| Ouvrage Lembach | |
| Partof: | Maginot Line |
| Location: | Northeast France |
| Map Type: | France |
| Coordinates: | 48.9962°N 7.7742°W |
| Map Size: | 280 |
| Type: | Petit ouvrage |
| Builder: | CORF |
| Materials: | Concrete, steel, deep excavation |
| Used: | Abandoned |
| Open To Public: | No |
| Controlledby: | France |
| Battles: | Battle of France, Lorraine Campaign, Battle of the Bulge |
Ouvrage Lembach is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line. Lembach is adjoined by petit ouvrage Grand Hohekirkel at some distance to its west and gros ouvrage Four-à-Chaux immediately to its east. It faces the German frontier, and was part of the Fortified Sector of the Vosges. During the Battle of France in 1940, the German 215th Infantry Division broke through the line of smaller fortifications to the west of Lembach, but did not directly attack. After aerial bombardments, Lembach surrendered with the rest of the Maginot fortifications according to the terms of the Second Armistice at Compiègne. After the war Lembach was renovated for further use, but was abandoned by the 1970s.
The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency; Lembach was approved for construction in July 1931. The petit ouvrage was to be expanded in a second phase of construction, planned but not carried out, envisioned the addition of an 81mm mortar turret and new, separate munitions and personnel entries.[1]
Lembach comprises an entry block, two infantry blocks and one observation block. A small entry block exists near Block 1, with underground barracks and service areas along the gallery that links the combat blocks.
A series of detached casemates and infantry shelters are in the vicinity of Lembach, including
Additionally, the space between Lembach and Grand-Hohékirkel, its neighbor to the west, is filled by more than forty casemates and blockhouses along the river Schwartzbach and across the ridge to the Sauer river.[1]
The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Captain Drouin comprised 58 men and 4 officers of the 165th Fortress Infantry Regiment.[1] The units were under the umbrella of the 5th Army.[7] The nearby Casernement de Lembach provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Lembach and other positions in the area.[8] [9]
See Fortified Sector of the Vosges for a broader discussion of the Vosges sector of the Maginot Line.
On 19 June 1940, the German 215th Infantry Division attacked in the area immediately to the west of Lembach, between the river Schwartzbach and Lembach.[10] Later in the day, Lembach and other ouvrages were bombed by Stukas with no significant effect. The next day an attack was repelled with artillery support from Hochwald.[11] The German advance continued into the Vosges region, but did not directly attack Lembach. Lembach, Four-à-Chaux and Hochwald formally surrendered on 1 July 1940.[12]
Lembach saw little action during the Lorraine Campaign, where most action took place around Hochwald and Schoenenbourg.
In the 1950s interest in the Maginot Line was renewed. In 1951, Lembach, Four-à-Chaux, Hochwald and Schoenenbourg were designated the Môle de Haguenau, a point of resistance against a potential invasion by forces of the Warsaw Pact. Lembach was repaired and put in a state of readiness in 1951-52.[13] By the late 1950s interest in fixed fortifications was waning after France developed a nuclear deterrent. The money needed to maintain and upgrade the fortifications was diverted for the nuclear programs. Lembach was not manned or maintained after the early 1970s[14]
Lembach is privately owned and reported to be in poor condition.[15]