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| New German Defenses at Cambrai |
The irreplaceable losses in the "Big Battles" of 1916 raised awareness of a looming manpower crisis for all the war's original participants. None, however, more deeply felt the urgency of the hour than Germany, the most capable and driven of the Central Powers. The Kaiser and his allies were now engaged in a desperate war of attrition with a more populous coalition. Trading casualties at the same rate meant — with mathematical certainty — inevitable defeat. What to do in the west, though? After many pronouncements of "No Retreat!" Ludendorff analyzed the numbers and concluded he did not have a enough divisions to secure the the Western Front as it was configured in late 1916. The line needed to be shortened and strengthened. Inspired by the strategy of defense-in-depth recommended by the respected German General Staff officer Colonel (later General) Fritz von Lossberg (1868–1942) planning was initiated. [Article] What grew out of subsequent staff studies was the almost incredible complex of reinforced concrete bunkers, deep zigzagging trenches, massive belts of barbed wire, and anti-tank obstacles that came to be known as the "Hindenburg Line."
Though the name “Hindenburg Line” was coined by the British in 1916 for the first such defensive line constructed by the Germans in the Somme region, the name was later expanded to encompass all rear-area fortifications built by the German Army. The German name for the Hindenburg Line was the Siegfried Stellung. By either name, the Hindenburg Line or Siegfried-Stellung was the most extensive fortification built by any army during World War I. For this article, however, Siegfried-Stellung refers to the first section of the defensive line in the Somme Sector, where its local completion would lead to Operation Alberich: the German Army 10-15 mile withdrawal to the new defenses in anticipation of an Allied spring offensive.
Although the order to build the Siegfried-Stellung was issued in late September 1916, construction did not commence immediately. The area under construction was exceptionally large – more than 500 square miles (1,400 square kilometres) – and nearly two months were needed to organize command and control, establish support infrastructure, lay out the defenses, and assemble materials and workers. At first, progress was hampered by the competing needs of civilian industry and the ongoing Somme battle, but once the Allied offensive ended in early December 1916, work picked up pace despite continued shortages of manpower and material.
To manage the construction programme, a centralized command structure was established. At OHL, overall supervision was assigned to Colonel Kraemer, a staff engineer, and General Ludwig Lauter, the Inspector General of Artillery. On the ground, under direct command of OHL, specially designated construction staffs oversaw building the fortifications along specific sections of the Siegfried-Stellung. These construction staffs were formed from various entities to include reserve headquarters, dissolved commands, and ad hoc groups of general staff officers. A typical construction staff was commanded by a general officer with a small group of artillery, engineer, machine gun, and signal officers. These staff officers surveyed the assigned sector, sited the defensive positions, and managed the logistics of construction. Teams of geologists were provided to advise how to avoid groundwater when surveying trench lines and other field fortifications, where to excavate deep underground dugouts, and where to find sand and gravel suitable for concrete work and road construction. Within the staff, a construction section directed the work of pioneer and labor companies assigned to the chief construction staff.
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| Bunker Construction |
Building the fortifications required enormous amounts of labor and material. From October 1916 to March 1917, some 65,000-70,000 laborers worked on the fortifications. Many more laborers were used to build the fortifications of the other four withdrawal positions. The primary source of manpower was 50,000 Russian prisoners of war (POWs), even though under international law prisoners of war could not work on war-related activities. OHL also used 3,000 unemployed Belgian civilian workers as forced labor.
Both groups of workers were organized into labor companies and put to unskilled work such as digging entrenchments and earthworks. Twelve thousand troops from pioneer and reserve units and contracted civilians from German construction firms performed skilled labor for more complicated projects such as laying railway lines, building concrete emplacements, and tunneling dugouts. Material needs were equally huge. The concrete emplacements consumed most of the cement, sand, and aggregate production of occupied France, Belgium, and western Germany, as well as untold tons of lumber and steel. Significant quantities of gravel, sand, and cement were also purchased from the Netherlands.
