How, What and Why of the Antlanticwall.
The constructions of defences at the coast for the protection of the important ports descend of a much earlier period than World War II.
The first parts of the Atlanticwall were actually already there in the summer of 1940. By then, the German army had already conquered and reached the French and Belgian coast. They had the plan to do an invasion on Great Brittain from the coast. This was because the Englismen didn't agree with the peace proposol of the Germans. Old batteries from World War I and old French batteries became rearranged and taken into use, especially in the neighbourhooud form Pas de Calais. The Germans fired Great Brittain with very heavy artillery from there. The reason why the Germans choosed for Calais was from a strategic view very clear. By Calais there is the smallest part of the Nordsea (the canal)between France and Great Brittain. After an armistice in June 1940, Germany occupied the whole Atlantic coast between the North Cape (the most northern part of Norway and Europe) and the Pyrenees (Spain). Hitler decide after to move on to the invasion of Great Brittain (Operation Seelowe). The operation became canceled at the end of the summer of 1940 after Germany lost the airwar for Great Brittain. During the airwar, there were build divers heavy coastbatteries aroun Calais to support the invasionfleet from Germany. Because of the fact that in the summer of 1941 the battle for Russia (operation Barbossa)didn't go as well as aspected, and also because the war was declared to the United States of America after an attack on Pearl Harbor, the Germans feared for a second front. On 14 december 1941 Hitler decided to make a coastdefence from permanent defences. Initially this project got the name: "Neue Westwall". In the summer of 1942 the plans for the permanent coastdefence were ready en they changed the name into: "Atlantic Wall". The first buildingperiod got the name "Winterausbauprogramm". This Atlantic Wall was less impressive than the German propaganda implied. Initially became only the most important ports build out with heavy bunkers. Because in the summer only 50% of the planned bunkers were ready, they decided to move to the second buildingprogram, called: Neubauprogramm fur die standige Asbaue. Because of a deficit in raw materials (concrete, iron etc.) was this program also not as succesfully as aspected. Because of the deficit in raw materials, they switched to new tactics, the Schartenbauprogramm. Only the essential functions became overbunkered, especially the artillery. This was also because of the increase in the amount of airraids from the Allies. In this program the bunkers became smaller and only had one function. Because of that there were less raw materials needed. Munition and men were accomodated in bunkers made out of bridges of bunkers with thin walls. In the end of 1943 the field marshal Erik Rommel was appointed as inspector of the Atlanticwal. After many visits he concluded that the important areas were defended reasonably well, but the areas between the important areas didn't gave suficient protection against an invasion. For that reason they decided to put mines, beachbarriers and obstructions on all the beaches to prevent landings by enemies. From that moment on there could be spoken about a uninterrupted obstacle. On 1 may 1944 the last buildingprogram started, the Gesamte Sommerausbauprogramm. A large part of the bunkers excisted of the socalled 'kleinstande' (bunkers with one function). A large part of the bunkers were buid without armoured doors and gaslocks, and also with thinner walls.
Because the difference importance of places the Germans realised different types of Defence. Below mentioned "types" of defence are realised:
A small infanterie support point, consist trenches and barbered wire, equiped with only light weapons.
A stutzpunkt (Strongpoint) consists serveral widerstandsnester, equiped with light en heavy weapons.
A combination of different Widerstandsnesten and Stutzpunkte, completly surrounded by a defenceline to protect the strongpoint against a enemy attack., for exemple tankobstacle like: tankwall, hocker (dragonteeth) tankgrachten, tankmuren draketanden or railtracks. This defenceline was protected by infanterie with Machineguns, flamethrowers and mortars. Stutzpunktgruppen are created on places of medium strategic importance like small harbours, bridges, coastal batteries and airports.
The construction is the same as a Stutzpunktgruppe, but the importance of the protecting place was high, for exemple a navigational route to a important harbour.
The construction is almost the same a from a verteidigungsbereich or a Stutzpunktgruppe, the big difference is the strategical importance of the protecting place for example a important harbour, or the entrance to the important harbour. The fortress should be hold till the last man.
The stutzpunktgruppen, verteidigungsbereiche and Festungen placed directly at the coast, had a sea- and a coastalfront. The coastline between the two sealines was named Freie Kuste. The freie kuste was protected by seperate Widerstandsnester and Stutzpunkte.
The region which is the most heavy defended by heavy bunkers and coastal batteries is the region Calais. This because the entire German command believes that the allied invasion will take place here, because of the short distance between England and France.
The area of Normandie, where the actual invasion take place was not really heavy defended, it only consists Widerstandsnester, Stutzpunkte and a few Stutzpunktgruppe. Nobody expected the allied invassion in Normandie due to the fact that there was no big harbour for the transport of the allied equipment and the distance between England and France was very big. The story from lots of people that they saw and visited lots of bunkers in Normandie is understandable but in comparison with the region Calais not much bunkers are build. The explanation of this story is ofcourse the touristic function of the bunkers in Normandie, lots of bunkers are transformed to museums. This in discrepancy to the most bunkers in the area of Calais which are overgrown and hard to find.
