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4.5
This is a very good book on the more significant German gun installations along the French Channel coast from Boulogne to Calais. It describes the following weaponry and installations:• 150 mm guns of the type used as the main armament of German light cruisers and destroyers constructed in the 1920s and 1930s;• 170 mm guns of the type used as the secondary armament for German pre-Dreadnought battleships in the 1890s / early 1900s;• Captured French 194 mm coastal guns originally developed as the secondary armament for French pre-Dreadnought battleships in the 1890s / early 1900s;• Captured 254 mm Russian coastal guns. They were given new barrel liners to allow them to use standard German 240 mm ammunition;• 280 mm and 305 mm guns of the type used in pre-1914 German battleships and battle cruisers;• 380 mm and 406 mm guns developed in the late 1930s for the German “Bismarck” and “H” class battleships.Unfortunately, there are no discussions or photos of “Batterie Mirus” consisting of the four captured pre-1914 Russian / French 305 mm guns that were installed on the island of Guernsey.There are no tabulations of gun dimensions, weights, or performance characteristics. Usually, much useful information is contained within the text or in the associated photo captions.The text is accompanied by black and white photos and drawings of the various sites.Some other good books on German coastal guns and fortifications or which describe major military construction projects in detail are:• “Fortress Third Reich: German Fortifications and Defense Systems in World War II” by J. E. Kaufmann and H. W. Kaufmann (2003). This book offers a thorough investigation of every (I think) fortification that the Germans constructed in World War II. It describes design thinking and provides many construction details. It describes the West Wall, U-boat pens, Channel fortifications, Atlantic Wall bunkers and fortifications, Flak towers, and V-1 missile-launching sites.• “The Atlantic Wall (1): France” by Zaloga (2007). This is an excellent booklet on the subject. It describes German Atlantic Wall fortifications in the Pas de Calais and Normandy areas. The text is accompanied by numerous maps, photos, diagrams, and color renderings. It also includes some tabulations describing the numbers and sizes of the guns installed at the various fortified areas and also the types and numbers of bunkers. The chapter "Aftermath" provides a critique of the entire Atlantic Wall fortification concept. It was a military and economic waste. As author Steven Zaloga summarizes: "The program was symptomatic of Nazi Germany's inability to provide rational and efficient direction to its defense economy due to Hitler's amateur enthusiasms. The Wehrmacht throughout the war was usually short of tanks, ammunition, and other war essentials due in no small measure to the flagrant squandering of resources on dubious schemes such as this one." In my opinion, the V-2 rocket program was another economically dubious and militarily useless program.• “The Atlantic Wall in France 1940 – 1945” by Braeuer (2010). This is an English translation of the original book in French in 2010. The translation is very professionally done in my opinion -- the English is excellent. The book is 80 pages. Probably around 80% of the photos are black and white and the remainder are in color. The text and photos cover a wide variety of Atlantic Wall armament, ranging from the 40.6 cm guns and casemates at "Batterie Lindemann," the 38 cm guns at "Batterie Todt," some 30.5 cm guns taken from captured French and Russian battleships, some 20.3 cm guns from German cruisers that were never completed, a large number of captured French 30.5 cm and 34 cm and 24 cm Czech guns, some railway guns, and finally several photos of anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns and installations.• “Guns of the Atlantic Wall 1942 - 1945” by Karl-Heinz and Michael Schmeelke (1998). With a few exceptions, almost all the guns depicted in this booklet are captured French, Soviet, and a few British weapons. The exceptions are the photos of the German K5(E) railroad guns installed near Cap Gris Nez outside Calais, some other German railway guns such as the 24 cm "Theodor Bruno," and a turret from the heavy cruiser "Lutzow" containing two 203 mm guns. In my opinion, the highlight of the booklet is the 4 pages of text and photos describing the captured French 340 mm railway guns installed at the Plouharnel battery at the north end of the Quiberon Peninsula.The booklet includes 75 mm, 105 mm, and 155 mm captured French field guns, the 340 mm French railway guns, and captured 152 mm Soviet guns. There are some especially good photos and drawings of the domed concrete bunkers built to contain the German 280 mm K5 railway guns.• The book “Weapons of the Third Reich” by Gander and Chamberlain (1979) has a chapter devoted to German coastal guns. Page 259 contains a listing of every German naval coastal battery. The text provides tabulations of dimensions and performance characteristics of every gun used, including the captured French and Russian weapons.• “The Flak Towers: In Berlin, Hamburg, and Vienna 1940 – 1950” by Foedrowitz (1998). This is a great 48-page booklet. The text describes the origin, design, and construction details of the eight flak towers constructed in Berlin, Hamburg, and Vienna. There are many black and white photos of the exteriors and interiors. The photos include the architectural scale models that were made as part of the designs during the war. Other photos include the towers as they were finished and as they were damaged during the war and demolished after the war. Only 14 or so of the 48 pages contain significant descriptive text, so the booklet doesn't take long to read. Much interesting information is contained within the detailed captions accompanying the photos.• “Relics of the Reich: The Buildings the Nazis Left Behind” by Philpott (2016). This book offers a very interesting discussion of the major Nazi edifices. It includes structures such as the Nuremberg Zeppelin Field and Nazi Party rally site, the Luftwaffe Ministry building in Berlin, the Reichstag and Kroll Opera Haus, Berchtesgaden and the Obersalzberg, the Berlin Olympic Stadium of 1936, and the Fuehrerbau in Munich. There are also discussions of sites and buildings or structures that no longer exist such as Herman Goering's "Carinhall" and the WW I Tannenberg Memorial. Chapter 5 describes the future fantasy projects that were supposed to be constructed after Germany won WW II, such as the huge projects planned for Berlin. Chapter 6 describes gigantic war projects such as the "Valentin" submarine construction bunker, the "Wolfschanze" headquarters in East Prussia, and the huge Me 262 production facility at Walpersberg. The book includes a large number of black & white period photos and a few contemporary photos of the various sites.
