Living by the wadden sea - before
THE ATLANTIC WALL BY THE WADDEN SEA A CONCRETE DEFENCE
Foto: Museet for Varde By og Omegn
Tirpitz were intended, together with other positions on Fanø, to protect the approach to Esbjerg. The remains of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall stretch along the whole of the Wadden Sea coast. The many bunkers were once pieces in a defense puzzle that stretched from the North Cape to the Pyrenees. In the Wadden Sea area, you will find many different positions, especially on Rømø, Fanø, around Esbjerg and by Blåvand.
The Tirpitz-position by Blåvand
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Near Blåvand, with a view of the approach to Esbjerg, lies the Tirpitz-position with two huge cannonbunkers. The Hansted-battery in Hanstholm and the Tirpitz-position were meant to be the biggest coast batteries in Denmark. The bunker complex should have been operational by September 1945, but was unfinished by the time the war had ended.
The headquarters in Esbjerg
Tirpitz and the many positions on Fanø were intended, together with other positions on Fanø, to protect the approach to Esbjerg, which was a strategic nerve-center for the German occupational force. The position with its four big ship-cannons with a range of 55km were meant to cover the area from Nymindegab to Fanø, but at the capitulation, the enormous cannon bores were still at Guldager station near Esbjerg.
In Strandskoven near Esbjerg lies a huge bunker six meters below ground. During the occupation, it functioned as a command center for the air defense and all German artillery in the area. Above ground there is a 15 meters high tower with a telescope. All air, navy and troop movements in the west Jutland region could be monitored from the bunker. The men in the command bunker lived in six bunkers, each with room for 20 men, situated around the underground command bunker.
After the war, the bunkers were cordoned off and used by the armed forces for test detonations. In 1991, the southern bunker was excavated and made into a museum.
During World War II, Esbjerg and Fanø were the most heavily fortified areas in Denmark with approximately 1,200 bunkers. Esbjerg had the only harbor that could be used in case of an Allied invasion and was therefore an important strongpoint for the occupational forces.
The German navy headquarters in Esbjerg were initially set up in the now demolished Hotel Royal, and later moved to a bunker complex in an area bet-
Mette Bjerum Jensen, Museet for Varde By og Omegn & Bente Bjerum, Naturcentret Tønnisgård Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation
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Living by the wadden sea - before
Command Bunker for the German air defense and artillery in Esbjerg. The photo was taken after the war. ween the city and the harbor. The largest of these bunkers lay deep below the harbor administration, protected by masses of earth. In the room with the central telephone switchboard, the wall was painted with phosphorescent paint so even if the light went out, the switchboard could still be seen. All marine traffic was plotted on charts in this bunker. The air defense command centre in Strandskoven was central to the Civil Defense in Esbjerg up until 2003, while, today, the marine headquarters functions as Marinestation Esbjerg.
Batteries on Fanø To protect Esbjerg harbor, 300 bunkers were built on Fanø. The coast artillery on Fanø comprised five positions, of which three were situated on the northern part of the island. Aside from cannon positions to protect the approach to the harbor, positions for heavy air defense artillery (10.5 cm) were also built on North Fanø. The Fanø North battery was part of the defense of Esbjerg harbor. The battery was in action when formations of Allied bombers flew on their way to and from their targets in Germany. The biggest action took place on August 27, 1944 when 61 American B17-bombers, part of a fleet of ca. 1,200 heavy bombers and 871 escort fighter planes, having given up attacking Berlin because of bad weather, attacked
The Atlantic Wall back then Most of the bunkers along the west coast were built from 1943 - 45 and are jointly termed the Atlantic Wall. Together, they comprise a defense line of 2,685 km. Along the west coast of Jutland, starting from the German border at Nymindegab, 1,734 bunkers were built.
The Atlantic Wall today The bunkers were made in reinforced concrete. The walls and the ceilings are from 2 - 3. 5 meters thick. It is a difficult, almost impossible job to detonate a bunker of 1,500 m3 made from armored concrete. So, most of the bunkers are left behind layers of sand, hidden in dune plantations or eroded by the wind and the waves.
the airfield in Esbjerg and the German military complexes on Fanø. Meanwhile, 63 of the fighter planes attacked trains and vehicles throughout the west Jutland area. Fifteen Danes were killed and 14 were wounded, mainly train passengers, on what DSB christened Bloody Sunday. A long concrete road goes from Fanø Bad and north to Battery Grådyb. The four very modern, at the time, 15cm cannons came from the battleship Gneisenau. The battleship’s secondary armoring was moved to Fanø when Gneisenau was damaged during an Allied bombing attack. The cannons were used as coa-
Mette Bjerum Jensen, Museet for Varde By og Omegn & Bente Bjerum, Naturcentret Tønnisgård Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation
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Living by the wadden sea - before
Many bunkers still remains in the plantations, as here on Rømø.
