Page 75 - Sjæklen2010

75
27. Holstein, Ulrich: op. cit., Nærum 1979, p. 33.
28. Andersen, Jens: op. cot., Hanstholm 2007, p. 224.
29. Ibid, p. 157.
30. Eisenhower, Dwight D.: Korstog i Europa, 1948, p. 46.
31. Ibid, p. 48.
32. Sørensen, Jakob: op. cit., Kbh. 2004, p. 38.
33. Trommer, Aage: op. cit., Kbh. 1982, p. 181.
34. Bonvig Christensen, Arne: op. cit., Odense 1976, p. 70ff.
35. Eisenhower, Dwight D.: op. cit., 1948
36. Sørensen, Jakob: op. cit., Kbh. 2004, p. 39.
37. Bonvig Christensen, Arne: op. cit., Odense 1976, p. 111.
38. Sørensen, Jakob: op. cit., Kbh. 2004, p. 24.
39. Fahrendorf, Jakob: op. cit., 1994, p. 46.
40. Sørensen, Jakob: op. cit., Kbh. 2004, p. 86.
41. Bonvig Christensen, Arne: op. cit., Odense 1976, p. 72.
42. Eisenhower, Dwight D.: op. cit., 1948, p. 195.
43. Trommer, Aage: op. cit., Kbh. 1982, p. 181.
Summary
Esbjerg was a designated support point in the German At-
lantic Wall during the Second World War. The area was
consequently fortified to a degree which exceeded that of
Normandy, where the Allied invasion landed on 6 June
1944. This raises the question of what threat the Germans
perceived as justification for the massive construction of the
defence along the west coast of Jutland and around Esbjerg.
All analyses indicate that Esbjerg – primarily because of
its harbour – had the potential to be a target for attack, but
that a number of factors were pulling in the opposite direc-
tion. The narrow approach and the nature of the coast along
the west coast of Jutland made the area a difficult place to
invade. Denmark was also much too far away from England
for the Allies to be provided with adequate air support in the
event of an invasion. But despite these circumstances, the
Germans strengthened and extended their coastal defences
in Denmark throughout the war.
There were several reasons for the extensive fortifica-
tions not only in Denmark, but along the entire 5,000 kilo-
metres or so of coastline in the Atlantic Wall. Firstly, the
Germans were under pressure in the war and they anticipated
the invasion, which could only be stemmed by a strong and
effective coastal defence. The German general Erwin Rom-
mel in particular was an advocate of this. Until the end of
1943, the Germans had practised a strategy based on mobile
fighting units which could be moved to an invasion area.
Rommel succeeded in persuading Hitler to commence con-
struction of the enormous fortifications along the Atlantic
Wall which are still evident in many places around Esbjerg
and along the west coast of Jutland. Secondly, the extent of
the German defensive constructions was an expression of a
successful bluff on the part of the Allies.
Even though the Germans were convinced that the Al-
lied invasion would land in France, their attention remained
fixed on Denmark and the rest of the Atlantic line. One of
the reasons for this was that the Germans feared Allied com-
mando raids or a flank attack which could destabilise the
German defences. The Germans were also convinced that
they had to expect the unexpected – including an invasion
in areas which may not have been so obvious. An explana-
tion of the uncertainty which this reflects is that during most
of the Second World War, the Germans lacked an effective
intelligence service which could have intercepted the Allies’
invasion plans. As early as the end of 1941, there were strong
indications that all German agents in Great Britain had been
apprehended and, in some cases, switched to the allied side
to give false intelligence to the German supreme command.
The fact that this mission succeeded became clear during the
invasion in Normandy, which clearly caught the Germans
by surprise as they expected the invasion in the area around
Calais at the English Channel. The Germans were thus not
in a position to predict where the invasion would land. In
this situation they dared not do otherwise than establish and
maintain a strong coastal defence all along the Atlantic Wall
– especially around potential invasion harbours. Although
the Allies never entertained serious thoughts of an invasion
on the west coast of Jutland, the uncertainty on the part of
the Germans was the reason why the area around Esbjerg at-
tracted so much attention from the German forces during the
Second World War and was fortified to a degree where there
are still clear reminders in the city and the surrounding area.