The Fortified Sector of Montbéliard (Secteur Fortifié de Montbéliard) was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the French border with
Switzerland in the vicinity of
Montbéliard. The Montbéliard sector stands in the vicinity of the
Belfort Gap, a traditional invasion route into eastern France. However, the area was lightly defended, as the Swiss border was not regarded as an area with a high risk of invasion, and because the left bank of the
Rhine was firmly in French hands.
The Montbéliard sector was under the command of the
Fortified Region of Belfort until 16 March 1940, when the Belfort region became the 44th Army Fortress Corps (44e Corps d'Armée de Forteresse), retaining the Montbéliard sector under its command. The sector's commanding general was General de Bizemont until 19 May 1940, then Colonel Gard, with a command post at the Fort de Lomont. The sector was known as the Defensive Sector of Montbéliard until 16 March 1940. No field army forces were assigned to the sector.[1] At the midpoint of the Battle of France on 1 June 1940, the troops of the SF Montbéliard amounted to a chasseurs pyrénéens regiment in two battalions, comprising 235 officers and 7,390 men.[2]
References
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Allcorn, William. The Maginot Line 1928-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003.
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Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II, Stackpole Books, 2006.
ISBN0-275-98345-5
Kaufmann, J.E., Kaufmann, H.W., Jancovič-Potočnik, A. and Lang, P. The Maginot Line: History and Guide, Pen and Sword, 2011.
ISBN978-1-84884-068-3
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 1. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001.
ISBN2-908182-88-2(in French)
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003.
ISBN2-913903-88-6(in French)
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009.
ISBN978-2-35250-127-5(in French)
Romanych, Marc; Rupp, Martin. Maginot Line 1940: Battles on the French Frontier. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2010.
ISBN1-84176-646-1