02-Siegfried Line

At the Siegfried Line in Winter 1939-40.

Here are some pictures taken in 1939 and winter 1940 during the service at the Siegfried Line in Western Germany at the beginning of World War Two.

Please click to enlarge on one of the pictures.

The workshop unit of the grandfather of the author of this websites in Western Germany, November 1939.

Food for the soldiers in September 1939.

Gun exercise, October 1939.

The German soldiers with their guns.

Break of motor-cycle troops during a manoeuvre.

A motorcycle called ‘Glichermuehle’, in November 1939.

In front of the workshop.

Visit by family members or friends, in December 1939.

Take-over of Opel trucks at Rüsselsheim (where the Opel factory is still until today), near Frankfurt in February 1940.

At Opel at Rüsselsheim.

In front of the new trucks.

The German soldiers are happy to be released from service in 10 days.

‘it’s all the same to us, in 10 days it’s over – club of the reservists’

‘After victorious battle at the home front’

Previous page: Pre-War Germany

Next page: Preparations

The Westwall

The Westwall, often referred to by the Allies as the ‘Siegfried Line’, was a massive system of defensive fortifications built by Nazi Germany along its western border during the late 1930s and into World War II.

Overview

Purpose
– Constructed to protect Germany’s western frontier, mainly against France, and to deter an attack while Germany pursued expansion in the east.
– Served as a propaganda tool as much as a military one, showcasing Germany’s supposed impregnability.

Structure
– Stretched roughly **630 km (390 miles)** from the Dutch border near Kleve down to the Swiss border.
– Comprised thousands of bunkers, pillboxes, tank traps (“dragon’s teeth”), tunnels, and anti-tank ditches.
– Integrated natural terrain features (hills, rivers, forests) into its defensive system.

Construction
– Built between 1936 and 1940, largely under the supervision of Fritz Todt and the ‘Organisation Todt’.
– Involved massive forced labor and conscription of workers.
– By 1940, it included around 18,000 bunkers and defensive structures.

Role in the War
– During the Phoney War (1939–1940), it helped deter a French offensive into Germany while Germany invaded Poland.
– After the fall of France in 1940, it became less strategically important until 1944.
– In late 1944, it was reactivated as the Allies advanced after D-Day. Battles along the Westwall, such as the Battle of Hürtgen Forest and Battle of Aachen, were extremely bloody and costly.

Legacy
– Many remnants still exist today, scattered across western Germany.
– Some sections are preserved as historical sites, while others remain overgrown or destroyed.
– It stands as both a reminder of Nazi militarism and a significant engineering project of the era.

References and literature

Germany’s West Wall – The Siegfried Line (Neil Short)