Building and Breaking the Atlantic Wall

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Building and Breaking the Atlantic Wall

• Evan Pierce Dec 3, 07 Wim

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What Was The Atlantic Wall

• The Atlantic Wall was a defense fortress made of
  Pillboxes, Artillery, Troops, and other
  obstacles.
• Built to defend Nazi Germany from the Allied
  invaders on the western front.

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Building the Atlantic Wall

• Nazi Officials wanted reinforcement on the
  Western Front.
• In December of 1941 orders were given to
  construct the Neue Westwall
• This task was taken on by Fritz Todt and Albert
  Speer of the Todt Organization

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Building the Atlantic Wall

• Construction went from 1942 until 1944
• The wall was made of reinforced concrete bunkers
  up to thirteen feet thick, barbed wire, and
  landmines.
• The wall reached from Norway to the
  French-Spanish Border.
• Nazi Propaganda would later change the name to
  the Atlantik Wall and said it was impregnable

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The Defenders

• Task was to guess were the Allied Army was going
  to land.
• Narrowed down entire coast line to areas that
  were near deep water ports.
• Hitler bet the invasion would be at
  Pas-de-Calais. Shortest distance from London, so
  put V-rockets at the site to make the allies land
  there.

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The Defenders

• Were exhausted old men (average age of 35) who
  joined the army in fear.
• Poorly trained artillery soldiers rushed into
  service.
• Battle hardened veterans who were brain washed
  and thought they could win.
• Over 60,000 German soldiers were captured on the
  eastern front retrained to fight against Stalin
  but forced to fight at Normandy

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The Defenders

• German Leaders included Field Marshall Gerd von
  Rundstedt, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, Friedrich
  Dollmann and Adolf Hitler.
• German infantry divisions included the 716th,
  352nd, 91st, 709th, 243rd, 711th, 30th,
• German armored divisions included the 21st SS
  Panzer, 12th SS Panzer, 1st SS Panzer, and the
  17th SS Panzer.

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Gerd Von Rundstedt

• The top German Army leader of the West.
• Disagreed with the entire idea of the Atlantik
  Wall. Just some Propaganda for the home front
• Believed that the invaders should be allowed to
  come to shore and be held up at rivers and
  bridges.
• Thought that the German soldiers would put up a
  better fight away from Allied Naval Guns

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Erwin Rommel

• Disagreed with how Hitler controlled the Panzer
  Divisions, the wall and its use for propaganda,
  and how Hitler did everything in general.
• Said that the Key to the invasion was to make the
  Allies crawl back from the sea.

• Sent by Hitler to reinforce the wall
• Reinforced the wall using six million land mines,
  erecting Belgian gates, and built Rommelspargel
  (Rommels Asparagus). He also flooded fields to
  slow down airborne troops.

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Rommels Build Up
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Panzers

• Where under the direct command of Adolph Hitler.
• Under his command due to many blunders and
  request of who should have command and where the
  panzers should be committed

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The Invaders

• Included American, British, Canadian, French
  Resistance Forces, Free French, Poland, and the
  Netherlands.
• Lead by Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bernard Montgomery,
  Bertram Ramsay, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Harry
  Crerar, Omar Bradley, Miles Dempsey.

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The Invaders

• The US troops taking part in the invasion came
  from the 82nd, 101st, 1st, 29th, 1st and 5th
  Ranger Battalions, 4th,and the 91st
• Other troops came from British 3rd, 27th armored,
  6th, 1st special brigade, Canadian 3rd, 2nd
  armored, 27th armored, 50th, XXX Corps.
• More armor was planned but failed to get ashore.

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The Invaders

• Contained ships from eight different navies with
  over 6,000 vessels.

