Siegfried Line (Germany)

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 had more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels, and tank traps. From September 1944 to March 1945, the Siegfried Line was subjected to a large Allied offensive.