Heavy gun towed by five linked half tracks through French streets to form part of the Atlantic Wall

The Atlantic Wall or “Atlantikwall“ was an extensive system of coastal defenses and fortifications built by Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia. This was built to counter an anticipated Allied invasion of occupied Europe from Britain during the Second World War. The manning and operation of the Atlantic Wall was administratively overseen by the German Army, with some support from Luftwaffe ground forces. The Kriegsmarine maintained a separate coastal defense network, organized into a number of sea defense zones. The construction of the fortifications was ordered in 1942 and more than half a million French workers were drafted to build it. The wall was frequently mentioned in propaganda, where its size and strength were usually exaggerated. The fortifications included colossal coastal guns, batteries, mortars, and artillery, and thousands of German troops were stationed in its defenses. Today, ruins of the wall exist in all of the nations where