File:Westwall1.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Type
- Fortification
- Built
- 1936 ( 1936 )
- Built by
- German Army Named (in English) after the Siegfriedstellung (or Hindenburg Line), a First World War system of defences.
- In use
- 1939–1945
- Materials
- Concrete, steel
- Battles wars
- World War II
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- defense line
- Named after
- Sigurd
- Country
- Germany
- Located in
- Germany
- Country of origin
- Nazi Germany
- Conflict
- World War II
- Image
- Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1984-051-27, Westwall, Straßensperre (Kampfwagenschranke).jpg
- Length
- 630
Show 7 more facts
- native label
- Westwall
- commissioned by
- Adolf Hitler
- Commons category
- Siegfried Line
- topic's main category
- Category:Siegfried Line
- Commons gallery
- Siegfried Line
- inception
- 1940-00-00
- P12749
- Austro-Hungarian Navy
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~16 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Siegfried Line, known in German as the Westwall ([ˈvɛstˌval], 'western rampart'), was a German defensive line built during the late 1930s.
Started in 1936, opposite the French Maginot Line, it stretched more than 630 km (390 mi) from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western border of Nazi Germany, to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border with Switzerland. The line featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Siegfried Line” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.