German Coastal Artillery in Norway

German coastal artillery in Norway. Photo by Bildberichterstatter Gundlach.

In the beginning of the Norwegian campaign, there were 6 Marineartillerie-Abteilungen: MAA Horten, MAA Kristiansand, MAA Stavanger, MAA Bergen, MAA Drontheim, and MAA Narvik. These units were to man captured Norwegian Coastal Fortresses. In June 1940, the MAA’s got number designations, the first ones for just 1 month, before they got permanent numbers.

The German MAA’s were divided into companies, each company manned a battery. Each MAA usually consisted of 6 companies, but this could range from 2 – 12 coys. The commander of a MAA was usually Korvettenkapitän, but could also be Fregattenkapitän or Kapitänleutnant.

Army artillery units designed for coastal defense appeared in Norway in 1941. They established several Heeresküstenartillerie-regimenter (HKAR), Heeresküstenartillerie-Abteilungen (HKAA) and 160 Heeresküsten-Batterien (HKB). At the end of the war, there were 221 batteries divided into 29 units & 10 regiments. The Germans had serious problems in commanding and controlling this effectively. The mix-up between army and naval artillery also caused serious problems when it came to effective command.

The Heeresküstenartillerie had standard army OOB, but had guns of varying quality.They were also equipped with tanks, mostly French captured ones, like the Somua. The coastal defense had a big need of men. In 1930, the whole Kriegsmarine counted 15000 men. In Norway, the total number of Army / Naval Coast defense personnel was about 65000 (1945). Artillery Schools were established several places, amongst them Rauöy in the Oslo-fjord, and Stavern.

Source :
Akira Takiguchi photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/posts/1906782666173814/?__cft__[0]=AZUuO_vSByS790n9KaQIsAbuwn8LeoffMWol5IX4nTf8sMPB_b34YSFLfnbFNMHPXLxRg0lkaLFjrhIf2gtox2fDPXMGqWLcR0qR6L5drmcG2BYeiqK9p9N8otNjwmO1Rf-6ZdxwqD1wJhtPEqRwEXJ0&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-norway-coastal-defence/

Atlantikwall Artillery at Royan

German artillery emplaced in Royan beach fortification, Charte-Martitime, France. The barrel is a French "Canon de 75 mm contre aeronefs " a.k.a. 7.5 cm Flak M.30/33 (f). Hard to say what exact type it is. Large numbers of 75 mm guns were captured by Germany after the French defeat in 1940. Guns in German service were integrated into Atlantic Wall defenses, including in Royan beach.

Source :
https://www.c-royan.com/histoire/histoire-contemporaine/les-guerres/1573-la-poche-de-royan.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=111267&p=2208087#p2208087

German heavy coastal artillery of the Atlantikwall preparing to fire

German heavy coastal artillery of the Atlantikwall preparing to fire. The successful German offensive in May and June 1940 placed Calais and its environs under the control of an enemy of the United Kingdom for the first time since the end of the Napoleonic Wars, 125 years earlier. In the initial directive for the invasion of the United Kingdom, codenamed Operation Sealion, which was issued on 2 July 1940 by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the supreme command of the German armed forces, the requirement was stated for powerful coastal artillery to "provide additional cover... against English naval attack". In a further directive on 10 July, the purpose of the guns was stated to be "for covering the front and flanks of a future crossing and landing" and they were placed under the overall control of Erich Raeder, the Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. Work to assemble and begin emplacing every Army and Navy heavy artillery piece available, primarily at Pas-de-Calais, commenced on 22 July 1940. The heavy construction work was undertaken by the Organisation Todt. The first such guns to be put in place were Wehrmacht guns on the French coast, which began to be installed around the end of 1940. First came Siegfried Battery at Audinghen, south of Cap Gris Nez, with one 38 cm (15 in) gun (later increased to 4 and renamed Todt Battery), shortly followed by: Three 30.5 cm (12 in) guns at Friedrich August Battery, to the north of Boulogne-sur-Mer; Four 28 cm (11 in) guns at Grosser Kurfürst Battery at Cap Gris Nez; Two 21 cm (8.3 in) guns at Prinz Heinrich Battery just outside Calais; Two 21 cm (8.3 in) guns at Oldenburg Battery in Calais; Three 40.6 cm (16 in) guns (from among the so-called Adolf Guns) at Lindemann Battery between Calais and Cap Blanc Nez (the battery was named after the fallen commander of the battleship Bismarck, Kapitän zur See Ernst Lindemann)

Sources :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-Channel_guns_in_the_Second_World_War
https://www.pinterest.com/danielesorgato/artiglieria/