Atlantic Wall

The Atlantic Wall (German: Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of Coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.^[1]

Atlantic Wall
Part of the Third Reich
Western Coast of Europe
The Atlantic Wall, shown in yellow
Site information
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Partially demolished, mostly intact
Site history
Built	1942–1944
In use	1942–1945
Battles/wars	World War II

A fortification in northern France.

German bunker at Søndervig in Denmark.

German bunkers at Longues-sur-Mer in France.

One of three 40.6cm guns at Batterie "Lindemann", a German Cross-Channel gun. Named after the commander of the battleship Bismarck Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann

Construction

On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40 called for the official creation of the Atlantic Wall. After the St. Nazaire Raid, on April 13, 1942 Adolf Hitler ordered naval and submarine bases to be heavily defended. Fortifications remained concentrated around ports until late in 1943 when defences were increased in other areas.^[2]

Organisation Todt, which had designed the Siegfried Line (Westwall) along the Franco-German border, was the chief engineering group responsible for the design and construction of the wall's major fortifications. Thousands of forced laborers were impressed to construct these permanent fortifications along the Dutch, Belgian and French coasts facing the English Channel.

Early in 1944, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was assigned to improve the Wall's defences. Rommel believed the existing coastal fortifications were entirely inadequate and he began strengthening them. He knew that the beaches between were barely defended, and the Allies could land there and capture the ports from the land. Under his direction, a string of reinforced concrete pillboxes were built along the beaches, or sometimes slightly inland, to house machine guns, anti-tank guns, and light artillery. Mines and antitank obstacles were planted on the beaches themselves, and underwater obstacles and mines were placed in waters just off shore.^[3] The intent was to destroy the Allied landing craft before they could unload.

The Germans laid almost six million mines in northern France. More gun emplacements and minefields extended inland, along roads leading away from the beaches. In likely landing spots for military gliders and paratroopers, the Germans installed slanted poles with sharpened tops, which the troops called Rommelspargel ("Rommel's asparagus"). Low-lying land near rivers was flooded, as well.

Rommel firmly believed that Germany would inevitably be defeated unless the invasion could be stopped at the beach.

Although the defensive wall was never completed the Wall's existence was used to address concerns of the Soviet Union for why the Second Front was not opened until June 6, 1944 (less than a year before the end of the war). The Wall primarily consisted of batteries, bunkers, and minefields, which during 1942–1944, stretched from the French-Spanish border to Norway (Festung Norwegen). Many bunkers still exist, for example near Scheveningen, Den Haag, Katwijk and in Normandy. In Oostende, Belgium the public may visit a well-preserved part of the defences. That section consists of emplacements of the "Saltzwedel neu battery" and the "Stützpunkt Bensberg", consisting of several men’s quarters and the necessary facilities. These constructions were used by a unit of German military engineers (Pionierstab) who were in charge of bunker construction.

The Channel Islands were heavily fortified, particularly the island of Alderney which is closest to England (Jersey being the closest to France). Hitler had decreed that one twelfth of the steel and concrete used in the Atlantic Wall go to the Channel Islands, because they were British territory. Despite the mooting of Operation Constellation et al., the Allies bypassed the islands and did not try to liberate them when they invaded Normandy. The islands' German garrisons did not surrender until 9 May 1945 – one day after the German armed forces on the mainland. The German garrison on Alderney did not surrender until 16 May.

Walcheren Island was considered to be the "strongest concentration of defences the Nazis had ever constructed."^[4]

Atlantic Wall Commands

The Atlantic Wall was not a single organisation except in the administration of its building. Militarily it was divided into eight commands:^[5]

• Norway Army Command
• Forces Commander in Danmark
• Deutschen Bucht Command
• Wehrmacht Netherlands Command
• Armee Oberkommando 15 (15th Army zone)
• Armee Oberkommando 7 (7th Army zone)
• Armee Oberkommando 1 (1st Army zone)
• Armee Oberkommando 19 (19th Army zone)

Atlantic Wall Fortresses

Many major ports and positions were made part of the Atlantic wall and received heavy fortifications, Hitler ordered them all to fight to the end ^[6] and some of them remained in German hands until the unconditional surrender of Axis Forces on May 8, 1945. Several of the port fortresses were resupplied by submarine after being surrounded by Allied forces. The defenders of these positions included Slavic soldiers and SS troops. ^[7]

Location	Commander	Garrison	Details of Battle	Surrender	Allied Use
Cherbourg	General von Schlieben	47,000 men in whole Cotentin Peninsula	Port wrecked by demolitions. Hitler refused to allow demolitions earlier in the year.	June 27, 1944 majority of strong points surrendered	Put back into use by Americans. Limited use by the middle of August
Saint-Malo/Dinard	Colonel von Aulock	12,000+ men including paratroopers and SS	Port wrecked by demolitions. 300 men on the fortified island of Cézembre held out till September 2, 1944. The island controlled the approaches to the port	August 17, 1944.	Out of use for whole campaign
Alderney	–		One of the most heavily defended fortresses on the Atlantic Wall	May 16, 1945	Surrendered a week after the official Nazi Surrender
Brest	General Ramcke	38,000+ men including the 2nd Parachute Division	Fighting began on August 25, 1944. Port was completely demolished	September 2, 1944	–
Lorient	General Junck	15,000	–	May 8, 1945	Not captured during the conflict
Quiberon Bay and Belle Île	General Fahrmbacher	25,000	–	–	–
St. Nazaire	General Junck	35,000	–	May 8, 1945	Not captured during the conflict
La Rochelle/La Pallice	Admiral Schirlitz	Naval Units, 158th Reserve Infantry Division	–	May 8, 1945	Surrendered after the conflict, following the Allied siege of La Rochelle
Le Havre	Colonel Wildermuth	14,000	Surrendered after 3 days of fighting	September 14, 1944	Put back into action in October 1944
Boulogne	General Heim	10,000	Fighting started on September 7, 1944	September 22, 1944	British opened the port again in October
Calais/Cap Gris-Nez	Lt Colonel Schroeder	9,000	Batteries at Cap Gris-Nez surrendered a few days earlier. Port heavily damaged	September 30, 1944	Returned to service late November 1944
Dunkirk	Admiral Friedrich Frisius	12,000 from the 18th Luftwaffe Ground Division	Port isolated on September 13, 1944	May 1945	–
Ostend	–	–	No resistance given, port not heavily damaged	–	–
Zeebrugge	General Eberding	14,000	Held as part of the Scheldt Fortress denying access to the Port of Antwerp. Fighting started in Early October 1944	November 1, 1944	First shipment to Antwerp November 28, 1944. Eighty-five days after its capture.[8]
Scheldt Fortress	General Daser	8,000	Defended South Beveland and Walcheren Island. Fighting started in late October 1944	November 6, 1944	–