Siegfriedova linie

Siegfried Line
Siegfriedlinie / Westwall

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Mapa Siegfriedovi linie:
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Siegfriedova-linie-t34866#126224 Version : 0
Siegfried Line:
The original Siegfrid Line (Siegfriedstellung) was a line of defensive fortresses and tank barriers built by the Germans as part of the Hindenburg Line from 1916-1917 in northern France during World War I. However, in England it was referred to as a line of defense during World War II, built during the 1930s, as opposition to the French Maginot Line. The Germans themselves called it Westwall (Western Wall), but the Allies called it a line after World War II.
The Siegfried Line is a defense system over 630 km long with more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank obstacles. It leads from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western borders of the old German Empire, to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border with Switzerland. More than of strategic importance was propaganda, Adolf Hitler planned further construction in 1936 and was to be built in 1938 and 1940.


Construction program, 1938 - 1940:
several basic construction phases on the Siegfried line:
* "Border Guard Program" for advanced positions (1938)
* "Limesprogramm" (1938)
* Aachen-Saar program (1939)
* firing position between Brüggen and Kleve (1939 - 1940)
* Western Air Defense Zone (1938)
This program was given high priority and sought to obtain all available resources.


At the beginning of each design program, each structure lay on drawing boards before it could be built in the thousands. This standardization was necessary for the construction of bunkers and tank barriers as there was a lack of material, means of transport and manpower.


Pioneering program:
For the main part of the pioneering program, small bunkers were fitted with three loopholes in the front. The bunker was only 50 cm thick and was not protected against gas attacks. The bunker crews did not have their own beds, but were equipped with hammocks. In an unprotected position, equally small bunkers were equipped with a small armored circular observatory on the roof. All of these structures were already considered obsolete when they were built and offered the best protection against shrapnel from bombs and grenades. The program was carried out by the border guard (Grenzwacht), bunkers were built near foreign borders.


Limesprogramm:
The Limesprogramm (lemon program) began when Hitler decided to build strong fortifications on Germany's western border. The bunkers built at this stage, in 1938, were durable structures. The structure of each fortification program consisted of Type 10 bunkers, the age of the crews was probably men around 20 years old, 287 m3 of concrete was needed for the construction, accommodation was then provided as if in small block "flats".
The bunkers had a ceiling and wall thickness of 1.5 m, but this reinforcement was only proven over time, almost at the very end of the program. A total of 3,471 Type 10 bunkers were built along the entire Siegfried Line. The bunkers had a main room or shelter for 10-12 men with an entrance, a front stepped loophole, facilities, and a combat section 50 cm high. This section had machine gun embrasures in front and on the sides, as well as one separate embrasure. Additional loopholes were made for carbines, and the entire structure was also resistant to gas attacks, based on experience from the First World War.
The bunkers were heated by a safety stove with a chimney which, as usual, had to protrude and was therefore covered by a thick grille. Each soldier was assigned a place to sleep and a chair, the commander of the building had a chair. There was little space in the bunker, each soldier had about 1 m2 of space, which meant that the room was full.


Next time: wink:
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Siegfriedova-linie-t34866#150015 Version : 0
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