Pillboxes and anti-tank blocks
Anti-land and coastal invasion defences

The focus of General Ironside's defence plan for Britain was the construction of land defences during 1940 and 1941. A German invasion of Britain would bring with it armoured tanks. The main aim was to combat the movement of tanks by using a combination of natural and man-made obstacles. Natural defences included rivers. Their bridges were marked for destruction if an invasion occurred, to prevent the enemy crossing them. Sections of coastline, where the enemy could easily land, had a series of defences built along them, known as forming a "crust". Coastal defences are evident at Tentsmuir, Roseisle, Lossie and Culbin. Man-made obstacles included lines of concrete anti-tank blocks that formed a barrier between regularly placed pillboxes. Discover more about their construction at Tentsmuir. Pillboxes were small concrete structures where a squad of men could stand protected and fire against the enemy at close range. At Roseisle Forest, you can discover more about their use. Ditches, minefields, walls of scaffolding and barbed wire fences supported these defences. Ports were a major enemy target and so coastal gun batteries were placed nearby to protect them. There is one located at b>Lossie Forest. If the enemy moved past the coastal defences, a second line of defence was the stop-lines. At Cowie Stop Line, you can discover how they worked. In the summer of 1940, General Alan Brookes took over from Ironside. While defence construction continued, plans changed. Fewer defences inland were built, as they would be an obstacle to British troops as well as to the enemy. Brookes focused on developing a mobile military force in Britain to respond to any attack.