Neue Südlinie

Starting in 1942, the Germans decided to extend Verteidigungsbereich [defense zone] Den Helder in southerly direction, towards Julianadorp. From Widerstandsnest 136 H to just beyond the Noordhollands Kanaal [canal], a new defense line was drawn up with novel bunker types of the 600-series, a type that had only recently been released.

An anti-tank barrier was located at the southern boundary of WN136H. It was comprised of walls and a line of dragon's teeth obstacles that connected to several newly excavated anti-tank ditches. The line thus created featured gun casemates capable of enfilade fire, minefields and anti-tank barriers, all intended to prevent a break-through of enemy troops into Den Helder from the south.

In the western section, WN136H included a pair of type 653 casemates (Schartenstände für 5cm Kwk) that actually contained 5-cm Kampfwagen cannon. The complex further included several type 134, 501, 504 and 621 bunkers. A Kabelschaltbrunnen or KSB [cable well] was located on the Zanddijk. It was a switching station for telephone lines from various bunkers, which connected to the downtown type 616 Großschaltstelle [telephone exchange]. Virtually all the bunkers are still present under the sand.

The eastern and central parts of the line were fortified with a number of bunkers of type 680, 621, 504, 502 and 134. Thin-walled structures with supportive functions such as water and food storage, as well as latrines, surrounded these concrete bunkers.

Today, most of the bunkers have been demolished or sunk into pits and covered. Some were cleared in the nineteen-eighties for new residential construction and tourist facilities such as holiday resorts. A type 134 and a type 621 bunker were cleared during recent construction of a new shopping mall.