The Atlantic Wall became the most grandiose system of coastal fortifications in the history of mankind. Its coastal batteries, concrete underground structures, and various anti-landing defenses represented masterpieces of artillery and construction engineering. At the same time, Hitler and his admirals made a number of unforgivable miscalculations that made the successful Allied invasion of Normandy possible. Western historians have been debating the merits and shortcomings of the wall's systems for half a century. Meanwhile, the Soviet leadership, since the war, imposed a taboo on any information about the Atlantic Wall, and the Russian reader will encounter it for the first time in this book.