The Pointe du Château, a rocky headland separating the harbor of Perros from the beach of Trestrignel, has always been a strategic lookout point. Defenses have been established there since antiquity and were reinforced in the 18th century. From its summit, one can see up to 50 km in all directions and allows monitoring of the harbor entrance.
During World War Two the German Army also made use of this strategic location and turned it into a support point as part of the Atlantic Wall, designated Widerstandsnest (Wn) Mo 6. Partly taking advantage of existing natural caves, the position existed of an underground gallery system carved into the rock, connecting a large Regelbau Type 612 bunker and various observation- and machine gun positions.
The type 612 bunker embedded in the West side of the Pointe du Château rock and visible from the Trestrignel beach housed a 75 mm FK 38 artillery piece that covered the beach with flanking fire. One machine gun position faced Northwest and one to the South. An observation post is situated on the Eastern side of the rock hidden in a cavern monitoring the sea access towards the harbor. Inside the tunnel system was a cistern. Access to the tunnel system was through the south side, which is now sealed to provide a safe environment for bats.
On the top of the hill in the picture underneath, on the rue Tomé, several supporting structures and installations were added by the Germans to complete the Widerstandsnest Mo 6, among which multiple personnel shelters, an emplacement for a type A or C Würzburg radar for directing FlaK fire (demolished), a FlaK battery command Post and a telephone exchange.
Visit
You can visit the Pointe du Château freely. A walking track leads to the top of the headland overlooking the sea, the beach and the harbor mouth. Most of the remaining structures further back on the hill are now on private property and inaccessible.
