Atlantic Wall

Fortifications built by the Germans in World War II on the North Sea and Atlantic coasts of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway. They proved largely ineffective against the Allied invasion in 1944.

The defences extended 2,750 km/1,700 mi from the North Cape to the Spanish frontier and did not actually form a continuous wall, but were grouped according to the likelihood of the area being used for landing. Millions of tons of concrete went into the construction of gun batteries, pillboxes, and tank obstacles, slave labour from Organization Todt was liberally employed, and the permanent works were interspersed with barbed wire, mines, anti-tank ditches, steel underwater obstacles, and other defensive devices. All were carefully studied by the Allies, who then set about devising methods of countering them when invasion took place. In the event, careful preparation and the experience of the Dieppe raid enabled the Allies to overcome these obstacles.