Footsteps of WWII · Dunkirk & the Channel coast
Fort des Dunes, Leffrinckoucke
Fortification · 2–3 Jun 1940; 6 Sep 1944
The story
Built in 1878–80 in the dunes east of Dunkirk, the fort was the headquarters of the French 12th Motorised Infantry Division, part of the rearguard holding the perimeter while the British and French embarked. On the evening of 2 June 1940 dive-bombers struck it and General Janssen, the division's commander, was mortally wounded in a courtyard with several officers. Further bombing on 3 June killed more men inside the fort. The French held long enough for the evacuation to run to 4 June. In September 1944 the Germans used the fort to shoot captured members of the Resistance against the north moat.
What to look for
A sunken 19th-century fort with brick casemates, moats and courtyards, now a museum (the Musérial) on the 1940 battle and the evacuation. Plaques by the entrance remember the soldiers killed in 1940 and the executed resistance fighters. The national military cemetery lies next to the fort.
Plan your visit
Open 3 Mar–1 Nov 2026, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, closed Mondays. Adult about €7–8, child €3.50. Audio-guides and guided tours available. Bus C1 or C2 to 'Leffrinckoucke Fort des Dunes'. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Zuydcoote and Bray-Dunes beach wrecks · 4 km
- Malo-les-Bains evacuation beach, Dunkirk · 4 km
- Dunkirk 1940 Museum (Bastion 32) · 5 km
- Dunkirk Memorial and Town Cemetery (CWGC) · 5 km
- East Mole (Jetée de l'Est), Dunkirk · 5 km
- La Plaine au Bois massacre memorial, Esquelbecq (Wormhout) · 19 km
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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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