Renault tank turret versions
When the Germans invaded France and Belgium in 1940 both these armies still had WW1 Renault Ft-17 tanks in operational service. They were obsolete and could not knock out a German Panzer III tank. During the occupation old tank turrets were removed and incorporated in the German Atlantic Wall...
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quote: Not all the tank turrets had working guns installed. They were used to provide armoured protection for artillery observers who would radio or phone gun crews at different points within the network of defensive bunkers, new target locations.
From Osprey Fortress - 45 -- German Defences in Italy in World War II
"The men who manned these turrets formed part of a Festungs (Panther-Turm) Kompanie normally made up of 12 turrets. In April 1944, Tenth Army established a Panther turret company to man the positions on the Hitler Line. This was attached to 15th Panzergrenadier Division, which initially held the Liri Valley, and when this division was relieved Kampfgruppe Straffner absorbed the Panther turret company. 1st Fallschirmjager Division manned other turrets along the line, particularly around Piedimonte in the shadow of Monte Cassino. After the battle one of the men of this division, Gefreiter Fries, was awarded the Knight's Cross for his part in destroying a number of Allied tanks. The turrets manned by crews from 15th Panzergrenadier Division were seemingly not as fortunate as their comrades as many were killed during the battle.
The Panther turret company that manned the turrets on the Hitler Line was later reformed under Tenth Army and given the designation Festungs (PantherTurm) Kp.l. This unit manned the Panther turrets at the eastern end of the Green Line. A sister unit, Festungs (Panther-Turm) Kp.2, was established by Fourteenth Army in July 1944 to man positions in the west and to cover the central passes. Later in the war the organization of Panther turret crews became more ordered so that in addition to these two companies, Festungs (PantherTurm) Kp. 1209 and 1210 were formed. By the beginning of April 1945, all of these units were stationed in the Voralpenstellung in north-eastern Italy.
More normally the defensive positions were manned by ordinary artillerymen, grenadiers, infantrymen or quasi infantry like the Fallschirmjager who since the successful, but costly, landing on Crete had been used as ground troops rather than as an airborne assault force. With relatively few exceptions - some of the larger permanent defences and the Panther turrets being good examples - the unit manning the position was responsible for providing the weaponry whether it be an artillery, anti-tank or anti-aircraft gun, a mortar, a Nebelwerfer or simply a machine gun.
Often the fighting positions were linked to OT steel shelters or dugouts. These provided the troops with protection against the elements and somewhere to eat and sleep. They were often fitted with bunk beds and a stove for warmth and to cook on. More importantly they also provided a safe haven against enemy fire. Once the enemy barrage and air attacks had subsided the defenders would emerge from their subterranean refuge and man their weapons.
This was especially true of the paratroopers defending Monte Cassino. Work on the Gustav Line had begun during the autumn of 1943 and eventually some 44,000 men, under the direction of Engineer General Bessell, were set to work on this position. They included army construction units, Organization Todt personnel, Italian auxiliaries and labour battalions. The latter would sometimes be hired in exchange for food or tobacco, which after four years of war were in short supply, or German soldiers simply rounded men up at the point of a gun and forced them to work."
) on the bed may help with large flat prints
