Studland Bay played an important role during the Second World War, first as part of Britain’s coastal defences against a possible German invasion and later as a training ground for Allied troops preparing for the D-Day landings.
The bay’s long sandy beaches were considered particularly vulnerable to an amphibious invasion, and from 1940 a network of gun emplacements, pillboxes, anti-tank obstacles and other defences was constructed along the coastline.
By 1943 the threat of invasion had receded and Studland took on a very different role. Its beaches became a training ground where Allied forces could practise the type of amphibious assault that would soon be required on the beaches of Normandy.
One of the most important surviving reminders of this period is Fort Henry, a large concrete observation bunker overlooking Studland Bay at Redend Point, close to Middle Beach.
Defending Studland Bay Against Invasion
Following the fall of France in June 1940, the possibility of a German invasion of Britain became a very real threat.
Studland Bay was considered one of the stretches of Dorset coastline most vulnerable to an enemy landing. Its long beaches provided potential landing places from which troops and vehicles could move inland towards the Isle of Purbeck and beyond.
A series of defences was therefore constructed along the bay during 1940. These included pillboxes, gun positions and anti-tank obstacles, while minefields were laid among parts of the sand dunes.
Concrete anti-tank blocks were also positioned to prevent vehicles leaving the beach at several possible exit points.
Some remains of Studland’s wartime defences can still be found around the bay today.
The Gun Emplacement at Redend Point
Among the defences constructed in 1940 was a gun emplacement at Redend Point, overlooking Studland Bay between Middle Beach and South Beach.
The position was designed for a six-pounder gun and provided a commanding field of fire across the bay.
The emplacement survives remarkably well. The gun mounting can still be seen and traces of its original wartime camouflage paint have survived on part of the structure.
It is now protected as a Grade II listed building together with neighbouring Fort Henry.
Studland and the Preparations for D-Day
By the autumn of 1943, Studland Bay had acquired an entirely different military purpose.
The Allies were preparing for the invasion of German-occupied Europe, and troops needed to practise landing men, vehicles and equipment onto defended beaches.
Studland provided an excellent training location. Its beaches and surrounding landscape could be used to recreate some of the conditions that troops would encounter when they landed in Normandy.
During the weeks leading up to D-Day, Studland Bay was used for a series of major amphibious assault exercises involving troops, landing craft and live ammunition.
Exercise Smash
One of the most important training operations held at Studland was Exercise Smash, part of the preparations for the Normandy landings.
Three large-scale exercises took place at Studland Bay during the weeks before D-Day. The training involved amphibious landings and assaults against defensive positions, allowing Allied forces to practise the complex task of moving troops from ships onto a defended coastline.
Exercise Smash 1 was particularly significant and involved the use of live ammunition.
The existing anti-invasion defences around Studland, originally constructed to stop German troops landing in Britain, could now be used to help Allied soldiers practise attacking similar defensive positions.
Studland had effectively changed from a beach being prepared against invasion into a training ground for an invasion of Europe.
Fort Henry
Fort Henry was constructed in 1943 by Canadian Royal Engineers as an observation post from which senior officers and other observers could watch the exercises taking place across Studland Bay.
It was named after the Canadian engineers’ home base at Fort Henry in Ontario.
The structure is considerably larger than it initially appears. Built from reinforced concrete on the cliff edge at Redend Point, it measures approximately 138 metres long. Its walls are around one metre thick and a narrow observation slit runs along the seaward side overlooking the bay.
Inside is a long corridor protected by thick concrete walls.
Its substantial construction was necessary because observers were watching military exercises involving live ammunition.
Churchill and Eisenhower at Studland
Fort Henry’s most famous moment came in April 1944, just weeks before D-Day.
A group of some of the most important political and military leaders of the Allied war effort gathered at Studland to observe part of Exercise Smash.
Among those watching from Fort Henry were King George VI, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Bernard Montgomery and Lord Louis Mountbatten.
From the observation bunker they watched a demonstration involving carpet bombing followed by assault landings on the beaches below.
Less than two months later, on 6 June 1944, Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy as Operation Overlord began.
Standing at Fort Henry today and looking across the peaceful beaches of Studland Bay, it can be difficult to imagine the scale of the military exercises taking place here in the spring of 1944.
Project Fougasse
Studland Bay was also used for experiments with another unusual form of coastal defence.
Project Fougasse investigated whether burning oil could be used against enemy troops attempting to land on British beaches. Oil was piped towards the shoreline and could be ignited using explosive charges, creating a wall of flame.
Trials of the system were carried out at Studland as Britain experimented with different ways of defending its coastline against a possible German invasion.
Second World War Remains at Studland Today
Fort Henry and the neighbouring gun emplacement are among the most impressive surviving Second World War structures at Studland, but evidence of the bay’s wartime history can also be found elsewhere around the area.
The surviving structures are reminders of two very different stages of the war: the preparations to defend Britain against invasion in 1940 and the preparations for the Allied invasion of Europe four years later.
Fort Henry and the gun emplacement were designated Grade II listed buildings in 2012 because of their historic importance, survival and close association with preparations for D-Day.
Visiting Fort Henry
Fort Henry is situated on Redend Point, between Middle Beach and South Beach at Studland.
The easiest access is from Middle Beach Car Park, with Fort Henry only around a two-minute walk away. The observation post overlooks Studland Bay and is free to visit.
A visit can easily be combined with Middle Beach, South Beach or a longer walk towards Old Harry Rocks.
The location is particularly rewarding because the landscape has changed relatively little. From Fort Henry you can look across the same bay where Allied troops practised amphibious landings and where Churchill, Eisenhower and other senior Allied leaders watched preparations for D-Day in 1944.
Location: Redend Point, Studland, Dorset
Nearest parking: Middle Beach Car Park (Google map)
Walking time from car park: Around 2 minutes
Admission: Free
Listed status: Grade II
Google map Fort Henry