Extremely Saint-Michel

The Fort of Saint-Michel is a work established in Meurthe-et-Moselle on the hillock of the same name (dimension 389) mainly between 1874 and 1878.

The original fort

Dates of construction (1874-1878)

Estimated cost of the work

The entire amount is estimated at 2  459  000 Frank French

Armament

The total armament is established with 68 parts of Artillerie. The fort had in its stores of 190 tons powder and 200  000 cartridges.
  • Parts under Turret: nothing
  • Parts under Casemate: nothing
  • Parts of rampart: 10 at the tiny room, 38 with the work wraps
  • Mortier S: 8
  • Parts of flanking: 12 at the tiny room

Quartering

The fort could accommodate 726 men. An infirmary of 35 men was present. There were 2 baker's ovens of 300 rations. The water provision was ensured by a cistern of 450 m3. There was no well.
  • Officers: 28
  • Warrant officers: 46
  • Soldiers: 652
  • Horses: 6

Structure

The extremely of Saint-Michel is formed of the following elements:

  1. an enclosure-envelope, girdling the edge of the plate, without ditch, combining a flanking by Casemate S projecting and a high flanking since the parapets. The North-eastern face is pseudo-bastionné with clipper. the envelope connects between them several batteries to cross-piece-shelters. The battery Is (known as of Pont-à-Mousson) is paradossée by a provided earthwork, in 1882, of a store with powder. The work safeguards the defenders of the envelope before possible fold in the tiny room of defense, it contains, in its Northern part, a small quartering builds in 1874.

  2. a tiny room, on pentagonal level, flanked by a Shelter of throat whose lower level draws with the top from part of the wall of Escape (he even crenelated) of the envelope and 2 shelters with handles with projecting of the face of attack.

Modernization

Modernizations in 1888 - 1889

Concreting of the barracks of the tiny room and the small barracks of the envelope.

Construction of a shelter cave in the Contrescarpe of the ditch of the tiny room and two shelter caves on the slope connected at the height by underground communication.

At the Northern end of the battery of Pont-à-Mousson, a Mougin turret for 2 guns of 155, with projecting tubes, is delivered Sunday September 7th 1890. (model tested in 1888 with the Camp of Châlons, not acquired abroad). The battery known as of Bruley (North-western of the envelope) is deferred to 20 m behind its original site after filling of the platforms.

Program 1900

Establishment, in 1891, of an observatory with eclipse of the Bussière type on projecting of the Northern face of the same envelope.

Second modernization campaign starting from 1901:

  • pregnant concrete surmounted by a grid in front of the envelope with shelters of sections, the whole forming a covered way (1901-1904);
  • underground communication between the 2 groups of casemates caves of the Southern side of the hillock and the tiny room (1902)   ;
  • underground galleries between the casemate-caves (? 1887) of the Northern ditch of the tiny room and the Northern face of the envelope (1905);
  • underground gallery and hoist between the store of sector (1887) of the South-eastern slope of the hillock and the turret of 155 (1907) with starter of a gallery of (?) contremine (unfinished) in direction of the slope Is hillock.
  • Establishment of an optical station (? 1910), in the tiny room in connection with the following works: p.o of Charm-the-Coast (7  700 m in South-west), p.o of the plate of Lucey, extremely of Frouard.

Supplementary program 1908

It was envisaged to build 3 turrets of 75, one added to the supplementary program a battery of 2 turrets of 155c. The turrets were removed, one decided to carry out a shelter with the test for the governor and his staff, as well as the concreting of the cistern.

Garrison and armament in 1914

  • 1 company of infantry (47e regiment of territorial infantry), reinforced by 1 battalion of the 42e regiment of territorial infantry employed on Nancy
The work had 2  110 places protected in the casemates and for 136 not protected places.
  • 1 battery (6th artillery regiment to foot),
In addition to the armament under turret, 6 guns revolvers and 6 guns of 12 cylinder head for the defense of the trunks, it is necessary to add the armament of rampart. 10 guns of 155L, 6 guns of 120L, 6 guns of 90,8 mortars.
  • In 1914, the work suffered from certain a number of defects inherent in its construction and rock nature of the plate which limited the capacities of hiding considerably: visibility of the cross-pieces of the batteries of the envelope, defective flanking in the South, water resources limited (cistern supplied with pumping station located at the edge of the Channel of the Marne at the Rhine.

Actual position

The Parement S of masonries are in good state, but there exist important local degradations (oven walls of the barracks of throat of the tiny room); reinforced armourings (there remains the hydraulic pivot of the turret of 155…). Work alienated with the profit of an private owner in 2000. Strong the Saint-Michel (official designation, in 1887: strong Klein), capped the defensive organization of the hillock Saint-Michel, strongly reinforced after 1880: stores with powder exchange and of sector, casemates caves (1887-1888), refrigerating factory (1910-1913), service road by way of 0,60 m (since 1890) which served part of the interior of the work (platforms of the battery of Pont-à-Mousson). Equipment partially in place: retractable drawbridges in the ditch, system Pilter (envelope and reduced).

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