Hitler’s boastful words give some idea of the importance of the West Wall. This is the story of the construction and defence of Hitler’s three mile deep web of fortifications, pillboxes, troop shelters and antitank obstacles that ran along Germany’s western frontier opposite the French Maginot Line.

Also known as the Siegried Line, the construction of the West Wall was still unfinished at the start of World War Two. But as the war progressed and the tide turned against the Reich, it became clear that breaching the West Wall would present the Allies with a huge problem as they pushed for final victory.

The defences were not truly tested until after the Allied invasion of Northwest Europe in 1944 had cleared the way for liberation of Paris. Despite the successful advance, the Allied supply lines were seriously overstretched, running back as far as the Normandy beaches. Eisenhower’s decision to drive on was therefore a calculated risk that provoked many arguments within Allied ranks, particularly with Montgomery to the north and Bradley in the south.

As the Allies fought their way ever nearer,Hitler, eschewing the alternative of a tactical withdrawal to the Rhine ordered his exhausted troops to stand and fight in defence of the Wall. Gathering their 63 depleted divisions together for a last stand in compliance with the Fuhrer’s orders, the German Field Commanders were unaware that Hitler was planning a counterattack that would culminate in the Battle of the Bulge. It was to no avail. Within months the Wall had been breached and the way to Berlin was open.

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