Bunkers

After leaving Aachen, we drove to Hurtgenwald, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest resulted in over thirty thousand American casualties between September and December of 1944. We visited a very nice World War II museum, but the real adventure began when a volunteer asked if we'd like to see the German bunkers that are scattered throughout this heavily forested region. Needless to say, we didn't turn him down!

We drove out to a dirt road and followed our guide deep into the woods. Over the course of two hours, we visited about a half-dozen of these small but sturdy fortifications. The image above is a good example of how the bunkers are somewhat camouflaged by the surrounding trees and hills. The rectangular opening (known as an embrasure) was for machine gunners to attack advancing Allied forces. The image below shows what these embrasures look like on the inside of the bunker.

These bunkers were part of the infamous Siegfried Line, or the Westwall as the Germans called it. Many bunkers saw a lot of action. Take a close look at the image below and you can see where Allied weaponry has damaged the concrete.

With a battle that lasted for four long months, it's no surprise that countless artifacts have been discovered in this area. Indeed, during our trek today, our guide's teenage son dug up a twisted rod of rusting metal. I have no idea what purpose it may have served, or even whether it was an actual artifact from the war, but his discovery was a very cool experience nonetheless.