Bunker WN 65

The bunker Widerstandsnest 65 (WN 65) by Italianminifig is a scale reproduction - mountable, made up of original Lego pieces - of one of the two fortified strongholds on which the German defensive system was based in the Ruquet valley, in Normandy, during the Second World War.

The sales package includes:

- A bag containing the Widerstandsnest 65 bunker assembling pieces (697 pcs.).

- A certificate attesting the authenticity of the Widerstandsnest 65 bunker as an Italianminifig product, and that it belongs to a limited edition.

- Assembly instructions.

The Ruquet valley, located at the foot of two slopes, was one of the four natural exits of Omaha Beach, one of the beaches which, in June 1944, became the scene of the Allied Normandy landings. During the Nazi occupation of France, precisely because of this strategic location, the area was intensely fortified, between Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer, by the German army.

A vast anti-tank ditch was built along the entire width of the valley, parallel to the beach. A series of trenches and positions to house machine guns and mortars completed the German defensive system.

WN 65 was built in the immediate vicinity of the beach and was manned by around twenty soldiers and a 50 mm anti-tank artillery piece. The Bunker was part of the larger defensive axis called the "Atlantic Wall", built by the Third Reich, starting from 1940, along the north-western coasts of the European continent, from France to Norway.

Despite the defensive efforts implemented by the Germans, WN 65 was neutralized and conquered by the Allies on 6 June 1944, around 11.30 am. Between 12pm and 2pm, the Ruquet Valley became the first clearing line at Omaha Beach.

Inside the bunker was set up, initially, the headquarters of the US engineers and, subsequently, the one of the 1st infantry division.

Today the bunker is a monument that pays homage and remembers the efforts made by the American soldiers to conquer the position.

(This product isn’t a toy: it’s not suitable for children under the age of 14, due to the small parts that constitute it. It’s a collector's item of historical interest. Each Italianminifig item doesn’t intend to celebrate any authoritarian regime, not intends to foment hatred or a repressive spirit towards freedom and human rights).