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The Atlantic Wall In Normandy
The Atlantic wall was more myth than reality, even though many casemates and bunkers were builtduring the Germans occupation.To fortify the entire coastline from Norway to theSpanish border, nearly 3,000 miles was just notpossible.In the first two years of the occupation the Germansdid not really take the threat of an Allied attempt tooccupy mainland France seriously, although theybelieved that the British would try and take back theChannel Islands. In the early days of the occupationthe Germans only placed big guns facing across thechannel between Calais and Dover. The Germans wanted to dominate the shippingchannel at its narrowest point. After 1942 when theBritish started bombing the gun emplacements closeto the sea, the Germans started building casemates tohouse and protect their guns. After the failed British and Canadian raid on Dieppein 1942, Hitler's view that if the Allies were to get afoothold in France, they would need to capture a port,was reinforced. He therefore instructed that all themajor ports along the coast would be fortified. The notion of an Atlantic Wall was not really eventhought of as an entity even by the Germans at thispoint.After Hitler’s directive “40” in 1942 the idea of afortified defense of the coast was given credence. When it was first mentioned it was more a dream thanreality and was used for propaganda purposes toconvince the German high command that FortressEurope was just that. It served a second purpose, toconvince the Allies that mounting an attack onmainland Europe would not be a simple matter.The Allies thought it would be impossible to mount anattack via the shortest route through Calais orDunkirk, because of the impregnable defensesmounted by the Germans. They chose the western endof France to invade because they thought the AtlanticWall was at its weakest, and they were right. The wall was never complete and in many places noteven started.One of the main problems was the lack of cooperationbetween the four elements that built and defended theAtlantic Wall
Hand Maid Tours
The Atlantic Wall In Normandy cont.2
The Heer (army) Kriegsmarine (navy) and Luftwaffe (air force) hadrivalries that dated back ten years. It was not until 1942 that Hitlerdemanded that the forces cooperate The fourth element in all this was the Todt. Org. Afterthe death of Fritz Todt in an air crash in February 1942,Albert Speer was appointed armaments minister. In thisposition he was responsible for the Todt. Org. The day to day running of the Todt, was left to XaverDorsch, who was a party man and often served toconfuse Speers efforts.After 1942 the Todt responsible for the building of theAtlantic Wall as well as road building, factory and in thelater stages clearing bomb damage and rebuildingbombed German towns. The Todt was, as a civilian organisation free fromGestapo or party meddling, although this positionchanged towards the end of the war when the Gestapotook charge of the German war machine. The Todt in many cases built what they wanted wherethey wanted and it was often totally inadequate for theneeds of the group that were to use them. Often you find a local adaptation on the original site. At the gun site called Petit Thot facing the ChannelIslands, no fire control post was built by the Todt. The local commander built his own with what he hadavailable and to no standard plan. The Todt also had offices in most major towns requitingworkers to work on the construction sites although mostof the workers came from Eastern Europe and weretreated little better than slaves. The design of thebunkers, casemates and other concrete works weresupposed to be built to a set of standard plans, whichwas to keep costs and materials to a minimum. Over half of the buildings built did not conform to theseplans and in many cases the builders were not given thelatest plans.Only in 1942 was the construction of a defense systemgiven any impetus, and emplacements in Normandy hadnot been started. Most of the gun emplacements in Normandy had noteven been started by D-day. Most of the large guns that faced the Allies on D-daydated from the first world war, and in some cases from1890.
Hand Maid Tours
The Atlantic Wall In Normandy cont.3
They were almost all captured guns and were arranged along the coastbecause there were no spare parts for them and verylittle ammunition, and in many cases they had wornbarrels. This not only reduced their accuracy, but alsotheir effective range.It was thought that these old guns could successfullydefend the Atlantic Wall because the enemy would soonbe dissuaded in its efforts. The Atlantic Wall tookbetween two and four years to be built and fell to theliberating forces in many cases after a few hours. Some batteries did cause the Allies problems for longer,in a few cases several days.It may seem strange for a nation that had taken Europeby using tactics that relied on speed and surprise thatthey should fall into the trap of putting faith in staticdefenses.Today Normandy is a large open air museum of Germanbunkers. After nearly sixty years most are in reasonablecondition despite the damage done by bombing and theweather.Some remain almost as the Germans left them, somehave been adapted by farmers to house animals. Others have been used for industrial purposes and someare retained by the military.Several have been adapted for the French coast guard. In the areas with larger populations the bunkers have notfared as well. Around Calais some have disappeared withthe construction of the new port and also the ChannelTunnel has caused several to be buried.At Dunkirk most of the bigger works can no longer befound.In Germany many have been pulled down as townsexpand and many closed as they house rare bats. Nearer the Channel Ports many are now being sealed sothat illegal immigrants trying to get to England cannothide in them. In some of the bunkers original Germanwall paintings and graffiti can be found, but sadly aftersixty years they are fading or being sprayed over bymodern graffiti artists.Nearly 23,000 concrete buildings were completed in France, from pill boxes to giantcasemates designed to house the largest of artillery pieces. In retrospect the valuable steelused in the building of these works consumed 6% of the annual German output, and it couldbe argued that this steel would have been better used in the manufacture of guns and tanks.The Atlantic Wall was in reality a Glorious Failure.
Hand Maid Tours
Bunker Types
The German bunkers used in the construction of theAtlantic Wall had evolved over many years. Boththe German and the French had built bunkers alongtheir frontiers since the Franco - Prussian war of the1860’sAs the damage inflicted by bigger and better shellsand also due to the fact that bombs could be droppedfrom aircraft, the bunker evolved.In 1930 a new standard was drawn up by theGermans and given the title 100 series. These bunkers had a protective concrete wall androof either (A) 2 or (B) 3.5 meters.There were over one hundred bunkers in the newrange and for the first time bunkers were designedfor a specific purpose.This included bunkers for machine guns, personnel,observation, munitions, toilets, command posts, andgun enclosures.At the end of 1939 a new range of bunkers wasadded (500 series), thirty-three in total all built tospecification (B)When the construction of the Atlantic Wall gatheredpace in 1942 a new series of bunkers was introduced(600 series), most of these (108) used theconstruction specification (B) although specification(A) was used on 13 bunkers.The new range was extensively used in Normandyand most of the casemates housing the gunsprotecting the Atlantic Wall came from this series.At the beginning of 1944 another new series wasintroduced, but time was short and very fewexamples of this series were built by the time of theliberation.To confuse the situation, many bunkers were builtthat did not conform to these blueprint specification,sometimes because they did not fit the need, butsometimes ignorance by the Todt builders resulted ina bunker being built almost the same as a standardplan bunker.
