#atlantic wall

[theworldatwar]

A German sentry scans the horizon watching for an invasion that must surely come as he stands guard on the Atlantic Wall - exact date unknown

#world war two #1940s #worldwar2photos #history #ww2 #ww2 history #wwii #world war 2 #ww2history #wwii era #normandy #France #atlantic wall #Atlantic #sentry

[faroukmarduk]

#photography #photographers on tumblr #original photographers #lensblr #blockhaus #atlantic wall #bunker #german bunker #tarnos #ww2 #wwii #monster #my art #archi #architecture #archi photography #photo d'architecture #atlantic coast

[memories-of-ancients]

The Non-German defenders of the Atlantic Wall,

In 1942 Germany began construction of the Atlantic Wall in order to defend its territorial conquests from a possible Allied amphibious invasion.  The wall consisted of various fortifications, mines, tank barriers, mortars, artillery pieces, machine gun nests, pillboxes, and bunkers, and was designed to fend off a beach landing. On June 6th, 1944 Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and quickly overran these defenses.  Thousands of German soldiers were captured, but surprisingly many of those captured were not German at all.

At the very beginning of the war Germany upheld its Nazi belief in pure Aryanism, believing themselves to be the superior super race. However as the war dragged on, that sentiment gave way as casualties grew, manpower shortages worsened, and it was becoming clearer that Germany was losing to the Allies. Both the Wehrmacht and the SS began to accept foreign volunteers with many of these foreign troops being sent to garrison the defenses of the Atlantic Wall.  These soldiers came from all over Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.  

The reasons for volunteering were varied, some political, many as a necessity for survival.  By far the most numerous foreign volunteers were those from the Soviet Union. Some volunteered because they were disgruntled with Soviet rule, for example the Russian Liberation Army which joined the Wehrmacht to oppose communism in Russia. However most volunteered as an alternative to spending the rest of the war as a POW.  Soviet POWs were treated terribly during the war. Often the Germans dealt with Soviet POWs by erecting open air prisons in which thousands would be confined. Thousands would be forced into the prison, where they would be exposed to elements, given little food, and basically be left to die of starvation, disease, or exposure.

During the war, around 3.5 million Soviets prisoners would die in these camps or in concentration camps. For many Soviet POWs, service with the German Army was the only way to avoid such a horrible fate. Typically, these troops were often not very reliable in combat as they were not very motivated to sacrifice life and limb for their conquerors. In some cases they proved to by a grave liability, such as the case of a battalion of soldiers from Georgia which manned the Atlantic Wall defenses on the Dutch island of Texel, who in 1945 openly revolted against the Germans.

One notable extreme was the Indian Legion, also known as the Azad Regiment, which consisted of volunteers from India who believed that a German victory would secure India’s independence from the British Empire. 

As well as many thousands of foreign volunteers, there were also many thousands of foreign conscripts who were forcibly made to serve in the German Army.

By far the most numerous conscripts were Polish.  Before World War I many parts of Poland had been a part of Prussia, and later the German Empire. When Germany re-conquered these territories they considered many of the people living there to be ethnic Germans.  As such, they were considered full citizens of the Reich and thus were subject to German draft laws.  Many still believed themselves to be German and thus were willing to fight for the German cause, however many spoke Polish, had adopted Polish customs, and identified themselves as Polish. Regardless, refusing to obey the draft laws could result in serious consequences, not only for the individual but his family as well. Around 500,000 Polish were conscripted into the Wehrmacht, with many serving on the Atlantic Wall. Like the Soviets, the Polish also were not the best soldiers for Germany as they were often unwilling to fight for their taskmasters. Around 85,000 would defect to the Free Polish Forces during the Normandy invasion and subsequent advance to Paris. In addition to Polish Troops, a number of Czechs considered ethnic Germans would be conscripted as well. In the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan this is demonstrated in a scene in which two "German" soldiers are surrendering to a pair of American soldiers. The Americans mock them before gunning them down. What many viewers may not relize is that they were not Germans, but Czechs, and were shouting in Czech that they were Czechs who didn't kill anyone, and just wanted to surrender.

