#atlantic wall

[theworldatwar]

German soldiers rush from their barracks during a drill on the French coast - date unknown

[faroukmarduk]

[deutschland-im-krieg]

The Schleswig-Holstein battery was renamed by Adolf Hitler’s personal order to Lindemann in honour of  Ernst Lindemann, the captain of the battleship Bismarck, who went down with the ship on 27.5.41 in the Atlantic. Adolf Hitler personally ordered the concrete casemates for these guns (earlier the guns were located behind armoured shields 50mm thick). The battery was part of the Atlantikwall (Atlantic Wall) and armed with one 400mm (16 inch) SKC/34 cannons, which were previously manufactured for battleships of the never built H type. The team of one 40cm gun numbered 8 officers and 60 enlisted men. The battery was seized by Canadian troops on 26/9/44. Sangatte, Pas-de-Calais, France, 19/9/42

[carbone14]

Batterie allemande de 150 mm à Longues-sur-Mer – Mur de l'Atlantique – Calvados – Normandie – France – 20 juillet 2010

©Stéphane x

[memories-of-ancients]

The Non-German defenders of the Atlantic Wall,

In 1942 Germany began construction of the Atlantic Wall in order to defend its territorial conquests from a possible Allied amphibious invasion.  The wall consisted of various fortifications, mines, tank barriers, mortars, artillery pieces, machine gun nests, pillboxes, and bunkers, and was designed to fend off a beach landing. On June 6th, 1944 Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and quickly overran these defenses.  Thousands of German soldiers were captured, but surprisingly many of those captured were not German at all.

At the very beginning of the war Germany upheld its Nazi belief in pure Aryanism, believing themselves to be the superior super race. However as the war dragged on, that sentiment gave way as casualties grew, manpower shortages worsened, and it was becoming clearer that Germany was losing to the Allies. Both the Wehrmacht and the SS began to accept foreign volunteers with many of these foreign troops being sent to garrison the defenses of the Atlantic Wall.  These soldiers came from all over Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.  

The reasons for volunteering were varied, some political, many as a necessity for survival.  By far the most numerous foreign volunteers were those from the Soviet Union. Some volunteered because they were disgruntled with Soviet rule, for example the Russian Liberation Army which joined the Wehrmacht to oppose communism in Russia. However most volunteered as an alternative to spending the rest of the war as a POW.  Soviet POWs were treated terribly during the war. Often the Germans dealt with Soviet POWs by erecting open air prisons in which thousands would be confined. Thousands would be forced into the prison, where they would be exposed to elements, given little food, and basically be left to die of starvation, disease, or exposure.

During the war, around 3.5 million Soviets prisoners would die in these camps or in concentration camps. For many Soviet POWs, service with the German Army was the only way to avoid such a horrible fate. Typically, these troops were often not very reliable in combat as they were not very motivated to sacrifice life and limb for their conquerors. In some cases they proved to by a grave liability, such as the case of a battalion of soldiers from Georgia which manned the Atlantic Wall defenses on the Dutch island of Texel, who in 1945 openly revolted against the Germans.

One notable extreme was the Indian Legion, also known as the Azad Regiment, which consisted of volunteers from India who believed that a German victory would secure India’s independence from the British Empire. 

As well as many thousands of foreign volunteers, there were also many thousands of foreign conscripts who were forcibly made to serve in the German Army.

By far the most numerous conscripts were Polish.  Before World War I many parts of Poland had been a part of Prussia, and later the German Empire. When Germany re-conquered these territories they considered many of the people living there to be ethnic Germans.  As such, they were considered full citizens of the Reich and thus were subject to German draft laws.  Many still believed themselves to be German and thus were willing to fight for the German cause, however many spoke Polish, had adopted Polish customs, and identified themselves as Polish. Regardless, refusing to obey the draft laws could result in serious consequences, not only for the individual but his family as well. Around 500,000 Polish were conscripted into the Wehrmacht, with many serving on the Atlantic Wall. Like the Soviets, the Polish also were not the best soldiers for Germany as they were often unwilling to fight for their taskmasters. Around 85,000 would defect to the Free Polish Forces during the Normandy invasion and subsequent advance to Paris. In addition to Polish Troops, a number of Czechs considered ethnic Germans would be conscripted as well. In the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan this is demonstrated in a scene in which two "German" soldiers are surrendering to a pair of American soldiers. The Americans mock them before gunning them down. What many viewers may not relize is that they were not Germans, but Czechs, and were shouting in Czech that they were Czechs who didn't kill anyone, and just wanted to surrender.

By far the most interesting extreme in this instance were a group of Koreans who were captured by American forces during the D-Day invasion. For three decades Japan had occupied Korea, and the men were forcibly conscripted into the Japanese Imperial Army. In 1939 Japan attempted to invade the Soviet Union through Mongolia, but were badly beaten at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. The Koreans were captured and sent to the gulags, but with the German invasion of the Soviet Union, were then forced to join the Red Army and fight on the Eastern Front.  They were then captured by the Germans, conscripted into the German Army, and forced to man the defenses of the Atlantic Wall at Normandy.

