Dating to 1939, this German newsreel shows the Westwall or Siegfried Line, a series of defensive forts and tank defenses that ran parallel to the French Maginot Line from Kieve on the border with the Netherlands, all the way to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border with Switzerland. Adolf Hitler planned the line from 1936 and had it built between 1938 and 1940, partly for propaganda purposes. The Westwall stretched more than 630 km (390 mi) and featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps.
From September 1944 to March 1945 the Siegfried Line was subjected to a large-scale Allied offensive. The film starts with newspaper headlines heralding the fortification before showing Adolf Hitler at :29 surveying the defenses with general staff. At :42 dragons teeth type tank traps are shown, and at :59 strings of barbed wire and bunkers (1:21). At 1:32 a sign on one of the bunkers reads “Panzerwerk 1238”. (This is a little confusing, and may not actually be part of the Westwall, as most contemporary sources indicate that this bunker and Werkgruppe Scharnhorst were located at Festungstellung Oder-Warthe-Bogen near Kalawa, Poland.) At 1:53, German troops march inside a tunnel complex similar to those seen at the Maginot Line. At 2:16, extensive communications and headquarters equipment is seen in use inside the tunnel system. At 2:39, a full artillery ammunition bunker is shown. At 2:56, artillery guns and turreted artillery are shown with sweeping images of the countryside well in range. At 3:00, searchlights are shown for spotting aircraft as well as a barrage balloon or blimp. At 3:15, FW-190 fighter aircraft and Stukas stand ready to fend off enemy attack.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
