Frieslandregel Wittelte

These German defences were part of the “Frieslandriegel”, a defence line that ran roughly along the line Delfzijl - Groningen - Assen - Zwolle. The purpose of this line that was built from September 1944 was to be able to delay any Allied attack from the west.

The construction by Orgination Todt made massive use of forced labourers, prisoners of war and volunteers. The Frieslandriegel consisted of trenches and tank trenches and was reinforced with Koch bunkers (one-man bunkers) and mattress bunkers (ammunition bunkers). Construction of the line was largely complete by early1945. After the war, the trenches and tank trenches were filled in and the bunkers were demolished or given another use.

At this site, part of the Friesland Line has been accurately reconstructed with the cooperation of Saxion University, the Province of Drenthe and the owner of the site. The site can be visited free of charge and some stories of people who were involved in its construction can be listened to via the website.

nb. The photos still show the situation before reconstruction.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Frank Huisman
• - https://www.frieslandriegel.nl/