South wall
Südwall
Mediterranean Wall
Mediterranean coast line in France
Battery "Karine" in Port-Vendres
TypeDefensive line
Site information
Controlled byNazi Germany
ConditionAbandoned, with the exception of some works restored for other uses.
Site history
Built1943–1945
MaterialsReinforced concrete, steel, iron
EventsSecond World War
Garrison information
GarrisonWehrmacht

The Mediterranean Wall, also known as the Southern Wall (Südwall in German), was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, between 1943 and 1945.

The project foresaw that the fortifications would extend along all the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea of southern France, from Cerbère to Menton, so as to prevent Allied landings in the South of France. This defensive line extended as far as Italy via the Ligurian Wall and complemented the Atlantic Wall.[1]

Structure

Example of fortifications in the Südwall near Toulon
Cap Béar, Regelbau M272

The 19th Army of the Wehrmacht (Armeeoberkommando 19 (AOK 19)) defended 7 coastal defense sectors (KüstenVerteidigungsAbschnitt; KVA) covering the 864 km of the French Mediterranean coast from the Spanish border to the Italian border. AOK 19 includes the following KVAs:

  • 19 KVA A / 271. ID: Port-Vendres, Collioure, Cap Leucate...
  • 19 KVA B / 277. ID: Port-la-Nouvelle, Narbonne-Plage...
  • 19 KVA C / 271. ID: Cap d'Agde, Sète...
  • 19 KVA D / 338. ID: La Camargue
  • 19 KVA E / 244. ID: Marseille
  • 19 KVA F / 242. ID: Toulon
  • 19 KVA G / 148. ID: Cannes, Nice...

At the time of Allies landing in Provence, the defensive line consisted of about 500 defensive blocks, while about 200 were still under construction.[2][3][4]

See also

Bibliography

  1. ↑ Zaloga, Steve (2007–2015). The Atlantic Wall (3): the Südwall. Oxford, UK: Osprey Pub. ISBN 978-1-84603-129-8. OCLC 84151448.
  2. ↑ J.E. Kauffmann (2002). Fortress Europe: European Fortifications of World War II. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81174-X.
  3. ↑ Hoppe, Margret (2018-11-02). "Südwall, Marseille , 2017–2018". Third Text. 32 (5–6): 611–619. doi:10.1080/09528822.2018.1562681. ISSN 0952-8822. S2CID 150532725.
  4. ↑ Faucherre, Nicolas; Descales, Bernard (2017). "«SUDWALL» History of the Mediterranean wall" (PDF). Defensive Architecture of the Mediterranean. XV to XVIII Centuries: Vol. V: Proceedings of the International Conference on Modern Age Fortifications of the Mediterranean Coast, FORTMED 2017. Universitat d’Alacant. ISBN 978-84-16724-75-8.

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