The Blockhouses

The Blockhouses

REMAINS BURIED BY FLOODS

In 1939–1940, around ten small infantry works were built by military labour in this area known as Les Glières. Some of them were completely buried by floods of the Isère.

They are part of the Maginot Line—called here the Alpine Line for the section along the Italian border. They defended one of the only two access routes to Savoie from Italy, via the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard.

The troops of the 70th Alpine Fortress Battalion effectively fought off the Italian offensive of 21 June 1940 aimed at the town. The Italians, having reached Séez, were stopped not far from here at the Pont du Versoyen, equipped with an anti-tank blockhouse fitted with a barrier to block the road.

Although three of them disappeared during the creation of a sand pit in the 1970s, four are still clearly visible.