former German Cemetery at Sangatte

A German Army cemetery built by the Todt Organisation, something I first spotted on the RAF air photos and so on our visit in May 2018 we had to find it.

 

1941 ERBAUT DURCHDIE ORG. TODT (1941 Built through [by] Todt. Organisation.) ENTWURFU.AUSFUHRUNG KURZ UND MÜLLER (Designed by KURZ UND MÜLLER) After the war the human remains where moved to a cemetery at Lindern It maybe this one Lingen, Neuer Freedhoff.

Photo taken by F/O Wilson´s Halifax bomber on a mission to bomb Batterie Lindemann. The Halifax bomber was getting quite old by 1944, it and the Stirling´s had been superseded by the much better Lancaster. So the older planes were now being used as glider tugs and parachute planes.

Walking in you see the general layout.

Squadron Leader Payne's bombs starting to drop on Batterie Lindemann. You can see the general layout of the cemetery and how it must have been used as an aiming point. Because the Halifax and Sterling´s had been sort of retired to parachuting and glider tugs, they were not completely retired from missions. In between para operations, they had to drop supplies to partisans all over Europe, drop sea mines (code named “Gardening”) and bomb V sites (“Noball”) and coastal batteries. This is one of their tasks to bomb the heavy batteries in the Calais sector prior to a Canadian attack in the great advance of August/September 1944.

Rommel visiting 22 December 1943.

Blocks of stone now falling away.

From F/O Mottram you can see bombs have actually hit the cemetery. I did notice that the far side was damaged but until I studied these pictures I now understand why.

The cliff edge has eroded the cemeteries wall.

In all these air photos the cemetery shows up so well right on the cliff edge. Flying Officer Wilson's picture showing the target area in the yellow circle with the massive S100 Fire Control Post all now underground. (We actually stood over it and did not see very much except the V229 Würzburg radar plinth and a sunken roadway entrance). Then behind is one of the S262 casemates now under the mud and water of the Channel Tunnel waste.

The V229 radar plinth showing the cemetery down on the coast..

The wall protruding out where the cliff has eroded.

Lindemann's S202 casemate with its massive 40.6cm C/34 gun.

The wall sticking out.

Batterie Lindemann's opening ceremony.

Thank you for your help from Kurt & Pete.