German fortifications of the Se-cond World War Itinerary

During the Second World War, the Adriatic coast was a defensive post for the German army for a long time and the whole territory of Cervia and Milano Maritti-ma was dotted with bunkers, some perfectly pre-served, others underground or incorporated into pri-vate buildings and hotels. The German bunkers and dragon's teeth had the objective of defending the front, in particular against assaults by sea, the outposts were made up of barbed wire, minefields and barrag-es. The bunkers could be of the Tobruk or Regelbau type.

BUNKER TYPE TOBRUK

A tobruk is a small defensive military fortification, comparable to a small bunker. This particular type of structure was built for the first time, during the Second World War, by the Italians, and later further improved by the Germans, who adopted it on various war fronts.

The structure consists of an armored room, initially a simple iron drum immersed in the ground, with a vent in the roof from which a machine gunner protruded with his weapon. The origin is perhaps due to the first Italian defensive positions in concrete, which provid-ed a post for a single armed soldier and the name was given to him by the Allies and derives from the Liby-an port of Tobruch.

Only towards the end of 1943 this defense system, improved by the Germans, was used also in Italy. The positions host one or two soldiers, usually armed with a machine gun, sometimes with a mortar; in the latter case, the structure had a small support for the weapon

 

BUNKER TYPE REGELBAU

The Regelbau was a type of standardized bunker de-signed by the Nazis as part of their defensive fortifica-tions before and during the Second World War.

The German term in fact means "standard design". The choice of standardized fortifications was a strategy that allowed a quick construction and an effective use of men and raw materials. The Regelbau 668, in par-ticular, were reserved for the shelter of troops.

 

DRAGON’S TEETH

The dragon's tooth is a military defensive obstacle built in iron and concrete, the shape of which is par-ticularly effective in stopping the advance of tanks.