Ro425 ´Kora´, Ro429 'Korola', Ro424 'Käthe', K.V.Gr Süd Ile de Ré, KVA D, A.O.K.1, Vendée.

As this is one large site, split into three. It is very hard to look at each one individually. When we walked around, we just took in the area as a whole. So that is the way I am going to lay it out. Ro425 ´Kora´, Ro429 'Korola',Ro424 'Käthe'.

 

Historique du Stüntzpunktgruppe Karola (Ro 429) : The occupation of La Pallice by the German Navy and the early construction of a large submarine U-Boote pen very quickly led to the establishment of a need to defend, due to the obvious need to protect this base, on the islands of Ré and Oléron. Furthermore, the salient position of the island of Ré and the resulting good firing possibilities naturally predestined it for the installation of a long-range battery, like the Germans installed on various salient points all along the coast. The group of works constituting the Karola battery was built between 1942 and 1944 by the German army on a virgin site. It was manned by the 4th Battery of the MAA 282 under the command of Oberstleutnant zur See Mazenburg, which comprised nearly 200 gunners. Surprisingly, it shared the same terrain with the Army, which also installed its largest battery in the sector, named Kora (Ro 425). Neither was attacked nor bombed, Karola was included in the "verteidungsbereich La Rochelle" when, blockaded by French troops until May 8, 1945, the German garrison laid down its arms following the general surrender of the Third Reich on the 8th of May 1944. Its guns fired on live targets only once during the night of August 14 and 15, 1944, at an Allied flotilla cruising offshore. They returned unharmed. The structures were preserved as they were for about fifteen years, then the equipment was dismantled and sold as scrap metal. The buildings and the surrounding land are still located within the Navy's military domain. Location and overall composition: The group of structures known as the Karola battery is located 150 meters NW of the village of Arsen-Ré, and is the result of the consolidation of units assigned to distinct missions, namely: - a heavy Navy battery with two 20.3cm C/34 twin turrets with a range of 37 km. This very rare structure is a combination of two Regelbauten Schwer 473 and 483. - Four French 22cm Mle 1917 guns in open emplacements . A searchlight post formed by a 15cm TAC/36. Close-quarter coastal defence works (Kora works). Anti-aircraft defence works (Kathe works). A garage, a stable, two dining halls, an infirmary, a theatre, a chaplaincy shelter, and even a Gestapo building, as a swastika drawn in the tiles at the entrance to the building seems to attest. These structures are scattered across a vacant lot of approximately 35 hectares between the coast and the N735; they were originally protected by obstacles (minefields and barbed wire) and close-quarters defence structures along the entire perimeter. The complex includes 19 active and passive concrete blocks of varying protection (a command and fire control post, two turret blocks, four 22cm guns, five "Tobruk" or similar positions, and seven passive shelters, as well as light barracks used as garrison accommodation. Command and fire control post: This structure is set back nearly 500 meters from the turret blocks. It is a rectangular, semi-buried, monolithic, reinforced concrete building, measuring 20 x 22 m, with a single level, from which emerges an observation tower, also made of concrete, 16.5 m high (excluding armour) and 7.5 m wide in the main section. The protection is 2 m for the slab, 2 m for the back walls, the side walls, and part of the facade, and 1.5 m for the head walls of the gorge caponier. The structure is terraced on three sides; only the gorge facade remains exposed, with the caponier protruding in the middle. On the ground floor, the premises are laid out in an inverted U-shape, around the tower's base. The two branches of the U, extending from the two entrances, each consist of a circulation corridor serving a series of rooms used as bedrooms, offices, etc., six on the left and five on the right. The back of the shelter (the SW side) is occupied almost entirely by the large operations room (12.60 x 4.5 m), where the information transmitted by the tower, the targets, and their route were monitored and recorded on maps. The firing elements that were transmitted to the turrets were also developed here. At the