The Atlantic Wall (1): France

Osprey Fortress #63

by Steven J. Zaloga, Hugh Samuel Johnson (Illustrator), Lee Ray (Illustrator)

In 1942, with Germany's gradual loss of the strategic initiative to the Allies, Hitler was forced to construct an impenetrable wall of fortifications along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. However, Hitler's grandiose Atlantic wall scheme was hampered by the realities of Germany's wartime economy. Without the resources and manpower to fortify the entire coast, the emphasis was placed on the great festung ports, the likely location of an Allied amphibious landing.

This first volume in a series of three deals solely with the structures on the French Atlantic coast starting with the Pas de Calais and extending down to Spain. Featuring detailed illustrations and diagrams of the various sections of the Atlantic Wall and the role that they played, it gives an insightful analysis into some of the most accessible fortifications of World War II.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military History, World War II, History

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2007

About the author

Steven Zaloga is an author and defense analyst known worldwide for his articles and publications on military technology.  He has written over a hundred books on military technology and military history, including “Armored Thunderbolt: The US Army Sherman in World War II”, one of the most highly regarded histories of the Sherman Tank.  His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He was a special correspondent for Jane’s Intelligence Review and is on the executive board of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/producer for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series Firepower.  He holds a BA in history from Union College and an MA in history from Columbia University.

Mr. Zaloga is also a noted scale armor modeler and is a host/moderator of the World War II Allied Discussion group at Missing-Lynx.com, a modelling website. He is a frequent contributor to the UK-based modeling magazine Military Modelling. He is a member of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society.

Reviews

[Dermot Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like all Osprey books this is a concise to the point well illustrated introduction to the subject

[Jemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful guide to how it actually looked and functioned. Of interest, however, probably only to those who have studied this period of History and/or have visited some of the sites. This does put it all into context and quite the context, as the Atlantic Wall was comparable to the Great Wall of China. Similarly, it failed. A lesson for all who would build walls.

Some may want even more detail and for them there are other books in this series. I, for one, was interested to learn how the bunkers come in different types built off plan. I do not need to know more about the types - knowing they have reference numbers is sufficient, I don't need to learn them.