User:Acroterion/SF Ardennes

The Defensive Sector of the Ardennes (Secteur Défensif des Ardennes) was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the French border with Belgium in the vicinity of the Ardennes. Regarded as sheltered from attack by the difficult terrain of the Ardennes, the sector was lightly fortified in comparison to the heavy defenses of the Maginot Line, which abutted the sector to the east with the Fortified Sector of Montmédy and to the west with the Fortified Sector of Maubeuge. The sector was centered on Charleville-Mézières. In the Battle of France the sector was the scene of the decisive breakthrough by German forces in the vicinity of Sedan, which allowed the Germans to bypass the Maginot Line, and to wreck the Allies' strategy of advancing into Belgium, there to confront the expected German main attack.

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The French army estimated that a German move through the Belgian Ardennes would take nine days, by which time they would be met by a French mechanized reserve force. German interest in an Ardennes attack reached the planning stage in February 1940.

Command
The Boulay sector was under the overall command of the French 3rd Army, headquartered at Fort Jeanne d'Arc at Metz, under the command of General Charles Condé, which was in turn part of Army Group 2 under General André-Gaston Prételat. The SF Boulay was commanded by General Besse until late June 1940, then Colonel Cochinard. The command post moved several times. In may 1940 it was located at the Château Marivaux at Hayes. The interval troops, the army formations that were to provide the mobile defense for the sector, to support and be supported by the fixed defenses, were under the command of the 6th Corps (6e Corps d'Armee), General Loizeau, commander. The 6th Corps was in turn made up of the 42nd and 26th Infantry Divisions, as well as the British 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, a detached part of the British Expeditionary Force. Artillery support for the sector was provided by the 153rd Position Artillery Regiment (Régiment d'Artillerie de Position (RAP)), which controlled both fixed and mobile artillery, commanded by Chef d'Escadron Charly. The 42nd ID was made up of active-service troops, while the 26th ID was a Class A reserve formation.

Description
The sector includes, in order from west to east, the following major fortified positions, together with the most significant casemates and infantry shelters in each sub-sector:

Sub-sector of Hombourg-Budange
164th Fortress Infantry Regiment (164e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt. Colonel Priquet, followed by Commandant Orgebin in June 1940, command post at the Château de Hombourg-Budange
 * Ouvrage Hackenberg, gros ouvrage A19 of nineteen combat blocks
 * Ouvrage Coucou, petit ouvrage A20 of two combat blocks
 * Ouvrage Mont des Welches, gros ouvrage A21 of seven combat blocks and two entry blocks
 * Ouvrage Michelsberg, gros ouvrage A22 of six combat blocks and one entry block
 * Ouvrage Hobling, petit ouvrage A23 of four combat blocks
 * Casemate de Veckring Nord, C55
 * Casemate de Veckring Sud, C56
 * Abri de Veckring, X21
 * Abri du Coucou, X22
 * Observatiore des Chênes-Brûlés, O4
 * Abri des Chênes-Brûlés, X23
 * Abri de Klang, X24
 * Abri du Mont-des-Welches, X25
 * Casemate de Menskirch, C57
 * Abri de Bilmette, X26
 * Casemate de Huberbusch Nord, C58
 * Casemate de Huberbusch Sud, C59
 * Abri de Férange, X27
 * Abri d'Ising, X28

Peacetime barracks and support:
 * Casernement de Veckring
 * Casernement de Férange (Ising)

Present status
Hackenberg, Michelsberg and Bousse are operated as museums and are open to the public. The remainder are either privately owned or are military property, abandoned and sealed.