Jaldaen Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 How available was barbwire for the germans in Normandy on the day after D-Day? Was barbed wire frequently used by the forces there? How long would barbed wire take to set-up? Finally, was there something other then barbwire that was use more frequently in the area of Normandy around D-Day and further inland where the Airborne troops landed? -Joseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 Areas behind the coast were extensively flooded to foil airborne operations; also, stakes driven into the ground in fields were used to foil glider landings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wacky Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 Barbad wire's really only useful when you're defending a fixed position, which is something the Germans didn't do for the most part in Normandy. They would dig into a hedgerow, fight it out, fall back and dig into the next. Besides, the hedges already restricted Allied mobility enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaldaen Posted March 2, 2002 Author Share Posted March 2, 2002 In the German's defense of Normandy, what were the most commonly used "fortifications" further inland? This is mainly a question about what airborne would have faced in Normandy... were there many wooden pillboxes, minesfields, barbedwire that they faced or were most of these defenses pointed outward (ie towards the beachs) and thus not really faced by the airborne? Thanks, Jaldaen [ March 02, 2002, 12:54 PM: Message edited by: Jaldaen ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holien Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 Hi, I was just doing a search and came across your question. If you are still waiting an answer? Barbwire is fairly cheap to make and very easy to deploy if you have time. I would say that it was used extensively if a unit had time to dig in. As for behind the beaches certain key areas had plenty of bunkers and good fortifications even some distance from the landings. Cities, Key bridges and other such places can be expected to have good bunkers for defence as these were being constructed through out the German occupation. I hope that helps? H P.s. Ohh bugger I have been spotted... P.P.s They never used xxxx to defend xxxxx and any designers who does is a gamey Bstrd and should be hauled over the coals.... Edited because I was told off by JK. And if it really helped anyone then it hurt me more so stop the moaning as you have heard nothing YET!!! :mad: [ October 17, 2002, 07:12 AM: Message edited by: Holien ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CombinedArms Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 H, How common would concrete bunkers with 75mm or 88mm ATguns be? I hate to face those suckers and feel like they may be too pervasive in CMBO. PS. I believe laboratories should not have to be attacked with infantry at all, especially at night, and instead should be leveled by 10 ton "Ratbuster" bombs or assaulted with whole companies of amphibious tanks. I believe scenario designers should keep this in mind, in future, and I wonder if you would agree? [ October 14, 2002, 10:21 PM: Message edited by: CombinedArms ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holien Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 Hi, I agree with the second comment totally... As for common bunkers you have to take that in context with the land being fought over... A small village that just happens to be in the way will not have a bunker (on the whole). Key bridges, command centers in large towns, place where the front has halted for several months, could have bunkers. As you drive round the UK or France you will stumble across bunkers in places where you would not expect. Then when you think about it, it makes sense. Airfields that have long gone, Key river crossings, railway junctions, including yards. 88 less common than 75mm. In fact I think most bunkers if they had large caliber guns they would be captured or older bits and bobs, not 88's... That is my gut feel on it, backed up with travel and personal observation. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertram Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 As to fortifications you can add canals, canal bridges, and the better roads as places to eexpect them. Many where build even before the war, as standard fortifications (though only in Germany they would point the right way, in France, Belgium and the Netherlands they would, and for some part still do, generally point eastward to Germany). Even now you come across many square concrete buildings in the fields in the Netherlands. Many are rather thin walled, more reinforced observation posts, but some have bunker walls. Most of them have their covering earth lost long ago, and are used for storage or as sheepshed. Bertram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CombinedArms Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 Thanks, H & B, for your vivid portraits of half-century old bunkers in decay. We've got nothing quite like this in the USA, esp. relating to WWII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holien Posted October 16, 2002 Share Posted October 16, 2002 http://uk.geocities.com/pillboxesuk/imagelist.html This site shows what we have left in the UK... The UK had but a fraction of those in Europe... H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CombinedArms Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Wow, this pictures are quite amazing! Thanks, H. Does anyone have a link to some European picts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maj. Battaglia Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Combined Arms, there actually are some old bunkers in the US, but they are coast defense types. Some from WWI, others WWII. One I have visited is near where I grew up, an old system of concrete OPs and gun emplacements guarding the entrance to the harbor in Portsmouth, NH. Not quite the same, but still interesting to wander around. There are also quite a lot in Vietnam, as anyone who has visited will attest. Bridges, mountain passes, along highways. Many date back to the French, others ARVN. It can be eerie to be up close to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 CA and Holien, You made certain unfortunate scenario specific references in your post, references I noticed and will be affected by, since I read them before grokking what they were about. Please either revise your post or place prominent spoiler warnings in front of it. Technically, if I understood what I read correctly, there has been no discussion authorization issued, even for the Scenario board. As for coastal forts, I live in U.S. coastal fort paradise, only miles from one of the best preserved coastal forts in the country, Ft. MacArthur (www.ftmac.org) in San Pedro, California guarding Los Angeles harbor. The site has quite a bit of information, plus a wealth of resources on seacoast defense and the like. See also www.military-info.com for some goodies. Regards, John Kettler [ October 17, 2002, 03:20 AM: Message edited by: John Kettler ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Man Posted October 22, 2002 Share Posted October 22, 2002 WOW!!!! Those are some cool pic's Holien. I wish I lived in England so I could see those for myself! Here in Michigan there isn't much old stuff to see like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 22, 2002 Share Posted October 22, 2002 On the north side of my town, Port Townsend, WA, is Fort Worden, a medium-sized fortification that was manned continuously from the late ninetenth century through the end of WW II as part of a complex of fortifications protecting Puget Sound. It was an Army Coast Artillery installation, and its complement of weaponry changed markedly over the years it was in use. The last two or three decades of its service it mounted 10" and 12" rifles in several battery positions, I believe. I have prowled the batteries and ammo bunkers as well as the spotlight and observation sites. The gun positions and ammo bunkers are protected by several feet of reinforced concrete of high quality and several feet of earth. From the sea they would be extremely hard to spot until they fired, and not too easily even then. But it would have been no trick at all to spot them from the air. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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