Footsteps of WWII · Dunkirk & the Channel coast
Batterie Todt (Atlantic Wall Museum), Audinghen
Fortification · 1942–29 Sep 1944
The story
Work on the battery at Haringzelles, near Cap Gris-Nez, began on 22 July 1940. First called Siegfried, it was renamed after Fritz Todt, head of the Organisation Todt, who died in 1942. Four 380 mm naval guns in concrete casemates could reach the English coast, and the battery shelled shipping and the Dover area; the Cap Gris-Nez guns caused 3,059 alerts and 216 civilian deaths in England. On 29 September 1944, after heavy bombing, the North Nova Scotia Highlanders of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division took it during Operation Undergo.
What to look for
Casemate 1, a massive concrete gun house, holds the private Atlantic Wall Museum with uniforms, weapons and posters. Outside stands a 280 mm K5 railway gun, one of two survivors, brought here from Fort Nieulay at Calais in 1992. The other casemates lie in the surrounding fields.
Plan your visit
February–mid-November: Feb, Mar, Nov 14:00–17:30; Apr–Jun and Sep–Oct 10:00–18:00, closed Mondays; Jul–Aug 10:00–18:30; also open 26–31 Dec. Adult €9, child €6. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Dover Castle Secret Wartime Tunnels · 37 km
- Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne · 40 km
- Blockhaus d'Éperlecques · 41 km
- La Coupole V-2 site, Helfaut · 48 km
- East Mole (Jetée de l'Est), Dunkirk · 59 km
- RAF Manston Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum · 59 km
All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →
Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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