Todt Battery

Todt Battery
Part of Atlantic Wall
Haringzelle, Audinghen, Pas de Calais, France
A British soldier poses next to the recently captured German 380 mm gun Todt Battery at Cap Gris-Nez.
Kriegsmarine Ensign
Coordinates50°50′39″N 1°36′00″E / 50.8443°N 1.5999°E / 50.8443; 1.5999
TypeCoastal battery
Site information
OwnerPrivate
Open to
the public
One casemate is open to the public
ConditionFour casemates, in varied condition
Site history
Built22 July 1940 – 20 January 1942 (1940-07-22 – 1942-01-20)
Built byOrganisation Todt
In use1942–44
MaterialsConcrete and steel
Battles/warsOperation Sea Lion, Channel Dash, Hellfire Corner, Operation Undergo
Garrison information
Garrison Kriegsmarine

The Todt Battery, also known as Batterie Todt, was a battery of coastal artillery built by Nazi Germany during World War II, located in the hamlet of Haringzelles, Audinghen, near Cape Gris-Nez, Pas de Calais, France.

The battery consisted of four Krupp 380-millimetre (15 in) guns with a range up to 55.7 kilometres (34.6 mi),[1] capable of reaching the British coast, each protected by a bunker of reinforced concrete. Originally to be called Siegfried Battery, it was renamed in honor of the German engineer Fritz Todt, creator of the Todt Organisation. It was later integrated into the Atlantic Wall.

The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division attacked the Cape Gris-Nez batteries on 29 September 1944, and the positions were secured by the afternoon of the same day. The Todt battery fired for the last time on 29 September 1944 and was taken hours later by the North Nova Scotia Highlanders that landed in Normandy, as part of the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, after an intense aerial bombardment, as part of Operation Undergo.

  1. ^ Christopher 2014, p. 95.