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| A Trench Under Construction |
Construction followed an orderly sequence. First, the special construction staffs marked out the general line of the defenses. Then the infrastructure – roads, railways, temporary workshops, goods depots, power stations, and other life-support facilities – was put in place. Important was the network of feldbahnen (narrow-gauge field railways) for carrying building material and heavy equipment such as cement mixers to the vicinity of the construction sites.
Withdrawal to the Siegfried-Stellung
Soon after work on the Siegfried-Stellung commenced, rumors circulated among German units that the Army was preparing to retreat along the Western Front. In response, OHL issued an official statement in November disclaiming any intention to withdraw. Ludendorff was adamant that the front would be held until forced back by an Allied offensive, and he directed that work continue to strengthen the frontline defenses of the Somme. However, as winter set in the strategic situation did not improve. Germany's army was exhausted and nearly half of its divisions were tied down in the East unavailable to reinforce the Western Front. The armaments industry struggled to produce critical war material, especially ammunition, needed to recover from the battles of 1916. The British and French Armies now had 40 divisions more than the German Army. With this situation in mind, Hindenburg and Ludendorff chose to remain on the defensive in the West while seeking victory in the east against Russia, while endorsing the unrestricted submarine warfare campaign against Britain to weaken its economy, a policy that ultimately provoked the neutral United States to war.
By mid-January 1917, construction of the SiegfriedStellung was progressing well despite delays imposed by cold weather. The position's first line trench system, forward obstacle belts, and concrete works were finished and the second trench system, artillery observation posts, and artillery positions were partially completed. Army Group Crown Prince Rupprecht considered its part of the Siegfried-Stellung to be defensible and, to strengthen the northern flank of the position, began construction along the southern half of the Wotan-Stellung. On 28 January Crown Prince Rupprecht recommended to Ludendorff that the Siegfried-Stellung be occupied by mid-March before the Allies could launch their spring offensive. Ludendorff rejected the idea because of political and strategic reasons but directed OHL and the field commanders to consider other options such as a smaller-scale withdrawal to the Wotan-Stellung.
However, none of the options solved the vexing problem of British and French numerically superiority. Only withdrawal to the Siegfried-Stellung, which would release 13 divisions from frontline duty and, just as important, free large quantities of munitions for redistribution to other divisions, offered any solution to bolstering the army before the next Allied offensive.
With no viable alternative, Ludendorff gave the order on 4 February to accelerate work on the Siegfried-Stellung and prepare for its occupation in five weeks Construction work on the Wotan-Stellung was deferred until March and the workers and material were reallocated to the Siegfried-Stellung.
The withdrawal was codenamed Operation Alberich (named after the deceitful dwarf of the Nibelungenlied). Preparations began on 9 February. To impede Allied advance into the evacuated area, OHL ordered the systematic removal or destruction all material of military use. Towns and villages were razed, roads blocked by felled trees, crossroads cratered, railways torn up, bridges blown, and wells destroyed. Most of the civilian populace – some 125,000 people including the 45,000 inhabitants of St. Quentin – were evacuated. As the army withdrew, a large number of mines, booby traps, and delayed-action explosive charges were planted to cause casualties and delay the Allies. Security measures were taken to conceal construction of the Siegfried-Stellung and the preparations for withdrawal. Although only partially effective, the measures kept British and French intelligence from learning the purpose of the Siegfried-Stellung or Operation Alberich until it was too late to prepare an effective response. British reconnaissance aircraft first spotted the fortifications in November 1916; however, inclement weather, the use of screens and dummy works to hide construction, and German control of the airspace hampered further air reconnaissance. Even information gleaned from German deserters and captured Russian prisoners of war was not enough to give Allied intelligence a complete or timely picture of German intentions.
The Complete Siegfried/Hindenburg "Project"
Withdrawal of troops commenced on 16 March. Thirty-five divisions of the First, Second, Sixth, and Seventh Armies simultaneously pulled out of the front line, leaving one third of their combat strength as a rear guard. Unprepared, the French and British armies were slow to pursue and no significant combat occurred. The withdrawal concluded four days later on 20 March, just 17 days before the Americans declared war.
Source: Over the Top, January 2017, article by Patrick Osborn and Marc Romanych
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