Fortified Sector of Haguenau
The right wing, started after 1931, was progressively scaled back in order to save money during the Great Depression, abandoning plans for four petit ouvrages and substituting casemates.
The Haguenau sector was part of the larger Fortified Region of the Lauter, a strongly defended area between the Sarre to the west and the Rhine Valley to the east.
In preliminary planning in 1925 the Commission de Défense des Frontiers regarded the Rhine and its branches as a significant obstacle, backed by the heights of the Vosges.
The Hochwald and Schoenenbourg positions were planned to anchor the right flank of the Maginot defenses on the easternmost heights of the Vosges.
To the south, Strasbourg was to be considered an open city, as it could otherwise be easily destroyed by German artillery on the other side of the Rhine.
[3] The riverbank fortifications were of a basic nature, with protection only up to 155mm caliber, machine gun armament and no electrical system.
[1] Peacetime barracks and support: 79th Fortress Infantry Regiment (79e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt.
Peacetime barracks and support: 23rd Fortress Infantry Regiment (23e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt.
Peacetime barracks and support: 68th Fortress Infantry Regiment (68e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt.
Peacetime barracks and support: 70th Fortress Infantry Regiment (70e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt.
German attention was concentrated on Belgium and the Ardennes region, breaching a weak point in French frontier defenses at Sedan.
On 21 June a German 420mm mortar and a 355mm weapon began shelling Schoenenbourg, causing some damage but not breaching the position.
[13] Schoenenbourg received the heaviest bombardment of any Maginot fortification, comprising 160 aerial bombs, 50 42 cm shells, 33 28 cm shells, and approximately 3000 smaller projectiles,[14] In early June in the face of the German assault, all fortress units attached to the Fifth Army were ordered to prepare for withdrawal to the south and west.
The personnel of the SF Haguenau were to be consolidated into a Division de Marche entitled the DM Regard, consisting of the I/22, II/23, XXI/23, I/68, II/68, II/70, II/79 and III/79e RIFs, along with the 69e RAMF and the 156e RAP.
[17] To support the 215th ID, the German 246th Infantry Division was ordered to directly attack the SF Haguenau from the north.
Aerial bombing hit Oberroeden Nord and the Abri de Hoffen, disrupting communications but not seriously harming French defenses.
The final surrender of Hochwald, Schoenenbourg and their lesser positions was effected on 1 July 1940, in accordance with the terms of the armistice.
The unit's first battalion was ordered to withdraw from the fortified line on 14 June as part of the DI Regard, falling back to Lure, then Héricourt to control the Besançon-Belfort road.
The casemate garrisons became part of the so-called groupement Schwartz after the sector's commander, and were repositioned to face to the south in the direction of the German 215th ID's threat.
[29] Somewhat later, in 1945, Schoenenbourg and nearby casemates Schmeltzbach Ouest, Drachenbronn Nordand Sud and Bremmelbach received the same treatment from the German 245th ID before the American 36th Infantry Division took possession.
[30] The eastern portion of the sector was the scene of heavy fighting in January 1945 as a result of the German Operation Nordwind offensive aimed at the recapture of Strasbourg.
[31] Following World War II, the French military reclaimed the Maginot Line with the aim of renovating and improving it against a possible attack by Warsaw Pact forces.
After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force, the importance of the Line declined, and maintenance ceased in the 1970s, with most of the casemates sold.
