Due to the lack of space on the other pages I didn't go too deep into the matter of bunkers and casemates that are scattered along the French coast. On this page you'll find some information about the various forms of these concrete monsters. We follow the route from Ouistreham (Sword Beach) all the way up to Cherbourg and visit some special complexes and solitaire objects. Sometimes I will refer to a object already mentioned on other pages, (for instance) Battery of Merville, Wn 01). Because some objects are complete overgrown with weeds or are on private property it is sometimes impossible to visit these sites. One thing that attracts attention is that the casemates on the coast all have their guns pointed over the beaches and that these guns are protected by a thick wall of concrete against incoming shells from ships (see the picture above). The German guns that had to fire at the allied invasion fleet were placed more inland and pointed their guns direct at sea (see Battery of Longues).

A complex of bunkers that was not mentioned earlier is Wiederstand Neste 17, code-named by the allied as 'Hillman'. You can find this complex near the little town of Colleville-Montgomery, a few kilometres before entering Ouistreham, along side a country road between Biéville-Beuville and Colleville (this is a different Colleville than the one near Normandy American National Cemetery and Memorial is located). On this terrain are the bunkers that housed the headquarters of the German 736th Grenadier-Regiment. It was on top of a flat hill and that's why it was very difficult to approach. The Suffolk Regiment, with the help of a platoon of the 13th/18th Hussars, finally took the complex after a bloody fight, man to man .

The complex is now complete restored after years of neglecting and is free to visit. Because there are almost no visitors to this place, it is quit eerie to wander around Wn 17, 'Hillman'. It is a cold place that stands as a lonely memorial for the killing that took place over here.

Follow the road along the coast, D 514, west. You pass different small bunkers and gun placements along the boulevard. A remarkable one at St-Aubin-sur-Mer, at Wn 27, still retains its 50mm cannon . The right side of the casemate still bears the scars from an attack by an AVRE tank. This housing is a so-called (covered) 'Tobruk' (see below), another two can be found at Bernières and Asnelles.

Continue the D 514 and go through Graye-sur-Mer. Just outside this town you find a small path that leads to he beach. At the exit in the Dunes stands a Churchill AVRE tank. Turn right, after hundred metres there is a casemate of the H612 type. It is slowly sinking in the sand. Once it contained a 75mm cannon. This casemate was obvisily struck with some shells from navy guns. Internal you'll find that one grenade penetrated the concrete and steel.

A couple of kilometres after Graye-sur-Mer (you are now at 'Gold Beach') is a road who leads to the beach and ends at Wn 35. This is the so called 'Green sector', and here is a by cannon fire destroyed and eroded H677. For a good example of an H677, look for the one at Wiederstandnest 61, east of Colleville-sur-Mer.

For the story of the Battery of Mont-Fleury, see this page. Continue to Ver-sur-Mer. To the south-east of this village, on the D 112 to Crépon, lies the Battery of Mare-Fontaine, Wn 32. The H669 casemates once had 4 X 100mm guns. Return to the coast and go to Asnelles (a few kilometres east of Arromanches). Walk the boulevard 400 metre westward. Here is a little casemate, which had a 50mm cannon. This casemate is often confused with the one on a wartime photograph. Much publicity mentions this as the same. I placed the comparing pictures below,… find the differences.

For the casemates of the H669 type, go to Wiederstandnest 62, these can be found just east of the American National Cemetery near Colleville.

You must visit Pointe du Hoc with its huge terrain of destroyed bunkers and casemates. Here you can feel the drama of destruction.

When you visit all these objects, you come regular across a small type of bunker. This little bunker, called by the allies a 'Tobruk', was usually occupied by one man who operated a MG42 machinegun. There were a lot of variants on the Tobruk. There were Tobruks for flametrowers and covered ones, with protected wall's, for the 50mm cannons.

Other types of the 'Tobruk' could be used to fire mortars from. This last one is recognisable on the little pillar in the middle where the mortar was placed. A little door at the side gave entrance to the bunker, sometimes it had a short stairway (see drawing).

Tobruk's were also modified to carry turrets of tanks, mostly pre-war turrets. But there were also Tobruks who had the turret of the infamous Panther V. For example, a Tobruk with a R35 tank turret, containing a 3,7 cm gun, could be found at Le Grand Vey (Wn 101) at the southern point of Utah Beach (it is pictured below as 'Then and Now').

You'll find these 'ringstand' bunkers mostly near the large complexes with big casemates. They were placed as a defensive ring. This was the most simple form of bunker building. A site with many 'Tobruks' can be found in the dunes at UTAH Beach, to the left and right of the Leclerc Monument, Wn 101, near Varreville. Below is another picture of a Tobruk which had at the time a turret of a R35 tank and a picture of a bunker, a H 667 near Ravenoville (Wn 103) on the coastel road. It contained a 50mm cannon.

Further up the coast, up north, you'll find a lot more bunkers and casemats. For the true bunkerfanatic, buy yourself the book, 'Débarquement A Utah Beach'. This Heimdal publication is written by Georges Bernage (ISBN 2 84048 074 3). You can buy it at the better souvenirshop in Normandy (only in French).