Hand Maid Tours
Bunker Types cont.2
There was also the VF range of bunkers, these were built to a muchlighter specification. At first they were built away from what was thoughtto be places where an attack was though unlikely. Later when materials were in short supply theybecame the norm.The Luftwaffe also designed their own bunkers, andthese bunkers (400 series) included flak positions aswell as bunkers that were often duplicated in thestandard Army series.The Kriegsmarine also designed their own series,firstly the FI (1200 & 1300 series) covered all theoperations undertaken by the navy.The M series (M100 & M200) were used by theCoastal Artillery.The next series designated (S) were used by theheavy gun sites and included gun emplacements, firecontrol posts and ammunition bunkers.The V series (V100 & V200) were mostly technicalbunkers including radar, communication posts andcommand posts.Most of these bunkers employed constructiontechnique similar to the 600 series.There was also a range of bunkers called the SK,these were special constructions usually large andunique. They included communication, and commandbunkers for regional control.Finally there were bunkers built for local conditions,often the Todt would complete a site and when thesite was brought into operation the commander feltthat some other element was required. This seemed to happen on the western side of theCotentin, several home made fire control posts andobservation posts can still be found.
Hand Maid Tours
The Atlantic Wall in England
Strange but true, there is a portion of Hitler’s Atlantic wall in England,miles away from the sea and hidden in woodland.Before the D-day landings, British raiding parties weresent across the channel to examine the real AtlanticWall, and bring back samples of the concrete andmeasurements.In several places in England sections of wall and beachobstacles were created to give the troops a morerealistic training. These sections of wall also gave the planners a realwall on which to learn the best way of breaching it.There is still a 100 meter section of wall in Surrey inthe centre of Hanky Common near Elstead.In the nearby woods you can still find the remains ofGerman beach obstacles faithfully reproduced. Many Canadian troops were stationed in this area. The area is still in the hands of the military and is nowknown as the Longmoor military training area.There is another similar section in Scotland near thebattlefield of Sheriff Muir used in an earlier conflict in1715.According to the Tank Museum at Bovington, theirwere at least four such walls built in remote parts ofEngland, and two are possibly still out there hidden inwoodland.The walls were also used to try out some of the weirdand wonderful designs of Maj. Percy Hobart, several ofwhich were used on the D-day beach assault.One design called the Onion or Double Onion wasknown to have been tried on this dummy wall, but wassuperseded on D-day by the Petard.
The Onion was based on theChurchill tank and wascapable on putting anexplosive charge on the wallor beach defense and thenbacking away to a safedistance and remotelydetonation the charge.
Hand Maid Tours
Captured Guns Used By The Germans
Hand Maid Tours
Captured Guns Used By The Germans cont 2
Hand Maid Tours
Captured Guns Used By The Germans cont 3
Hand Maid Tours
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
Nam
e of
th
e B
atte
ryG
un
sT
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Yea
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Em
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Un
itC
han
nel
Isl
and
sR
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(Jer
sey)
4 x
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19
1723
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6/H
KA
R 1
265
Mol
tke
(Jer
sey)
4 x
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m
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8
1914
19km
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pen
5/H
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265
Lude
ndor
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erse
y)3
x 21
0mm
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18km
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inde
nbur
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erse
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x 21
0mm
MR
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18km
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acke
nsen
(Jer
sey)
3 x
210m
mM
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8 17
kms
24.8
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Hae
sler
(Jer
sey)
4 x
150m
m
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1810
kms
Ope
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604
Schl
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(Jer
sey)
4 x
150m
m
K
1810
kms
Ope
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AA
604
St A
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eney
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x 15
0mm
SK
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23.5
kms
MA
A 6
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luch
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lden
ey)
4 x
150m
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1825
kms
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4022
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MA
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K53
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(Gue
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x 22
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23km
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Rus
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1914
35km
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132
Not
allo
cate
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t (G
uern
sey)
4 x
150m
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Rem
oved
194
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sey)
4 x
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4 x
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Ger
man
Gun
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ts In
Bas
se N
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andy
cont
2
Nam
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126
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119
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4 x
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HK
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126
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126
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Schi
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Ger
man
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271
8/M
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260
Les C
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4 x
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Cha
mon
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1916
21km
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4 x
155m
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Cha
mon
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420
1916
21km
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pen
8/H
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261
Rai
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x 24
0mm
St C
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pen
Turn
tabl
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n 2
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x 10
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45
17km
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260
Fort
des F
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x 17
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Ger
man
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pp K
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pen
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R 1
709
Fort
Cen
tral (
Out
er H
arbo
ur)
4 x
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mB
ritis
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3910
kms
1/M
AA
260
H
arbo
ur S
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n (C
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5mm
Fren
ch S
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11km
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671
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260
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
cont
3
H
and
Mai
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urs
Nam
e of
th
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atte
ryG
un
sT
ype
Yea
rR
ange
Em
pla
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ent
Un
it
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du R
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4 x
105m
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17km
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671
607
622
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AA
260
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4 x
155m
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414
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97/
AR
170
9
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apla
ins (
Bro
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est)4
x 1
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mR
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met
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22km
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272
2x17
6 1x
195
7/M
AA
260
Ferm
anvi
lle (S
ea E
agle
)4
x 94
mm
Fren
ch11
kms
open
em
plac
emen
t?
