Just the edge of one of the two remaining buildings can be seen from the D940 road between Tardinghen and Wissant, giving away the location of one of the least-visited bunker sites in the area.
Located on the high ground between the two villages, Wn172 Violetthohe featured three main buildings, along with defensive machine gun posts and was surrounded by a series of extensive minefields.
The building you can see from the road is a R612 casemate for a 7.5cm artillery gun which faced to the west to cover the road and former railway line which ran through this area behind the dunes and marshland. The R612 has suffered from a large external explosion, likely to have occurred after the site was captured by Canadian forces in September 1944 in a bid to render the site inoperable in the future. It was also likely used to destroy leftover ammunition found in the area as with other casemates.
Behind the R612 casemate was a ringstand emplacement for a 5cm KwK anti-tank gun. Although the concrete is no longer visible, the large shrub in the field boundary hedgerow gives away its original location.
Given the height above the surrounding area, it’s not surprising that there’s also an observation position here, although it’s difficult to access in the small patch of woodland south west of the casemate.
Now no longer accessible, our friends in the area have visited the building many years ago and report that it features two main rooms and an observation post. It was the main HQ for the infantry division posted here to defend the dune system between the two towns. Again, this building is in a poor state.