Hillman - Suffolk Regiment
Widerstandnest 17 (WN17) was codenamed Hillman by the British and was headquarters to the German 736th Regiment, who had 150 men and officers stationed there. It was a fortified site with 18 underground concrete bunkers linked by a series of tunnels and trenches surrounded by Tobruk machine gun pits, barbed wire and minefields.
The site is located 2.3 miles inland from Sword Beach next to the village of Colleville-Montgomery and was constructed by the Germans from 1942.
With a commanding a panoramic view over sword beach it was the control centre for the German defences in the area. Although the site did not have any artillery of its own it controlled the firing of the artillery at Widerstandnest 16 (WN16) codenamed Morris which is located 800 meters closer to the coast.
The main bunker is four meters underground and had an armoured observation cupola and housed the command headquarters, signal centre, mess rooms and sleeping quarters.
A refurbished MK IV Churchill tank was recently added to the site.
The site is open to the public all year round and free guided tours are provided by members of the association every Tuesday from the 1st July to 30th September at 3pm. The tours last approximately 2 hours.
Guided tours for groups are available all year round on request
