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The
Widerstandnesten (“nests of resistance”) located within the immediate vicinity
of the shore, on cliffs, dunes or sea walls, were lighter structures than the
coastal batteries. They were intended to provide close defence of the beaches
against assault troops.
They
generally comprised one or two casemates housing medium-calibre guns (50-, 75-
or 88-mm), positioned so as to rake the shore, Tobruks (concrete pits embedded
in the ground and fitted with a circular lid where an infantryman could be
posted) and mortar, machine-gun and anti-aircraft-gun positions, all connected
by a network of trenches. |
| A casemate
housing an 88-mm gun on Omaha Beach |
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By the spring
of 1944, there were no fewer than 200 Widerstandnesten along the coasts
of the Seine Bay. There were, for example around fifteen along the
six-kilometre stretch of beach between Vierville and Colleville (future
Omaha Beach sector).
These close defences caused far more losses among Allied troops on June
6th 1944 than the coastal batteries.
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| A casemate
housing an 88-mm gun on Omaha Beach |
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