Germany's West Wall: The Siegfried Line

Osprey Fortress #15

by Neil Short, Chris Taylor (Illustrator)

The West Wall (or the Siegfried Line as the Allies called it) played a crucial role in the bitter fighting of 1944 and 1945 in North-West Europe. Constructed in the period immediately after the remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, the Wall stretched for 300 miles from Cleve in the north to the Swiss Border and consisted of some 14,000 pillboxes. The Wall initially blunted the US attack, and Hitler used it as a foundation from which to launch the Ardennes Offensive. This title takes a detailed look at the development and form of this key fortification, examining the principles of its defence in visual depth, and discussing its fate in the wake of the Allied onslaught.

Genres: World War II, Military History

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2004

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy]

First experience with this series, not too impressed. Would have loved more actual photos of the defenses as well as more detail on how they worked, and hearing more from those that fought against them (Rather than how they were built, and how much material it took). Not up to par for usual Osprey was the art, this was 3D rendered and not well done. The graphics themselves look antiquated like this was from a early 2000's video game. The 3D part doesnt automatically make it poor, Osprey has had some excellently rendered 3D art. This is not one of them. I did enjoy the inclusion of 'The Site Today' as that provided some excellent information for those who want to see what was being discussed.