Ferm
anvi
lle (H
ambu
rg)
4 x
240m
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L40
27km
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MA
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rman
ville
(Jud
ee)
4 x
105m
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anon
de
Cou
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325
1935
20km
sH
669
5/A
R 1
709
Cos
quev
ille
4 x
76.2
mm
FK29
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170
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4 x
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mm
FK29
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ville
4 x
76.2
mm
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R 1
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Bla
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4 x
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ritis
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icke
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3910
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2xM
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4 x
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4 x
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(St C
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420
kms
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96/
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4 x
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020
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H67
9 H
502
7/H
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R 1
261
La P
erne
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6 x
105m
mSc
hnie
der K
331
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18km
sH
671
H60
89/
HK
AR
126
1La
Per
nell
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ssen
)3
x 17
0mm
Ger
man
K18
30km
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pen
(H68
8) R
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10/H
KA
R12
61M
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lines
6 x
155m
mFr
ench
K41
620
kms
(H67
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AR
126
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1 C
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8/
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126
1St
Mar
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x 21
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Skod
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M27
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HK
AR
126
12
x 21
0mm
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Ger
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Gun
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plac
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Bas
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4
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Mai
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Em
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AR
126
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3 x
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Mai
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Du
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6 x
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ain(
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Wal
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hnie
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le C
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ms O
pen
10/A
R 1
716
Long
ues s
ur M
er4
x 15
2mm
Kru
pp T
bts K
.C/3
619
2820
kms
M27
2M
262F
CP
4/H
KA
A 1
260
Vau
x su
r Aur
e (B
eny)
4 x
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Ope
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126
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are
Foun
tain
(Ver
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sH
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16M
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(B
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lle)
4 x
100m
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lle (H
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lle)
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100m
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au d
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(Oui
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ham
)2
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5mm
FH41
411
kms
H66
94/
AR
1716
2 x
155m
mFH
414
11km
sO
pen
(H66
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AR
1716
Riv
a B
ella
3 x
155m
mK
420
20km
sH
669
1/H
KA
A 1
260
3 x
155m
mK
420
20km
sO
pen
(H67
9)1/
HK
AA
126
0M
ervi
lle4
x 10
0mm
Skod
a FH
14/
1919
1610
km
sH66
1 &
H66
91/
AR
171
6H
oulg
ate
4 x
155m
mFr
ench
GPF
418
21km
s2
x H
679
2 O
pen
3/H
KA
A 1
255
Mon
t Cai
nsy
4 x
155m
mFr
ench
GPF
418
21km
s3
x H
679
1 O
pen
2/H
KA
A 1
255
H
and
Mai
d To
urs
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
cont
5
Key
Use
dB
lue
for N
avy
(Krie
gsm
arin
e)
Red
for R
ailw
ay G
uns
Gre
en fo
r Site
with
no
trace
s lef
t, in
som
e ca
ses t
his w
as n
ot a
per
man
ent s
iteC
asem
ate
in b
rack
ets i
e: (
H67
9) p
lann
ed b
ut n
ot c
ompl
eted
by
D-d
ay
Ger
man
Uni
tsM
AA
Mar
ine
Arti
llerie
Reg
imen
tH
KA
AH
erre
s Hun
sten
Arti
llerie
Abt
eilu
ngH
KA
RH
erre
s Hun
sten
Arti
llerie
Reg
imen
tA
RA
rtille
rie R
egim
ent
In g
ener
al 1
05m
m &
155
mm
Gun
s are
Fre
nch
150m
m &
170
mm
are
of G
erm
an o
rigin
100m
m a
re u
sual
ly C
zech
and
122
mm
& 1
52m
m a
re R
ussi
an
Long
ues S
ur M
er
H
and
Mai
d To
urs
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
cont
6
The
prob
lem
s enc
ount
ered
by
the
Ger
man
s wer
e m
any
and
varie
d in
com
plex
ity.
Firs
tly th
e To
dt O
rg w
ere
in to
tal c
harg
e of
the
build
ing
prog
ram
afte
r 194
2, a
nd it
was
they
who
dec
ided
wha
t and
whe
re it
shou
ld b
e bu
ilt.
The
desi
gns o
f the
Cas
emat
es w
ere
man
y an
d no
stan
dard
des
ign
ever
cam
e to
frui
tion.
Ove
r 20,
000
stru
ctur
es w
ere
built
or p
lann
ed a
t the
tim
eof
D-d
ay a
nd n
early
hal
f of t
hese
wer
e no
n st
anda
rd d
esig
ns.
This
stem
med
from
the
thre
e se
rvic
es h
avin
g th
eir o
wn
idea
s on
wha
t the
y w
ante
d an
d al
so th
e To
dt O
rg in
put.
Ther
e w
as a
lso
a de
mar
catio
n is
sue,
it w
as tr
aditi
on in
Ger
man
y th
at th
e K
riegs
mar
ine
(Nav
y) d
efen
ded
the
coas
tline
and
the
Arm
y (H
eir)
defe
nded
the
shor
elin
e.
This
led
to a
ll th
e na
vy si
tes b
eing
pla
ced
near
the
wat
er's
edge
. O
nce
the
enem
y ha
d la
nded
, the
Nav
al g
uns w
ere
of n
o us
e as
they
in m
ost c
ases
cou
ld n
ot fi
re o
n th
e sh
orel
ine.
All
the
gun
empl
acem
ents
in N
orm
andy
cam
e un
der t
he c
omm
and
of th
e Se
vent
h A
rmy
Gro
up, e
ven
the
Nav
al b
atte
ries w
hich
are
mar
ked
in b
lue.
At t
he N
aval
site
s usu
ally
the
big
guns
cam
e un
der N
aval
con
trol,
whi
lst t
he d
efen
se o
f the
site
cam
e un
der A
rmy
com
man
d.Th
e G
uns m
ount
ed o
n ra
ilway
bog
ies a
re m
arke
d in
red,
it is
thou
ght t
hat t
he tw
o ra
ilway
gun
sat
Aud
ervi
lle (L
aye)
serv
ed a
t Car
tere
t dur
ing
the
early
day
s of t
he o
ccup
atio
n an
d al
so a
tC
alai
s. B
eing
mor
e m
obile
the
railw
ay g
uns t
ende
d to
be
mov
ed m
ore
ofte
n an
d it
is k
now
nth
at 2
80m
m K
urze
Bru
no (L
ittle
Bru
no) w
as st
atio
ned
at C
herb
ourg
dur
ing
the
early
day
s of
the
occu
patio
n.
Aze
ville
Cas
emat
e N
o 1
H
and
Mai
d To
urs
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
cont
7
Alm
ost a
ll th
e gu
ns e
mpl
oyed
on
the
Atla
ntic
Wal
l wer
e ca
ptur
ed p
iece
s. In
man
y ca
se d
atin
g ba
ck to
WW
1.
