Siegfried Linie

The Siegfried Linie, in german west wall, was ordered by Hitler and was built along the German border to the west. In the year 1938-40 a distance of 600 km. from Holland to Switzerland was fortified with bunkers, fortifications, barbed wire and tank blocks.

Germans standardized construction and prepared a large number of bunker types for different purposes, several of these were signed by Hitler himself. The system was described, regelbau and was greatly helps to streamline the building. Later in the construction of Atlantic wall, the system was developed, and of course, added the experience from the war.

A recurring obstacle armor, known Höckerlinie, was with minefields and barbed wire to stop the enemy tanks and lead them toward large fortifications. Here was the machine gun and antitank guns built into bunkers, ready to open fire. After the German conquest of France in 1940, The Siegfried Linie lost its importance, but after the Allied  landings in Normandy in 1944, it was suddenly important to the Germans again.  When the Allies in autumn 1944, reach the Siegfried Linie, it developed into some of the toughest fighting after the Normandy landings.