Ouvrage Coume Annexe Sud, Military fortification in Niedervisse, France

Ouvrage Coume Annexe Sud is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line on the southern edge of the Bois de Coume at cote 392, in Niedervisse, Moselle. Its four surface combat blocks, one serving as entry, connect through galleries up to 30 metres deep to barracks, magazines, ventilation and a power plant. Block 3 has two 81 mm mortar embrasures below a JM/AC47 embrasure; the photograph shows the inscription "Scharten für 8,1 cm Granatwerfer".

The fortification was built between 1931 and 1940 as part of the Maginot Line defense system and remained undamaged during the German advance in June 1940. It stayed fully operational until the armistice was signed.

The walls of Block 3, the entry block, were covered with frescoes painted by the soldiers. Captain Faucoulanche, who also commanded the Coume ouvrage, assigned four men to garden half a hectare to improve the garrison's meals. The men of the 160th Fortress Infantry Regiment considered themselves lucky to be warm and well fed.

Access is on foot from the edge of the Coume wood near Niedervisse, on the hill at cote 392. The combat blocks stand in the open, but the entry facades were backfilled for safety, so the underground galleries and barracks cannot be entered. Look for the mortar embrasures and the inscription "Scharten für 8,1 cm Granatwerfer" on the concrete.

The ouvrage is one of only two in northeastern France built without a machine-gun turret, the other being the petit ouvrage de Lembach. Its block 3 walls were covered with frescoes painted by the soldiers, and Captain Faucoulanche assigned four men to garden half a hectare to improve the garrison's meals.