Exploring the Atlantic Wall at the Kop van Schouwen: A Historical Journey

Michael Dingemans
Aug 5
7 min read

Updated: Oct 7

The German defences at the Kop van Schouwen were among the heaviest in Zeeland, and many of the bunkers can still be seen today.

On 23 March 1942, the order was issued to start building coastal defences in Zeeland, with this sector being given priority.

Because of its strategic position between the northern flank of Walcheren and the southern flank of Hoek van Holland, the Kop van Schouwen was heavily fortified by the occupying forces.

Map of Schouwen depicting strategic military features, including main units, naval and army batteries, and smaller fortifications, centred around key locations or Westenschouwen, Haamstede and Renesse

The occupiers anticipated that the Allies would target major port cities such as Antwerp and Rotterdam for invasion, making Schouwen-Duiveland a crucial defensive area.

In total, between eighty and ninety bunkers were built across Schouwen-Duiveland.

The various bunker complexes were grouped under the name Stützpunktgruppe Schouwen, and the entire area was declared a Sperrgebiet (restricted zone), with civilian access strictly controlled.

The main command centre for the island was established in the northeast corner of the Slotbos, near Haamstede Castle. Here, the battalion headquarters of the Stützpunktgruppe Schouwen coordinated all local defences. The complex included a large command bunker (type 117a), nicknamed “whale bunker” - derived from the large stabilizing piece built onto the bunker, which has the shape of a whale's tail.

Type 117a Battalion & Regimental command bunker (329 on map below)

Surrounding it were six crew bunkers, two ammunition bunkers, and a hospital bunker (type 118a Sanitätsunterstand).

The entire bunker complex, referred to as Stützpunkt Schouwen, consisted of approximately 40 bunkers and was intended to accommodate a full infantry battalion.

Most were standard Regelbau 501 (personnel bunker for 10 men) and Regelbau 502 (for 20 men) designs, alongside Regelbau 134 Munitionsunterstand I (ammunition bunker type I). Additional facilities included a kitchen and canteen bunker, a generator and fuel bunker (type A23), and several Tobruk bunkers — small open-top concrete positions used as observation posts or machine gun nests.

While the Slotbos area formed the nerve centre of the island’s defence, it was along the dunes and beaches of Westerschouwen that the German forces prepared for the expected invasion. Here, heavy coastal batteries, anti-tank bunkers, and beach obstacles were constructed to create a deadly barrier against any landing attempt.

Construction progress map (Baufortschrittskart) - status as of March 25, 1945 [Image: LandmarkScout]

Defending the Beaches of Westenschouwen

The beach at Westenschouwen was transformed into a formidable barrier against invasion. Extensive minefields were laid both behind the high tide line and out in the surf. The beach was littered with metal obstacles known as Czech hedgehogs (Tschechenigel) — heavy steel constructions designed to rip the hulls of landing craft or block tanks attempting to move inland

Westenschouwen beach with a tank wall linked to a type 671 SK bunker. In the dunes, there are type 612 casemates, equipped with captured British Vickers-Armstrong cannons (94mm).

Behind the beach obstacles stood massive tank walls reinforced with concrete. These were safeguarded by one of the main structures of Stützpunktgruppe Schouwen: the Type 671 SK bunkers. The "SK" stands for Sonderkonstruktion, meaning special construction. In this instance, while the personnel entrance was kept at the rear in its usual position, the bunker itself was more heavily reinforced and directly incorporated into the tank wall, forming a continuous defensive line.

Further inland, the dunes were covered by Type 612 casemates, built to house field guns on mobile carriages. These positions were armed with captured British Vickers-Armstrong cannons (94mm), which the Germans valued highly and adapted for coastal defence.

The main battery in Westenschouwen was known as Stützpunkt XXXXV ML.

Between the 612 casemates, the Germans installed small Tobruk positions (Ringstände) — open-topped concrete pits used for machine guns or observation posts. Each position was assigned a specific defensive sector, and overlapping fields of fire ensured that attackers would be caught in crossfire with minimal blind spots.

Tobruk positions (Ringstände) were open-topped concrete pits used for machine guns or observation posts.

Multiple layers of defence meant that even if enemy forces reached the beach, they would still face a deadly advance through mines, wire, obstacles, and withering gunfire from bunkers hidden further inland.

Mines on the Beach and in the Dunes

In addition to the bunkers, tank obstacles, and beach barriers, a wide minefield stretched westward along the dunes to reinforce the coastal defences.

Barbed wire barriers were laid through the dunes to trap infantry and funnel attackers into mined zones, forming a deadly second line of defence behind the beach.

Beach barriers, a wide minefield stretched westward along the dunes to reinforce the coastal defences

After the war, all of these fortifications on the beach — including the tank walls, casemates, Tobruk positions, and anti-aircraft posts — were eventually cleared away.

By the 1980s, nothing remained visible on the beach or in the beach dunes.

Inland, however, dozens of bunker remnants still survive among the dunes and forests, especially around Slot Haamstede (Slotbos) and in the Zeepeduinen — silent reminders of Westenschouwen’s role in the Atlantic Wall.

