Ouvrage Restefond Explained

Ouvrage Restefond
Partof:	Maginot Line, Alpine Line
Location:	Southeast France
Coordinates:	44.3303°N 6.8089°W
Map Type:	France
Map Size:	300
Builder:	CORF
Materials:	Concrete, steel, rock excavation
Used:	Abandoned
Controlledby:	France
Battles:	Italian invasion of France

Ouvrage Restefond is a work (gros ouvrage) of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one artillery block and three observation blocks at the summit of the Col de la Bonette. The entry block and an artillery block were not completed, and a further block was never built.^[1] At 2733m (8,967feet), Restefond is the highest Maginot ouvrage.^[2]

Description

• Block 1 (unfinished entry): one machine gun cloche and one heavy twin machine gun embrasure. A 47mm anti-tank gun was planned.^[3]
• Block 2 (infantry block): one machine gun cloche and two 81mm mortar embrasures.^[4]
• Block 3 (infantry block): one machine gun cloche and one heavy twin machine gun embrasure.^[5]
• Block 4 (infantry block): one observation cloche, one machine gun cloche and one heavy twin machine gun embrasure.^[6]
• Block 5 (uncompleted artillery block): three 75mm gun embrasures.^[7]
• Block 6 (artillery block): three 75mm gun embrasures, intended primarily for indirect fire.^{[2] [8]}
• Block 7 (unbuilt): three 75mm gun embrasures, later proposed to be armed with a twin 75mm gun turret.^{[9] [10]}

Restefond includes 668 meters of underground galleries at a depth of 64 meters. The position remains the property of the French military, with much of its equipment intact.^[2] Some of the uninstalled equipment remains at the Restefond barracks nearby.^[10]

1940

See Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné for a broader discussion of the Dauphiné sector of the Alpine Line.Block 6 fired on Italian forces in June 1940 as they advanced toward the Col des Fourches.

See also

• List of Alpine Line ouvrages

Bibliography

• Allcorn, William. The Maginot Line 1928-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003.
• Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II, Stackpole Books, 2006.
• Kaufmann, J.E., Kaufmann, H.W., Jancovič-Potočnik, A. and Lang, P. The Maginot Line: History and Guide, Pen and Sword, 2011.
• Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 1. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001.
• Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 4 - La fortification alpine. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009.
• Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009.

External links

• Rimplas (gros ouvrage du) at fortiff.be
• Patrimoine XXeme, Ouvrage Restefond

Notes and References

1. Web site: Restefond (go de). Puelinckx. Jean. Aublet . Jean-Louis . Mainguin . Sylvie. 2010. Index de la Ligne Maginot. fortiff.be. fr. 1 February 2010.
2. Web site: Ouvrage de Restefond. Fray. François. Patrimoine XXeme. French Ministry of Culture and Communication. fr. 1 February 2010.
3. Web site: Restefond (go de) Bloc 1. Puelinckx. Jean. 2010. Index de la Ligne Maginot. fortiff.be. fr. 1 February 2010. etal.
4. Web site: Restefond (go de) Bloc 2. Puelinckx. Jean. 2010. Index de la Ligne Maginot. fortiff.be. fr. 1 February 2010. etal.
5. Web site: Restefond (go de) Bloc 3. Puelinckx. Jean. 2010. Index de la Ligne Maginot. fortiff.be. fr. 1 February 2010. etal.
6. Web site: Restefond (go de) Bloc 4. Puelinckx. Jean. 2010. Index de la Ligne Maginot. fortiff.be. fr. 1 February 2010. etal.
7. Web site: Restefond (go de) Bloc 5. Puelinckx. Jean. 2010. Index de la Ligne Maginot. fortiff.be. fr. 1 February 2010. etal.
8. Web site: Restefond (go de) Bloc 6. Puelinckx. Jean. 2010. Index de la Ligne Maginot. fortiff.be. fr. 1 February 2010. etal.
9. Web site: Restefond (go de) Bloc 7. Puelinckx. Jean. 2010. Index de la Ligne Maginot. fortiff.be. fr. 1 February 2010. etal.
10. Mary, Tome 5, p. 42