Railway batteries
This special covers the railway batteries in the area. They were part of the long distance guns (Fernkampf Batterien) which covered the Channel. The capacity of the guns made it also possible to fire on British soil. In the organisation they were placed under the command of the army (das Heer). Two main units were responsible for Calais, both used several pre-fixed firing locations for their guns. These locations were interconnected with railway tracks. There was even a track that could bring a gun from one unit to the other. The positions were defended with infantry weapons, mostly placed in thin concrete. Once the gun was placed in the position, it could rotate 360 degrees by using a turntable. Unfortunately there are no remains of these constructions.
1. E 710 had 2 guns 28 cm K5, with positions in the city of Calais:
- position 1 was in our days the marina at Boulevard du 8 Mai, Wn 73
- position 2 was direct next to the Dom bunker, in Stp Fulda, Wn 89
- position 3 was more west, still in Stp Fulda, here some remains can be found in a parc with cottages and gardens
2. E 1./725 had 2 of the same guns with positions more in the direction of Sangatte:
- position 1 in Stp Unstrutt, Wn 87, designation on the IGN-map: Dique Royale, east,
- positions 2 and 3 in Stp Mühlheim, Wn 123, the same Dique, west
- positions 4 till 6 in Stp Bremen, Wn 124, near Le Cimenterie, in the former chalk-mine.
3. E 765, with the same equipment, was stationed more south, at Noirbernes in Stp Schwarztal, Stp 180.
28 cm K5 Krupp cannon at the museum Todt, still pointing towards England.