Fort Villey le Sec Moulin Turret Part II

I was having another look at the Facebook page for Fort Villey le Sec. The listings include the following pictures.

This is a copy of the proposed walk around the site. The turret is right in the centre of the reduit, the block on the right of the Fort. This plan is drawn upside down, with North at the bottom and South at the top. The two batteries face East, up the Moselle valley and look to give enfilading fire up the valley.

 This arial photo is taken from the lower right of the plan. The turret can be seen centre-right almost surrounded by trees, in its pre-restored form before receiving its new coat of paint. I think that many of the trees within the fort have been removed. The village is also clearly visible.

 A recent picture, a frosty early winter morning.

Fort Villey le Sec is an unusual shape for a Rivieres fort Most of the forts built in the 1870's and 1880's are polygonal, such as Fort Vaux at Verdun.

This photo of Fort Villey le Sec's South Battery demonstrates the reason for the different ground plan. When the French Army Engineers went to choose the site, they found a village already on the best site. The villagers did not want to move, so rather than pay a lot of compensation, the Army designed the fort around the village.