A study of the planning and thinking that went into the creation of Hitler's "Atlantic Wall," which was intended to prevent the D-Day invasion and throw Allied soldiers back into the sea. The book details how and why the Atlantic Wall failed to perform as Hitler intended.

This WWII history and visitor’s guide explores the extensive network of Nazi fortifications built to defend Fortress Europe. Hitler's Atlantic Wall, the complex system of coastal fortifications that stretched from Norway to the Spanish border during the Second World War, was built to defend occupied Europe from Allied invasion. Many of its principal structures survive and can be visited today. This authoritative guide provides both practical information for visitors and essential historical context. The wall, which was constructed on a massive scale between 1942 and 1944 by German engineers, forced laborers and troops, consisted of strong points, artillery casemates, bunkers, troop shelters, minefields, anti-tank and anti-boat obstacles. It also included the concrete U-boat and E-boat pens in the key ports and, behind the Channel coast, the V-weapon sites. This huge scheme of fortifications was one of the longest series of defensive lines in military history. This comprehensive volume takes readers and visitors through the entire story of the fortifications from the fall of France to the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy that finally broke through. As a guide to some of the most impressive relics of the Second World War, this book is essential reading for travelers or anyone interested in the liberation of occupied Europe.

In December 1941, to challenge the imminent Anglo-American landings, Hitler ordered the construction of a line of bunkers along the Western European coastline. Today, many significant vestiges remain of the coastal defence system which Goebbels was to pompously baptise, the Atlantic Wall. One of the aims of this guide is to introduce readers to the most interesting sites from an architectural, technical or historical point of view, and which can be observed along the Normandy coastline between the Mont Saint-Michel and Dieppe.

This highly informative book begins with an examination of the background to Germany's primary military objectives in relation to the western end of their self-styled 'Fortress Europe' including the early foundation of shore defences in northern France. In 1941, there was a switch in emphasis of the Atlantic Wall's role from attack to defence. Beach defences became more elaborate and the Nazi-controlled Todt Organisation began a massive building programme constructing new bunkers and reinforcing existing sites, using forced labour. Hitler appointed Rommel to formulate Germany's anti-invasion plans in early 1944. At the same time the Allies were making extensive studies of the fortifications and preparing for the challenge of overcoming this most formidable of obstacles. Using, in many cases, previously unpublished accounts of the soldiers on the ground this book follows Britain's 79th Armoured Division, Sir Percy Hobart's 'Funnies', as they utilised their unique weaponry in support of Allied efforts to ensure the success of the invasion. The author draws on British, American, Canadian and German sources. Hitler's Atlantic Wall - Normandy also includes information on war cemeteries along with travel information and accommodation suggestions and a guide to the relevant museums.

This is the first English guide to the remains of the Atlantic Wall Hitler built to protect his newly conquered empire from sea invasions.