Located 4 km west of Bitche, the ouvrage derived its name from a nearby farm (Hof in German).

During the Battle of France in 1940, the Simserhof supported its neighboring fortifications with partially successful covering artillery fire.

After the surrender of France, it was repurposed by the Germans as a torpedo storage depot, and later resisted the American advances of late 1944.

The Americans briefly occupied the fort in the first days of 1945 until the German counter-offensive of Operation Nordwind, which allowed them to take back control of the Simserhof.

Following the war, it was initially repaired for the French Army and later converted into a Maginot Line museum in the early 1960s.

Retained by the Ministry of Defense, Simserhof now functions as a museum, and has the most extensive visitor infrastructure of any of the preserved Maginot fortifications.

A number of objections were raised, including the amount of clear-cutting required, and an insufficient field of fire with dead ground exploitable by an attacker.

This plan was adopted in September 1929 at the direction of Maréchal Pétain, despite increasing costs estimated at 38 million francs.

Ultimately, eight combat blocks were constructed, with a single mixed entry, the principal work spanning from 1930 to 1933.

[19][20] In times of peace, the active troops were stationed in newly built regular barracks in Légeret.

Simserhof fired for the first time on 12 October, when a 75mm gun turret supported troops twelve kilometers in front of the fortified line.

From 21 June the ouvrage's artillery fired to prevent German troops from advancing on its neighbor, Welschhof.

The same day, Simserhof protected Rohrbach against German attack, firing approximately 13,500 shells in defense of its neighbor.

[4] Following World War II, interest revived in the use of the Maginot Line to defend against a possible Soviet advance through southern Germany.

In 1951, Simserhof had been designated part of the Mòle de Bitche, a strong point in the northeastern defenses against Soviet attack.

[28][29] Simserhof has an extensive array of visitor services, including a gift shop, picnic area and café.