rear, between the tower's base and the caponier, are the power plant rooms (Group room, tanks, and the firing chamber of the gorge caponier); all of which are only accessible through a connecting door opening onto the vestibule of the right-hand entrance. This judicious arrangement allowed the command post personnel, telephone operators, telephonists, operators, etc.) to be undisturbed by the noise of the generator. Access to this ground floor from the outside is via two entrances arranged symmetrically at the ends of the gorge facade and flanked on the outside by the crenellations of the gorge caponier. These entrances, laid out in a chicane pattern, are each flanked by an internal defensive embrasures. There is a grilled door on the facade and a gas tight armoured door on the inside. The command post itself is topped by a tower. observation tower emerging from the 16.50m slab, to which height should be added the 2.5 to 3m height of the range finder dome, now gone, and the 4.8m height of the ground floor (2.8m ceiling height, plus 2m slab), to obtain a total height of 23 to 24m, of which approximately 19m is emerging. This observation tower comprises three parts: The first, 13.8m (4.8m of which is taken from the shelter as a base), with a square plan and rounded corners, houses the 5-level stairwell. These consist of 5 blind landing rooms, connected by three-flight straight staircases, separated by resting points and totalling 74 steps. This first part of the tower is protected by 2m thick walls. It should be noted that the connection of the walls The vertical lines of the tower with the shelter slab form a dangerous concave dihedral that should have been cushioned by a cutaway angle. Finally, let us add that there is a water well on the ground floor of this stairwell. This first part includes a first observation floor with a semicircular chamber at the front arranged as a projecting balcony and pierced by a wide, 50cm-high panoramic surveillance window. with an opening of approximately 200°. At the rear is a small auxiliary lookout post with an 80cm opening and 20cm high battlement. These two rooms are connected to the landing chamber by passages closed by watertight armoured doors. Above is a 7th level, accessed by a steel ladder. This level is arranged as a projecting balcony on the rear face of the tower. It consists of a landing chamber measuring 4x4m, extended at the front by a projecting rectangular two-level blockhouse, resting on the visor of the 6th-level surveillance chamber (this superposition of two projecting cantilevered floors, one at the front, the other at the rear, appears to reflect a concern for the stability of the building). This blockhouse has concrete walls lined externally with 10cm-thick armour plates and internally with sheet metal over iron. It has three armoured observation windows, one axial and two lateral. The floor and ceiling are each pierced with a cylindrical hole, likely corresponding to a high-power retractable periscope. Finally, note that a cylindrical passage pierced in the bitumen slab provides access to the upper platform, which originally supported a rotating armoured cupola for a 12m base range finder (65x magnification), now missing. The mounting studs for the cupola's saddle can still be seen on the extra part of the slab. The turret blocks: The two turret blocks constitute the battery's main artillery. They are located in the SW part of the right-of-way, 150m apart and a short distance from the shore (200m for Block X and 150m for Block IX). They are shielded from view from the sea by the coastal dune, and it appears that they only engaged in indirect fire on elements transmitted by the Fire Control Post, located 500m back. Both are identical and have the appearance of a monolithic reinforced concrete construction with two levels: a terraced ground floor and a partial basement. Each structure is treated as a variant of Protection A (3.5m slab, but only 2m side walls) and is completely self-sufficient in terms of water, electricity, ventilation, etc. The rather complex plan consists, in broad outline, of three adjoining rectangles, each rectangle corresponding to a group of rooms serving a specific function: - Access, central corridor, and general services (workshops, wells, etc.) The Kora and Karola batteries were listed in the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments in July 2002. PARA WELLUM.