Overall, one in six defenders of the Atlantic Wall were not German. Nothing demonstrates the diversity of these defenders more than the photo below of a group Wehrmacht soldiers captured during D-Day

Front Row (from left to right):  a Yugoslav; an Italian; a Turk; Polish

Back Row (from left to right): a German; a Czech; a Russian who was forced into the army when the Nazis occupied his town; and a Mongolian.

[mapsontheweb]

Allied staff officers debated where to pierce the Atlantic Wall, German coastal fortifications extending from Norway to the southwest coast of France. They ultimately decided on Normandy.

From the Atlas of World War II >>

by @NatGeoMaps

[historyofguns]

The article "Nazi Germany’s Last-Ditch D-Day Defenses" by Tom Laemlein, published on The Armory Life, explores the strategies employed by German troops to strengthen the Atlantic Wall during World War II. Faced with a shortage of weapons from their own production lines, the Germans repurposed a vast array of captured artillery from their campaigns in Poland, Belgium, France, and Russia. These included older artillery designs, anti-tank guns, and anti-aircraft guns from various annexed and conquered nations such as Czechoslovakia and France. The article highlights specific weaponry used, such as the French “Canon de 155 GPF” and the Soviet 122mm guns, demonstrating how the Germans integrated captured equipment to bolster their defenses. While this resourcefulness showcased the German military's adaptive strategies, it ultimately did not prevent the successful Allied landings in Normandy, which marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany in Europe.

[supplyside]

German bunkers at Longues-sur-Mer in France

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Huns Nervously Prepare for Der Tag," Windsor Star. June 5, 1943. Page 7. ---- THE caption accompanying this picture which appeared in Vienna Illustrated, German magazine, says this long-range gun, one of many batteries, will defeat the attack even when attackers are a long way from the coast. This is part of the Atlantic Wall, gigantic system of fortresses with bristling bunkers, long-range batteries and combat posts extending over a coast front of 2,700 kilometers to forestall invasion. Supposed to have reached full combat strength, intensive work on additions continue, however.

[everydayesterday]

German observation tower at Battery Moltke, Jersey.  Nazi forces had occupied the Channel Islands from 1940-1945, and converted this location into their own fortification, with the architecture you see here.  

This location was once home to the Alderney Nunnery, an ancient Roman site, and also contains artifacts left over from Tudor and Napoleonic times.

[theworldatwar]

A German sentry scans the horizon watching for an invasion that must surely come as he stands guard on the Atlantic Wall - exact date unknown

[faroukmarduk]

[telephomas]

[carbone14]

Entraînement au chargement du canon sur voie ferrée 24 cm SK L/40 Theodor Karl – Batterie d'artillerie ferroviaire 674 – Mur de l'Atlantique – sud de la France – 1941

Photographe : Harren

©Bundesarchiv - Bild 101I-069-2515-33

Canon de la première guerre mondiale, ce dernier exemplaire en service dans l'armée belge et capturé par les allemands pendant la bataille de France a été installé dans le sud de la France pour compléter le système de défense du Mur de l'Atlantique dans les environs d'Hendaye et de Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

[kontextmaschine]

By D-Day the Atlantic Wall defenses had been reinforced several times, even taking seriously the need to muster and build up stockpiles in Britain an attack could have broken through the coastal defenses earlier.

…but those defenses were still enough to force a concentration of forces into a single spearpoint, which inland reserves could have mobilized to encircle and neutralize."… until they were redeployed to the Eastern Front. It really was Russians fighting in the east that decided the European theater of WWII.

Of course, Stalin exerted whatever pressure he could to bring the West into the fight ASAP, but letting the Red Army bear the burden and pay the costs of attritting the Reich away and then only afterwards sweeping through a hollowed-out Western Front as the preferable option to surrender to was a critical part of Anglo-American grand strategy.

Even with that, they still then had to grind out a Cold War evenly matched enough to last half a century.

[historyofguns]

The article "Foreign Weapons at the Nazi’s 'Atlantic Wall'" by Tom Laemlein, published on The Armory Life, provides an in-depth look at the extensive use of captured foreign weaponry by German forces during the defense of the Atlantic Wall in World War II. Severe manpower and industrial shortages prompted the German military to employ a wide array of guns from across Europe, including French, Czech, British, Polish, and Russian weapons. This diverse arsenal included notable firearms such as the French MAS-36 rifle, the Czech ZB vz. 26 machine gun, British Vickers and Bren guns, and the Polish CKM wz. 30 machine gun. Additionally, the article highlights the strategic movement of Red Army conscripts, known as "Ostruppen," who were coerced into fighting for Germany, bringing with them Soviet small arms like the DP-27 and the SVT-40. The capture and utilization of these varied weapons underscore the desperate measures taken by the Germans as they faced overwhelming Allied forces during the pivotal Normandy invasion, ultimately contributing to the Allies' breaching of the Atlantic Wall and the subsequent fall of the Third Reich.