FORT
SIMSERHOF – MOSELLE
Maginot Line Fortress at Bitche
The
importance of the forested hills surrounding the town of Bitche (Beesh)
in the northeast corner of France’s Moselle region west
of Hagenau, to the defense against invading armies is visually demonstrated
by the massive medieval fortress which stands on a hilltop over the town.
Less visible, nearly hidden by the thicket grown hills is the real defense
fortress of Fort Simserhof, once part of the grand design of the Maginot
Line intended to stop another German advance after the bloody struggle
of the war to end all wars, that didn’t. The presence of the massive
fort is only glimpsed from the black moss overgrown concrete bunker walls
which break through the earth, hiding the network of tunnels and redoubts,
with gun turrets breaking the surface.
Hailed
in its time as a concept of genius, named for the French War Minister
Andre Maginot, who promoted it, the interlocking patchwork of
concrete underground fortifications, machine gun posts, tank obstacles,
operated by the latest in mechanical weaponry, and manned by troops in
self-supporting subterranean barracks which could last through any assault
across the open ground above, stretching along the border from Italy
to Belgium, which was imagined to be the ultimate defense in the World
War I age of trench warfare. Unfortunately, planning for the technology
of the last war was doomed to fail. German mobile mechanization and air
power, mostly bypassed the static underground forts of Maginot’s
folly (see Maginot Line Fort Hatten).
The
Simserhof Fortress (Ouvrage Simserhof), is one of the largest fortified
complexes of the Maginot Line. Planned at the direction of Marshal Petain
in 1929, with major construction between 1930 and 1933, completed in
1938, the complex consists of eight combat blocks, served by a central
power plant and ammunition storage tunnels, reaching 30 meters underneath
the hills. Simserhof’s history features one of the most dramatic
stories of the Maginot Line, with its soldiers holding out in a heroic
resistance during June of 1940, the last of the forts to surrender, five
days after the cease-fire with the German Third Reich. The fort at Simserhof
was also occupied for a time at the end of World War II by both American
soldiers and by Germans during the allied advance toward the Rhine River
in late 1944.
Today,
Simserhof offers an impressive view into the underground world of war
on the Maginot Line. The tour of the complex begins with a documentary
film illustrating the history of the Maginot Line, and the construction
and battles of the fortress from 1918 through 1940, presenting through
a dramatic and illuminating picture of the time through archival footage.
After the film touring visitors board an automated driverless tram car
for a journey into the ammunition tunnels of fort, entering through the
great steel gates guarded machine gun turrets into the dank concrete
underground world. The ride, not unlike an amusement park, is accompanied
by sights and sounds, narration and special effects to present the atmosphere
of life in war. The tour trams alternate in languages, English, French
and German. After the tram ride returns to the modern visitor’s
center, a guided tour leads down into the barracks, through the kitchens,
infirmary and the power plant. You can also walk the wooded path above
the underground works, where the concrete fortified entrances and turrets
peak through the foliage.
Visiting Maginot Line Simserhof Fortress
The
Simserhof Fort is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, March 15
to November 15, and 10am to 6pm in July and August. Adult admission
is €12, Children €8. The fort is located just 3 miles to the
west of Bitche. A visit to the Simserhof Fortress lasts from 2 to 3 hours,
including wait time for the
appropriate
language tour. Parking is available near the fortress visitor center
when attendance is light and a parking area near the main road with a
tram bus service when busy. There is a snack bar and book shop at the
visitor’s center. If one Maginot fort isn’t enough, there
others in the area, at Rohrbach just a mile away, and another, the Fort
Four A Chaux near Lembach in Alsace to the east. Other sights to visit
nearby are the Bitche fortress (see Citadelle
De Bitche)
and the Crystal Glass Factories of Saint Louis Le Bitche, Meisenthal
and Lalique (see Musee
Lalique Alsace). © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Fort
Simserhof
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See Also:
KAISER WILHELM II FORT DE MUTZIG - ALSACE
PFAFFENHOFFEN - WWII CROSSROADS
SAINT-LOUIS CRYSTAL MUSEUM – BITCHE
BELGIAN ROYAL ARMY MUSEUM - BRUSSELS
