Fort de Condé-sur-Aisne 1.85

The Fort de Condé, or Fort Pille, is a fortification of the Séré de Rivières system, built in France between 1877 and 1883 to defend the area between Soissons and Laon. It is located on the heights of the confluence of the Aisne and the Vesle near the communes of Condé-sur-Aisne and Chivres-Val. Although the fort was considered obsolete at the start of World War I, its command of strategic ground made it a coveted objective throughout the war, changing hands several times. Following the war it was used in support service before its abandonment and purchase by a local community. It has been under preservation since 1979 and may be visited.Military functionThe Fort de Condé comprised part of the outermost defenses fortifications that denied access to Paris for an invading force, one of several similar forts in the vicinity of Laon. These forts were constructed in response to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, in which France lost its eastern provinces to Germany, forcing France to build new and updated frontier fortifications.The Fort de Condé controlled the high ground along the Chemin des Dames, which linked Reims, Laon and Soissons, and could bombard the Aisne and Vesle valleys. The fort also provided support to the nearby Fort de la Malmaison.