Fort du Trou d’Enfer

Did the ground tremble beneath their feet? We stand before Fort du Trou d’Enfer. It’s a place shrouded in mystique and steeped in history. Fort du Trou d’Enfer translates to “Hellhole Fort”. It earned this ominous name from the farm it was built upon, the Ferme du Trou d’Enfer. The fort sits nestled in Marly-le-Roi, a part of the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications around Paris. Constructed between 1878 and 1881, Fort du Trou d’Enfer was designed to house a garrison of 800 men. It was a key component of France’s defensive strategy after the Franco-Prussian War. The fort was more than just walls and cannons. It was a carefully planned defensive position, surrounded by six smaller batteries. These included the Noisy, Marly, Auberderie, Champ de mars, R\u00e9servoirs, and des arches batteries. Together with the fort, they formed the formidable “Position de Marly”. Imagine the soldiers bustling within these walls. They manned 40 pieces of artillery, 23 rampart pieces, seven mortars, and 10 flanking pieces. The main entrance, guarded by caponiers, led to the troop barracks, a two-story structure with ten bays. Imagine the echoes of their footsteps in the long corridors. Hidden within the fort were two powder magazines, each capable of holding 100 tons of explosives. A well, providing 5,000 liters of water a day, sustained the garrison. Fort du Trou d’Enfer also played a role in darker times. In 1962, OAS members Albert Dovecar and Claude Piegts were executed here. During World War II, the fort was occupied by German forces. Upon their retreat in August 1944, they detonated their ammunition, causing significant damage, particularly to the troop barracks. While the fort is now closed to the public, under the management of the French National Forests Office, it holds secrets. For years, it housed a pheasant hatchery, supplying game for presidential hunts on the nearby grounds. Today, parts of the fort are used for hunter education. The fort’s legacy is complex. It has echoed with the sounds of both war and peace, the whispers of both soldiers and ghosts.