Ouvrage Molvange, Military fortification in Entrange, France

Ouvrage Molvange is a military fortification built into a hill at 400 meters altitude, featuring nine combat blocks and two entrance blocks. The structure housed 711 soldiers and 24 officers with power generators, water reserves, and air filtration systems.

Built in 1930 as part of the Maginot Line, this fortification served as a defense structure against potential invasions from the eastern border. It was one of many such structures the French military constructed for territorial protection.

The ouvrage's name comes from the nearby village of Molvange, east of which it stands on the Escherange commune. Its crew of 725 men, including 24 officers, came from the 169th Fortress Infantry Regiment and the 151st Position Artillery Regiment. The 60 cm narrow-gauge railway that linked the entries to the rear ran on through the galleries to the combat blocks.

All blocks lie within a military security zone and are not open to the public; the site is still used by the 40th Signals Regiment of Thionville. The Abri du Zeiterholz, an infantry shelter east of the ouvrage, has been restored and may be visited. The ouvrage stands on a wooded crest above Entrange, reached on foot.

Molvange's power plant held four main diesel generators, each a SGCM GVU 42 engine of 225 horsepower at 375 rpm driving an alternator, plus a small 8 hp CLM auxiliary for emergency lighting and pneumatic starting. Engines were cooled by circulating water. The main gallery runs 1,750 metres to Block 1 at an average depth of 30 metres.