Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Glossary of Terms x
Chapter 1 Prelude to Stagnation 1
Failure in the Battle of Britain 2
Construction of a Battery Position 10
Construction of Large and Small Bunkers 12
Early Building and Bombing of Fortified Positions 12
Aircraft and Aircraft Ordnance 17
Building the U-boat Pens 20
S-boat and R-boat Pens 30
Kriegsmarine Coastal Command 33
Chapter 2 Testing the German Defences, 1940-1942 34
Commando Raids 34
The French Coast 45
German Forces in the West, 1941-1943 48
Obersbefehlshaber West Defends the West 54
Chapter 3 Creating the Atlantic Wall 68
The Führer Reacts 68
Hitler's Directives and Orders for Building an Atlantic Wall 72
The OT and RAD 83
Chapter 4 The Strategic Value of the Atlantic Wall 88
Supporting Germany's Offensive Moves, 1941-1945 88
Super-bombs of the European Theatre 89
German Submarines and Surface Raiders 92
The Luftwaffe's Aerial Threat 99
Securing Germany's Fronts, 1942-1945 102
What to Defend? 104
Chapter 5 Guns and Bunkers 111
What was the Atlantic Wall? 111
Bunker Construction and Types 113
The Big Gun Positions 148
Foreign Artillery in German Service 161
Atlantic Wall Artillery Batteries 166
Chapter 6 Bunkers and Beaches 169
Bunkers and Organization for Defence 169
Features of a Bunker 169
The German Infantry Company and Platoon in Coastal Defence 172
The Atlantic Wall: France to the Netherlands 179
Coast and Port Defence 182
Supplementing the Fortifications 198
Defending the Foreshore and the Beaches 200
Fortress Norway 209
From the Dutch Coast to the Danish Coast 216
Chapter 7 Special Equipment and Weapons 219
Magic Beams and Bouncing Waves 219
German Radar Development 220
The First Line of Defence: Naval Mines 227
Kriegsmarine and Anti-Invasion Fleet Operations 233
V-Weapons 239
Chapter 8 The Allies Prepare, The Germans React 249
Invasion Plans 249
Special Allied Equipment 253
Intelligence Failure 256
Organization of the German Defences in Norway, 1944-1945 258
The Hinge of the Atlantic Wall 261
Heligoland Island Fortress 262
The Südwall 266
Chapter 9 Invasion: D-Day, 6 June 1944 269
Before the Assault on the Atlantic Wall 269
The German Army at D-Day 272
German Order of Battle, 6 June 1944 276
Allied Order of Battle, 6 June 1944 277
Allied Assault on the Atlantic Wall 278
Beach Areas 284
Wn-5 vs the 4th US Division 288
Losses 300
Chapter 10 Consolidation 304
Capturing a Port 304
Expanding and Supporting the Beachhead 306
Clearing the Kriegsmarine from the Channel 307
Bullets and Beans 309
Rolling up the Atlantic Wall 311
Festung Garrisons 321
Final Surrender 321
What If? 324
Chapter 11 Guide 325
The Blue Line Tour 330
The Gold Line Tour 337
Appendix Bombing Results of Operation Venerable 342
Notes 346
Bibliography 355
Index 362
