Hitler's Atlantic Wall

by Anthony Saunders

It was designed as the ultimate defence of Hitler's Thousand-Year Reich. A wall that would secure the Nazi empire from invasion... Fortifications are often impressive in their sheer size and strength, but the breadth of the monolithic battlements that make up Hitler’s Atlantic Wall is incredible. Millions of tonnes of steel-reinforced concrete were poured into tens of thousands of defences along nearly 3,000 miles of European coastline, in a project which involved countless workers. The structures they built were so massive that many still survive today despite vigorous attempts to demolish them. This book is the first history of the wall to be written in English, and examines the reasons behind its construction. Hitler conceived the Atlantic Wall as a line of impregnable defences to protect his newly conquered empire from the inevitable onslaught of Allied attack. Bunkers, gun emplacements, flak batteries, radar stations and observation posts were rapidly built to form this remarkable barrier. France was thought to be most vulnerable to invasion from sea, so the crucial parts of the wall were built along the Channel and Atlantic coasts. By the time of the Allied assault in June 1944, more than 700 batteries alone had been built in less than two years. Many of the fortifications saw fierce battles, as Allied soldiers faced the difficult task of taking individual bunkers by direct assault. Anthony Saunders examines the French positions in detail, describing what was built and how, the fighting that took place at each one, and presents a comprehensive guide to what remains of the sites today. Hitler’s Atlantic Wall is an authoritative and informative account which serves as a guide for tourist and enthusiast alike, while shedding light on an often overlooked aspect of the Second World War that had important consequences for both the Allies and Germany. Anthony Saunders is the author of Weapons of the Trench War 1914-1918 and Dominating the Enemy 1914-1918. He worked in the Principal Directorate of Patents, at the Ministry of Defence, for six years. He is now a freelance writer and editor with a specialist interest in the two world wars.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II

177 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1901

Reviews

[Chandru CS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Good for a you free free app and then free download it kindle free free and kindle kindle free free book download kindle free kindle

[Richard Brylczyk · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has a compilation of statistics that bored me beyond belief. A few portions provided narrative on small portions of the wall that were interesting and worth the time to read. Selling books to the public should not be the same as drafting tomes of statistics for reference shelves.

[Jemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good companion guide to the Osprey title on this subject that I read last year. He goes into a great deal of detail, even explaining how reinforced concrete structures are built. Indeed, his guide to the various fortifications would make a useful travel guide.

However, this is not for the general reader who has only marginal curiousity about this subject. It is detail heavy. My one significant criticism stems from this - this book needs pictures. There is a quite remarkable enumeration of all the different bunker types and Saunders acknowledges this is confusing because the Nazis were fairly disorganised and overly competitive, but I defy most people to retain the detail. Images of the various types would've assisted greatly.

Fortunately, I'm unlikely ever to need to recall the differences - so this didn't spoil the book for me. Especially as I respect people who put this kind of effort into their research.

[Colin Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

an interesting read and excellent addition to the cannon of work that is the history of world war 2

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finished

Not that good. More like a term paper. Very technical with little information on any of the individuals mentioned. I would not read another.