History
- See Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné for a broader discussion of the Dauphiné sector of the Alpine Line.
On 19 June 1940 the ouvrage was fired upon by the 149mm guns of the Italian Fort Chaberton, 600 metres (2,000 ft) higher in altitude. The bombardment continued the next day and on the 21st, with significant damage to the surface installations and the 95mm gun embrasures. The 6th Battery of the 154th Régiment d'Artillerie de Position, armed with four 280mm mortars, established dispersed positions and opened fire on 21 June, guided by observers at Janus, and silencing the Chaberton guns. On 23 and 24 June Janus fired on Italian positions, with continued heavy French mortar fire directed at Chaberton. Janus's commanding officer altered the guns' shields to open a broader line of fire against the Col de Montgenèvre. The armistice of 25 June brought fighting to an end.
After the 1940 armistice, Italian forces occupied the Alpine ouvrages and disarmed them. In August 1943, southern France was occupied by the German 19th Army, which took over many of the Alpine positions that had been occupied by the Italians until Italy's withdrawal from the war in September 1943.
Janus was recaptured by Free French forces on 4 September, 1944.. Immediately after the war, the Briançon region was regarded as an area of medium priority for restoration and reuse by the military. By the 1950s the positions in the Southeast of France were restored and operational again. However, by 1960, with France's acquisition of nuclear weapons, the cost and effectiveness of the Maginot system was called into question. Between 1964 and 1971 nearly all of the Maginot fortifications were deactivated.
The site is presently owned by Montgenèvre and is under study for public access. The above-ground portion of the site is unsecured. Damage from the 1940 Italian bombardment has not been repaired. The Maginot positions are closed to access.
Read more about this topic: Ouvrage Janus
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