Siegfried Line

The original Siegfried Line (German: Siegfriedstellung) was a First World War line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany in northern France during 1916–17 as a section of the Hindenburg Line. In English the term "Siegfried Line" commonly refers to the "Westwall", the German term for a similar Second World War-era defensive line built further east during the 1930s opposite the French Maginot Line. This line stretched more than 630 km (390 mi) and featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps. The network of defensive structures stretched from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western border of the old German Empire, to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border to Switzerland. It was planned in 1936 and built between 1938 and 1940.

From September 1944 to March 1945, the Siegfried Line was subject to a large scale Allied offensive, mainly American with over 100,000 soldiers. The overall cost of this Campaign in American personnel was close to 140,000. The German losses were not well documented.

The official name for the Second World War-era defensive line construction program that collectively came to be known as the "Westwall" in German and "Siegfried Line" in English changed several times during the late 1930s reflecting areas in progress:

These programmes were all pushed forward with the highest priority, using every available resource. The origin of the name "Westwall" is unknown, but it appeared in popular use from the middle of 1939; there is a record of Hitler sending an Order of the Day to the soldiers and the workers at the "Westwall" on 20 May 1939.

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