Man
y w
ere
nava
l gun
s but
mos
t wer
e ar
tille
ry g
uns m
ount
ed o
n ol
d fir
st w
ould
war
Ger
man
ped
esta
ls, t
hat e
nabl
ed th
em to
be a
imed
mor
e ea
sily
and
with
gre
ater
pre
cisi
on in
the
conf
ined
spac
e of
a C
asse
tte.
The
prob
lem
with
mou
ntin
g gu
ns in
Cas
emat
es w
as th
e lim
ited
amou
nt o
f tra
vers
e th
at c
ould
be
achi
eved
with
out w
eake
ning
the
Cas
emat
e,of
ten
as li
ttle
600 a
nd a
t the
mos
t 120
0 . In
man
y C
asem
ates
you
can
see
mod
ifica
tions
whe
re th
e si
de w
all h
as b
een
cut t
o en
able
a la
rger
trav
erse
.
Stan
dard
Fre
nch
gun
size
s wer
e 15
5mm
and
105
mm
and
it c
an b
e as
sum
ed th
at m
ost o
f the
gun
s ins
talle
d in
La
Man
che
for w
hich
the
orig
inca
nnot
be
trace
d ar
e m
ost l
ikel
y to
be
guns
mad
e by
eith
er S
chni
eder
or S
t Cha
mon
d. T
he S
chni
eder
gun
s had
bee
n re
cond
ition
ed in
193
5, b
ut in
man
y ca
ses t
his j
ust m
ent r
elac
ing
the
woo
den
whe
els w
ith w
heel
s with
tyre
s and
cha
ngin
g fr
om h
orse
dra
wn
to v
ehic
le d
raw
n to
win
geq
uipm
ent..
The
only
kno
wn
Ger
man
gun
s ins
talle
d by
D-d
ay w
ere
thos
e at
Lon
gues
sur M
er, a
lthou
gh m
ost o
f the
railw
ay g
uns i
n us
e w
ere
of G
erm
anm
anuf
actu
re.
Man
y of
the
guns
ove
r 150
mm
wer
e m
anuf
actu
red
by S
koda
, alth
ough
a K
rupp
gun
of 1
70m
m w
as a
lso
man
ufac
ture
d.Th
e 10
0mm
Sko
da g
uns w
ere
in fa
ct h
orse
dra
wn
artil
lary
pie
ces d
atin
g fr
om 1
895.
Ther
e w
ere
also
pla
ns fo
r a 3
80m
m g
un to
be
depl
oyed
at C
astle
Ven
don,
The
se g
uns c
ould
hav
e po
ssib
ly b
een
Fren
ch g
uns t
hat w
ere
know
n to
be in
Che
rbou
rg a
t the
star
t of t
he w
ar, o
r fro
m a
Ger
man
war
ship
.M
any
of th
e la
rger
gun
em
plac
emen
ts w
ere
supp
osed
to h
ave
stee
l shu
tters
fitte
d to
pro
tect
the
gun
and
crew
in c
ase
of a
ttack
.
Nev
ille
Bla
nken
see
H
and
Mai
d To
urs
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
cont
8
Bec
ause
of t
he st
eel s
horta
ge v
ery
few
of t
hese
wer
e fit
ted.
In so
me
case
s a c
urta
in o
f cha
in w
as h
ung
in fr
ont o
f the
Cas
emat
e in
the
hope
of
expl
odin
g in
com
ing
shel
ls o
utsi
de o
n th
e w
orki
ng a
rea.
The
mai
n de
sign
diff
eren
ce b
etw
een
Cas
emat
es m
ade
for t
he A
rmy
and
Nav
y w
as th
at th
e N
avy
desi
gns s
at o
n a
larg
e co
ncre
te ra
ft w
hich
stop
ped
them
from
turn
ing
over
if a
shel
l im
pact
ed c
lose
by.
Late
r des
igns
of C
asem
ates
had
roun
ded
corn
ers,
this
avo
ided
900 c
orne
rs w
hich
wea
kene
d th
e st
ruct
ure.
Exa
mpl
es o
f bot
h ty
pes o
f the
sam
eC
asem
ate
can
be se
en a
t Aze
ville
Th
e ro
unde
d C
asem
ates
wer
e co
vere
d w
ith e
arth
, and
gra
ss g
row
n ov
er th
em.
This
was
bot
h to
dis
guis
e th
em a
nd th
e ea
rth a
lso
help
ed a
bsor
b in
com
ing
shel
ls.
Mos
t und
ergr
ound
em
plac
emen
ts a
nd b
unke
rs w
ere
fitte
d w
ith a
n es
cape
hat
ch, s
o th
at th
e cr
ew c
ould
get
out
in c
ase
of d
amag
e or
atta
ck.
Mos
t bun
kers
wer
e al
so fi
tted
with
show
ers i
n ca
se o
f gas
atta
ck, s
how
erin
g co
uld
redu
ce th
e ef
fect
s of s
uch
an a
ttack
. A
noth
er p
reca
utio
n w
as h
avin
g a
form
of a
ir co
nditi
onin
g w
hich
kep
t the
air
pres
sure
insi
de th
e bu
nker
slig
htly
hig
her t
han
the
outs
ide
air p
ress
ure.
N
early
all
the
larg
er g
un e
mpl
acem
ents
had
a h
ood
over
the
gun
bree
ch to
ext
ract
the
pois
onou
s fum
esfr
om th
e gu
n, a
nd th
ese
bunk
ers a
re p
art o
f the
stan
dard
des
igns
(Reg
elba
uten
). M
any
smal
ler f
ield
bunk
ers w
ere
also
con
stru
cted
and
thes
e w
ere
know
n as
VF
(Fie
ld B
unke
rs) t
hey
wer
e of
ligh
ter
cons
truct
ion
and
had
no a
ir ex
tract
ion.
The
third
type
on
cons
truct
ion
was
the
Bea
ufor
m (B
F). T
hese
inth
e m
ain
wer
e op
en g
un o
r sem
i ope
n pl
atfo
rms.
