Dunkirk and the Blockhaus at Eperlecques

 DUNKIRK AND THE 

BLOCKHAUS AT EPERLECQUES

May 5 (continued)

A key landmark from the Dunkirk story that we had to see was the East Mole near the harbour, the pier from where nearly half of the soldiers who were evacuated in Operation Dynamo were rescued. Much of the E. Mole was damaged during the fighting in May and early June 1940, then the rest was destroyed later by the fearsome storms of the English Channel. It was rebuilt and stands today as a monument to the survivors and victims of the fighting in Dunkirk and Operation Dynamo. 

  

A number of pillboxes and shelters to hide artillery built around Dunkirk Harbour still stand as well.

Before moving inland we rode into the heart of the city to see some of the local buildings and to enjoy a quick lunch at Tout Chaud (loosely translated as "Hot Food"). The downtown part of Dunkirk, which became  a city of significance in the 1600's, has been reconstructed quite well in the past 86 years since having been severely damaged during both World Wars. Here are a few noteworthy buildings ...

Eglise St. Eloi de Dunkerque (built around 1560)

  

Belfry of St. Eloi, separated after
a fire not long after its construction

Dunkirk City Hall (built around 1900
and reopened after WWII in 1950)

Our first stop of the afternoon was at one of the two hidden treasures which we discovered while researching our trip to Dunkirk (the Fan Bay Secret Tunnels in Dover being the other). Late in the war with things going badly for the Reich, Hitler urged German scientists to develop the first rockets, the V-1 and V-2, which were launched across the English Channel into cities in England. These were known as "vengeance weapons," meant to terrorize, kill, and destroy the homes of the general population so they would pressure the government into stopping the war and giving Germany better terms of surrender. While the rockets were unmanned and imprecise (e.g., about 80% of the V-1's which hit struck in up to a 7 mile radius of their targets), they caused over 10,000 civilian deaths and rendered an estimated 2 million Britons homeless. [Here's a short article by the Imperial War Museum in London for those curious about the rocket attacks https://www.iwm.org.uk/blog/research/2024/10/80-years-on-the-v-weapon-attacks-on-britain .]

One of the rocket launch facilities, built using slave/prisoner labor, as others had been, was the Blockhaus in the small village of Eperlecques (population in1940 of just under 2,000), in the first set of hills about 25 miles inland from the port cities of Dunkirk and Calais (and 40 miles "as the crow flies" to Dover, England and 100 miles to London). Construction began in 1943 and carried into 1944. By then Allied reconnaissance planes, acting on intelligence from the French Resistance, had discovered the building site, and bombs had been dropped on it. Repairs were being made when the Allies landed in Normandy on D-Day and began their advance through France toward Germany, prompting withdrawals and consolidation of troops. As a result of the damage done to the Blockhaus and the abandonment following D-Day, no rocket was ever fired on England from it. Still it's a fearsome monument to what the intent of Hitler and the Reich had been.

Let's begin with an overview of the V-1 and V-2 rockets using the schematics at the Blockhaus (which you can expand to find the English version) and info I've pulled together ...

V-1 at the Blockhaus

V-2 replica in the Blockhaus

A comparison of the V-1 and V-2 rockets

As you'll see, the bunker (Blockhaus) that was built was enormous, designed to house 100 rockets and to launch 36 per day. It is 92' tall and 100 yds. wide with walls 23' thick and descending 20' below ground level. It was built with standard gauge railways leading into it so materials and equipment could be easily transported. It also housed its own power plant and provided tanks to produce 10 tons of liquid oxygen daily with storage for up to 100 tons. These photos will give you a feel for the size and scope of the bunker:

 

A view of the damage from Allied bombing in one area ...

Having been properly awed and amazed, we began winding down our tour with a somber visit to the Dunkirk Town Cemetery, which contains a British Commonwealth War Graves cemetery that in which 460 British soldiers from WWI and 800 from WWII are buried, and 4,500 BEF lost are commemorated.

The British and French remind me of my best friends from high school, who are twins ... living side by side, they fought and argued incessantly; but if someone else fought one, he had to fight both. Although there are still arguments and criticisms of each side's actions by the other during WWII, there is a deep appreciation and bond that is especially evident at Dunkirk and in Normandy. 

 

 

While British Commonwealth soldiers are buried in the cemetery, a number of other countries fighting with the Allies are also represented. 

Polish soldiers

   

Norwegian soldier

        The lone American, a pilot with the  

              Royal Canadian Air Force

      

An Australian 

   

And as always in war, 2 unknown soldiers

Before ending our day with Emmanuel and naming him an honorary Mississippi State Bulldog, he wanted to show us some of the section of Dunkirk which were shown in the 2017 movie Dunkirk. Although we had no luck getting the residents to move their cars for our photos, we took the shots while we could.

We bade Emmanuel adieu and merci beaucoup, feeling fortunate that our paths had crossed and forever in his debt. He had even helped us arrange dinner reservations at L'Iode, a highly regarded seafood restaurant about 3 doors down from our hotel. It had been a full day ... and tomorrow would be much more leisurely, as we would be on to Paris, our last stop.  Bon nuit, Dunkerque.