One of the main reasons that this trip is taking place is because an Uncle of Amy’s Dad fought in World War II and actually passed through some of the areas that we were visiting. It was also a really good excuse to get to see a lot of WWII history sites that many of us have read about but never really seen. In this part of the trip we were staying in France but fairly close to the German border where the Maginot and Siegfried lines are as well as some other sites. So it is here where we got to nerd out a little bit on WWII history.
We started out at what was once an artillery bunker that a German fellow has purchased and turned into a museum that would have been part of the Siegfried line at one time. The German line took a different approach than the French. Where the French made essentially a single line of bunkers that were all connected by tunnels, the Germans made several lines of individual bunkers. A thick line close to the front and two others thinning out the further away from the front you got. The inside of this bunker was pretty interesting. It was built after WWI but before WWII so it was designed for chemical warfare and could be completely sealed off from the outside air. All of the filtrations was done by hand crank (makes me feel for the lowest ranking guy). Only a few men actually would stay there at one time. He had a lot of the original equipment there.
The next stop was one of the entrances to the Maginot line. We didn’t have time to tour the place as it was actually pretty huge on the inside. However, we did learn some tidbits about it that I didn’t know. In particular, when Germany invaded France men locked themselves in the larger bunker and stayed there for months as they had food and water. They were eventually ordered to surrender by their commanders. Our guide said that after they came out their hair had gone white from the darkness and never changed back.
Along the way to our next stop we stopped at the German wine gate, a beautiful area where a gate and restaurant was built. At the time it was built they were trying to elevate the status of their wine to rival the wine made in France. At one spot a German soldier had carved a pretty good drawing of Texas on the wall for the sole purpose of being sent home. Apparently it worked.
Something else that I hadn’t really heard of until this trip was what was called the “dragon’s teeth”. Late in WWI, in response to trench warfare, the first tanks were developed in order to traverse them. As time went on they found other uses for them and after the war defenses had to be devised to guard against their use. It was here “dragon’s teeth” were devised to stop advancing tanks. Five rows of concrete “teeth” interconnected by rebar in two directions spanning several kilometers was made. Each successive row was slightly taller than the first making it so the tanks would get caught on them and the less armored “belly” could be aimed at. As I understand it to get over them they would be covered with dirt so that advancing tanks could cross.
Our tour finished in the hills, where yet more bunkers were built on steep inclining hills where the trees had been removed for sighting (the trees were all back now). All of these bunkers were destroyed after the war and only rubble remains now. Sadly, we were told that these bunkers would have been manned by the very old (who were conscripted into service toward the end of WWII) and the very young. These young men would have been of an age that had only known a Nazi Germany and as such were more likely to fight to the death against the Allies. The history is sad but it was an honor to have a German history buff (who did a great deal of research for us) to show us through all the different places. Here’s to you sir, thanks for your help and knowledge.
Throughout all this we stayed in a small quaint little town surrounded by vineyards and friendly people. It was practically romantic, which means it was a shame Amy wasn’t there. It was just us dudes so it was kind of wasted. Oh, well.
