Blockhaus allemands du bois de champcourt

Located on the edge of the Bois de Champcourt, in the Xures area, the reinforced concrete structures were semi-buried to conceal them and protect the artillerymen. Five blockhouses were built in May 1918 by German soldiers: four firing casemates and a command blockhouse. Today, two of them are sufficiently well preserved to observe their features, two others have been completely destroyed and the fifth, badly damaged, has retained its firing point.

A few days after the declaration of war, on August 20, 1914, the French offensive in annexed Lorraine came to an abrupt halt at Morhange
Morhange. The German counter-attack pushed the French back beyond the Meurthe, but was halted in the battle of the trouée de Charmes
trouée de Charmes. The Germans then turned their attention to Nancy, but suffered another setback during the Battle of Grand-Couronné, which ended on September 13, 1914. The French regained most of the lost territory, but the front that stabilized in the autumn was unable to recapture the villages of Xures, Parroy, Coincourt, Réchicourt, Juvrecourt, Bezange-la-Grande and Mouacourt.

For four years, the area was subjected to almost daily artillery duels. Hoping to hold on to this position, the Germans moved in and built numerous concrete shelters, including these five blockhouses in May 1918. The men of the 1st
bavarian field artillery regiment left their mark on the command blockhouse.

Located on the edge of the Bois de Champcourt, in the Xures area, the reinforced concrete structures were semi-buried to conceal them and protect the artillerymen. Bags of solidified cement provided additional protection. Only shelters n°1 and n°2 are sufficiently well preserved to observe the features described below. No.3 and No.4 are completely destroyed, while No.5, although badly damaged, has retained its firing point. The first blockhouse, the command blockhouse, precedes the other 4. Very cramped, it has two openings facing east and north, rather than west on the French side, and is linked to the communication trenches by a hose. The exit from this tube is protected by a concrete cover
concrete cover. The 4 fire casemates are lined up on the edge of the forest. They had only two openings: the gun embrasure on the front side and an entrance to the rear. Each housed a gun, most likely the German 77mm. It could be rotated by 45° on a fixed axis resting on a semi-circular firing point. The positioning of the blockhouses ensured coverage of the entire area.

The German 77 mm gun and the French 75 mm gun: these are the two rivals of the field artillery. The caliber is virtually identical, and the range for both is very similar, around ten kilometers, with a slight advantage for the French. The shells from the Xures guns could reach the villages of Arracourt, Bathelémont and Bauzemont, but rather than these villages, their aim was to decimate any enemy infantry advance, as four years earlier at Morhrange.

DATAtourisme France