By far the most interesting extreme in this instance were a group of Koreans who were captured by American forces during the D-Day invasion. For three decades Japan had occupied Korea, and the men were forcibly conscripted into the Japanese Imperial Army. In 1939 Japan attempted to invade the Soviet Union through Mongolia, but were badly beaten at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. The Koreans were captured and sent to the gulags, but with the German invasion of the Soviet Union, were then forced to join the Red Army and fight on the Eastern Front.  They were then captured by the Germans, conscripted into the German Army, and forced to man the defenses of the Atlantic Wall at Normandy.

Overall, one in six defenders of the Atlantic Wall were not German. Nothing demonstrates the diversity of these defenders more than the photo below of a group Wehrmacht soldiers captured during D-Day

Front Row (from left to right):  a Yugoslav; an Italian; a Turk; Polish

Back Row (from left to right): a German; a Czech; a Russian who was forced into the army when the Nazis occupied his town; and a Mongolian.

#history #world war ii #wwii #d-day #atlantic wall

[carbone14]

Entraînement au chargement du canon sur voie ferrée 24 cm SK L/40 Theodor Karl – Batterie d'artillerie ferroviaire 674 – Mur de l'Atlantique – sud de la France – 1941

Photographe : Harren

©Bundesarchiv - Bild 101I-069-2515-33

Canon de la première guerre mondiale, ce dernier exemplaire en service dans l'armée belge et capturé par les allemands pendant la bataille de France a été installé dans le sud de la France pour compléter le système de défense du Mur de l'Atlantique dans les environs d'Hendaye et de Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

#WWII #mur de l'atlantique #atlantic wall #défenses côtières #coastal defences #armée allemande #german army #wehrmacht #heer #artillerie #artillery #canon d'artillerie ferroviaire #railway artillery #24 cm SK L/40 Theodor Karl #theodor karl #hendaye #saint-jean-de-luz #france #1941

[mapsontheweb]

Allied staff officers debated where to pierce the Atlantic Wall, German coastal fortifications extending from Norway to the southwest coast of France. They ultimately decided on Normandy.

From the Atlas of World War II >>

by @NatGeoMaps

#maps #twittersourced #NatGeoMaps #world war 2 #atlantic wall #1944

[supplyside]

German bunkers at Longues-sur-Mer in France

#bunker #France #Wehrmacht #WWII #Atlantic Wall

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Huns Nervously Prepare for Der Tag," Windsor Star. June 5, 1943. Page 7. ---- THE caption accompanying this picture which appeared in Vienna Illustrated, German magazine, says this long-range gun, one of many batteries, will defeat the attack even when attackers are a long way from the coast. This is part of the Atlantic Wall, gigantic system of fortresses with bristling bunkers, long-range batteries and combat posts extending over a coast front of 2,700 kilometers to forestall invasion. Supposed to have reached full combat strength, intensive work on additions continue, however.

#world war ii #atlantic wall #atlantikwall #coastal fortications #artillery batteries #fortress europa #occupied europe #nazi germany #second front

[telephomas]

#photography #scheveningen #atlantic wall #beach #bunker

[kontextmaschine]

By D-Day the Atlantic Wall defenses had been reinforced several times, even taking seriously the need to muster and build up stockpiles in Britain an attack could have broken through the coastal defenses earlier.

…but those defenses were still enough to force a concentration of forces into a single spearpoint, which inland reserves could have mobilized to encircle and neutralize."… until they were redeployed to the Eastern Front. It really was Russians fighting in the east that decided the European theater of WWII.

Of course, Stalin exerted whatever pressure he could to bring the West into the fight ASAP, but letting the Red Army bear the burden and pay the costs of attritting the Reich away and then only afterwards sweeping through a hollowed-out Western Front as the preferable option to surrender to was a critical part of Anglo-American grand strategy.

Even with that, they still then had to grind out a Cold War evenly matched enough to last half a century.

