How long did it take to build the German bunkers on the beaches of Normandy in which the Germans had used on D-Day. I'm stumped.
Well the Germans arrived on the Northern French coast in early 1940 and started preparing the defences almost straight away. They were still improving the defences at the time of the D-Day landings, mid 1944. But don't forget, the Atlantic Wall stretched from the Spanish border right up to the northern tip of Denmark and the Atlantic Coast of Norway. Initialy it consisted of light easily prepared fortifications of barged wire and sandbags In the Summer of 1942 the plans were released for the permanent defences, these were to be built in concrete. It was eventually to include over 14,000 large concrete bunkers as well as smaller defences, obsticles and minefields, most of which were completed in the two years before D-Day. As for exactly how long it took to plan, prepare, build and fit each bunker? Well there were many different types of bunker depending on what it was for. There were artillery, infantry strong point, anti-aircraft, radar, electronic warfare and even hospital bunkers. To reduce the time required to build a bunker they were designed out of a 'paint-pot' of standard designs and components chosen for it's intended location and use. Many even included ventilation, heating and gas filter systems. Needless to say that to have completed 14,000 major bunkers in under 2 years was quite an achievment.
