blocks about finished us off after just two! That's why I use flash so much, convenience, efficiency and speed. Tripod shots with light painting do get an outing but again they are very time consuming, taking upwards of five minutes to get a shot one is happy with, especially if there is anything remotely foreground that is reflective. One thing I have been trying lately is longish exposures on the tripod and hand-blitting flash around as fill but it's not producing much useable stuff yet whilst I'm still learning.

Thanks again for your kind comments.


----------



## chris

TeeJF said:


> Another trick is to use long exposures with light painting but then if needs be I also force the exposure in Adobe Lite Room. Carefully playing with the exposure, fill and recovery settings can sometimes make a decent pic from something you don't think ever will - for example:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> this shot was a flash shot and then I brought up the back of the room with processing in Lite Room.



That works really well  - I'm going to have to do some experimenting along those lines. Very useful for quick trips


----------



## karltrowitz

Excellent report. Thanks


----------



## shane.c

Good pics and info thanks for posting,


----------

