Fortified army coastal artillery batteries came in three main varieties, the dedicated army coastal artillery regiments (HKAA/HKAR: Heeres-Küsten-Artillerie-Abteilung/-Regiment) deployed in 1942–44, the fortified divisional artillery battalions, and the railroad artillery batteries. The army coastal artillery regiments could be found along many sections of the coast but they were not evenly spread. So for example, naval batteries dominated the Pas-de-Calais, while army batteries dominated lower Normandy, including HKAR.1260 located along the D-Day beaches and HKAR.1261 on the eastern Cotentin coast to the southeast of Cherbourg. Some of the batteries in these regiments were originally naval batteries such as 3./HKAR.1261 in St. Marcouf and 4./HKAA.1260 at Longues-sur-Mer, which were absorbed into the army regiments in 1943 to create a unified command. The most extensive of these was HKAR.1261, which had ten batteries stretching from St. Martin-de-Varreville near Utah Beach along the Contentin coast to La Pernelle on the outskirts of Cherbourg. In general, these batteries were not as well equipped to deal with moving naval targets as the naval batteries, lacking radars or plotting rooms in their forward observation bunkers. This regiment had some of the best of the army gun casemates, usually including at least partial armored shields for the guns. For example, its 7.Batterie located in Gatteville in H679 casemates had their 155mm K420(f) guns behind a traversable armored shield that completely covered the embrasure; the 2.Batterie in Azeville had lighter 105mm K331(f) guns, and these had an armored shield which partially covered the embrasure. These dedicated coastal batteries tended to have an extensive array of support bunkers, including personnel shelters and ammunition bunkers.
Most major coastal batteries included personnel and munitions bunkers. MKB St. Marcouf of 3./HKAR 1261 near the Cotentin coast had several shelters including this H622, a very common type in France with over a thousand built, including the related H502 type. Although built originally as a naval battery, it was subordinated to an army artillery regiment. (Author’s collection)
H633 bunker for M19 automatic mortar
The H633 Kampfstand für M19 Maschinengranatwerfer was an example of the influence of the earlier Westwall fortification program. This weapon was specifically developed for the Westwall but by the time that production began in 1940, the requirement had ended. Instead, most were eventually used on the Atlantic Wall, and some 79 were installed in the H633 and H135 bunkers, with 48 on the French coast. The first was completed in April 1942 and construction required 845m³ of concrete, 40 tonnes of steel rebar and 6.3 tonnes of other steel items. The bunker was usually manned by a crew of 14 and living accommodation was provided opposite the fighting compartment. The entryway was protected by an armored machine-gun embrasure and led to the usual gas lock prior to access to the living quarters. In the center of the bunker was a small room containing the ventilation equipment as well as the defensive machine-gun position. The mortar itself was located under an armored cupola and consisted of a two-floor assembly with the mortar in the upper chamber and an automated ammunition system below. Behind the mortar chamber was an ammunition room and the bunker typically stored 3,944 50mm mortar bombs stowed on special six-round clips. The mortar was crewed by two soldiers, a gunner and loader, while the other soldiers in the bunker helped supply the ammunition or served on guard duty. The M19 automatic mortar fired at a maximum rate of 120 rounds per minute and had a range of 50 to 750m.
Like most bunkers of this period, it was constructed to Standard B with walls 2m thick. Ideally, the bunker was supposed to be buried flush to the ground with access to the entryway via a trench. Along the coast, it was sometimes built with the back wall into a dune facing the sea, with the rest of the bunker exposed. In this case, the entryway was usually protected by a berm or a concrete wall to prevent direct fire against the door. Only one of these bunkers was located near the D-Day beaches, north of Utah Beach, but they were more common on the Pas-de-Calais, with at least one still surviving, although largely buried, near Oye-Plage. (Artwork by Chris Taylor)
Tobruks were generally buried since their protection was only B1 standards, 1.5m thick or less. Usually the tobruk included a small room for ammunition storage and crew shelter, which was usually accessed through a small door, requiring an adjacent trench. (Author’s collection)
In contrast to the dedicated coastal artillery batteries, the fortified divisional artillery batteries tended to have simpler garage casemates without specialized armored protection for the embrasure since their weapons were towed field artillery pieces. Supporting bunkers were often less extensive due to the relatively late date of construction of many of these sites, which did not begin in earnest until January 1944. The degree of fortification was quite uneven so for example, the famous Merville Battery attacked by British paratroopers on D-Day had a selection of bunkers comparable to that of dedicated coastal artillery batteries due to the early date of its fortification. Many divisional artillery battalions were not fortified at the time of the D-Day landings.
The army’s railroad artillery batteries fell out of favor after the 1940 bombardment campaign as rail-guns were withdrawn to other theaters. The Dombunker construction program was not extended beyond the Pas-de-Calais, and the remaining railroad gun batteries such as those on the Cotentin Pensinsula near Cherbourg did not have dedicated bombproof shelters.
The Vf600 gun pits were one of the most common defensive positions along the Atlantic Wall, in this case armed with a 50mm pedestal gun. These guns were an adaptation of obsolete 50mm tank guns on a simple pedestal mounting with a gun-shield for crew protection. This one in the outer ring of Cherbourg defenses has an umbrella cover overhead for camouflage and weather protection, a common improvisation. (NARA)
Army infantry strongpoints
Infantry platoon and company strongpoints followed no particular pattern and tended to be constructed on the basis of available concrete supplies, available fortification weapons, and the terrain features of the coast where they were located.
In general, the infantry fortifications on the Atlantic Wall were not as comprehensive as those on the Westwall built along the German frontier in 1938–40. There were two reasons for this, the first of which was the lack of time and supplies to complete any comprehensive fortification of the entire French coastline. The second reason was tactical. Von Rundstedt and many German commanders were leery of extensive infantry fortification, as they feared it would lead to rigid tactics based around fixed sites. The commanders did not want the infantry cowering in their bunkers while the Allies flowed past the defenses, but expected them to get out of the bunkers when necessary and use conventional infantry tactics. As a result, OB West favored the use of a generous number of fortified machine-gun, mortar and anti-tank positions, but most of the infantry would fight from normal slit trenches. Personnel bunkers were provided for shelter during naval bombardment, but not for fighting.
A good example of a Vf600E gun pit for the widely used pedestal-mounted 50mm anti-craft gun, seen here in a strongpoint near Grand Vey near of the mouth of the Vire River in lower Normandy. A version of this gun pit was also used for other small crew-served weapons, such as the 20mm Flak 30 and Flak 38 anti-aircraft guns. (NARA)