Ouvrage Mont des Welches
| Ouvrage Mont des Welches | |
|---|---|
| Part of Maginot Line | |
| Northeast France | |
Plan de situation de l'ouvrage du Mont des Welches | |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | France |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 49°19′05″N 6°24′30″E / 49.31806°N 6.40847°E |
| Site history | |
| In use | Abandoned |
| Materials | Concrete, steel, deep excavation |
| Battles/wars | Battle of France, Lorraine Campaign |
| Ouvrage Mont des Welches | |
|---|---|
| Type of work: | Large artillery work (Gros ouvrage) |
| sector └─sub-sector | Fortified Sector of Boulay └─Hombourg-Budange |
| Work number: | A21 |
| Regiment: | 164th Fortress Infantry Regiment, 153rd Position Artillery Regiment |
| Number of blocks: | 7 |
| Strength: | 490 enlisted + 17 officers (1940) |
Ouvrage Mont des Welches, a gros ouvrage of the Maginot Line fortifications, is part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay. It comprises two entrance blocks, one infantry block, one artillery block, one observation block and two combination blocks. It is located between petit ouvrage Coucou and gros ouvrage Michelsberg, facing Germany. Relatively small for a gros ouvrage, Mont des Welches saw a brief period of sharp action in June 1940, when German forces moving along the rear of the Maginot Line engaged the position without success. After modest renovations in the 1950s, Mont des Welches was abandoned in the 1970s.