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Battery Todt Soldbuch

Peter U

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Staff member
Recently I acquired a Soldbuch of a sailor that served with the famous battery Todt.
Battery Todt in Calais with its huge bunkers that housed four 380mm naval guns is perhaps the most famous part of the Atlantik Wall, lots of information is available both off- and online about this battery so I'am not going in to big detail about its history.

Franz Borchert joined the Kriegsmarine in June 1941, after his basic training he served aboard MS Wesermünde for a few months and then was transferred to France where he was a member of the harbour security flotilla in Brest.
In December 1942 another their is another transfer now to a land based unit of the KM, Marine Artillerie Abteilung 242, this unit operates the big naval- and railroad guns in the Pas de Calais sector; Franz Borchert ends up in the battery commanded by Kapt Lt Klaus Momber, the CO of the battery Todt.
During its existence the four big guns of Battery Todt only fired +/- 200 shots a piece, which is very little if you compare it to the building - and operating cost of these huge gun emplacements, Battery Todt was more a propaganda tool then anything else.
In September 1944 the Canadian Third Infantry Division got the task to take out the big guns in the Pas de Calais sector.
Franz Borchert gets WIA during one of the first Canadian attempts to take the bunkers of Battery Todt, he gets ricochet wounds in his right upper leg and in the back of his left knee.
He is awarded the KM artillery badge, wounded badge in black and on September 28 1944 the EKII; the next day the battery will capitulate and he becomes one of the 1800 POW's.
 

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Excellent Peter. It's a big fixed emplacement, lots of pics of it, and a museum there. A big dinosaur I guess!
 
Excellent Peter. It's a big fixed emplacement, lots of pics of it, and a museum there. A big dinosaur I guess!

Although I have been to Cap Griz Nez, it isn't that far from where I live, I'am almost ashamed to tell that I have never visited the Battery Todt museum, perhaps now with this Soldbuch it is a good time to do it in the near future.
 

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