D-Day: Commonwealth Sectors

23. Tanks Obstacles

Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandie

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Nowadays all that remains in the area of the Casino and its bunker is a line of Dragon's teeth, tank obstacles arranged on the shoreline between the beach huts. These originally would have posed problems for any armour landing on the beach at Ouistreham. These were just some in an array of traps and hurdles that Rommel filled the French beaches with to hinder the landings. He anticipated that the Allies would try to land at high tide when the water was nearer the shoreline, this would mean less beach for the invading troops to cross. Below the water were long wooden poles set at angles with mines on top, spikey Czech hedgehogs, girders welded together and capable of tearing holes in the hull of a boat. There were Belgium Gates that stopped progress and the concrete pyramids as well as the Dragon's teeth, to slow down the progress of the tanks.