Travel Stories - France

fort "fermont" (and "metz")

metz

We arrive in the French city of "Metz" where it is still coming down in buckets. Before we continue our trip we have some time to explore the city. But first we take a look at the trainstation - made of gray sandstone and completed in 1908. We read in our travelguide that – when the city was still German - to have here 100,000 German soldiers ready in less than 24 hours if necessary. We decide to walk towards the "Saint Etienne" cathedral which is world famous. It’s a pity that, most of our walk, we are with our heads down because of the rain. It’s suppose to be a stately classic city where the centre is only accesible for pedestrians. We arrive at the large "Place de La Republique" where behind the Moselle river flows. We turn right through the narrow streets with merchant houses, mainly built between the 14th and 16th century. And then suddenly we see at a square the most famous building in the city of which the façade alone already is breathtaking. In my travelguide it says that it ook three centuries to create this masterpiece with all its different styles - turrets, statues and decorations. Especially the stained-glass windows are beautiful and it is a pity that we have so little time to take a better look at it. We quickly walk around the gigantic big cathedral where we also get out of the rain for a while. Back at the trainstation we decide to take the train in the direction of “Longuyon” where we find a reasonable good wild-camping spot for the night.

Ancient France

After a night in the forest we walk back the next morning towards Longyon through some rapeseed fields, old farms and a number of offices and companies. When we are in the city itself we look for the information center which is located in an old train carriage. While my travel companion is trying out the automatic toilet outside, I hear from the lady in question that we have to go hitchiking again. There is no public transport to our destination "Fermont". First we decide to do some shopping and then we write "Fort Fermont" on our new cardboard and walk towards the junction near the bridge. Typical to see how "old-fashioned" and atmospheric France still is; old railway crossings, dilapidated houses and sometimes an old dog lying in his loft. A little later we are picked up by an older gentleman who likes to drop us in front of the fort, which is not open yet. Fortunately it stopped raining finally and we wait on the corner of the parking lot from the fort. We find there a large round stone table and chairs and here we have lunch and we update our diaries in the hope that the fort will open this afternoon.

Just before 3 o'clock we walk to the gate and walk past a large bunker towards a small square in front of the actual entrance of the fort and pay the entrance fee. A piece of large artillery is placed here and on this bunker stands "A2 Fermont" with large letters. Several people have showed up (most by cars and campers) and we wait in a big chilly hall reading the signs on the wall until the guide beckons us to come along. Unsurprisingly, we have a French guide who only speaks French, but luckily I can follow it reasonably well. The guide starts his tour with telling us that the fort was part of the famous “Maginotline” which was reckoned to be one of the most heavy bunker complexes worldwide. The fort was attacked twice after it had been bombed heavily for three days by the Germans in 1940 but only after the capitulation was it taken by the Germans.

Fort Fermont:

Fort Fermont is part of the defense line built by the French "Maginot Line" - intended to stop Germany in particular at the new border that was created after WWI. The fort was built between 1931 and 1936 although improvements and adjustments were made in May 1940. Fermont was part of sector "Crusnes" and the front (border) here was 8 km long. It is a "Gros Ouvrage" (large structure) and consisted of a complex of 7 battle blocks - an entry block for the troops and another for ammunition that could be transported by an electric train to the various parts of the complex. About 2 km of the corridors are underground. The area covers approximately 27 hectares (27 football fields) and was housed by 600 men in 1940. Twenty of them were officers while there were 65 non-commissioned officers. The rest of the 8 km long front was reinforced by 200 men who were stationed in other casemates and defense works. In addition, there were field troops stationed between the works in trenches and other setups as well as field batteries. Barbed wire and antitank barriers lay along the entire front.

On May 10, 1940, the German army invades France, among other countries. On May 13, German troops broke through at the edge of the Maginot Line at Sedan and cross the Meuse river. The German main force continues towards Paris and the Channel coast. At Fermont it was relatively quiete but the German army slowly moves towards the defense here. Longwy is conquered and the Germans try to use the roads around Fermont to advance forwards. The cannons regularly shoot at German convoys and patrols around the fort. From June, the Germans captured first all the villages in front of the line and the French field troops retreated. The German troops benefited from this withdrawal and came behind the line that Fermont is part of. On June 21, the Germans put heavy guns into position. After the shelling an infantry attack followed from different sides; Fermont must defend himself on his own. After heavy losses of the Germans withdraw. The French soldiers of the Fermond fort surrendered on June 25 when continuing seemed pointless. During the war several German officers visit the work and it is largely used as a storage place. In 1944, when the Americans took over the fort, it was used as barracks and after the war the French brought them into a state of defense again because of the danger from the East. When the French army left the fort in 1967, a foundation was established and two years later, after a thorough restoration, it was set up as a museum.

We see in front of us a long corridor with a rail in the concrete under us and we walk into the hallway and after a while we are asked to take place in a little carriage. This one akes us to block 4. If our guide tells us – while we are transfered – that block 4 is the furthest we will go, but that the complex is 6 blocks we understand that the fort is gigantic. We realize that this means the underground complex is 6 football fields big. When we arrive at block 4 we see three 77mm guns with the monorail that delivered the ammunition. The ammunition used was, by means of a mono-system quickly removed. When we climb up out of the fort we see a hydraulic cannon that could be "retracted", it could turn, had air holes and a periscope. Here we enjoy the fresh air and the beautiful view over the French green fields. Back inside the fort we take place again in the little train; we visit the actual barracks with its kitchens, sleeping places, eateries, mess, energy supply, air supply, water supply, ammunition storage etc.

Place Longyon

As we walk out of the fort we decide to walk for a while in the hope that someone from our group sees us, recognizes us and picks us up. This plan succeeds and a little later we are in the supermarket of Longyon and we get our water at the florist on the corner. I do not feel like going back to the same place as yesterday (and this morning) and we decide to clamber up the steep slope closer to the city and we immediately find a good place to put down our tents. First we sit down against our backs and make tea. When we are certain of this spot we put down our tents and talk about what we’ve seen and experienced this afternoon.

tips & advice (2010)

Name: wild camping sites "Longyon"

Content:

We have camped wild at two places around the city "Longyon". If you walk up the plateau (hill) in the city, and you go left - out of the city, you have to walk quite a bit through the oilseed rape fields to find a good wildcamp spot. You walk then along a wide gravel path past a number of offices and farms. At the end is a large forest where you can camp very well. Another option is much closer to the city but also a lot less "free". If you walk over the bridge towards fort "Fermont" and then go into the forest on the left, or immediately begin to climb (first over a path and then through the forest) near the bridge - then you find a plateau where you can also camping.