The Hindenburg Line

[PhilB]

Was the Hindenburg Line planned to be equally strong everywhere or were some parts considered particularly important and strengthened? Which was the toughest part? Who had the hardest task in breaking it? How does a stellung differ from a trenchline? Why did the Allies have nothing comparable, even though they had less room for retreat? What do you know?

Phil B

[Robert Dunlop]

Phil, the Hindenburg Line was planned to be 'equally strong everywhere' - ie it was planned that it would form a complete obstruction to the forward advance of the Entente. Some parts received more attention than others, depending on whether there was a perceived imminent threat. So extra lines were developed prior to the Chemin des Dames offensive for example. The proposed lines for the Cambrai sector were not completed before November 1917 because this sector was perceived as quiet by the Germans.

A Stellung would comprise one or more trench lines. In the latter case, the Gräben would be close together.

The Entente did develop comparable defences, in terms of functional capacity. Operation Mars stalled completely against the British Third Army defences in 1918. I suspect that the style of the Hindenburg Line, with its wide trenches, would have been different if it had been built after Third Ypres.

Robert

[Borden Battery]

Here is a link to a short summary article from the Western Front Association website on the background, structure and intent of the Hindenberg Line during the latter part of the Great War. A "Google" search will produce additional, more fragmented information.

Can any GWF reader provide a better reference website and a reference text on this topic?

WFA - Hindenberg Line Article

[Robert Dunlop]

There are several books in the Battleground Europe series. Most notable is the review called 'The Hindenburg Line' by Peter Oldham (ISBN 0 85052 568 3). As with all books in the series, it is a traveller's guidebook rather than the definitive description. Lots of interesting pictures and anecdotes.

Robert

[PhilB]

Thanks for the info and the WFA summary, gents. A few points:-

1/ The WFA use Hindenberg, while I`ve usually read Hindenburg.

2/ It does say that the Sigfried section, Lens to Rheims, was the strongest section. I assume that stayed the case. That`s rather a long stretch - were there any particularly strong sections?

3/ I had assumed that the Switch Lines were built in to further strengthen parts seen as weak.

4/ There is no mention of British attacks in Spring 1917 - because they were taken as part of the Nivelle offensive?

5/ Can you point to any maps showing the plan, early system or final form of the Hindenburg Line?

6/ The Line was sited in optimum positions which would automatically give the French/British worse positions if they closed up. Was it necessary to close up? Couldn`t the Allies have moved up to the closest militarily favourable position? What would it matter if No man`s Land was miles wide - it was the same for both sides?

Phil B

[Robert Dunlop]

Attached is a diagram from Oldham's book illustrating the various Stellungen in the Hindenburg Line.

The capture of Vimy Ridge reinforced the vulnerability of the Hindenburg Line to being turned from the north. Although some writers would argue that this could have been achieved had the Canadians et al pushed on the same day, the weather was so atrocious that any advance on the Douai plain would have been a very serious logistics problem IMHO. Nonetheless, on that day the Drocourt-Queant Switch was not complete. You can see from the map that there is a significant emphasis on the northern section of the Line, with various Stellungen running in parallel all the way back to Cambrai. Some of these lines were penetrated in the Arras offensive, most notably with the capture of Monchy le Preux for example.

At Cambrai, the British just about got through all the lines. Although the furthest line was not complete, it was sufficiently robust to anchor the German defence and ensure that the Hindenburg Line was not completely broken at that time.

In the Chemin des Dames area, mention has already been made of the natural defences that made this section particularly strong. The man-made quarries were very helpful to the Germans but they reproduced these bunkers in various ways throughout the Hindenburg Line. It is noteworthy that whereas Nivelle's offensive failed at great cost, Petain's subsequent Battle of Malmaison unhinged the German positions of the Chemin des Dames in late 1917.

Basically there were two kinds of Switch Lines. There were the usual Switch trenches that linked the parallel lines or isolated salients in one of the lines. Oetinger Switch is one such that is mentioned in the thread on Flesquieres. Then you get the lines of trenches that act as Switch Lines to the Hindenburg Line itself, such as the Monchy and Boiry Riegel. These were designed to cover the rupture of the Line.

The Entente had to close up to attack. It would have mattered not if there was no imperative to remove the Germans from France & Belgium. The key problem was getting close enough that the field guns could support the advance into and through at least the first line of trenches and that the heavies could get onto the German artillery sufficiently well to suppress them. A key aim of the Hindenburg Line was to suck the infantry into pockets that were isolated from their own artillery support then cut them off.

Robert

[Robert Dunlop]

Here is the classic map of the German observation posts and lines of sight in the St Quentin sector of the Hindenburg Line.

Robert

[Robert Dunlop]

In summary, the Hindenburg Line should be regarded as a dynamic entity. It started off as a seemingly impenetrable system that restored a sense of stability to the Germans following the terrible experiences of the Somme battles. The lines were designed to provide depth and height to the German defences, while eliminating the salient formed by the Somme. Within months, parts of it had been partially penetrated. This led to the development of more major Switch lines. Whenever a major threat was recognised, additional lines would be added. This happened before the Chemin des Dames offensive in 1917. There was a limit to the continuity of whole line though. This limit was reached in late 1918 when the Hindenburg Line was penetrated in several places and the Germans lacked the reserves to plaster over the gaps. Subsequent 'lines' of defence proved unable to stop the inexorable advance of the Entente.

Robert