Fort Nieulay, Calais.

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Caveman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 26, 2010
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Location
Bexleyheath
There's so much history involved with this place it's difficult to put everything down here...it's easier to 'google' it. Suffice to say, the time when I came along was when the locals decided that it was of interest to tourists and 'Fortress Study Group' members like us at the time. As there was such a large group of us the Mayor of Calais came to meet us all, gifts were passed to us, and we were given an open ticket to explore anything that we wanted to. But there was a time limit, so in depth exploration of the tunnels under the walls was to be left for another time. We were there back in the late '90s, and other photos that i've seen on the internet shows that a lot more remedial work has been done in the intervening years.

The Germans made full use of the place, to such an extent that on the run up to D-Day the place was plastered...and then some. When the foot-sloggers got to Calais it was thought that the place was more heavily garrisoned than it was, and evidence of shell damage is apparent in various places.

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A German anti-aircraft position in one corner of the fort....strangely, the only fortified position still in existence.
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A German bunker in one corner of the inside of the fort.
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These are the fortifed sluice gates, which is the reason for the fort. They are here so that in the event of attackers getting too close, the sluices could be opened and the low lying ground could be flooded.
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Always a joy to see places that you visited and photographed some years ago...and this one especially so. I think that seeing defences in France where they were occupied, and saw fighting at a much closer hand, shows a whole new viewpoint of conditions during the war. Very interesting to learn about the sluice gates.
Cheers. :)
 

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