Artilleriewerk Simserhof

Simserhof is one of the largest ouvrages of the French Maginot Line, constructed between 1930 and 1935 in the commune of Siersthal near Bitche in the Moselle region. The underground complex extends across several kilometers of tunnels and housed up to 1,000 soldiers along with a power plant, narrow-gauge railway, hospital, and ammunition stores. Germany bypassed the Maginot Line through Belgium in 1940, yet the garrison at Simserhof held out until after the armistice — a stark reminder of how completely these fortress crews were sealed off from the war unfolding above them. The ouvrage now operates as a museum, where guided tours ride the original narrow-gauge underground railway through preserved barracks, gun blocks, and engine rooms.