Fortress of Mimoyecques, Military museum in Landrethun-le-Nord, France.
The Fortress of Mimoyecques is an underground military installation in northern France featuring a network of tunnels and five inclined shafts. These shafts were designed to house V-3 cannons aimed at targets across the English Channel.
German forces built the installation between 1943 and 1944 using engineers from Organization Todt and prisoner labor. The project emerged from the military goal of striking distant targets across the Channel.
The site honors the forced laborers who died during construction, and their stories are woven into the displays throughout the fortress. Visitors can sense the human cost behind the military engineering.
Access is by guided tour, which shows visitors how to navigate through the underground chambers and view the steeply inclined shafts. Sturdy shoes are advisable since pathways are uneven and some areas are tight.
The V-3 cannons were designed to fire 600 rounds per hour with a range exceeding 160 km (100 miles), making them one of the era's most ambitious weapons. Today visitors can see how such extreme technical goals were pursued even then.
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