Belgian coast
As if the Atlantic Wall defensive strongholds in the Ostend dunes were not enough, Nazi Germany erected a second line of defence in the hinterland.
Atlantikwall
The German army built a defense line along Europe's beaches from 1942 onwards to discourage an Allied attack: the Atlantikwall. Defending Europe's coasts was a daunting task. From Norway through Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, the coastline measured almost five thousand kilometers. The German army, therefore, concentrated on the most likely places for an Allied invasion: Normandy and Calais.
- 17 destinations
Belgian coast
The dunes of Raversijde, a seaside resort west of East, are home to not one but two German bunker complexes.
Belgian coast
Anyone entering Nieuwpoort via Kinderlaan will come across the remains of the World War II German Widerstandsnest Karthauserdünen.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
The Atlantic Wall, Nazi Germany's World War II defence line, stretched over 4,000 kilometres from the North Cape to the most south-westerly tip of France, namely Hendaye.
Zeeland
The Western Scheldt, the gateway to the port of Antwerp, played an essential role during World War II.
Normandy
On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the coasts of Normandy. D-Day marked the downfall of the Nazi Empire and the end of World War II.
Hauts-de-France
Wissant, a seaside resort between the rocky capes of Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez, has been inundated with tourists since the late nineteenth century. The dunes teem with holiday homes and villas in Art Deco style, such as Villa Le Typhonium. However, during the Second World War, sun worshippers were not welcome at the beach of Wissant.
Hauts-de-France
Just below Wissant, in Audinghen, the heavy guns of Battery Todt had a range of 55 kilometers, just far enough to hit England.
Hauts-de-France
Sagging bunkers, loose foundations, collapsed walls: the beach between Leffrinckoucke and Zuydcoote looks like a dumping ground of bunkers. You will find, among other things, the German naval coastal battery Malo Terminus.
Hauts-de-France
In the dunes of Fort Vert, close to Calais, the German "Organization Todt" built a French artillery battery during the Second World War.
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