For three consecutive days, French infantrymen suffered under accurate German bombardment. Over four million soldiers had been mobilized for an offensive against Germany to occupy the Saarland. However, the Siegfried Line, a series of impenetrable fortifications, was heavily defended by over 33 German divisions pitched against the more than 65 divisions of France and the United Kingdom.

While the infantry was pounded by German artillery, tanks were being decimated by the numerous minefields across the region, making the advance lose its momentum.

Even when the numbers were on their side, the Anglo-French forces faced an apparently impenetrable wall of German defenses, but the outcome of this first encounter had the potential to change the entire course of the war…

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