Atlantic Wall Museum - Battery Todt

Battery Todt, originally Siegfried, was a gun position of the Naval Artillery Division 242 of the German Navy at Cap Gris-Nez on the English Channel in France during World War II. She was equipped with four 38 cm naval guns (C/34), which were used on the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz and had a range of up to 55.7 km. Cap Gris-Nez is a headland on the Strait of Calais, the narrowest part of the English Channel. More than 800 tons of iron and 12,000 m³ of reinforced concrete were used for the battery per dome. The ceiling thickness of the artillery bunkers is 3.5 meters thick. On September 24, 1941, the first guns of the battery began shelling the English south coast. The official inauguration took place in February 1942, when the battery was renamed in honor of Fritz Todt, the head of the Todt Organization, who died in an accident in early February. As the war progressed, the battery became part of the Atlantic Wall fortifications, which were particularly well developed in the area around the Strait of Calais due to its proximity to Britain, as the German leadership expected the Allies to land here. Even after the Allied landing in Normandy, the bombing of England continued. After RAF bombing remained largely ineffective, the Todt Battery was captured by Canadian forces from the landward side on 29 September 1944. Three bunkers survived the Second World War without major damage. One was destroyed by booby traps set by two Frenchmen. A bunker now houses a museum. One of the two remaining K-5 railroad guns is located outside.

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