The Siegfried Line

A couple of years ago, I picked up the U.S. Army Atlas of the European Theater in WWII - it is full of official combat maps, and also has a couple of maps that were derived from captured German maps. Many of the maps show the exact path of the Siegfried Line (or known as the West Wall) - the line of tank obstacles, barbed wire, pillboxes, and trenches that lined the western border of Germany (see National Archives picture below of American troops advancing through a gate in the line - note "dragon's teeth" tank obstacles in background).



One particular map in this book is incredibly detailed - it actually showed the precise locations of pillboxes. Most pillboxes are now gone, but much of the dragon's teeth are still there.

The below map is from just south of Geilenkirchen, Germany. I inserted the two green arrows to indicate where the tank obstacles (dragon's teeth) were located. You can click on any picture to enlarge it.



On Google Earth (the program, not Google maps), many of the tank obstacles can still be seen today, and many people have uploaded photographs of the line. The faint jagged line in the landscape indicates where the tank obstacles were for the green arrow in the south. The jagged line in the picture below that indicates where the tank obstacles were for the green arrow in the north.



Note the town of Frelenberg - the shape of the town is relatively unchanged since the mid-1940's, other than some development to the south.

One thing that's interesting (maybe only to me), in my research on Google Earth with the Siegfried Line, the tank obstacles that are just south of Geilenkirchen are the first ones I've run across where it appears as though they've been removed recently. Either I can really see them, or there is no trace.

Most pillboxes have been dynamited, and the remnants carted off. Very few pillboxes along the line remain. The one we visited below in the Huertgen Forest appears as though it was dynamited, but the roof did not break apart when the walls caved in (in order to haul it away easier). In the close ups, you can see the air vents. This pillbox covered an intersection, and immediately across the road from it was a foxhole that most likely held a German machine gun emplacement.




However, I have been asked by a number of people why most of the tank obstacles still remain. After walking among the obstacles in summer of 2006, they are not merely sitting on the ground. Concrete ties them all together, and is reinforced with rebar. It is difficult to see what I am talking about, as most of the pictures I've seen from WWII, there's dirt covering the concrete that connect the obstacles, and now it's all overgrown with weeds and grass. The picture I took below kind of shows it - you can see the concrete connecting the obstacles (you can also see why they're called "dragon's teeth"). It's not as simple as bulldozing the things over, since they're all interconnected. Just outside of the picture to the left, while I was taking this shot, a German farmer was out driving his tractor around. Our friend Albert told us that the great majority of the line was built by civilian contractors.


Another angle.


While standing in this section of the Siegfried Line and seeing the farmer just going about his daily business, I couldn't help but think of how Germany is constantly reminded of how every time they see the remnants of this, that it was originally meant to preserve a way of life that was no way of life at all.

For more information, the history portion of the Army's official website at army.mil has the entire book online - The Siegfried Line Campaign, by Charles MacDonald. Click here for the link.

Anne Frank

Today, June 12, 2009, would have been Anne Frank's 80th birthday. She is known for writing in her diary about German-controlled Amsterdam during World War II. She died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

The Weeks Following D-Day

Since the 65th anniversary of D-Day was just a few days ago, I just wanted to write a little bit about the weeks that followed D-Day.

In the weeks following D-Day, the Allies faced a challenge that they did not expect - the Norman hedgerows. In Normandy, hedgerows divided fields, were centuries old, generally taller than a man, were a tangled mess of roots and soil, had full size trees growing on top of them, and the fields they protected needed to be cleared of German resistance. The Allies assumed that the Norman hedgerows were similar to the English hedgerows, but they weren't. English hedgerows were much shorter in size. Aerial surveillance photographs of Normandy and western France didn't show the height of these hedgerows, since the photographs were typically taken at high noon, so there were very few shadows to utilize to estimate height.

Once the Allies broke out from the beachheads, they were confused as to how to root the Germans out of these formidable defensive positions. Tanks tried to climb over the hedgerows, but that left their belly exposed, and Germans were there waiting with their panzerfausts (translated "iron fist") and panzershrek bazookas. The Allied front lines were very disorganized, many times soldiers found themselves hurling grenades over the hedgerows at Germans just on the other side - and vice versa. The Allies couldn't just bypass the German forces, as it would leave their flank exposed. There was typically an "entrance" to a field in the middle of the hedgerow, and the Germans would set up their machine guns in order to meet anybody coming into the field with a vicious cross-fire. The Germans were experts at static defensive positions, and placed their weapons in extremely effective positions. So the Allies needed to find a different way to get into the fields without giving the Germans the benefit of the angles of fire. Enter American ingenuity. American combat engineers took the German-made tetrahedron defensive obstacles from the beaches (see picture), cut them apart, and welded them into a sort of crude plow to attach to the front of Allied tanks (see picture). This way, tanks could break through the hedgerow without exposing its vulnerable underside, infantry could follow behind under the cover of the tank, and clear the field of resistance. This worked with great success, but the time line that the Allied generals had for getting to Paris got pushed back for weeks.