The
final
type
of c
onst
ruct
ion
was
the
SK o
r spe
cial
cons
truct
ion,
thes
e w
ere
one
off d
esig
ns to
fulfi
ll a
loca
l or o
ne o
ff d
esig
n. H
and
Mai
d To
urs
The Atlantic Wall On The Cotentin Peninsula
The Germans took the threat of an attack on their western flank veryseriously. They thought that the British might at some point try and liberate the Channel Islands, whichalthough British, had been occupied by the Germans since June 1940.Their fortifications were built by the TODT Organisation using STO (French Forced Labour)who were paid and were Prisoners of war from the Eastern Front. They treated the Russians very badly and many died during the construction of the AtlanticWall, both in the Channel Islands and on the Cotentin Peninsula.The bunkers and Casemates were mainly of a standard design, built with a wooden mouldinto which concrete was poured. The retaining wall can still be seen today.The guns employed in Normandy were as usual anything but standard. Many were WW1 guns and captured pieces at that. The ammunition needed was of manydifferent calibres and guns spent long periods out of service awaiting spare parts. Most of the spare parts had to be machined especially for the gun.The gun emplacements numbered on the map were equipped with the following guns.
1) Paimpol in Brittany: 2 new guns of 203mm which could reach a distance of 35kms2) Mirus Guernsey : 4 guns of 305mm with a range of 35kms3) Auderville Laye : 2 new guns of 203mm which could reach a distance of 35kms4) Roon Jersey : 4 guns of 220mm, built in 1917 by Schneider, range 20kms5) Moltke Jersey: 4 guns of 155mm built in WW1 by Puteaux, range 17kms6) Mackensen Jersey: 3 guns of 210mm with a range of 17kms7) Auderville Roche: 4 guns of 155mm built in 1917 by St-Chamond range 17kms8) Flamanville: 3 guns of 170mm with a range of 27kms9) Granville: 3 guns of 155mm built in 1917 by Schneider, range 17kms10) Biville: 4 guns of 105mm built in 1913 by Schneider, range 13kms11) Siouville: 4 guns of 105mm possibly the same type as 10 and positioned inland.12) Baubigny: 4 guns of 105mm possibly the same type as 10 and positioned inland13) Carteret: 4 guns of 122mm not installed by D-day14) Brauschitz Jersey: 4 guns of 100mm made by Skoda in 1919, range 10kms
These positions used both visual sightings and radar to patrol the coast. There was a large lookout post on Alderney which employed a “Telemeter” to judge thedistance of ships at sea. This would then have to be recalculated for each gun position and theco-ordinates would be sent by either radio or telephone to the gun emplacements with asufficient range to attack the ships.
Hand Maid Tours
The Atlantic Wall On The Cotentin Peninsula cont.
The radar stations at Carteret and Diguellville would also follow thesame procedure and sendtheir sightings to a centralpoint, where again theco-ordinates for each gunemplacement would haveto be calculated by handvery quickly if theinformation was to be ofany use.Most of the batteries wereprotected against attackfrom the land by“tobruks” fitted withmachine guns or tankturrets taken usually fromcaptured Renault tanks.Also mine fields wereemployed to protect thebig guns.At Carteret two railwaymounted guns wereinstalled soon after theoccupation, it is thoughtthat they were 24 cm,which would have meant arange of only 10kms and itis difficult to see what usethey would have been. Itcould well be that theywere really guns from the“Hipper” class of cruisersbuilt in 1937 with acalibre of 203mm. These guns had the typenumber 20cmK(E), and this might have led to confusion. These guns had a range of 20kms and may well have given early protection to shippingbetween Carteret and the Channel Islands before the gun emplacements were built. It isthought that the railway mounted cannons spent some time in Calais during 1943, beforereturning to Carteret.The guns were fired on July 18th 1942 out to sea, the target if any is not known, but theyshattered all the windows at the church, some 100 meters behind the railway.These have been replaced after the war with modern stained glass.
Hand Maid Tours
The Atlantic Wall On The Cotentin Peninsula cont.
There is one curiosity at St. George de la Riviere - a Casemate, R669 which ison its own and may have been placed there to protectthe sand depot nearer the sea.The Todt Organisation had installed a railway sidingnearer the sea to remove sand from the dunes for theremany building projects.Unfortunately it was buried some years ago by thefarmer, anxious to use the land and nothing remainsabove ground.
Alderney, the most northerly of the Channel Island, isonly 15 kms to the west of France. This island is only 6 kms by 4 kms and is heavilyfortified. It even boasts a lookout station with fourlevels, similar to the observation tower atFermanville, just to the east of Cherbourg.The beach has an anti tank wall as well asmany other gun positions.
On Jersey the Germans built a hugeunderground hospital which is now amuseum, showing life during theoccupation.
Hand Maid Tours
The Atlantic Wall On The Cotentin Peninsula cont
Thefortification atCarteret werenot finished by D-day, they wereintended to protect the approachesto Jersey and also to protect theradar stations nearby on the Capand at Sortosville en Beaumont.
Below is a plan of the Atlantic wallon the western side of the Cotentin.
