Lorraine: The Citadel of Bitche

Let's get this straight from the start. Bitche is pronounced "BEEETCH"...with a long "e" sound.

In the old days, before the Maginot Line, the border of Lorraine was defended by the citadel of Bitche. Bitche is a fortress carved out of a sandstone knob that overlooks the frontier. Under Louis the XIV, it became a key stronghold protecting the French frontier. Nearly 300 years later, it was still so strong and strategically located that it was absorbed as an integral part of the Maginot Line. The Germans purposely avoided it during the invasion of France. Later, the Americans troops spent a good deal of time and blood trying to get the Germans out. The first two pictures show the citadel itself. It sits on top of the hill like a big, sandstone battleship. The village of Bitche has been built up below the citadel on the hillsides. The following two pictures show the view from the citadel of the village and surrounding countryside.
An English speaker would expect that a town named "Bitche" would become the butt of a few jokes. In WWII, the fighting around Bitche was especially difficult. The 100th Infantry Division took as its nickname "the Sons of Bitche". Later, they formed an organization of the same name that abbrviates its name as the "Society of SOBs". A card-carrying member is a "legitimate SOB". The society's leader was known as the "grand exalted biggest SOB".