#history #atlantic wall

[theworldatwar]

A German soldier watches the horizon for the allied invasion they know must be coming - Cherbourg, France, exact date unknown

#world war two #1940s #worldwar2photos #history #ww2 #wwii #ww2 history #wwii era #world war 2 #ww2history #wehrmacht #france #Cherbourg #dday #Atlantic wall

[faroukmarduk]

#original photographers #photography #photographers on tumblr #my art #photooftheday #lensblr #capbreton #french atlantic coast #atlantic wall #côte atlantique #atlantic coast #bunkers #long exposure #seascape #seaside #atlantic ocean #landes #gascogne

[everydayesterday]

German observation tower at Battery Moltke, Jersey.  Nazi forces had occupied the Channel Islands from 1940-1945, and converted this location into their own fortification, with the architecture you see here.  

This location was once home to the Alderney Nunnery, an ancient Roman site, and also contains artifacts left over from Tudor and Napoleonic times.

#history #world war 2 #world war II #germany #channel islands #jersey #nazi occupation #atlantic wall #war

[carbone14]

1 - Le mur de l'Atlantique, une ligne de défense côtière de 2,685 km construite entre 1942 et 1944

©Uberstroker

2 - Un des bunkers de la batterie d'artillerie de Frederikshavn - Danemark - 5 juillet 2006

Photographe : Arthur Van Beveren

#WWII #mur de l'atlantique #atlantic wall #fortifications #défenses côtières #coastal defences #bunker #frederikshavn #danemark #denmark

[bookloversofbath]

Fighting the Invasion: The Germany Army at D-Day :: Gunther Blumentritt

Fighting the Invasion: The Germany Army at D-Day :: Gunther Blumentritt

View On WordPress

#1-8536-7427-3 #1939 1945 war #21st panzer division #2nd panzer division #6th fallschirm regiment #atlantic wall #books by gunther blumentritt #british army #campaigns france #d day assaults #david c isby #erwin rommel #evgenia north #first edition books #german armed forces #german army #german history #german military #german paratroopers #lxxxiv corps #military history #nazi germany #normandy campaigns #operation overlord #ss panzer corps #world war 2 #world war campaigns #world war ii #world war two

[acourtoflight]

Just imagined Elriel’s first kiss happening while they’re flying over Velaris…Azriel making Elain laugh, her looking into his eyes as the wind blows around them and messes with Elain’s hair, Az holding her tighter to him…walk with me

#pro elriel #elriel #pro elain #elriel endgame #pro azriel #kinda going insane over this #headcanon #this while the guitar solo in the walls by chase atlantic sounds

[art-of-wackylurker]

Alright so I've signed up for @starwars-arttrade-2023...

Ladies, Gentlemen, and other assorted Nobles, 767th Recon Division's finest for @mire-draws-things! Not sure if these bois have established armor markings soooooooo I've came up with something fun and unique for each of them (also haven't found if Charm has a specific design yet so I made him a standard trooper but with a septum ring, if he has, sorry xd)

Just a wholesome little piece, simple and cartoonish, but that's just what we need sometimes, you know

But hold up. There's something else under the cut >:)

And of course I couldn't leave Stardust out but since the first piece was already finished when he appeared... Well that's what came out

But anyways, I hope you like these aaaaannnnnnddd have a good day <3

#artists on tumblr #traditional art #digital painting #star wars art trade 2023 #star wars oc #other people's ocs #clone trooper oc #The whole time making both pics I was like ''Yes... Ha Ha Ha... YES'' like some sickos guy #but alas I had fun and Stardust is so good he's now hanging on my wall because I love the pic #but alas it's almost 1am when I'm writing this and the post itself is scheduled for when there's morning across the atlantic so yea #good morning lol #yes this is basically a one big shameless flex but a shameless flex made with LOVE #I mean what can I give a fellow artist especially one so good #what if rules say ''don't expect yourself to make a star wars mona lisa'' but I say ''what if I DID make a star wars mona lisa'' #but alas if future art trades happen I'm in