Zeeland
The Western Scheldt, the gateway to the port of Antwerp, played an essential role during World War II.
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.
- 13 destinations
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.
Hauts-de-France
With a fire control post in the shape of a church tower near Oye, the German army misled the Allies.
Hauts-de-France
One of the dunes of Blériot-Plage, west of Calais, was crowned with a command post in the autumn of 1943. The coastal batteries of Waldam, Oldenburg, Bastion II, Fort Lapin, Sangatte and Lindemann were controlled from here.
Hauts-de-France
During the Second World War, the Germans built an observation bunker between Zuydcoote and Leffrinckoucke on top of the dunes.
France
Pointe du Hoc, a promontory littered with craters and concrete blocks, stands out between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, two of the five beaches where the Normandy landings took place on June 6, 1944.
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