A ccess :By car, take the D1083 (formerly the RN83),exit at Benfeld, and then Rhinau; in Boofzheim, follow the signs to Obenheim. The departure is at no. 26 Route de Strasbourg.

T o find out more:• Roger Bruge: Offensive sur le Rhin, 1977• Parish and municipal records of Rhinau• Jean-Bernard Wahl: La Ligne Maginot en Alsace, 2001• Municipal archives of the towns concerned by the combat• Denkschrift, Récit d’Archives, Deutscher Frontkämpferverband

O ther sites to see nearby:• Diebolsheim: Cave in Bloom • Friesenheim: Pilgrimage of Notre Dame de Neunkirch• Marckolsheim: Maginot Line Memorial• Rhinau: Nature Reserves of Taubergiessen and Île de Rhinau

I nformation:Tourist Office of “Communauté de Communes du Rhin” Tel: 03.88.74.68.96 • E-mail: rhinau@tourisme-alsace.info • www.grandried.frSelf-guided tours. Guided tours upon request for groups, all year long.

Time: 2 hours with tour of the casematesDistance: 2.5 km

A bit of history…Between 1930 and 1940, the French High Command built a vast fortified system to protect the vulnerable regions under threat along the country’s borders, which we know as the MAGINOT LINE (named after the French Minister of Defence, André Maginot). The Maginot Line is made up of a piecemeal range of ouvrages, or fortifications, from the modest bloc-khaus to the strong underground fortress. The designs of these different modes of defence differed according to their strategic, geographic or topographical location. The casemates were built according to a stan-dard plan that could vary depending on the configuration of the area and its role (i.e. 2 cloches, or non-retractable turrets). Work began in 1930 (Construction decree of 1928) and as early as 1938 the casemates were manned by surveillance troops.

For a long time, the Rhine represented an impassable obstacle for an army; its defence was less developed than the defence of the northern part of Alsace, where forts are to be found. The river was, nonetheless, at the heart of the battle of 15 June 1940, considered as a prestigious battle, better known as the Great Amphibian Offensive of June 1940.Rhinau was on the battle’s right flank. However, not long before the battle, the infantry was withdrawn to go to the Belgian border and the Vosges Mountains.

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The German attack started at 10 am. Due to sand banks, they used rub-ber dinghies to cross the Rhine. However, 120 Germans died (drowned or shot) before the first one was able to set foot on the riverbank. After neutralizing bunkers on the shore, the Germans infiltrated the Rhine Fo-rest. At 11 am, they had arrived in front of the main line of defence. By the end of the day, they already controlled a large zone.

The term “casemate” encompasses what is also called a bunker or a blockhaus (usually isolated and small in size). A so-called passive casemate is one that can only serve as barracks, as its openings have no role in defence. An active casemate, designed to serve as a firing post, has a ventilation system to remove the firing exhaust. A casemate has a crew (like on a boat).

The Communauté de Communes du Rhin would like to thank all the people who have made this project possible:• The owners who have granted access to their properties• Mr André Guidetti for his exceptional research work in various

works and articles• The Municipality of Boofzheim and its staff, for their involvement

in the development of this trail project.

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The strategy implemented during the Second World War resulted in a triple line of defence:• 1st line: about fifty casemates and concrete shelters were lo-cated on the banks, monitoring any river crossings; these were advanced posts (square in this area) which were manned by 2 to 3 people.• 2nd line: 18 ouvrages monitored major penetrations, such as in Rhinau; these were support points.• 3rd line: further west, about 3 km from the Rhine, 53 casemates were lined up with the villages.

The purpose of the first line was to channel any crossings and to reconnoitre. Next, the reserve troops had to intervene from the forest in order to drive back the enemy forces. In the worst-case scenario, the third line intervened to halt any advances.

In Boofzheim, the vestiges of the French defence line can still be found: a casemate that served as a Command Post, infantry and engineering casemates, an antiaircraft casemate and a machine gun nest. These ouvrages belonged to the sub-sector of Erstein, directed from the Gerlier command post of Gerstheim and the command post that participated in the Saillant de Rhinau Battle: the Caussade command post of Boofzheim, situated at no. 26 Route de Strasbourg. On 17 June 1940 at 8 am, Privates Stieffatre and Mondet were killed after an assault. Privates Brunner, Billon, Reval and Lieutenant Barthelemy were seriously injured. In order to prevent a massacre, Lieutenant Caussade raised the white flag.

3 Inside this antiaircraft casemate are 4 separate rooms each with 2 artillery posts. Heavy French machine guns were used here, featuring automatic ejection with no recoil (Hotchkiss). You can still see bullet impacts on the walls. The back-up squad was posted be-hind the door.

6 The ma-chine gun nest is made of concrete. It is a round, fixed station. 3 or 4 men would be posted here. They would add sandbags to bring them up to chest height.

2 4 5 These are the engineering case-mates, where the water source was located. There was just one for each sector. This was where the sol-dier assigned to chores would come to fetch water (about 20 litres per trip and per man, for each case-mate). There was no cover plate; only sandbags and wood. Each sub-sector commander came up with his own design for the concrete structure, so there were too many different models to make a standard cast cover plate. The framework was made of metal and the concrete was poured on top. You can see a shell impact on the side of the opening.

1 This is a CP (Com-mand Post) casemate that served for transmission (with underground cables), manned by French troops: the 34th RIF, 6th company belonging to the sub-sector of Erstein of the SBRF (Strong Sector of the Bas-Rhin).First, you go into the firing chamber, which is the defence of the casemate’s core.A loophole, still called a door-protection defence crenelle, is next to the entrance. A machine-rifle used to be there. You can see a machine-gun support table that was used for twin machine guns; these were cross-firing machine guns. There is also a gutter where the cartridge cases would fall. You can still see the guide rails of the shutters. In the wall, you can see where the radio set was located. This recess was reworked with a sledgehammer, in order to fit the post-1940 sets, which were larger. In each firing chamber, there was a pedal-actuated ventilation mechanism for poisonous smoke and gases.The door was reinforced to protect the core. You can see an air vent grille for protection from grenades. Next, you go into the resting chamber. The casemate could house 16 to 24 men.Next, you come to the 2nd firing chamber, which is larger, and whose range was 6 km, taking into account that you are 3 or 4 km away from the Rhine.On the exterior of each firing crenelle you can see a diamond-shaped ditch (angular shape) that prevented intruders from approaching and, in case of bombing, enabled the men to recover the reinforced con-crete debris, so that it would not obstruct the embrasures.

Please respect the natural environment.

Do not leave any refuse behind.

Walk on the edge of the forest.

Departure in frontof no. 26 Route de Strasbourg

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Engineering casemate.