Ouvrage Restefond
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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 2,733 metres (8,967 ft), Restefond is the highest Maginot ouvrage.[2]
| Ouvrage Restefond | |
|---|---|
| Part of Maginot Line, Alpine Line | |
| Southeast France | |
| |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | France |
| Location | |
  Ouvrage Restefond | |
| Coordinates | 44.33028°N 6.80889°E |
| Site history | |
| Built by | CORF |
| In use | Abandoned |
| Materials | Concrete, steel, rock excavation |
| Battles/wars | Italian invasion of France |
└─sub-sectorFortified Sector of the Dauphiné
└─Jausiers, Quartier du Restefond
| Ouvrage Restefond | |
|---|---|
| Type of work: | Large artillery work (Gros ouvrage) |
| sector └─sub-sector | Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné └─Jausiers, Quartier du Restefond |
| Regiment: | 73rd BAF, 162nd RAP |
| Number of blocks: | 3 |
| Strength: | 10 officers, 216 men |
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.