For more information - just type "Normandy hedgerows" into a google image search - the results show many pictures from 1944 as well as present-day photos. Also, for more reading about the fighting in hedgerow country - read Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers.

tetrahedron beach defenses

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hedgerow tank plow

Bomb Found in Berlin

Unexploded WWII bomb found at German museum site

Fri Apr 24, 6:02 pm ET

BERLIN – German police say a World War II bomb uncovered during construction at the Neues Museum in central Berlin has caused evacuations and traffic jams.

Police would not confirm reports that the apartment of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who lives nearby, needed to be evacuated.

A Berlin police statement says the 220-pound (100-kilogram) unexploded bomb appears to be a type used by the Russians during the war. Officers evacuated a 985-foot (300-meter) area around the bomb Friday afternoon, disrupting nearby train and streetcar service.

The statement said experts were working to dispose of the bomb Friday evening.

Unexploded bombs from World War II are still found frequently in Germany. Disposing of them sometimes involves precautionary evacuations like Friday's.

June 6, 1944

From "On This Day" on the BBC's website (the link is in the list to the right).

1944: D-Day marks start of Europe invasion

Thousands of Allied troops have begun landing on the beaches of Normandy in northern France at the start of a major offensive against the Germans.

Thousands of paratroops and glider-borne troops have also been dropped behind enemy lines and the Allies are already said to have penetrated several miles inland.

The landings were preceded by air attacks along the French coast.

About 1,300 RAF planes were involved in the first wave of assaults then 1,000 American bombers took up the attack dropping bombs on targets in northern France.

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"Dawn revealed the astonishing sight of serried ranks of ships heaving over the horizon and passing in wave after wave, packed to capacity with soldiers and weaponry"

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People's War memories »

The Prime Minister Winston Churchill has told MPs that Operation Neptune - the codename for the Normandy landings - is proceeding "in a thoroughly satisfactory manner".

He said the landing of airborne troops was "on a scale far larger than anything there has been so far in the world" and had taken place with extremely little loss.

The assault began shortly after midnight under the command of General Bernard Montgomery.

Timing of the Normandy landings was crucial. They were originally scheduled to take place in May - then postponed until June and put off again at the last minute for 24 hours by bad weather.

Upwards of 4,000 ships and several thousand smaller craft crossed the Channel to the northern coast of France.

Enemy reports say the landings took place between the port of Le Havre and the naval base at Cherbourg.

King George VI broadcast a message last night warning of the "supreme test" the Allies faced and he called on the nation to pray for the liberation of Europe.

The Allied naval commander, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, said the landings had taken the Germans completely by surprise. There were no enemy reconnaissance planes out and the opposition of coastal batteries was much less than expected.

He added: "There was a slight loss in ships but so slight that it did not affect putting armies ashore.

"We have got all the first wave of men through the defended beach zone and set for the land battle."

A statement broadcast from Berlin at midday said the German troops were "nowhere taken by surprise". It said many parachute units were wiped out on landing or taken prisoner.

Hits were also scored on battleships and on landing craft from the "guns of the Atlantic Wall" - the German defensive positions.

President Franklin D Roosevelt told a news conference the invasion did not mean the war was over.

He said: "You don't just walk to Berlin, and the sooner this country realises that the better."

In Context
The Normandy landings were the beginning of Operation Overlord - or the invasion of German-occupied Europe.

Originally planned to take place on 1 May 1944, the operation was postponed a month to allow time to gather more troops and equipment. The timing was important to allow for the right weather, a full moon, and tidal conditions.

To keep the destination of the landings secret, a deception plan Operation Fortitude was mounted which led the Germans to believe the main target was the Pas de Calais, much farther east.

When the landings finally began there were only 14 of the 58 German divisions in France facing the Allies. While there was stiff resistance at other beaches, Omaha was the only one where the success of the Allied mission was in serious doubt.

The invasion of Normandy was the largest amphibious assault ever launched. It involved five army divisions in the initial assault and over 7,000 ships. In addition there were 11,000 aircraft.

In total 75,215 British and Canadian troops and 57,500 US troops were landed by sea on D-Day. Another 23,400 were landed by air.

By 11 June the Allies had secured the Cotentin Peninsula beyond Cherbourg but progress continued slowly as the Germans put up fierce resistance. The end of the Normandy campaign came with the destruction of the German 7th Army in the Falaise pocket in August.

