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Key figures

Origin and history

The support point of the Cime de Pelousette was originally an infantry position of the fortified area of the Dauphiné (Alpine Maginot line), reusing a blockhouse of the Séré de Rivières system (late 19th century). Built before 1939, he monitored the valley of Salso Moreno and supported the Mont des Forches, forming a north-east defensive mask for the pass of Restefond and the Granges Communes. Permanently occupied until 1914, it was then used only episodicly by alpine hunters.

Built between 1892 and 1902, this monobloc blockhouse housed a hundred men, with fire bays, a tank, and an ammunition hold protected by a dry stone spur. Its roof terrace, now cut off from its crenellated walls, served as a firing platform. Inside, there are still some vaults, a kitchen, and a rare Vaillant type E stove (1903), a witness of its original equipment. Communication with neighbouring blockhouses (Mont des Forches, Las Planas) was done by optical telegraph.

In 1940, the position was held by a combat group of the 73rd Alpine Battalion of Fortress (2nd Company), but no commitment was attested, either in June 1940 or in 1945. Abandoned after the war, the fort, though degraded, retains its metal shutters and structural structures. Its altitude of 2,757 m makes it the second highest fortified structure in France, after the battery of Viraysse (2,772 m).

The site illustrates the adaptation of the Séré de Rivières fortifications to Alpine issues, combining 19th century heritage and integration into the Maginot system. Its isolation and present state reflect the strategic decline of the high border crossings after 1945, despite their historic role in defending the Alpine Passes.

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