German defenses on Normandy beach. A U.S.

German defenses on Normandy beach. A U.S. soldier stands on a ridge overlooking German defenses on a Normandy beach which were scattered by the Allies. The strongly fortified enemy position boasted steel hedgehogs, barbed wire, mines, and a stronghold house on the water's edge from which tunnels extended on both sides. The whitish line in the center of the picture is a huge tank trap which bordered a minefield. Between the lookout, point and the tank trap is a shattere dpillboxh, the center of firepoints which extended along the crest of the ridge. Allies troops which captures the stronghold were first forced to negotiate mortar shells lobbed along the water's edge from the ridge. The Germans evidently considered this position so impregnable that they did not provide a secondary line of defense.