1933-12-16 — Page 13

PICTORIAL SUPPLEMENT

THE "MAGINOT

£30,000,000 SPENT ON NEW FORTIFICATIONS

NOVEL TYPE: CONTINUOUS CROSS FIRE GIVING MUTUAL PROTECTION

REGARDED AS ALMOST IMPREGNABLE THE year 1933

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1933.

PAGE THREE

LINE:" FRANCE'S PROTECTION OF FRONTIER

The ex-Serviceman who looks back to-day to Flanders or Aleno- Marno never would recognize the system of "trenches de luxe" by which France, to-day is covering the vital spots of her exposed frontier.

SECRETS GUARDED.

DEEP mystery in construction of

these new fortifications, which has surrounded them constantly since they were begun in 1925, has been lifted partially. Naturally. details of military value still are guarded Jealously, and "spy scares" repentedly have folled alien efforts |cating and suppport trenclits dug into penetrate their detalia.

the bare earth, which the World But what trenches! Not the nod-War soldier developed literally den thread of trenches that saved under fire.

sces Franco's France 15 years ngo-the system eastern border once again, of dugouts, bombproofs, communi- line of trenches.

A vore photo of and of the new steel-and-concrete casemates of the French border forts, now under con. struction. This doubla casemate. only the emerging top of an intri cale system of works below ground. is hidden in a wood-part of the strong Maginot Line being built north of the Vosgos. The map. right, shows how the no protects of the industrial "liat spot" France opponite the disputed Saar Basin.

LUXE

METZ

MOSELLE

SAAR

PRMAN Y

BASIN

AGINOT LINE

ANO

NANCY.

But the general lines of such de- fences now are clear. The under- ground mazes have no counterpart In the world.

Tunica! of auch complicated worka in the "Maginot Line,” which protects for 200 miles the vital in- |dustrini region of Briey, north of

the Vosges and apposite the dis puted Saar basin. It is named for M. Andre Maginot, the late War Minister, who was active in con- ceiving and building them.

Here, invlaible and sunk beneath the rolling and wooded terrain like a great mining project, are tre- mendous works which no one but the French military has seen.

FAR FLUNG NETWORK.

PERHAPS here and there among the hills a wandering pensant has been ordered away from a mushroom-like turret,

ur a

new

rand or concrete entrance like that

of a mine shaft has barred

curious.

the

But the steel and reinforced con- crete ensemates are not just scat-

•

tered helter-skelter through the hills. They are lined up with one another to give mutual protection by crossfire, and are interconnected by a series of tunnels and galleries

For a 200-mile stretch north of the Yorgar, France's border is defended by the Maginot Line, a system of permanent fortifications like a glorified underground trench system with all modern improvements. The above drawing, though not intended to be exact la détail or to show any particular fortification, giver a graphle idea of the magnitude of the work. works, passage as defence if entrance is

Invaded.

1-Main entrance to renched by sunken road.

2-Air chamber or lock enabling high atmospheric pressure to be built up inside, as gas defence.

3-Village Inhabitants specially trained to man nearby defences,

4-Series of "bulkheads" in

5-Casemate, or "pillbox fort" projecting above ground.

6-Elevator and stairs in tower giving access to caremate.

7-Casemate,

8---Widened assembly chamber in gallery.

far below the ground-far enough' serves in the works on very short to be

safe from either high-notice. explosive shells or aerial bombs. Thus mobilization is speeded up. All the key positions are buried specialisation of work, and the in- deep in the bowels of the hills. contive of local defence are all Living quarters, magazines, stores, added to effectiveness of the forts. power stations, control posts, and It is believed that within a few machinery are out of reach of any hours the frontier along the lines known means of attack.

fortifications could be MILLIONS SPENT.

closed and sealed. SOMETHING like £30,000,000 has gone into these elaborate forts,

which are of course 'purely de- fensive In nature.

Near each sector of these de- fences, permanent posts of French regulars have been established. But, in addition, the conscripts of the neighbouring villages have been trained to take their placės na re-

of new

PROOF AGAINST GAS. THE approach to one of thead

forts usually is by a sunken rond leading to a concrete-walled entrance similar to that of a mine. The passages within are barred by a series of steel doors, so that even if the entrance should be forced or destroyed, successive sectors of the galleries could be defended

D-Steel partition doors.

10-Central kitchen.

11-Sleeping quarters. 12-Magazine.

13-Control roum, governing air pressure, heat, electrical wiring etc,

14-Power plant.

16- Steel partition. deors.

one after another,

over-

16-Gallery leading to casemate tower. 17-Casemate of concrete lald with steel armourplate, and containing quick-firing guns.

18-Ammunition, holat, 19-Miniature railway to trans- port ammunition.

20-Casemate.

containing elevators and stairways' leading through a tower to tho In some cases the galleries and

casemate poking ita nose out at the passages have been sealed air-ground level. Small railways-

enrry ammunition to the hoista tight, with means provided both for artificial ventilation and for leading up to the casemates, just raising the air pressure slightly as the hoists supply ammunition above that of the outside.

This would provide an effective defence against gas of all kinds, it la expected, for gas could not enter, an area where the air pressure was higher than that of the free gas outside. ARTILLERY FIRE DEFIED.

.

THE labyrinth of galleries and

passages underlies the whole system. Hore it widens out into

an assembly room like a subway station. Passages lead to kitchens, power plants, control rooms, supply departments, barracks,

Hore and there are the rooms

to the turrets of a battleship.

The casemates themselves, heavily constructed of armourplate and reinforced concrete yarda in thickness, aro belioved proof against any known kind of artillery fire, while of course their guns are able to lay down a deadly fire over the accurately ranged ground before them.

No country in the world bas so border fortification as the French, complete or elaborate a system of

and their secrecy in constructing it seems well justified by the novelty and apparent effectiveness. of the system.

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