Although the Allies had reached the German frontier by September they decided to re-group during the winter, because of the failure of Market-Garden and the setback in the battle of the Bulge, and the invasion of Germany only began in January 1945.

Memorial Day

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington National Cemetery, VA


Arlington National Cemetery, VA



WWII Memorial, National Mall, Washington DC



Memorial to E Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division, near the Bois-Jacques, Foy, Belgium. (the outfit featured in "Band of Brothers")
Memorial at Bastogne, Belgium in honor of those in the Battle of the Bulge, 1944

The American Cemetery of the Ardenne, Belgium

On This Day...

Article from BBC - on this day in 1945.

1945: Germany signs unconditional surrender

Germany has signed an unconditional surrender bringing to an end six years of war in Europe, according to reports from France.

This evening the Ministry of Information has confirmed that an official statement declaring the end of the war, will be made simultaneously in London, Washington and Moscow tomorrow.

The day has been declared a national holiday to mark Victory in Europe Day (VE Day). The following day (9 May) will also be a national holiday.

The BBC's Thomas Cadett watched the official signing at a schoolhouse in Reims, northeastern France, which serves as the advance headquarters of the supreme commander in Europe, General Dwight D Eisenhower.

He said the signing, which took place in the early hours of this morning, was carried out "on a cold and businesslike basis."

Afterwards, he said General Gustav Jodl, of Germany, spoke briefly, saying the Germans had given themselves up "for better or worse into the victors' hands".

The document was signed by General Bedell Smith for the Allied commander, General Ivan Susloparov for Russia and General Francois Sevez for France.

It seems General Eisenhower tried to delay the release of the details of the surrender because of the difficulty of arranging a simultaneous declaration in London, Washington and Moscow.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the Soviet leader Marshal Joseph Stalin and United States President Harry S Truman have now agreed to make the official announcement of the end of the war at 1500 BST tomorrow.

Mr Churchill will broadcast his announcement from the Cabinet room at 10 Downing Street.

It was from this same room that previous Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced Britain was at war with Germany on 3 September 1939.

Until today the German surrender has been piecemeal.

The German 1st and 19th Armies have capitulated in the south. The 25th Army has surrendered in the western Netherlands and Denmark has been celebrating its first day of freedom from occupation.

Earlier today, German forces in Norway also surrendered.

The final capitulation has been delayed by the new Fuehrer, Grand Admiral Doenitz. After the death of Adolf Hitler last week, he announced his intention to continue the fight against the British and Americans as long as they hampered his battle with the Russians.

It appears it did not take him long to realise further resistance was useless.

This evening the King sent a telegram to the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight Eisenhower congratulating the troops for carrying out their duties with "valour and distinction".

His message continued: "How unbounded is our admiration for the courage and determination which, under wise leadership, have brought them to their goal of complete and crushing victory."

Some WWII pics from the National Archives

Occasionally, I will post WWII pictures that I found at the National Archives II in Maryland (the Archives I building is in Washington DC). I highly recommend any person interested in any kind of history visit the Archives. It is simply fascinating. There are hundreds of thousands of photos in the Still Pictures Room, and the staff in there is wonderful to work with.




The above color picture is of Merode Castle after the Battle of the Bulge. This castle is literally across the road from my friend Albert's home in Merode, Germany. Shock waves from the bombing of this castle damaged some of Albert's barn and also put a few shrapnel dings in the brick of his home (see below picture). The barn has at least 2 diagonal cracks in it currently. I was excited to find the color photo of Merode Castle at the Archives. I sent a copy of it to Albert. Ironically, the photo is mis-labeled as a "chateau somewhere in Belgium" at the Archives. Many photos are mis-labeled, as you could imagine. This castle still stands, and if you look at the satellite imagery in google earth at Merode, Germany, the moat is greenish in color, and is fairly simple to find as Merode is not that large of a village.



The picture below is of a couple of men that were in charge of getting Coca-Cola to the men in the front. Behind them is a stack of thousands of Coca-Cola bottles. Photo taken in Brussels, Belgium. This is why Coca-Cola beats Pepsi badly in the world-wide market as cold Coke was offered for 5 cents a bottle anywhere in the world for the US servicemen in the 1940's.


The official Signal Corp explanation on the back of the photo below is as follows: "28 NOV 44. German nurse and officer, both prisoners, in their POW cages, await shipment to the rear. They are married. Epinal Area, France." (my comment: November 28, 1944 is slightly before the massive German offensive in the Ardenne)

What To Read...

The reason I am writing about this subject in this posting is because sometimes, in the midst of this media frenzy about the election, we need to be reminded of how we're still a democracy to begin with.

