Brancourt-Stellung (1914-1918)

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:16

Hello

As some of you allready know, the last years we are very involved into ww1 stellungsbau research along the western front. After 20 years into Atlantikwall it was time for me for some more challenging stuff, espaccially those lines where very few info is found so far. One of those lines is by no doubt the Brancourt-Stellung which lies between Prémontré and Pinon. For those more familiar with Wolfsschlucht 2 at Margival, this bunkerline lies only 2,5km north of Vauxaillon.

At first we where aware of some bunkers on that mountain according to a french forum, but nothing more as that info. After a first look, the amount of bunkers we found was so huge that we had to return 4 times to finish the bunkerline. Also from the second time we went, i took a measuring tool with me and we started with measuring the bunkers in the field.

In the north, the Brancourt-stellung is attached to the Siegfried-I-stellung, in the south it connects to the Ailette-stellung.

as start a map with the remaining trenches (with the help from some LIDAR-aerials) and the remaining bunkers we found during our research.

Special thanks to my brother in arms JOHAN VANPEE, who's accompanied me during this investigation!

brancourtstellung1.jpg

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:21

as example one of the LIDAR-aerials we used for our research, without those aerials it was almost impossible to investigate the bunkerline in the dense woods:

The LIDAR's can been freely accessed via the maps section of the webbrowser "Edge". Not all france is covered with this awesome piece of technology, but luckely for us the biggest part of AOK 7 - Gruppe Crepy (the area of the Brancourt-stellung in German ww1 index terms) is covered under LIDARs.

Brancourt 1 Lidar.jpg

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:22

extraction from document PH_3_KART_5680 from invenio.bundesarchiv with the Brancourt-Stellung drawn on it:

brancourtstellung2.jpg

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:27

And now the bunkers we found... In total we found 74 bunkers, tunnels and dugouts (fuchsloch('s) in german terminology).

Large parts are blown up because a part of this stellung was until the '80ies a French military training-ground, nowadays it are mostly private forests.

Especially the part in the Bois-de-Mortiers is a private forest for hunting people. We stumbled across some hunters and where kindly escorted outside the forest, next time there will be police involved with huge fines (174€) they said. I think they never saw any person measuring the bunkers in their forest, as they also where very wondered how the hell we knew of the bunkers in their domain. All things where kindly settled, but i have to write it, they wont be so kind in the future so be adviced. Luckely we where investigating the last bunker when we met the hunters, so all bunkers where researched and measured.

OK, the bunkers:

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:30

The first bunker is the northern-most bunker of the Brancourt-stellung, all bunkers to the north of thisone lies in the Siegfried-Stellung or on later trenchmaps the Siegfried-I-Stellung (as there was build a Siegfried-II-Stellung more inland).

This bunker is a simple wellblech-unterstand:

Wellblech -- 01 01 2023 BFA (2).jpg

Wellblech -- 01 01 2023 BFA (5).jpg

Wellblech -- 01 01 2023 BFA (6).jpg

coords for thisone are:

49°32'7.87"N 3°23'42.81"E

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:35

The next bunker is another wellblech in the direct area of the first one, thisone is unfortunatly almost completely sanded.

Wellblech -- 01 01 2023 BFA (1).jpg

Wellblech -- 01 01 2023 BFA (3).jpg

Wellblech -- 01 01 2023 BFA (5).jpg

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:40

The next bunker is an observationbunker or Beobachtungsstand with deckenplatte. Offcourse the deckenplatte is scrapped.

Schets 2D TO.png

Here a sketch of the bunker (not all bunkers where measured as the first day i had no measuring tool with me)

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (1).jpg

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (7).jpg

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (8).jpg

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (9).jpg

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:41

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (12).jpg

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (15).jpg

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (16).jpg

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (17).jpg

JB 01 -- 01 01 2023 BFA (19).jpg

The coords of this observationbunker are:

49°32'2.65"N 3°23'46.80"E

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:47

next in line is this "befehlstelle", but i'm not 100% about this function. It has a window for passing by documents between the two rooms and one room had a periscope hatch, this is why i call it a "befehlstelle". In the main corridor there is a large nische for housing a heavy machinegun (MG 08) which can been deployed in the trenches.

Those bunkers of this part are all measured in detail and poured in one plan:

I dont know why, but some vertical pictures are placed 90° on theire side when uploading to AHF...

Overzichtsplan BFA.jpg

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (5).jpg

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (8).jpg

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (11).jpg

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (12).jpg

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:53

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (15).jpg

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (18).jpg

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (21).jpg

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (23).jpg

Befehlstelle -- 04 12 2022 BFA (24).jpg

Coords of this beauty are:

49°31'52.61"N 3°23'55.86"E

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 13:59

according to Johan, this emplacement have all the elements to fit a rare 5,3cm Fahrpanzer. only two of such emplacements where found in the entire Brancourt-stellung, both lying on 100m from eachother.

Fahrpanzer -- 04 12 2022 BFA (4).jpg

Fahrpanzer -- 04 12 2022 BFA (8).jpg

Fahrpanzer -- 04 12 2022 BFA (5).jpg

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 14:06

The next one looks a lot like that unknown FK-type writting in another post on this forum, see link below:

viewtopic.php?f=70&t=168890&p=2462293&h ... t#p2462293

Here a plan, its measured in detail but after my previous laptop crashed, the file was lost, i only have this print-screen left. Luckily i still have the original sketches with measurements, so when i have some spare time i can re-work this file in sketchup

brancourtstellung1.jpg

Coords of thisone are:

49°31'49.41"N 3°23'59.21"E

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 14:07

Unterstand -- 04 12 2022 BFA (3).jpg

Unterstand -- 04 12 2022 BFA (7).jpg

Unterstand -- 04 12 2022 BFA (9).jpg

Unterstand -- 04 12 2022 BFA (14).jpg

Unterstand -- 04 12 2022 BFA (18).jpg

Bunkerfreak · Post by **Bunkerfreak** » 17 Mar 2023 14:09

the next emplacement for a 5,3cm fahrpanzer (possible, not 100% shure)

Fahrpanzer -- 04 12 2022 BFA (3).jpg

Fahrpanzer -- 04 12 2022 BFA (6).jpg

Fahrpanzer -- 04 12 2022 BFA (7).jpg

AvB · Post by **AvB** » 17 Mar 2023 16:16

Interesting research Tom! Any references to when this was built and possibly by whom? Festungspioniere?

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