Andoy Fort

Andoy: construction around the forts

At the time of mobilisation in the summer of 1914, the gaps between the forts were the subject of considerable works. Civilian workers were drafted in to carry out this construction. Mines were laid, networks of wire installed. The countryside was also modified: the approach to forts was cleared, notably by cutting down whole woods, but also by demolishing houses!

These modifications in part explain the current location of the forts, for the most part set apart from housing, in wooded uplands surrounded by fields. People are often unaware of their existence. This exceptional heritage is indeed threatened by the development of industrial zoning, the spread of housing, the reclamation of land for farming, neglect and degradation of the fort in itself, vandalism...