Atlantikwall et Sudwall, la défense allemande sur le littoral français (1941-1944)
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Abstract EN:
In order to guard himself against a possible landing of the allied forces while the wehrmacht was busy fighting on the russian battle front, hitler made a decision in december 1941 (a week after the usa had gone into the war) to have a line of defence works built on the coast line of western europe. Various "weisungen" (directives) were tp schedule fortification building operations as well as the different types of defensive works to be built on the shore. The todt organisation, an agency of the nazi party, which would achieve such schemes of the reich government as road network, the siegfried line, etc. . . Was in charge. The building of the atlantic wall started in mid 1942. To achieve this large scale scheme (consisting of 15,000 concrete works along a 2,500 mls shore line, from friesland to the spanish border) the o. T. Hired the services of major public building firms both in the reich and in occupied western countries, and gave the o. T. The run of a large number either of workers under requisition or p. O. W. S. While some people worked for the germans, others were striving, at the peril of their lives, to provide the allied forces with intelligence (charts of coastal defence works, location or airfields and radar stations, v1 and v2 launching sites, movements of troops. . . ) this information did prove useful in complementing that collected from aerial photographs, the most important source of information the allied forces had then. In spite of the bulk of defensive works actually achieved and the 4,000 pieces of more or less heavy artillery scattered along the coast of europe, nowhere did the atlantic wall really prevent landing. Nevertheless, this coastal defence system as a whole played a considerable part strategically. Particularly, in so far as it obliged the allied forces to make important preparations, the coastal defence works retarded the moment when the anglo-american forces could possibly land on the continent. The atlantic wall thus did play a not in the least negligible part in the course of events in w. W. Ii.
Abstract FR:
Pour se proteger contre une tentative de debarquement allie alors que l'armee allemande etait occupee en russie, hitler decidait, en decembre 1941, huit jours apres l'entree en guerre des etats-unis, de construire une ligne de fortifications, sur les cotes de l'europe de l'ouest. Diverses weisungen (directives) devaient fixer l'ordre des priorites dans la fortification des cotes ainsi que les differents types d'organisations defensives a implanter sur le rivage. Confiee a l'organisation todt, agence du parti nazi chargee de realiser les projets du gouvernement du reich (reseau autoroutier, ligne siegfried), la construction de l'atlantikwall (mur de l'atlantique), debutait, au milieu de l'annee 1942. Pour mener a bien ce chantier de grande envergure (construction de 15 000 ouvrages betonnes sur 4. 000 km de cotes, entre la frise et la frontiere espagnole), l'ot faisait appel aux plus grandes entreprises de travaux publics du reich et des pays occupes a l'ouest et mettait a leur disposition une abondante main-d'oeuvre composee de requis et de prisonniers de guerre. Pendant que certains oeuvraient pour les allemands, d'autres, au risque de leur vie, s'efforcaient de fournir aux allies des renseignements (carte des defenses cotieres, implantation des aerodromes, des stations radar et des bases de lancement de v1 ou v2, localisation des champs de mines, deplacements de troupes. . . ). Ces precisions devaient utiliement completer les informations tirees de la photographie aerienne, premiere source d'information des allies. Malgre l'importance des travaux defensifs effectues en bordure du littoral europeen le long duquel etaient dissemines pres de 4. 000 canons de divers calibres, le mur de l'atlantique n'a nulle part empeche le debarquement. L'existence du systeme defensif cotier a cependant joue un role appreciable sur le plan strategique. En particulier, en contraignant les allies a des preparatifs considerables, les fortifications cotieres ont differe l'instant ou les anglo-americains ont ete en mesure de debarquer sur le continent. L'atlantikwall a donc joue, dans le deroulement general du second conflit mondial, un role retardateur nullement negligeable.