A considerable amount of the fort's equipment remains in place, including kitchens, living facilities and details of armament, in an unusually good state of preservation.

The fort was situated at an altitude of 379 meters above the valley of the Avière with the mission of controlling the Épinal-Mirecourt axis, the Épinal-Nancy railway and the Canal de l'Est.

The initial garrison comprised 287 men, and the construction cost of the original fort amounted to about 1.7 million francs..

The principal armament consisted of five 155mm and five 120mm de Bange or Lahotolle guns on the three forward-facing walls of the fort, in the open air on platforms.

[1][2] The first improvements came in 1892, when the fort's entry, powder magazine, a cistern, an infantry shelter and a number of other spaces were covered with concrete.

From 1900 a series of spiral queue de cochon (pig tail-shaped) infantry shelters were placed on and around the fort.

[1][3] In 1914 a further project to add two 155mm gun turrets in a separate armored battery was proposed, but was canceled by the outbreak of war.