Westwall

E14653

Westwall is the German name for the Siegfried Line, a massive system of defensive fortifications built by Nazi Germany along its western border before and during World War II.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II fortification
defensive fortification line
military fortification system
alsoKnownAs Siegfriedstellung
builtBy German Army engineers
Nazi Germany
Organisation Todt
constructionEnd 1940
constructionStart 1936
1938
country Nazi Germany
extendsFrom near Kleve on the Lower Rhine
extendsTo near Basel on the Upper Rhine
faces Belgium
France
Luxembourg
hasEnglishName Siegfried Line
hasEstimatedNumberOfBunkers more than 18,000
hasHeritageDesignation protected monument in some German states
hasPart artillery positions
barbed wire obstacles
bunkers
communication trenches
dragon’s teeth anti-tank obstacles
minefields
pillboxes
tank traps
underground shelters
languageOfName German
length approximately 630 km
locatedIn Europe
Germany
western border of Germany
notableBattle Battle of Aachen
Battle of the Hürtgen Forest
operations during the Battle of the Bulge
opposedBy Allied forces
British Army
French Army
United States Army
partOfConflict Western Front of World War II
World War II
purpose defend Germany’s western border
deter French and Allied attack
propaganda demonstration of strength
reconstruction 1944
statusAfterWar partially demolished
sections overgrown and abandoned
sections preserved as historical monuments
usedAs Cold War defensive line (partly)


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