Hand Maid Tours
Gun Sizes
Gun Size in MM Gun Size In Inches5 mm 1.50 ins50 mm 3.00 ins75 mm 3.30 ins88 mm 3.50 ins105 mm 4.00 ins122 mm 5.00 ins152 mm 5.50 ins155 mm 5.75 ins170 mm 6.60 ins203 mm 7.75 ins210 mm 8.10 ins240 mm 9.50 ins305 mm 11.70 ins365 mm 14.00 ins415 mm 16.00 ins
Continental Gun Size British Gun Size
57 mm 6 LB76 mm 17 LB87 mm 3.45 ins
Hand Maid Tours
220 mm Schnieder Gun Specifications
1 round/minuteRate of fire
20kgCharge weight
22,800mRange :
766m/secM/velocity:
104.75kgweight:
22cm Gr. 535 (f)Ammunition 2
21,600mRange :
754m/secM/velocity:
104.05kgweight:
22cm Gr. 534 (f) Ammunition 1
0 to +37 degreesElevation
360 degreesTraverse
23,000kgWeight in action
(1 load): 25,880kg; (2 loads):30,120kgWeight travelling
Barrel – 9,280kg (with breechblock)Weights
JacketedBarrel construction
92 grooves, 7 degrees (to right)Twist of rifling
(L/26.80): 6,113.5mmLength of rifling
L/35 (L34.87): 7,672.5mmLength of barrel
220mmCalibre
Schneider et Cie., Le Creusot,FranceManufacturer:
Canon de 220 L Mle 1917 Schneider
Hand Maid Tours
The Eighty Eight
Just as every German tank was a Tiger, for many Allied servicemenevery anti tank gun was an Eighty Eight,although many reported Eighty Eightswere in fact 75 mm guns. If you werefacing either of these guns the outcomewould invariably be the same.Although dedicated antitank versionsexisted, the Flak version was usedagainst tanks up to the end of the War.During the fighting in Spain, earlyEighty Eights were pressed into servicein the ground role. The Flak 18 proveddevastatingly effective against the lightarmoured vehicles of the period. As aresult, armour-piercing ammunition became a standard item in the inventory of all GermanFlak batteries.This was to prove useful in the early years of World War II, since the 88 mm anti-air-craft gun was the only weapon that could easily stop heavily armoured tanks like the BritishMatilda, the French Char B and the Soviet Ky1. The Flak 18 was followed into service by theimproved Flak 36, 37 and 41, the latter was largely a new design. Useful though theantiaircraft guns were, they were far from perfect in the antitank role since they were bulky,were difficult to camouflage, and were very slow to get into action. The Eighty Eight couldbe fired from its wheeled transport carriage in an emergency, but for maximum accuracy ithad to be lowered onto a firing platform, which was a time-consuming process. The first purely antitank version entered service late in 1943. The PaK 43/41 used the barreland breech of the FlaK 41, much modified for antitank work, and it fired an entirely newrange of ammunition. These antitank Eighty-Eights were mounted on the carriage of a 10.5cm light field howitzer with the wheels from a 15 cm medium/heavy howitzer. At nearly fivetons it was a brute to handle. Its crews called it the Scheunentor, or ‘Barn door’, but it had amuch lower profile than the Flak versions and it kept all of the power of the earlier guns. It was used on both the Eastern and Western fronts. The 8.8 cm PaK 43 which entered serviceat about the same time was less mobile than the PaK 43/41, being mounted on a modifiedversion of the Flak carriage, and it still needed to be dismounted from its wheels formaximum accuracy. However, once this had been done, the gun presented a very low profileand when dug in it was only 1.5 meters high. In combat it proved to be one of the bestanti-armour weapons of the war, capable of destroying any Allied tank at ranges of at least 2kilometres.
Hand Maid Tours
Railway Guns
The Germans had tried railway guns during the first world war, withsome success. They had shelled Paris from their positions some seventy two miles away.After the treaty of Versailles, the Germans were not allowed to develop such weapons, but in1933 the research program was well under way.Several large and expensive guns were produced, including one monster that required a crewof 1,500 to assemble the gun and 500 to operate it.To transport it to its position required 25 trainloads of material, and crew.It was only used against the Russians, hurling seven ton rounds at Fort Molotov, using onlyseven rounds to destroy it.It was so large that it needed parallel railway tracks to operate on with, the gun sitting ontwin railway trucks bolted together.
The railway guns used on theCotentin Peninsula were moremodest affairs. They were first used at Carteret toguard the channel between Carteretand the Channel islands before morepermanent defences could beorganised.Later the two guns were transferredto Cherbourg to protect the port. The type of gun used in Normandywas the Kanone 5, which had a 22 meter long barrel firing a 255 mm shell almost 40 miles.Over twenty five of these guns were produced and were used all over Europe.They were often housed in railway tunnels being brought into the open only when required tofire. In some cases (Calais) specially built bunkers were made to house the guns, not only toprotect them from bombardment, but also to protect them from being spotted by RAFReconnaissance flights.
Hand Maid Tours
155mm French Field Cannon Type 418 in Open Ring Bed
Hand Maid Tours
The Schneider 105 mm The 105 mm field cannon was produced by the Schneiderfirm in 1913 and introduced into the French Army in the same year. In 1935 it was refurbished, but essentially it was still a first world war cannon.It too saw action on all fronts in World War I, and remained in service afterthe end of the war. The life story of this field cannon is much like that of its 75 mm counterpart.In 1940 the field cannon was also taken over by the Germans and designated105 mm Feldkanone 331 (f) France. Because of its age and the usually very worn condition of its barrels, the gunwas soon assigned to coastal defences.Here they were put to use by the Army and Navy, at first in field positions,later the standard bunkers 649, 650, 651,652, 669 and 670. In the bunkers thewheeled mounts, hard to aim, were often removed and the barrel mounted on aGerman naval gun pillar made around the turn of the century. The range of traverse of the 105 mm Field Cannon 331 (f) in the bunker wasreduced to 120 degrees, and the shield, which turned along with the gun,guaranteed protection to the gun crew.Despite their age, the 105 mm field cannons were used in goodly numbersalong the Atlantic Wall and proved themselves well during the invasion andthe subsequent combat.This cannon can still be found in the museums and bunkers of the AtlanticWall.The weight of the cannon with its wheeled mount, in firing position, was 3300kilograms, of which the barrel, with a length of 3820 mm, weighed 1105 kg.The geared aiming machinery allowed a barrel elevation from -10 to +18degrees. With a shot weight of 15.74 kg, the shot, with a muzzle velocity of550 m/sec, attained a maximum range of 12,000 meters. In practice, though,the used barrels often allowed only a range of 9000 meters.
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Tobruk
The defence of most of the German GunBatteries depended on a ring of machine gun andanti aircraft guns around the perimeter.The Tobruk named after the town in Africawhere it was first used were deployed in theirthousands in Normandy.They weighed around five tons and wereconstructed In the normal German fashion ofcasting concrete.Made initially in Berlin and later in Paris andother sites in Northern France they weretransported normally by rail and then on to thesite by lorry or even horse drawn transports.The Tobruk could house a variety of weapons from machine guns, mortars, anti aircraft. The most bizarre use was to house a captured French tank turret.After the fall of France the Germans captured many Renault and Somua tanks. The French tanks were light and fast, their weakness was that the only used one man in theturret. This man had to command the tank as well as load and fire the main gun.The Germans seeing thestrengths and weaknessof these tanks removedthe turret and mountedheavy machine guns intheir place. Tobruks were modifiedto take these turrets andused them for beachdefense as well as fordefending larger works.Many of the Tobruksstill in place inNormandy bear thetraces of being fittedwith French tankturrets, the bolts thatsecured them in placestill being visible.
