Besseringen B-Werk
The B-Werk near Besseringen is the only completely preserved fortification built to construction standard "B" in the Siegfried Line.
It is part of the so-called Saar position and lies within the borough of the German town of Merzig.
The defensive system of the Siegfried Line was built between 1936 and 1940 on the western border of the German Empire and had a length of around 630 kilometres.
A total of 22,000 bunkers and structures was planned, and around 14,800 were actually built, including 32 armoured works of construction standard (or thickness) "B", whence the German term B-Werk.
Officially the term Panzerwerk ("armoured structure") or a codename (such as the name of an animal, field or military figure) was used in order not to give away the construction thickness to the enemy.
The bunker had its own water and electricity supply, air filter systems, engine rooms and accommodation, and was equipped with two turrets, each with six weapon ports, an observation cupola and flanking embrasures (Schartenplatten).
Its weaponry consisted of machine guns for the two six-port turrets and the flanking ports, as well as an M 19 grenade launcher and a fixed FN flamethrower.
The six-port turrets were of Type 20P7, had an average wall thickness of 255 millimetres, an inside diameter of 2.25 metres and a weight of 51 tonnes.
Due to their effective range of 1,650 metres, the machine guns in the turrets could be seen as the "long distance weapons" of the bunker; in particular, they could cover the opposite bank of the River Saar and the hillside that climbed away from it.
The grenade launcher was built into an armoured Type 424P01 turret, which only projected 0.50 metres above the top of the bunker.
Through 5 slits, that could be closed by slides, the commander could observe the surrounding area and direct fire using two armoured periscopes.
In addition, for the viewing slit there was a sliding plate of armoured glass which could be used to observe the situation when under fire.
Sensitive areas were operated by accumulator batteries to ensure continuity of power available in case the generators failed.
An important aspect of the bunkers of the Siegfried Line was their ability to operate under gas attack.
Three underground cables of the fortress telephone network were terminated in a separate radio room, where there was a switchboard.
The turrets were connected independently of the central exchange in the radio to the associated battle preparation rooms with separate telephone lines.
The Besseringen B-Werk was first used in the period after its completion until summer 1940, when its occupation no longer seemed necessary following the successful German invasion of France.
After the Allies had surrounded Merzig in spring 1945, during Operation Undertone, its crew left the bunker at Besseringen.
In the entrance yard is an original sentry hut which was used during the construction of the Siegfried Line as to control access to the such sites.
