The Atlantic Wall (1): France

THE SITES TODAY

The sheer size and durability of the Atlantic Wall bunkers has made it difficult and expensive to remove them, ensuring the survival of many bunkers more than 60 years after their construction. The French government has refrained from a deliberate demolition program like the German effort to eradicate the Westwall. However, the fortifications are gradually disappearing to both man and nature. Batterie Lindemann in Sangatte is now at the bottom of an artificial pond in connection with the construction of the Channel Tunnel. Most of the remains of Batterie Friedrich August in La Trésorerie were recently demolished to make way for new industrial buildings in the town. Many more have been lost to nature than to intentional removal. A significant number of smaller bunkers located near the sea have become victim of coastal erosion, and many more have simply become heavily overgrown or completely buried over time.

Nevertheless, there is still an ample variety of bunkers to visit. There is no handy guide to all the fortifications, though Alain Chazette’s superb Atlantikwall-Sudwall comes the closest. Heinz Zimmermann’s three-volume guide is helpful, but it is somewhat out of date. There are also several excellent Internet sites, including Bunkersite (www.bunkersite.com). While published accounts show many of the surviving bunkers, they seldom provide precise details of the location and some detailed maps are absolutely essential for visiting most sites. The best are the IGN (Institut Geographique National) 1:25,000-scale topographic maps, which in many cases provide symbols for surviving bunkers. These are only a first step to locating the bunkers, as they provide no distinction between the most humble of tobruks and the most massive of gun casemates. It can take hours if not days of arduous hiking to uncover some of the sites. Besides the initial problem of simply locating the sites, access can also be a challenge. Many sites, including some of the largest bunkers, are on private land and in many cases access is discouraged. Other sites have simply become enveloped in urban sprawl around the ports. For example, Dunkirk has few of its fortifications still surviving precisely because of its prosperity since the war. Considerable care should be exercised in entering these structures as many have sub-basements that can be a trap for the unwary; in some locations local vagabonds take up residence during some months of the year.

^{The beach south of Wissant is an elephant’s graveyard of eroded bunkers, the remains of StP 120 Pommern. Coastal erosion has led to the loss or damage of many of the small infantry bunkers. Fortifications originally buried in the dunes are now isolated on the beach. In the foreground is a disintegrating H612 gun casemate, and beyond it a H630 machine-gun bunker and a pair of H600 gun platforms. (Author’s collection)}

^{On September 2, 1944, a Canadian soldier peers into a 90P9 armored cupola, part of an H608 bunker that served as the headquarters of GR.935 overlooking Dieppe from the west. (NAC PA-131232 Ken Bell)}

^{The same scene today, which is adjacent to the parking lot of the Château de Dieppe museum. This particular bunker was built after the 1942 Dieppe raid. (Author’s collection)}

For ease of access, the sites around the Normandy D-Day beaches are perhaps the best choice for the casual fortification buff. There are some exceptional sites that have been preserved such as the batteries at Longues-sur-Mer, Azeville, Crisbeq and Merville, and it is one of the few areas where a number of artillery pieces have been preserved, such as at Longues-sur-Mer. Normandy is also an excellent venue to discover the smaller tactical infantry defenses, which are better preserved here than elsewhere; I particularly recommend a walk along the beach north of Utah Beach, which has an exceptional selection of tobruks and enfilade gun bunkers. For more dedicated enthusiasts, especially those from the UK and the Low Countries, the Pas-de-Calais is a treasure trove providing some of the most spectacular bunkers such as the Todt Batterie, Oldenburg, La Crèche, and many others all within an easy drive of the Eurotunnel. I generally do my bunker hunting in the spring before the foliage reappears as it makes it easier to find smaller bunkers that have become heavily overgrown.

^{MKB St. Marcouf engaged in duels with Allied warships on D-Day and the site was heavily bombed and shelled.This massive crater in front of its observation post gives some idea of the intensity of the fire. (NARA)}

^{A view of the observation post of MKB St. Marcouf today with the wartime damage repaired. This was an SK design peculiar to the site and not a standard design. (Author’s collection)}

^{The Michelmannstand was a prefabricated machine-gun pit design by Festungs Pioneer Stab 27 in the Dieppe area and used by the Fifteenth Army including the Opal Coast near Boulogne. (Author’s collection)}