With lower priority than other sectors, the SF Rohrbach was built somewhat later than its neighbors to the east and west, and in company with positions on the extreme western end of the Maginot Line, became one of the "New Fronts."

The sector was heavily engaged by German forces in mid-June 1940, with several casemates and the petit ouvrage Welschhof surrendering before the Second Armistice at Compiègne.

The German Operation Nordwind offensive of early 1945 caused American forces to fall back, returning to complete the capture of the Rohrbach sector in March 1945.

[1] The Rohrbach sector was part of the larger Fortified Region of the Lauter, a strongly defended area between the Ardennes to the west and the Sarre valley to the east.

Peacetime barracks and support: 153rd Fortress Infantry Regiment (153e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt.

Peacetime barracks and support: 37th Fortress Infantry Regiment (37e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (RIF)), Lt.

[11] In early June in the face of the German assault, all fortress units attached to the Fifth Army were ordered to prepare for withdrawal to the south and west.

While fortress units under the 2nd, 3rd and 8th Armies received categorical instructions to prepare to sabotage their positions and conduct an orderly retreat from 14 to 17 June, Fifth Army commander General Bourret's instructions to the SFs Rohrbach, Vosges, Haguenau and Lower Rhine were not as definitive.

The personnel of the SF Rohrbach were to be consolidated into a Division de Marche entitled the DM Chastanet, consisting of the 37th, 153rd and 166th RIFs, along with the 207th CISF (compagnie d'infaterie du secteur fortifié) and the 59th RARF (régiment d'artillerie de la région fortifée).

On the 16th the Germans sent large formations through the gap they had exploited in the Sarre valley, moving behind the Maginot Line.

Welschof spotted counter-battery fire for the SF Sarre's Ouvrage Haut-Poirier against a German 150 mm gun.

The Germans moved two 150 mm guns from the entrance to Simmerhof and began to attack Block 1 at Welschhof and Casemate Ouest de Singling.

On the morning of 24 June the Germans gained and Simserhof, at the limit of its range with a contrary wind, could not fire effectively on the top of Welschhof.

[13] Earlier on the 24th, Simserhof protected Rohrbach against German attack, firing approximately 13,500 shells in defense of its neighbor.

[11] Schiesseck and Otterbiel saw relatively little action in 1940 compared to their neighbors, and surrendered to the Germans with the rest of the Bitche fortifications on 30 June 1940.

[18] The 153rd Fortress Infantry Regiment (the Régiment de la Sarre) occupied the casemates of the Légeret sub-sector.

From 13 June the regiment's interval units joined the DM Chastanet, retreating to the Marne-Rhine Canal in an attempt to form a defensive line.

The interval troops joined the DM Chastanet, falling back to the Marne-Rhine Canal, then to the Saint-Quirin forest where they were captured on 23 June.

[21] From 17 November the 100th Infantry Division assaulted Schiesseck,[22] in December after an aerial and artillery bombardment, even using captured German 8.8cm guns and 8" howitzers.

[21] Otterbiel was to be the next position to be attacked by the 100th ID, but the American advance was interrupted by the Battle of the Bulge in late December, followed by the German counter-offensive Operation Nordwind.

Because Schiesseck's visible installations had been effectively destroyed in December, the ouvrage itself played no role in the German defense.

[25] By 1951 work was proceeding on renovation of many of the northeastern ouvrages, including Welschhof, Rohrbach, Schiesseck, Otterbiel and Simserhof, with the aim of restoring their combat capability to block a potential advance by the Warsaw Pact.

[13] Simserhof, while remaining the property of the Ministry of Defense, is managed by the Moselle département and the city of Bitche.