Fort Desaix
Route de Redoute 97200 Fort-de-France
Today, Fort Desaix is the largest Vauban fortification in Martinique. The building consists of 34 buildings within the walls as well as several bastions and three outer half-moons, the largest of which measures 90 metres at the base. Fort Desaix remains the headquarters of the Superior Command of the Armed Forces in the West Indies and the 33rd Regiment of Marine Infantry. Its construction was initiated in 1765 by France to increase the defensive system of the capital of the island "Fort Royal". Named "Fort Bourbon" in 1772, it will then be named "Fort de la Convention" in 1793 and then Fort Desaix in 1802 in tribute to General Louis Charles Antoine Desaix, killed during the Battle of Marengo. It was taken twice by the English, not by force but after a long siege, in 1794 and 1809 and was renamed "Fort George". It finally returned to France in 1814\. During the Second World War, the fort was home to 286 tons of gold from the Banque de France.
Etiquetas
Édifice militaire, enceinte urbaine
Accès
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©ForcesArméesAntilles/Défense.