Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Uxegney Fort, located at Uxegney in the Vosges, was built between 1882 and 1884 as part of the Séré de Rivières defensive system to control the strategic axes of Epinal-Mirecourt, the Epinal-Nancy railway and the East Canal. Originally appointed fort Roussel in 1887 in tribute to General Nicolas François Roussel d-Hurbal (a distinguished officer of the Napoleonic wars), he regained his original name a few months later after the repeal of the Boulanger decree. This pentagonal fort, designed for 287 men, illustrates the evolution of military techniques with its dry ditches, capons and original armament exposed to the open air.

Between 1893 and 1896, partial modernizations were carried out to adapt the fort to the threat of torpedo shells, including the concrete work of the powder shop and some of the vaults. But it was between 1910 and 1914 that the site underwent its major transformation: installation of four eclipse turrets (including the famous 155 mm Galopin turret, the only functional example in the world), casemates from Bourges, battled observatories and a power station. These developments made the fort a model of the pre-First World War French fortification, combining technical innovation and 19th century heritage.

After 1918, the fort lost its strategic role with the advent of the Maginot Line, serving mainly as a ammunition depot until the 1960s. Abandoned and then saved by the association ARFUPE since 1989, it is now restored in its state of 1914, with its operational leathers, its armed casemates and its old equipment (kitchens, drawbridge, motors). Ranked a historic monument in 2002 with its glacis and the adjacent M35 battery, it offers an exceptional testimony of 40 years of French military history, completed by the strong neighbour of Bois-l-Abbé, unmodernized.

The site is distinguished by rare architectural singularities: a double tank of 140 m3, countermine galleries accessible from a double chest, or a network of intact barbed wires. The galopin turret of 1907, the centrepiece of 250 tons, symbolizes the ingenuity of the fortifications of the East, while the preservation of defensive grids, vaults and observatories makes it a unique case. The fort even served as a decoration for the film Nos patriotes (2016), highlighting its anchor in collective memory.

The association ARFUPE, in a meticulous restaurant the places (including the machine gun turrets being rehabilitated), allows visitors to discover an operational fort, as frozen in 1914. The contrast with the fort of Bois-l-Abbé, which remained in its original state, offers a dive into the evolution of defensive strategies between 1870 and 1914. The two works, connected by a 60 cm track since 2009, are open to the public from May to September, perpetuating the transmission of this exceptional military heritage.

External links