HVH S7

Situated on the dike along the bicycle path at the junction of Dirk van den Burgweg and ‘s-Gravenzandseweg roads, is a Dutch type S7 defense work. This small casemate had seven machine-gun embrasures to cover the embankment, the terrain below, as well as Dirk van den Burgweg, the main road into Hook of Holland. The casemate protected the rear of the defense works for the Hook of Holland coast. The bunker features two square entrances in the back, both of which are still open. A steel support brace on which the gunner would rest his weapon is preserved in each of the seven embrasures. Short concrete walls divide the inside space, which was cramped to begin with, into even smaller rooms. The partitions were intended to limit the effects of shrapnel and bullets that might have penetrated the structure.

The strategic position of this casemate will be obvious to anyone looking out through the gun slits: as it was during the war, the absence of vegetation would have afforded a perfectly clear view onto the Van den Burgweg and the embankment. It should be noted that the foot of the embankment, with its road below, was out of range of the casemate’s gunfire. The embrasures are positioned too low and the bunker is set too far back. The numerous gun slits weakened the casemate as every opening was a potential bull’s eye and a direct hit could obliterate the interior. As it happens, the structure was never involved in battle and has thus survived unscathed.