Sometimes I get asked, "I want to read a book on World War II, what should I read?". Here is my answer to that question. Stephen Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers. Ambrose is (was) a magician with the delicate balance of the big picture combined with the personal accounts, and this book is no exception. It's very readable for people who might not know anything about more "technical" aspects of World War II, such as weaponry caliber or specifics on strategy.

There are a number of other war history books that I highly recommend as well. Following are some of them and my reasons why (I'm sure I'm missing a whole bunch).

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago. A classic. Enough said.

Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels. While this book is considered a Civil War historical novel, it is primarily based on Robert E. Lee's diaries, as well as Stonewall Jackson's diaries. The movie Gettysburg was inspired by it. Anything by Michael Shaara is worth the read, Jeff Shaara's books are good also.

James McPherson's The Battle Cry Of Freedom. A book about the Civil War that is divided into chapters on different subjects. A good book to read for the occasional reader, you can put this one down and come back to it due to its format.

Ernie's War. This book is the "best of" fellow beloved Hoosier Ernie Pyle's World War II dispatches. Another book that you could put down for a bit (but I dare you to). Ernie's rapport with the common soldier was uncanny, and that is evidenced in his writing.

Stephen Ambrose's D-Day. This book covers the planning on the operation in depth, but yet again, not highly technical. The logistics of a landing like this were planned for months and months, but all went to pot within the first couple of hours. It was up to the American GI to improvise and problem solve, and this is his story. Also covers some of the strange anomalies that inherently come with combat.

Charles Whiting's Bloody Aachen. Describes in detail the siege that was laid on Aachen, Germany by the U.S., and the basic strategic futility surrounding the entire battle.

Hans Von Luck's Panzer Commander. A view from the German side from a man who commanded a group of German tanks, the best tanks in the war. Became a good friend of Stephen Ambrose's later on.

Franz Kurowski's Panzer Aces. A book following a select few German tankers during the invasion of Poland and into Russia. Deals quite a bit with the battle of Kursk. Makes me wonder why a Hollywood producer has not made a movie about Kursk.

James Bradley's Flags of our Fathers. Inspired the movie with the same name. The Pacific Theatre is often overlooked by more "mainstream" historians - they tend to focus more on the European Theatre (I have my own theories on that). Iwo Jima was just a different type of battle. Many veterans say that they never saw a live Japanese during the entire battle.

There are obviously many, many good books out there. If you already have read World War II books, I would steer you towards books on the battles in North Africa, Monte Cassino, Sicily, Saipan, and Corregidor, just to name a few. There are also very gritty first hand accounts of war, a couple of them that I have read are the accounts by Donald Burgett of the 101st Airborne ("The Battered Bastards of Bastogne"), David Kenyon Webster of the 506th's Easy Company in the same division, and Gerald Astor's A Blood Dimmed Tide, which is basically a collection of first hand accounts during the battle in the Ardenne. Anything by Ambrose is highly recommended, even though I haven't read all of his books. Pegasus Bridge is a great short read, it deals with one of the most daring commando raids in all of World War II.

A Small but Interesting World War II History Story...

As many of you know, Amy and I went to Europe in the fall of 2006. More specifically, we were in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Part of the trip was devoted to seeing some World War II sites - namely the Battle of the Bulge area, Cologne, Overloon, and Aachen (just to name a few places).

While there, we met up with a local German historian named Albert. I believe Albert's father was drafted by the German Army in 1939. We were put in touch with Albert by a relative of mine named Fred. Fred fought with the U.S. 1st Division, "The Big Red One", through the area that Albert lives in - which is near Duren in the western part of Germany. The first picture below was taken in Gladbach, Germany in late 1944 or early 1945. The picture is in a history book of the 1st Division, and was taken by the U.S. Signal Corp. Fred is standing 8th from the left, if you count the soldiers standing on the ground. He is the one standing with ammunition boxes at both feet, a Thompson submachine gun in the crook of his right arm, and a canteen on his left hip.


Albert took us to this very location in Gladbach (see the next picture below). As a World War II history buff, it was an absolutely amazing experience to have the history become so alive, as alive as it could be considering the circumstances were so different between then and now. Instead of cars parallel parked along the street, there were tank destroyers then. There's no more rubble, and the brickwork on the building in the foreground has all been repaired. One thing that remains the same according to Albert is the building in the background - that is still a pub. The building that the second tank destroyer is parked in front of has been torn down. I would imagine that the cobblestone remains underneath the newer asphalt.


This next picture is a picture of Albert and I standing in the approximately the same spot Fred stood around 60 years ago. Needless to say, when I sent Fred the above picture of Gladbach and the picture of Albert and I, he was tickled (after he questioned me mercilessly if it was the exact same place!). He remembered the signal corp photographer taking the picture! I think Albert and I were happy to be standing there, a German and an American enjoying each other's company, something that couldn't have happened then. Thank you, Fred.