The Regelbau-system The bunkers were built after the Regelbau-system, which meant construction sets with shutter board and draft drawings for each type of bunker. This way, it took hardly any time to pour a bunker. Each bunker had a Regelbau number. Today, the price for just one personnel bunker of the type R622 would be ca. DKK 4 million.
stal defense and had a reach of 22 km. Another of the batteries, Fanø Plantage, was equipped with four cannons from the Danish Coastal Defense ship Peter Skram that was sunk by its own crew on August 29, 1943 while at Holmen. After the war, the battery was taken over by the naval defense that maintained it until 1951, when the cannons were transferred to Stevns fort south of Copenhagen as part of the military buildup during the Cold War.
Positions on Rømø The ocean surrounding Rømø is very shallow, and during the war the dyke to the mainland had not been built. An Allied invasion on Rømø would have been difficult and the defense was only sparingly developed. On the other hand, it was important for the Germans to discover Allied air strikes as early as possible.
Consequently from 1942 and until the end of the war, one increasingly effective radar station after the other was built on Rømø. When the war ended, there were at least eight different radar masts on the island, some with names such as Søelefant, Mammut and Freya. By the end of the war, the radar stations on Rømø were the biggest and most advanced radar positions in Denmark. All told, 50 bunkers were built on Rømø Island. The most unusual radar on Rømø was Søelefanten, the only one of its type used during World War II. Among other things, it was used to locate the point of impact of the V-2 buzz bombs in England. Under good conditions, the radar system could follow aircraft at a distance of up to 600km.
Recreation on Mandø On Mandø there was an air reporting unit to observe and report Allied aircraft. The observation post was a wooden tower and a pair of binoculars, and the men lived in barracks. Mandø island was also a place of recreation for soldiers serving on the Eastern Front. One the German Army’s coast batteries was situated on the mainland at the school in Vester Vedsted.
After the war
When the Second World War ended in May 1945,
Mette Bjerum Jensen, Museet for Varde By og Omegn & Bente Bjerum, Naturcentret Tønnisgård Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation
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Living by the wadden sea - before
the German soldiers left the bunkers. The Allied troops held a huge training drill, ”Post Mortem”, where they tested the Germans’ radar stations and afterwards took away all the technical installations. All items of equipment, especially those made of iron, were dismantled, removed from the bunkers
and reused. Nearly all of the bunkers were bricked up and left to the west wind and sand drift.
Things to do
Learn about the Atlantic Wall here ...
As a guest to the Wadden Sea, you can explore the different types of bunkers in the landscape. A few are open for you to take a look inside.
The Tirpitz position
On Rømø, it is recommended to visit the Robbe Nord position to see the bunker related to the Mammut radar mast. Please contact Tønnisgård Naturcenter to arrange for a tour of the bunkers. On Fanø, most of the bunkers are closed and some are completely inaccessible. However, on the north point of Fanø is a well preserved bunker complex and it is possible to go inside some of the bunkers. The Fisheries and Maritime museum in Esbjerg has an exhibition in a staff bunker arranged just as it was during World War II. In Blåvand, the Tirpitz-bunker functions as a yearround exhibition. By Blåvandshuk Lighthouse you will find a position with flight radar and a commando bunker. Please be aware that some bunkers lie within the Army’s training area and access is limited. Guided bunker tours are available during the summer.
Tane Hedevej Dk- 6857 Blåvand
T: +75 27 84 27 E: vam@vardemuseum.dk W: http://vardemuseum.dk/dk.php/museer/tirpitz
NaturKulturVarde
Gl. Skovfogedbolig Roustvej 111 DK-6800 Varde T: +75 22 22 50 E: nkv@naturkulturvarde.dk W: www.naturkulturvarde.dk
The Fisheries and Maritime museum Tarphagevej 2-6 DK- 6710 Esbjerg V T: +76 12 20 00 E: fimus@fimus.dk W: www.fimus.dk
Naturcentret Tønnisgård Havnebyvej 30 DK-6792 Rømø T: +74 75 52 57 E: info@tonnisgaard.dk W: www.tonnisgaard.dk
tips for further reading
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The archaeology of the Wadden Sea Buildings and architecture Life on the Wadden Sea Islands The marsh - its use, nature & culture Navigation, ships and trade
About Vadehavets Formidlerforum... Vadehavets Formidlerforum is a partnership of visitor centers that mediate the Wadden Sea’s natural and cultural heritage. VFF’s main activity is to coordinate projects that highlight the nature and culture heritage of the Wadden Sea.. Learn more at www.vadehav.dk
Mette Bjerum Jensen, Museet for Varde By og Omegn & Bente Bjerum, Naturcentret Tønnisgård Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation
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