Heavy artillery and fierce resistance

After the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, the Atlantic Wall was breached, and there was an opportunity to attack from land, also in the area of Delfzijl. The section commander of Emden, which included Delfzijl, had ordered that the coastal strip of Emden and Delfzijl be fortified with bunkers and guns. The work was to be done by local companies with the help of Russian POWs. The battery needed to be able to shoot targets on land now as well. The Germans built a so-called “Flak-hochstande”—bunkers built especially for the heavy 12.8 cm FlaK 40 anti-aircraft guns. The bunkers were placed in such a way that they could focus on land, sea and air targets behind the dyke. The battery eventually became the heaviest and most-modern anti-aircraft battery in the Netherlands.