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The Invaders

• Patton's 1st Army
• Double crossing spies and false reports.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Had to deal with all every concern by every high
  commander on the Allied Side.
• Put in charge by Winston Churchill.
• Initially had to decide weather or not to go when
  bad weather came in.
• Knew that Rommel was well prepared for his
  landing troops

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The Plan of Attack

• To cause chaos by using French Resistance and
  Airborne Troops, the airborne having set
  objectives.
• Use a naval bombardment to soften the beach.
• Land troops, establish the beach head, protect
  the flank, and then take Cherbourg.
• Cherbourg to Paris. Paris to Berlin.

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When and Where

• The Allied Army choose Normandy because it was
  the closest distance across from the English
  Channel.
• Also, Cherbourg was in close proximity
• A strict time table was set so that there was
  enough time to establish a well supplied front
  before winter came.

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When and Where
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The Beginning

• Started with a build up information and build up
  of the Resistance and classified air jumps.
• Resistance collected intelligence and sent it
  back to England.
• England sent Paymasters with gold to pay French.
  Gold was used to bribe German officials and buy
  explosives.

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Go

• He stopped pacing faced his subordinates, then
  said quietly but clearly, Okay Lets Go.
• Within thirty seconds the Southwick House was
  empty everyone ran to their command post and
  Eisenhower was left by himself. There was nothing
  more he could do.- SA pg.189

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Out of his Hands

• Our Landingshave failed and I have withdrawn
  the troops. My decision to attack at this time
  was based upon the best information available.
  The troops, the air and the navy did all that
  bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any
  blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine
  alone. Dwight D. Eisenhower June 5th 1944

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The Airborne

• Question on where to deploy the Airborne Troops
  arose when planning.
• If they were deployed at the coast where they
  were deployed estimated were projected that only
  one in ten would survive.
• The other option was to deploy them further
  inland and risk them being captured.

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The Airborne
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The Airborne

• General Eisenhower would see many Airborne
  Soldiers off on June 5th because of the high
  estimated casualty rate. He stayed until the last
  plane took off

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Beach Landings
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Beach Landings
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In Berlin

• Hitler was struggling to deal with the war.
• Doctors were giving him drugs all the time to
  deal with stress.
• His focus was on the Great Escape that had
  happened back in March when 100 P.O.W escaped.
• Was not to be disturbed after taking a sleeping
  pill.

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Around the World

• When news reached the United States that landings
  were taken place everyone danced in the streets.
• American and Soviet Diplomats partied in the bars
  and beat up German Diplomats that walked in
• In Germany propaganda reported that the Allies
  would be pushed back

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Back In France

• Rommel was on his way home to celebrate his
  birthday.
• The rest of the German High Command were either
  on leave in Paris or on their way to a training
  exercise
• The Rest of the German army was confused if and
  where the real landings where taking place.

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Victory
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Failure

• The Germans failed to set up proper defense.
• There was poor communication and lack of
  agreement in the High Command.
• Failure to react in time.

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Suggested Reading

• Behind Hitlers Lines by Thomas H. Taylor
• Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
• D-Day By Stephen Ambrose
• Recon Scout by Fred Salter

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Work Cited

• Ambrose Stephen. Band of Brothers, NY Simon
  Schuster 2001
• Ambrose Stephen. D-Day NY Simon Schuster
  1994
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  2007 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Norma
  ndy
• Cronkite Eisenhower's Return to Normandy, 2007
  http//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story
  Id1923277
• Lenco, The Atlantikwall Website,
  http//atlantikwall.net/index.htm
• Life Commemorative D-Day The 60th Anniversary
  Life inc.2004
• Jurgen, D-Day Omaha Beach
• Omaha Beach, http//www.omaha-beach.org/The20Beac
  h/TheBeach.html
• Runstedt Explains, Lone Sentry, 2003-2005,
  http//www.lonesentry.com/articles/rundstedt/
• Taylor Thomas H., Behind Hitlers Lines, NY
  Ballatine 2002
• Todt Organization, http//sorrel.humboldt.edu/res
  cuers/book/Pinkhof/josephh/todt.html

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