Atlantic Wall Fragments

On June 6, 1944, three slabs of steel reinforced concrete formed 20 feet and 16 tons of the German fortified coastline known as the Atlantic Wall, which stretched from the Franco-Spanish border to Norway for more than 2,400 miles. The Atlantic Wall consisted of bunkers housing German troops, artillery pieces, and machine-gun nests, along with six million mines, barbed-wire entanglements, and landing craft obstacles placed before it. By D-Day, the Germans had poured 17 million cubic yards of concrete reinforced by 1.3 million short tons of steel, enough concrete to build 270 Empire State Buildings and enough steel to build the Eiffel Tower 160 times over. Despite this effort, by the end of D-Day the Allies had secured all five beachheads, landed 10 divisions, and were advancing inland. These fragments came from the section of the Atlantic Wall that formed part of the anti-tank defense across Utah Beach, and their pockmarks were caused by thousands of American weapons fired at the German-held coast that day.

New Orleans, Louisiana · United States