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Types of Gun Emplacements in Normandy
There were seven main type of bunker built in Normandy to house andprotect the various guns used to defend the Atlantic Wall.They fell into two categories, the first was where the ammunition was stored at the rear of thebunker. The second type had no ammunition storage the ammunition being kept in undergroundstored some distance away. The one real anomaly was at Azeville where underground storage was supplied when theCasemate was a type 650 which included ammunition storage. One possibility was that the two underground bunkers where never intended or used forammunition, but was used as a command bunker, one certainly had the main telephone cablecoming into it.The other variation was whether the calculations for finding the range of the target wasworked out either in the fire control post or in a room within the Casemate. In Normandy thesecond method was only used at Azeville. This was because Azeville was a “blind” Batteriein as much as it had no view of the sea or its targets.AOK 7 was the name given by the Germans to the area from the Seine bay to the Brittanycoast.
Type Where Found No Built in AOK 7 158 Neville 11These Casemates were exclusively used for captured British Vickers 94 mm guns capturedwhen the Germans overran the Channel Islands.
176 & 195 Les Caplains Cherbourg 4 -- 1These were the only examples built in Normandy of these twotypes on Casemates, both of which are extremely rare.
Hand Maid Tours
Types of Gun Emplacements in Normandy cont.2
Type Where Found No Built in AOK 7
272 Longues sur Mer, Castle Vendon, Les Caplains, Crisbecq 27
650 Azeville, Crasville, 12
One of the earliest designs of bunkers, initially it was built with square corners, but laterthese were rounded. Examples of both type can be found at Azeville.
Hand Maid Tours
Types of Gun Emplacements in Normandy cont.3
Type Where Found No Built in AOK 7669 Merville, St. Martin de Varreville,
Carteret, Ver sur Mer, Ste CroixColleville, Riva Bella, Mer la Fontaine 281
671 Neville, Pointe du Hoc, Crasville, BivilleMont Coquerel, La Pernell Cherbourg Port 66
Types of Gun Emplacements in
Hand Maid Tours
Normandy cont.4679 Gatteville, Morsalines,
Mont Fleury, Houlgate,Mont Cainsy, Auderville, Les Couplets 19
683 Crisbecq 2
Only two examples built in Normandy and only six built on the Atlantic Wall. The two atCrisbecq survived the battle but were late blown up by American Army Engineers.
Hand Maid Tours
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Ger
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and
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Ger
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Gun
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Ger
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Bas
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Ger
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rie R
egim
ent
In g
ener
al 1
05m
m &
155
mm
Gun
s are
Fre
nch
150m
m &
170
mm
are
of G
erm
an o
rigin
100m
m a
re u
sual
ly C
zech
and
122
mm
& 1
52m
m a
re R
ussi
an
Long
ues S
ur M
er
H
and
Mai
d To
urs
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
cont
6
The
prob
lem
s enc
ount
ered
by
the
Ger
man
s wer
e m
any
and
varie
d in
com
plex
ity.
Firs
tly th
e To
dt O
rg w
ere
in to
tal c
harg
e of
the
build
ing
prog
ram
afte
r 194
2, a
nd it
was
they
who
dec
ided
wha
t and
whe
re it
shou
ld b
e bu
ilt.
The
desi
gns o
f the
Cas
emat
es w
ere
man
y an
d no
stan
dard
des
ign
ever
cam
e to
frui
tion.
Ove
r 20,
000
stru
ctur
es w
ere
built
or p
lann
ed a
t the
tim
eof
D-d
ay a
nd n
early
hal
f of t
hese
wer
e no
n st
anda
rd d
esig
ns.
This
stem
med
from
the
thre
e se
rvic
es h
avin
g th
eir o
wn
idea
s on
wha
t the
y w
ante
d an
d al
so th
e To
dt O
rg in
put.
Ther
e w
as a
lso
a de
mar
catio
n is
sue,
it w
as tr
aditi
on in
Ger
man
y th
at th
e K
riegs
mar
ine
(Nav
y) d
efen
ded
the
coas
tline
and
the
Arm
y (H
eir)
defe
nded
the
shor
elin
e.
This
led
to a
ll th
e na
vy si
tes b
eing
pla
ced
near
the
wat
er's
edge
. O
nce
the
enem
y ha
d la
nded
, the
Nav
al g
uns w
ere
of n
o us
e as
they
in m
ost c
ases
cou
ld n
otfir
e on
the
shor
elin
e.A
ll th
e gu
n em
plac
emen
ts in
Nor
man
dy c
ame
unde
r the
com
man
d of
the
Seve
nth
Arm
yG
roup
, eve
n th
e N
aval
bat
terie
s whi
ch a
re m
arke
d in
blu
e.A
t the
Nav
al si
tes u
sual
ly th
e bi
g gu
ns c
ame
unde
r Nav
al c
ontro
l, w
hils
t the
def
ense
of t
he si
teca
me
unde
r Arm
y co
mm
and.
The
Gun
s mou
nted
on
railw
ay b
ogie
s are
mar
ked
in re
d, it
is th
ough
t tha
t the
two
railw
ay g
uns
at A
uder
ville
(Lay
e) se
rved
at C
arte
ret d
urin
g th
e ea
rly d
ays o
f the
occ
upat
ion
and
also
at
Cal
ais.
Bei
ng m
ore
mob
ile th
e ra
ilway
gun
s ten
ded
to b
e m
oved
mor
e of
ten
and
it is
kno
wn
that
280
mm
Kur
ze B
runo
(Litt
le B
runo
) was
stat
ione
dat
Che
rbou
rg d
urin
g th
e ea
rly d
ays o
f the
occ
upat
ion.
Aze
ville
Cas
emat
e N
o 1
H
and
Mai
d To
urs
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
cont
7
Alm
ost a
ll th
e gu
ns e
mpl
oyed
on
the
Atla
ntic
Wal
l wer
e ca
ptur
ed p
iece
s. In
man
y ca
se d
atin
g ba
ck to
WW
1.
