Fortified Sector of Maubeuge

The sector includes only four ouvrages of the type found in stronger sections of the Line, arranged in an arc to the north and east of the fortified city of Maubeuge, incorporating defenses from the First World War.

The casemates were built by the Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées (CORF), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency.

As the fortification of the Maubeuge Front was commenced later than the main section of the Line to the east, funds were restricted by the impact of the Great Depression, which had reached France.

The plan was progressively scaled back to four infantry ouvrages in front of Maubeuge, resembling larger-than-usual casemates more than the mutually supporting artillery positions of the main Line.

Geological and groundwater conditions made construction of deep ouvrages of the kind found in the main Line difficult in the Maubeuge area.

Each position resisted fiercely, holding off the attack for several days, despite direct fire by German 8.8cm anti-tank guns that progressively reduced their ability to respond.

Infantry assaults eventually reduced the positions one by one: Boussois at 1100 and La Salmagne at 2030 hours on 22 May, Bersillies at 1015 on 23 May with the nearby casemate Crèvecoeur, and finally Les Sarts at 1100 on 23 May.

The 5th Panzer Division moved into the Mormal Forest and cleared the defensive line there, where a major four-day battle had taken place between French and German mechanized forces.

[8] The Germans stripped the Maubeuge fortifications during the Occupation, removing weapons for re-use and salvaging the massive steel cloches for scrap.

[11] The 84th Fortress Infantry Regiment occupied the sub-sector of Thiérache, spending the winter of 1939–1940 building the Avesnes belt of light fortifications.

Four years later the unit returned as part of the French 54th Infantry Regiment, which was captured by German forces in the Falaise area on 17 and 18 June 1944.