Fortifications of Modane
The Fréjus railway tunnel was a potential route of attack for the Italians.
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Coll. Laurent Demouzon
The main resistance position in the Maurienne was established around Modane.
The town was dominated by the old Séré de Rivières type forts of Replaton and Sapey, built between 1884 and 1892.
In 1940, Fort Sapey housed a 95mm section of 164 Position Artillery Regiment (RAP), while Fort Replaton housed 4th battery, 164RAP, equipped with 75mm guns and 150mm mortars.
From 1930onwards, the position was reinforced by newly built works of the Maginot line.
Modane was surrounded by the Maginot artillery works of Saint-Gobain, Saint-Antoine and Le Sapey and the infantry works of Amodon, Plan-à-Marin and secondary casemate of Saint-Antoine.
A multitude of casemates and field fortifications controlled the intervals between the works.
The Fréjus railway tunnel was a potential route of attack for the Italians.
It was defended by a blockhouse armed with an anti-tank gun on the Rieu-Roux bridge and two infantry blockhouses along the railway line.
A mining system made it possible to destroy the tunnel. The explosives used to load the mine casings were stored in a concrete dumpbuilt at the end of the 19th century. In 1936, a reinforced concrete barracks was built over it.
On 15 September 1944, the Germans blew up the tunnel. The pulverized storehouse sank into the rubblesand given important tilthas become the « Leaning House ».
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Coll. Laurent Demouzon
