Background of the Bunker System
Situated on the property that forms the estate of Chateau Mercy les Metz, home of the Canadian Air Division Headquarters, is a string of bunkers started by the Germans after the Franco-German war in 1870.
Their purpose was to defend Metz against French attack. An assault did not materialize and the fortifications were used as storehouses during the First World War by the Germans. At the end of the 1914-1918 war they were in perfect condition.
During the Second World War they were once again utilized as storehouses by the Germans.
Two American ground attack planes were cruising overhead late in the war and spotted activity on the ground. Investigating they found war-heads being transferred from a truck into the bunker. Pulling up for a strafing attack, they touched off one of the bombs at the entrance which set off a chain reaction down to the heart of the cavern.
One-ton blocks of concrete were scattered over a mile area, and some smaller debris peppered the Chateau les Metz, and actually the city of Metz itself.
Its sisters were untouched in this explosion. L’Ouvrage de Jury, was used by the American Army during the last war for demolition experiments. In three attempts to penetrate the walls, they only succeeded in cracking the wall and shifting it out about two feet.
When the RCAF moved into the Chateau, the bunker, L’Ouvrage d’Ars, was renovated and used as a supply warehouse.
During Exercise Carte Blanche, in June 1955, the Air Division Headquarters used part of the bunker system as a field headquarters.