Hitlers Atlantic Wall

15-08-2013

Although nothing to do with AT rifles, this section is being constructed in an attempt to document a very small portion of equally interesting military history - Hitlers Atlantic Wall, in particular the section from Ronce-les-Bains to Royan. Most are located along the D25 in La Coubre forest.

For anyone visiting this area the huge concrete bunkers are positioned, generally, along the coast, overlooking the Gironde estuary, as this was a route for the German U-boats to the pens at Bordeaux. The majority were under control of the German Navy, the "Kriegsmarine" .

I'll start with a few satellite pictures of the bunker sites, and then provide pictures of the remains, where possible we have pictures of the insides, although many are being sealed up to keep people out. Many are in remarkable condition considering (ignoring the graffiti and litter) the battering they sustained by allied bombing, shelling and napalm attacks. GPS co-ordinates are given for as many structures as possible.

Between Ronce-les-Bains and the La Grande-Cote there are 8 significant bunker sites - these are described below, carrying on South towards Royan there are several more which will be investigated at a later date.

Site 1: Ronce-les-Baines

At position [1] above we have our first bunker, now converted into a home:

At position [2] we have a row of bunkers now converted into what appear to be holiday homes, some of the concrete visible appears to be modern, but closer inspection reveals the familiar thick walls with rounded corners.

Close up:

Site 2: Located 3.6km by road to the West of the Ronce-Les-Baines bunker site


At position [1]: Bunker [2]: Notice the circular MG hole, now filled in, pipes capped off with square cast concrete. Bunker [3]: Bunker [4]: This frontal view is of the gun position, covering the beach East towards Ronce-Les-Baines And the rear of bunker [4] : Bunker 5 is very nearly totally obscured by the sand: Bunker 6, the most westerly of this battery, view to the South: View east Roof, view to the west: Directly opposite, on the Island Oleron, we have the remains of another bunker or two, gradually falling into the sand: Site 3: Located just under 4km by road from site 2.

Bunker 1: Bunker 1 looking south Bunker 2: Bunker 2, note the gun aperture now filled with sand. Bunker 3 looking towards bunkers 2 and 1 Bunker 4, the only one on this site accessible without a spade. Rear entrance, partially blocked View towards gun aperture View towards rear entrance Unidentified concrete block - aerial mast base perhaps? View from bunker 4 south to bunkers 2 and 3 (1 is obscured) Site 4. This one is a 20 minute walk from the nearest car park, all bunkers are almost totally obscured, just the corners are exposed and some roof sections, however bunker 1 as marked below is accessible.
Bunker 1: Site 5

Site 6 Site 7 Site 7 - La Grande Cote, as can be seen from the aerial photograph have started to slip into the sea, having had the sand from under them gradually washed away. No close up photos here (yet), time didn't permit, however here is a long distance shot for now: Site 8

This page was last updated Tuesday, 12 February 2013