Ouvrage Col des Banquettes

43°48′58″N 7°26′46″E / 43.81599°N 7.44615°E / 43.81599; 7.44615Site informationControlled byFranceConditionUnsecuredSite historyBuilt byCORFIn useAbandonedMaterialsConcrete, steel, rock excavationBattles/warsItalian invasion of France, Operation Dragoon

Ouvrage Col des Banquettes
Type of work:	Small artillery work (Petit ouvrage)
sector └─sub-sector	Fortified Sector of the Maritime Alps └─Corniches, Quartier Sainte-Agnès
Work number:	EO 7
Regiment:	86th BAF
Number of blocks:	3
Strength:	1 officer, 74 men

Ouvrage Col des Banquettes is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line's Alpine extension, the Alpine Line, also called the "Little Maginot Line". The ouvrage consists of two entry blocks and one infantry block facing Italy at the top of the Col des Banquettes, 2 km northwest of Saint-Agnès. The position controlled the pass of the same name and was covered by Ouvrage Sainte-Agnès and the positions at Pic-de-Garuche.

Description

The Ouvrage Col des Banquettes was manned in 1940 by 74 soldiers of the 86th Brigade Alpin de Forteresse (DBAF) under Lieutenant Vernet.^[1] The underground portion consists of one short gallery connecting all three blocks and a shorter parallel gallery at Block 2.^[2]

Block 1 (entry): One machine gun embrasure.^[3]
Block 2 (emergency exit): No armament.^[4]
Block 3 (emergency exit): one machine gun turret and two twin machine gun embrasures.^[5]

References

^ Puelinckx, Jean; Aublet, Jean-Louis; Mainguin, Sylvie (2010). "Col des Banquettes (po de)". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
^ Mary, Tome 5, p. 67
^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Col des Banquettes (po de) Bloc 1". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Col des Banquettes (po de) Bloc 2". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
^ Puelinckx, Jean; et al. (2010). "Col des Banquettes (po de) Bloc 3". Index de la Ligne Maginot (in French). fortiff.be. Retrieved 26 January 2010.

Bibliography

Allcorn, William. The Maginot Line 1928-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-84176-646-1
Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II, Stackpole Books, 2006. ISBN 0-275-98345-5
Kaufmann, J.E., Kaufmann, H.W., Jancovič-Potočnik, A. and Lang, P. The Maginot Line: History and Guide, Pen and Sword, 2011. ISBN 978-1-84884-068-3
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 1. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001. ISBN 2-908182-88-2 (in French)
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 4 - La fortification alpine. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009. ISBN 978-2-915239-46-1 (in French)
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009. ISBN 978-2-35250-127-5 (in French)