When most of us think of bunkers and trenches most of us think about WW1, but they played an important role in defensive positions on the eastern and the western front. On the Western front, bunkers were the backbone of elaborate and permanent coastal defenses such as those along the Normandy and Calais beaches as well as the border defenses of the Siegfried line of the Westwall. On the eastern front, due to the high water table bunkers were either very shallow or were built above ground--often from logs and earth. The German army developed a number of permanent styles of concrete bunkers as well as soldier-created wood and earthen bunkers.

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These photographs were taken from a number of books,  online sources, and auction sites.  They are presented here for educational purposes.