The Alpine Fortress (German: Alpenfestung) or Alpine Redoubt was the World War II national redoubt planned by Heinrich Himmler in November and December 1943 for Germany's government and armed forces to retreat to an area from "southern Bavaria across western Austria to northern Italy". The plan was never fully endorsed by Hitler and no serious attempt was made to put the plan into operation, although it served as an effective tool of propaganda and military deception by the Germans in the final stages of the war. After he surrendered, General Kurt Dittmar told the Americans it never existed.