History
- See Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné for a broader discussion of the Dauphiné sector of the Alpine Line.
As Italian troops of the Forli Division advanced into France on 24 June 1940, they were bombarded by Saint Ours Haut's 75mm guns and 81mm mortars, supported by fire from Roche Lacroix, stopping the advance. Saint Ours Haut fired 92 shots from the guns and 379 shots from the mortars. 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.
In 1945, the Germans evacuated Saint Ours Haut during the night of 22 April, leaving it free to be occupied the following day by Free French forces. Immediately after the war, the Alpine 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.
Read more about this topic: Ouvrage Saint Ours Haut
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