'Käthe' made up of several casemates armed with anti-tank guns, Tobruk for closer defence and many anti-aircraft guns. This unit moreover is equipped with a radar “Seetakt FUMO type. of the unit strengthened

The original main entrance.

Entering the complex.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. Bunker entrance.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. On many German defences (not all) the bunkers are individually numbered. Here we are at Ro425 'Kora' and the fifth bunker of its type.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. Entrance with on the right a socket for a telephone and possibly a speaking tube. Straight in front is a close combat defence embrasure, that would have had a machine gun ready to fire on any enemy soldier trying to enter. The smaller niche on the left may have been a light switch. The half door you can see is a 434Po1 Linksausf door. (Left exit door).

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. In the entrance there is mostly two fittings for radio aerials, in my thoughts are that if an earth strap, the strip of square metal is fitted, then an aerial was usually fitted as well. Where as if no earth strip was fitted , an aerials could not have worked, so why fit one.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. 434Po1 Linksausf door. (Left exit door). A stable type armoured steel door allowing if the bottom half is jammed, the top half ill open and you can climb over. Gas tight seals are around its edges and a gas washer is fitted to the viewing slit, so when closed it will hopefully not let in gas.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. First we enter the bunker, then turn right and pass through the 434Po1double door. Then left and pass through the 19P7 gas tight light steel door with a rubber seal around its edge and a small glass window to see who is trying to enter.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. 422Po1 Close combat embrasure.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. We are now in the left hand room. The blue pipe is clean filtered air from the filter pump. That is distributed around the bunker. On the left are the command cables and lots of them, which to me makes this not so much a living bunker but a command bunker.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. This is the store room, in other bunkers it doubles as an Officers or NCO's room but also is has a periscope hole fitted in the roof. In the far wall is a speaking tube.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. The floor of the bunker, we have found that Thermo plastic tiles are used, they are a bit wormer and are often on the feet.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. 19P7 gas tight light steel door with a rubber seal around its edge and a small glass window to see who is trying to enter. In the corner of the room are some bunk fittings, so it could be used as command and a sleeping area.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. 491P2 Gittertür (Screen Door) to close off the entrance.

Beside the FCP is a Welblech/Toll-Metro bunker, it usually has a concrete front end, but here they have used local stone and bricks as a chimney.

Beside the FCP is a Welblech/Toll-Metro bunker, this one also has a Thermo plastic tiled floor.

Barracks/Canteen.

Barracks/Canteen.

2cm Flak 30.

2cm Flak 30 emplacement.

Turm 2, 22cm emplacement for a K532(f) gun.

Turm 2, 22cm emplacement for a K532(f) gun.

Turm 2, 22cm emplacement for a K532(f) gun. Crew compartment where the signals from the FCP, would come down a field telephone, into the bunker.

Turm 2, 22cm emplacement for a K532(f) gun. Niches around the wall to accommodate ready ammunition.

Turm 2, 22cm emplacement for a K532(f) gun.

R501 Ro425/02 group shelter. I believe that each R501 group shelter is attached to a Geschützstand, 22cm gun emplacement. This is attached to Turm 2.

R501 Ro425/02 group shelter. 422Po1 Embrasure.

R501 Ro425/02 group shelter. 434Po1 heavy steel door.

R501 Ro425/02 group shelter. A shelter not a bunker although its walls and roof were 2m thick, for some reason I do not yet know is that 500 series seem to be called shelters, where as 600 series are called bunkers? so much to learn..

R501 Ro425/02 group shelter. 410P9 escape door.

R501 Ro425/02 group shelter. The way way out.

One of two Abri citerne in Ro429 'Korola' (well heads/pump rooms).

+ Krankenstube (sickroom). +

Tobruk Vf58c.

Stables. The German army used a lot of horses, its quite rare today to find a stable on a bunker site as they would use a local farm. Here though it was probably quite away from any farms and one was needed here. The horses would be used as draught horses, gun carriage, collecting supplies, communications or just to ride/ceremonial.

Turm 2 22cm 'Kora' emplacement for a K532(f) gun.

Turm 2 22cm 'Kora' emplacement for a K532(f) Gun

Anti tank ditch.

Toll-Metro Welblech. This is a crew quarters possibly for the guns crew of the 2cm flak gun close by.

Toll-Metro Welblech.

Flak Legere (light anti-aircraft gun) 2cm flak29 Oerlikon.

Vf58c defence Tobruk.

2cm Flak 38 Vierling (quadruple).

Théatre

Théatre. Entertainment, briefing room, canteen, casino. (Casino is often meant as a German Officers Mess type building). Looking towards kitchen hatch.

Théatre. Quite a good sized stage area at this end with changing and store rooms to the rear.

Barracks.

Gestapo Hut. Some interesting tip bits I have picked up over the years, often just before a gun batterie or defence position capitulated. The Nazi members of the organisations, had vanished and were not captured. Often escaping with loot and the odd girl friend.

