France Ouvrage Hobling, France - October 2017

The_Raw · Nov 21, 2017

Ouvrage Hobling is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks and two observation blocks, and is located between gros ouvrage Michelsberg and petit ouvrage Bousse, facing Germany. Hobling was approved for construction by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, in 1931 and became operational by 1935, at a cost of 14 million francs. Hobling played no significant role in either the Battle of France in 1940 or the Lorraine Campaign of 1944. After the Second World War it became part of the Mòle de Boulay, a strongpoint in the northeastern defenses against Soviet attack. It remained under Army control until 1971, after which it was declassified and sold in 1975. It has been stripped of metals and left abandoned.

I've been to a fair few of these now. It's often a wild goose chase looking for the entrance in the middle of the forest but that's part of the fun. I think this was the only success we had out of 5 attempts that day so it was nice to get something done. There's hardly any pictures online so we weren't sure what to expect. It turned out to be in fairly good condition, no graffiti, the kitchen still intact, and a few other bits worth seeing. As with all of these bunkers it's an important piece of WW2 history which is why I find them so fascinating no matter how little or how much is left. Visited with @Andy, afterwards I took him for a romantic meal