# What are the big metal '+' on the beach in Normandy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-big-metal-on-the-beach-in-normandy/327914 "2005-10-26T00:08:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-big-metal-on-the-beach-in-normandy/327914/1 "2005-10-26T00:08:36Z")
What are the big metal ‘+’ on the beach in Normandy? Who put them there? What are they doing, other than providing cover for invading allied forces? ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-big-metal-on-the-beach-in-normandy/327914/2 "2005-10-26T00:19:52Z")
> [@FlippyFly](#): > > What are the big metal ‘+’ on the beach in Normandy? Who put them there? What are they doing, other than providing cover for invading allied forces? The dragon’s teeth? I always thought they were to discourage the transport ships. Now, although they provided _a bit_ of cover, they forced the ships to unload troops further off the coast. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-big-metal-on-the-beach-in-normandy/327914/3 "2005-10-26T00:25:09Z")
Tank traps. See: [http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q="tank%20traps"%20normandy&sa=N&tab=wi](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=%22tank%20traps%22%20normandy&sa=N&tab=wi) about 2/3 of the way down the page. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-big-metal-on-the-beach-in-normandy/327914/4 "2005-10-26T04:49:01Z")
There are either the same or strikingly similar things (big, metal, pointy) at the gates of almost every military base I’ve seen in the US. Sometimes, interspersed with concrete barriers. It’s because they really don’t want people screaming up to the gate going 90, and the big spikey hunks of metal are going to slow you down one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-big-metal-on-the-beach-in-normandy/327914/5 "2005-10-26T05:18:28Z")
They’re not anti-tank defenses. They’re [Czech hedgehogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_hedgehog) These are [dragon’s teeth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_teeth) The hedgehogs were intended to stop landing craft, and were put in place during high tide. Here’s a description of why [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case\_dday/clues.html](http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_dday/clues.html) As far as I know dragon’s teeth, being large sections of poured concrete, were only used to protect other fixed positions. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-big-metal-on-the-beach-in-normandy/327914/6 "2005-10-26T09:43:35Z")
they are intended to rip holes in flat-bottomed craft grounding on them. As mentioned above, they may be ‘improved’ with an anti-tank mine on top. Obviously, if you debark when the tide is out you avoid them, while encountering other dangers. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-big-metal-on-the-beach-in-normandy/327914/7 "2005-10-26T10:03:21Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > These are [dragon’s teeth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_teeth) I like the note in the wiki article, the Swiss apparently refer to them as Toblerone, quite an image of the defence of Switzerland 😛