Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Simserhof is an artillery fort on the Maginot line, built between 1929 and 1936 in the town of Siersthal (Moselle). It is part of the fortified area of Rohrbach and consists of ten blocks, eight of which are fighting and two entrances. Its construction, initially estimated at 62 million francs, finally cost 118 million (currently 30 million euros). It was designed to withstand attacks and support local troops.

The book played a key role in the fighting of 1940 and 1944. In June 1940, he fired 13,500 shells to protect Rohrbach's work before being rendered intact to the Germans after the armistice. In November 1944, it was heavily bombed by the Allies and then abandoned by the Germans after major damage. Released in 1945, it is now a major tourist site, attracting nearly 40,000 visitors annually.

Life in the Simserhof was organized as on a ship, with watch, picket and rest quarters. The crew of 876 men, led by officers such as Lieutenant-Colonels Aumoitte, Mauvin and Bonlarron, lived in difficult conditions, marked by the absence of natural light and a strict military organization. Murals, like those of Snow White painted by Private Romain Simon, brightened the walls to improve the morale of the troops.

The facility was equipped with an electrical plant, ammunition stores, barracks and advanced defence systems, such as 75 mm and 135 mm turrets. After the war, it was preserved and opened to the public in 2002, becoming a symbol of French military heritage and a place of memory of the Second World War.

Future

The book is now a tourist site, one of the most visited of the Maginot line.

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