A citadel of the Duchy of Lorraine, La Mothe-en-Bassigny was built up over centuries to fight back intermittent waves of French invaders, by whose hands it was besieged in 1634 leading to its surrender, temporary return to the Duke, three further sieges and ordered destruction in 1645. It remains a ruin.
It is between the villages of Outremécourt and Soulaucourt-sur-Mouzon (Haute-Marne), west of Neufchâteau, Vosges.