Discovery

Situation

Built from 1937 to 1941, the Pré-Giroud military fort in Vallorbe was to prohibit the passage of the Col de Jougne to any foreign army and support the defense of the Franco-Swiss border during the Second World War.
In 1945, this artillery fort, carved into the rock, housed 200 men. It consists of 6 blockhouses to a bunker, linked by a network of galleries that serve ammunition stores, an engine room and a barracks.
Outside, three independent works are visible. They were surrounded by a double row of barbed wire, mines and anti-tank protection fields. Accessible to visitors. It gives an idea of the conditions of life for the military, for their containment, but also of weapons – guns, spear-mine, arquebus and submachine guns – of a bygone era. From the esplanade of the fort, at the height of Vallorbe, the view over the Col de Jougne is breathtaking and beautiful. It is easy to assess the strategic importance of such a place.

History

The fort of Vallorbe is a typical example of the fortified works from before the Second World War. It consists of 3 forts self-contained, equipped with submachine gun for doorways responsible for the external defense, 6 bunkers with cannons or submachine guns connected by underground galleries, observation posts, ammunition stores, machine rooms, and a protected area for 130 men room housing the firing and telephone centers, an operating room, an infirmary, the kitchen and its annexes, the mess and the dormitories, all built in the depth of the mountain.
Decommissioned for tactical reasons (frontal position), the fort belongs to a foundation Each of the characteristic parts of the structure is visible. Life of the fort has been reconstructed using mannequins – (firing bunker with canon and submachine gun, observation post, operating room, etc.). An exhibition of weapons, equipment and documents of the last war will capture the interest of the visitor.