HOW STRONG IS THE GERMAN WEST WALL?

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24366, 19 September 1944, Page 4

HOW STRONG IS THE GERMAN WEST WALL?

The West Wall was built on an entirely different concept from that of the Maginot Line. The French method was to have a rigid and unbroken system, based bn steel and concrete fortifications with underground connexions. It was not a structure like the Great Wall of China, because often natural obstacles and zones of interlocking AcerPower were deemed* sufficient; but on the whole it was a continuous linear system. The Germans, entering the field later, profited by what they deemed to be the mistakes of the French. Instead of having a very heavily fortified shallow line, they proceeded on the opposite principle of having defence-m----depth. They wanted a more elastic system of interlocked strongpoints m which resistance would increase as tne attackers penetrated the outer Imes, Time Limit When war broke out, the West Wall ran from the Swiss border to the vicinity of Aachen., In places, fbere were three or four widely separated lines, each in depth, and sometimes extending back as, much as 30 miles. LBie in 1938; Hitler said that his engineer Todt had 462,000 men working on the line, together with large numbers of engineer and infantry battalions. He ordered the completion of the works by March, 1939, and stated in particular that the two gaps in the Aachen and Saar districts were to be fortified. Hitherto the main defences in these two regions had been farther back. In its final, form, the West Wall comprised 12,000 steel and concrete forts, as against Hitter's original estimate of 17,000. Many of these were regular fortresses,; while others were merely concrete structures to protect heavy machine-guns, trench mortars, and flame-throwers. In the Moselle valley, for example, "lesser posts near the bor-, der were Only a Screen for forts built deep into hillsides farther back and known as “group headquarters of the West Wall.” Such regional blockhouses commanded the major routes which an invading force would; have to take. . At many points the actual frontier works were designed to impede invaders, rather than to hold them up indefinitely; and this is a point to re* member now ’ that the Allies have crossed into. Germany at several points with comparative ease. The Main Line From Switzerland almost up to Karlsruhe the Rhine was the frontier, and the works aldng the fiver were designed to hold the outskirts, the main part of the Siegfried Line being up in the hills of the Black Forest. Farther north, where the Rhine makes its great bend up* to the Moselle junction .at Coblenz, the main line was oh the east hank, except for the extremely strong sector. known as “the Hunsruck salient,*’ linking the Moselle and Nahe rivers. Between the Moselle *and Aachen the defences were. based on the rugged Eifel Mountains, but no

[By the Military of the "Sydney Morning Herald.”] (Published by Arrangement.) rrho west WalL or, as we have learnt to call it, the Siegfried Line, Th® West or, s , prepared defence system m western constitutes f^^^ eme iyuhlikely, in view of the Allies' superiority Sen'u.S’dSu™ Sg?SS KSSS W depbnd • hOW *“ ,he

continuous line existed along the Bela gian and Dutch borders. It was reported late in 1939 that a i decision had been taken to extend the Siegfried Line to the North Sea. It is ; unlikely, however, that fortifications ' were erected on anything like the scale , of the original line in Baden, the palatinate, and the Saar, because Hitler ' was already preparing for his great blitzkrieg in the west, and was not: : troubled by the prospect of an Allied V invasion through Belgium or Holland. s After the 1940 campaign was fought -. and wort, the Germans built the Atlantic Wall along the coastline of the occupied countries and took much of the equipment of the Magmot Line, , together with some from the Siegfried Line, to fortify it . Nevertheless, it would be unwise to : assume that the West Wall had fallen' into disrepair and: dops not now con- -•* stitute a formidable military barrier. As soon as the Atlantic Wall was breached the German General Staff must have planned for the defence of the Inner Reich, and there was much in . the. Battle of Normandy to show the , strength of previously prepared positions in depth. Even the Magmot Line did not fall to assault, but was outflanked; and the trouble was not so much with the line itself as with “the , Maginot complex” it engendered. The * fighting on the Atlantic Wall showed ■ in its turn that modern defences. strenuously held, could still provide, a-,;:, serious obstacle, and the cracking t the wall was not the easy task which. some of the early reports represented. The conclusion, then, must be that, given the will and the necessary manpower, Germany could; still effect. - strong resistance on the Siegfried Line.. . Manpower Factor . r There are, however, many factors in: - the present position which favour the Allied armies. The defences against; which they are moving are not con-’* ; tinuous, and there are several sectors; . where a break-through of the Sedanr:, type might be. possible. Moreover, th*' ;; i Germans cannot be certain that the on*;, 75 coming Allies will deliver their main ; blow against the stronger parts of the original line between-Aachen and the' j Swiss border. The flooding of. Hoi-? land would afford a water barrier In. & the north, but the flood waters do not reach the Maastricht appendix, andu* obvious military corridors oust .be-i-g tween Aachen and the Dutch of Gelderland. - . x JPI What is more, even in its sectors, the West Wall depends upon|, ; £ manpower far: more than did thMM Maginot Line. In view of her dous losses of recent weeks it is hardlyll possible that Germany can to-day pro-IM duce sufficient trained troops, to manfji all parts of the frontier.■;.When;sgii West Wall was being built, GenerajM von Metsch. the famous strategist. Insisted tiiat it depended two indispensable factors—^permanent® fortified lines and 'extremely, strongly war potentials in the rear. It is m the|tj latter connexion that Germany is So weak, and even the resources stiu||| available to her are subject to less attach by the Allied .Air-; Forces, ;ijaß