Man
y w
ere
nava
l gun
s but
mos
t wer
e ar
tille
ry g
uns m
ount
ed o
n ol
d fir
st w
ould
war
Ger
man
ped
esta
ls, t
hat e
nabl
ed th
em to
be a
imed
mor
e ea
sily
and
with
gre
ater
pre
cisi
on in
the
conf
ined
spac
e of
a C
asse
tte.
The
prob
lem
with
mou
ntin
g gu
ns in
Cas
emat
es w
as th
e lim
ited
amou
nt o
f tra
vers
e th
at c
ould
be
achi
eved
with
out w
eake
ning
the
Cas
emat
e,of
ten
as li
ttle
600 a
nd a
t the
mos
t 120
0 . In
man
y C
asem
ates
you
can
see
mod
ifica
tions
whe
re th
e si
de w
all h
as b
een
cut t
o en
able
a la
rger
trav
erse
.
Stan
dard
Fre
nch
gun
size
s wer
e 15
5mm
and
105
mm
and
it c
an b
e as
sum
ed th
at m
ost o
f the
gun
s ins
talle
d in
La
Man
che
for w
hich
the
orig
inca
nnot
be
trace
d ar
e m
ost l
ikel
y to
be
guns
mad
e by
eith
er S
chni
eder
or S
t Cha
mon
d. T
he S
chni
eder
gun
s had
bee
n re
cond
ition
ed in
193
5, b
ut in
man
y ca
ses t
his j
ust m
ent r
elac
ing
the
woo
den
whe
els w
ith w
heel
s with
tyre
s and
cha
ngin
g fr
om h
orse
dra
wn
to v
ehic
le d
raw
n to
win
geq
uipm
ent..
The
only
kno
wn
Ger
man
gun
s ins
talle
d by
D-d
ay w
ere
thos
e at
Lon
gues
sur M
er, a
lthou
gh m
ost o
f the
railw
ay g
uns i
n us
e w
ere
of G
erm
anm
anuf
actu
re.
Man
y of
the
guns
ove
r 150
mm
wer
e m
anuf
actu
red
by S
koda
, alth
ough
a K
rupp
gun
of 1
70m
m w
as a
lso
man
ufac
ture
d.Th
e 10
0mm
Sko
da g
uns w
ere
in fa
ct h
orse
dra
wn
artil
lary
pie
ces d
atin
g fr
om 1
895.
Ther
e w
ere
also
pla
ns fo
r a 3
80m
m g
un to
be
depl
oyed
at C
astle
Ven
don,
The
se g
uns c
ould
hav
e po
ssib
ly b
een
Fren
ch g
uns t
hat w
ere
know
n to
be in
Che
rbou
rg a
t the
star
t of t
he w
ar, o
r fro
m a
Ger
man
war
ship
.M
any
of th
e la
rger
gun
em
plac
emen
ts w
ere
supp
osed
to h
ave
stee
l shu
tters
fitte
d to
pro
tect
the
gun
and
crew
in c
ase
of a
ttack
.
Nev
ille
Bla
nken
see
H
and
Mai
d To
urs
Ger
man
Gun
Em
plac
emen
ts In
Bas
se N
orm
andy
cont
8
Bec
ause
of t
he st
eel s
horta
ge v
ery
few
of t
hese
wer
e fit
ted.
In so
me
case
s a c
urta
in o
f cha
in w
as h
ung
in fr
ont o
f the
Cas
emat
e in
the
hope
of
expl
odin
g in
com
ing
shel
ls o
utsi
de o
n th
e w
orki
ng a
rea.
The
mai
n de
sign
diff
eren
ce b
etw
een
Cas
emat
es m
ade
for t
he A
rmy
and
Nav
y w
as th
at th
e N
avy
desi
gns s
at o
n a
larg
e co
ncre
te ra
ft w
hich
stop
ped
them
from
turn
ing
over
if a
shel
l im
pact
ed c
lose
by.
Late
r des
igns
of C
asem
ates
had
roun
ded
corn
ers,
this
avo
ided
900 c
orne
rs w
hich
wea
kene
d th
e st
ruct
ure.
Exa
mpl
es o
f bot
h ty
pes o
f the
sam
eC
asem
ate
can
be se
en a
t Aze
ville
Th
e ro
unde
d C
asem
ates
wer
e co
vere
d w
ith e
arth
, and
gra
ss g
row
n ov
er th
em.
This
was
bot
h to
dis
guis
e th
em a
nd th
e ea
rth a
lso
help
ed a
bsor
b in
com
ing
shel
ls.
Mos
t und
ergr
ound
em
plac
emen
ts a
nd b
unke
rs w
ere
fitte
d w
ith a
n es
cape
hat
ch, s
o th
at th
e cr
ew c
ould
get
out
in c
ase
of d
amag
e or
atta
ck.
Mos
t bun
kers
wer
e al
so fi
tted
with
show
ers i
n ca
se o
f gas
atta
ck, s
how
erin
g co
uld
redu
ce th
e ef
fect
s of s
uch
an a
ttack
. A
noth
er p
reca
utio
n w
as h
avin
g a
form
of a
ir co
nditi
onin
g w
hich
kep
t the
air
pres
sure
insi
de th
e bu
nker
slig
htly
hig
her t
han
the
outs
ide
air p
ress
ure.
N
early
all
the
larg
er g
un e
mpl
acem
ents
had
a h
ood
over
the
gun
bree
ch to
ext
ract
the
pois
onou
s fum
esfr
om th
e gu
n, a
nd th
ese
bunk
ers a
re p
art o
f the
stan
dard
des
igns
(Reg
elba
uten
). M
any
smal
ler f
ield
bunk
ers w
ere
also
con
stru
cted
and
thes
e w
ere
know
n as
VF
(Fie
ld B
unke
rs) t
hey
wer
e of
ligh
ter
cons
truct
ion
and
had
no a
ir ex
tract
ion.
The
third
type
on
cons
truct
ion
was
the
Bea
ufor
m (B
F). T
hese
inth
e m
ain
wer
e op
en g
un o
r sem
i ope
n pl
atfo
rms.
The
final
type
of c
onst
ruct
ion
was
the
SK o
r spe
cial
cons
truct
ion,
thes
e w
ere
one
off d
esig
ns to
fulfi
ll a
loca
l or o
ne o
ff d
esig
n. H
and
Mai
d To
urs