Resistance to Occupation

Zeeland’s unique geography as a collection of islands made organised resistance extremely difficult. The isolation of each island, combined with strict movement controls enforced by the occupying forces, meant that the movement of people and materials was heavily monitored.

Unlike resistance groups in larger cities, which could hide among dense urban populations, the rural villages of Zeeland offered little anonymity. Those who participated in small acts of resistance often found their groups infiltrated, with many members arrested.

As a result, opportunities for active resistance remained limited until after the Allied breakout from Normandy in June 1944, when the war began moving back toward the Dutch coast.

Throughout the occupation, the unique topography and strategic importance of Zeeland, controlling the mouth of the Schelde estuary, the gateway to the major port city of Antwerp, shaped every experience of war. From resistance to liberation and the long process of reconstruction.

Water as a Weapon: The Flooding of Schouwen-Duiveland

During the Second World War, water was used as a devastating weapon in Zeeland, first by the occupying German forces and later by the advancing Allies. The low-lying islands of the province made them particularly vulnerable to deliberate flooding, or inundation, as part of military strategies on both sides.

On 1 March 1944, the Germans flooded large parts of Schouwen-Duiveland, submerging nearly 15,800 hectares of land. The island remained underwater long after liberation, with many areas not fully drying until September 1945.

The 1944-1945 inundation was initiated to repel potential Allied attacks.

The inundation caused enormous damage to farmland, infrastructure, and homes, leaving deep scars across the island that would take years to heal.

Later in 1944, during the Battle of the Scheldt, the Allies themselves deliberately breached the dikes of Walcheren to flood the island and drive out the German defenders.

The scale of destruction on Walcheren was even greater than on Schouwen-Duiveland — a harsh but strategic decision, necessary to open the way to liberate the vital port of Antwerp.

In Zeeland, both parties effectively used the environment itself as a weapon. The conflict was waged not only with bullets and bombs but also with the tides and waters of the North Sea.

After liberation, rebuilding Zeeland required a massive international effort. Seagoing transports, dredgers, tugboats, and stone barges were needed to repair the shattered dikes and reclaim the drowned land.

Although the German occupation caused significant disruption, it was the Allied liberation, particularly through the destructive use of flooding, that arguably left the most noticeable and enduring impacts on Zeeland's landscape and memory.

The watercolours created by Dingemans in 1944 and 1945 vividly depict the flooding and subsequent reconstruction. In 1983, the Royal Zeeland Scientific Society (KZGW) acquired the series from Dingemans. Some pieces are wash drawings in watercolour, while others are more expressive in style. The artworks portray cities surrounded by water, desolate landscapes with dead trees, and dikes littered with debris, starkly contrasting with Walcheren, once known as the "garden of Zeeland" before the war. Dingemans also illustrated the initial restoration efforts, such as filling the breaches in the dikes at Westkapelle and Veere.

The Beginning of the End: War Comes to Schouwen-Duiveland

On 17 September 1944, Schouwen-Duiveland saw large formations of Allied fighters and bombers fly overhead, and Burg-Haamstede was heavily bombed during these raids.

The skies above were filled with Spitfires, seen diving towards German anti-aircraft positions, trying to suppress enemy fire and clear the way for Allied transport planes.

Around midday, waves of Dakota aircraft towing large gliders passed overhead, part of the massive Operation Market Garden (17–25 September 1944), the Allied attempt to break into the Netherlands via airborne landings at Arnhem. Although German anti-aircraft fire was described in reports as "heavy but inaccurate," Allied aircraft losses over Schouwen-Duiveland were relatively light.

For the people of Schouwen-Duiveland, however, liberation was still many months away.

Most of the island had been deliberately flooded by the Germans, and much of the civilian population had been evacuated. Only the Westhoek (Westenschouwen) area remained dry, and residents endured months without electricity or gas.

As the war dragged on, more destruction followed. On 5 January 1945, English bombers hit the Westhoek again, damaging the church in Burgh and destroying houses in Hogeweg.

The last artillery shelling of Schouwen-Duiveland took place on 30 April 1945.

Occupation Until the End: The Story of the Renesse Ten

In December 1944, the German authorities announced that all local men between the ages of 17 and 40 were to be deported. In response, members of the local resistance stole and hid the island’s population registers to prevent the deportations. However, when the resistance members attempted to flee to the liberated island of Noord-Beveland, they were captured after a gun battle.

In a brutal act ordered by the fanatical German command, ten men were hanged at Slot Moermond, and their bodies were left on display for two days, with villagers forced to walk past them. The events of 10 December 1944 left deep scars across Schouwen-Duiveland, and the emotional impact was unspeakably great.

Today, the monument in Renesse dedicated to the Ten of Renesse stands as a memorial not only to these ten men, but to all victims of the occupation. It reminds us that such tragedies send ripples through a community, much like a stone thrown into a pond — the circles continue long after the event itself.

Each year, their sacrifice is commemorated on National Remembrance Day, 4 May.

On 7 May 1945, two days after the general German surrender in the Netherlands, Allied troops finally came ashore, and for Schouwen-Duiveland, the long years of occupation had finally ended.