More barracks. This would have had a suspended wooden floor.

20.3cm SK C/34ZW Turret 'Anton' S473/S483 Bunker.

20.3cm SK C/34ZW Turret 'Anton' S473/S483 turret.

20.3cm SK C/34ZW Turret 'Dora' S473/S483 Bunker photo taken from 'Anton' turret. Arrow in the centre 'Bowl-Fire' Wurzburg radar. (Bowl-Fire Allied designation of Wurzburg radar). Arrow left 'Coast-Watcher' possibly Fu.MG Seetakt Gema Zertsörersaüle Fu.MO 3. ('Coast-Watcher' - Allied designation). 'Dora' turret on the right.

20.3cm SK C/34ZW Turret 'Dora' S473/S483 Bunker

20.3cm SK C/34ZW Turret 'Dora' S473/S483 Bunker

This is the view from the sand dunes above the beach looking back at Kora. We started walking from the main gate and managed to negotiate a figure of 8 through the batteries.

Maybe WW1 screw picket posts still hold up barbed wire as they would have done 60 or more years ago. Further along the beach you can see 'Karla' the next defence point.

15cmTbKC/36 in Geschützstand (open emplacement).This guns use was not defensive but to fire star shells to light up the enemy as they get within range of the main batterie.

15cmTbKC/36 in Geschützstand (open emplacement).This guns use was not defensive but to fire star shells to light up the enemy as they get within range of the main batterie.

Tobruk.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. This could be the crew bunker for the 15cmTbKC/36 in Geschützstand (open emplacement).

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter. Entrance.

Ro425/05 R502 twin group shelter.

Barracks

Hard standing Not marked on any of the plans but there is a picture in 'Fortifications Sur L'Ile De Re' of foundations for a crane to lift the turret into place on its S743 bunker. The concrete blocks are for a railway line where the crane's wheels would run. I think this may have been where the two 20.3cm turrets were assembled.?

A railway line ran through the middle of the batteries and a small siding and station for unloading materials for the site.

5cm KwK Ringstand. The emplacement is just sitting in the dunes but will be lost to the sea soon, it may almost have gone by now. This was 18 years ago..

5cm KwK Ringstand. The emplacement is just sitting in the dunes but will be lost to the sea soon, it may almost have gone by now. This was 18 years ago..

Fu.MO 213Radar. There were three radar stations in the vicinity ~ one GEMA coastwatcher set in front of the lighthouse, This one a Giant Wurzburg and last one bowl type ( Fu.MO 213), south of the battery ~ the last named station was manned by the Luftwaffe and played no important role in observing for the battery. (DEFE 44/98 Page 70).

Fu.MO 213Radar. There were three radar stations in the vicinity ~ one GEMA coastwatcher set in front of the lighthouse, This one a Giant Wurzburg and last one bowl type ( Fu.MO 213), south of the battery ~ the last named station was manned by the Luftwaffe and played no important role in observing for the battery. (DEFE 44/98 Page 70).

Back inland now, barracks and a horse trough.

R405/04 R501 group shelter.

R405/04 R501 group shelter. A hole in the roof to locate a periscope, you can see that none was fitted. As there is a blanking plug in place. Hooks for air ventilation pipe supports.

R405/04 R501 group shelter camouflaged in the woodland. This is why it was so hard to find. Just a chimney showing on the roof.

R405/04 R501 group shelter

R405/04 R501 group shelter

?

Turm 1 22cm Emplacement for a K532(f) Gun

Turm 1 22cm Emplacement for a K532(f) Gun.

Turm 1 22cm Emplacement for a K532(f) Gun.

5cm KwK Vf221 emplacement. Vf. For V (erstärkt) f. (eldmäßig (er) = Verstärkt feldmäßiger. Reinforce fieldwork.

Coming back out of the bunker with such a bright day that day was.

Bomb/shell crater? well was it, the guns were only engaged once by several Allied destroyers and there were never any bombing missions on the Island (as far as I believe).

Ro425 ´Kora´, Ro429 'Korola', Ro424 'Käthe'.