Ouvrage Bambesch - History

History

See Fortified Sector of Faulquemont for a broader discussion of the Faulquemont sector of the Maginot Line.

On 20 June 1940, Bambesch was attacked by German long 88mm guns of the 167th Infantry Division. Block 2 was attacked first, driving the defenders into the underground galleries. With further attacks on Block 3, the defenders risked entrapment and asphyxiation. Despite support from neighboring Kerfent, the attackers could not be dislodged, and after two hours of bombardment, the garrison surrendered.

The fort was stabilized after the war by military engineers and was acquired by the community of Bambiderstroff in 1972, mostly to use the work's well as a municipal water supply. The site was opened to the public on 31 August 1973 by the Association des Guides de Bambesch. The fortification's machinery and equipment have been preserved.

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