Ouvrage Plate Lombard

Ouvrage Plate Lombard is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line. The ouvrage consists of one entry block, two infantry blocks and one observation block. Unusually for an ouvrage, Plate-Lombard was built by MOM (Main d'Oeuvre Militaire), which usually was responsible for lesser fortifications. The isolated position was commanded in 1940 by Lieutenant de Loye. It controlled the Fouillouse valley and the Col du Vallonet.

Description

 * Block 1 (entry): two machine gun embrasures.
 * Block 2 (infantry block): one Pamart cloche.
 * Block 3 (infantry block): one Pamart cloche.
 * Block 4 (observation block): one STG observation cloche.

History

 * See Fortified Sector of the Dauphiné for a broader discussion of the Dauphiné sector of the Alpine Line.

Plate-Lombard saw action against Italian forces on 22 June 1940, when covering fire from Ouvrage Roche-la-Croix assisted with the defense of Plate Lombard. After German forces occupied southern France, Free French forces completed the liberation of the Briançon area on 25 April 1945.