European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Bike racer fought the German by Mark Kirkade staff writer Guillaume Mercader fought the germans from the seat of his homemade racing bicycle. When he was 20 years old Mercader raced through Normandy on his Bronze and red 10-Speed bicycle collecting a trove of local racing titles in his Wake. As a 30-year-old Bicy Cle Mechanic in German occupied Bayeux France he peddled the bicycle Over the same roads into the heart of the German coastal defences guarding the Normandy coast. A the germans would laugh at me on my Bicy Cle in my Riding clothes Quot Mercader said earlier this year As he traced the routes of his wartime Riding paths on a map. A they checked my paperwork and waved me through laughing at the Little French  in his study in Bayeux the so year old Mercader sat surrounded by mementos of the War and his role with the resistance. A . Bronze Star medal for his activities in France Hung prominently in the Center of the room and various citations from generals and world leaders filled most of the Walnut panelled w All. A amps key go Quot some Mercader was a resistance fighter. For four y ears during the nazi occupation of France Mercader led the Effort to Chart German defences in Normandy. Some groups harassed the germans with sabotage guerrilla warfare and Ether violent methods. Mercader and his group of 92 people in Small towns dotting the Long Norman coastline quietly went about their work of mapping the German  a re were very careful to hide our identities even from each other a Mercader said. A i knew some of the Kev people in some towns but most of us did t know who the other Contact  to give the allies the Best picture of Normandy a defences the Short Stocky Frenchman would double Check information from his sources he said. A two or three times each week Mercader Rode the nearly 60 Miles of coastal de tenses and German checkpoints to Check the accuracy of the reports. When he confirmed the information. Mercader returned to his shop where he sent shortwave messages to England. For nearly 16 months Mercader cycled the narrow roadways of Normandy sent shortwave messages and listened to his radio at night for the coded message that would Tell him the invasion w As coming. Two Days before the Allied landings Mercader heard two phrases on the radio Quot Suez is a hot place a followed by another message Quot the Dice Are on the  Quot it was the code for the  Mercader said. Quot the allies were  for the last time Mercader Rode from his Bayeux bicycle shop to his resistance contacts on the coast and passed the word. The germans laughed As he Rode past he said. As thousands of troops in Landing Craft pushed Tow Ard the invasion beaches the French racer w cited in his shop listening to the sounds of the War he said. Days later Mercader stood on a stretch of Sand on Omaha Beach and greeted americans coming up from the Beach. Eventually he linked up with the american and British intelligence divisions and followed the invasion into Germany As a scout and a spy he said. Mercader has some difficulty walking today but still rides he said. He opened a photo album and pointed to a Black and White photo of himself As a muscular Young racer on a bicycle. Then he flipped the Page to a picture of himself years later standing next to the same bicycle. Quot some things Quot he said. A you keep because they Are Good to  v Hitler built to repel any invader by Bill Walker staff writer the battered remains of nazi Germany a grandiose Atlantic Wall Dot the coastline of Normandy today. This string of massive steel reinforced Concrete emplacements was built to repel any invader attempting a return to Continental Europe. The Atlantic Wall had its beginning in operation sea lion the planned German invasion of England in 1940. Because the British held naval superiority the German High command wanted to build powerful gun batteries at the narrowest Points along the Channel to cover the planned invasion beaches on the English coast. To do this they envisioned such giants As the Lindemann Battery a sprawling installation with three 16-Inch guns at san Gatte near Calais. When the Luff Staffe failed to destroy the Royal air Force in the Battle of Britain and the invasion w As postponed indefinitely the realization that it was Only a matter of time before the allies would try to return to the continent began to gnaw at the planners in the German High command. And when Adolf Hitler attacked Russia in june 1941, the danger was Clear. The germans w Ere vulnerable to a dreaded two front War if the fighting reopened in the West. The Atlantic coast had to be made invasion proof. Nearly 2.0c0 Miles of coastline were to be guarded w Ith a series of Strong Points using the latest fortification construction techniques. Fritz Todt. Who regulated the construction Industry in the third Reich was charged w Ith building the first gun batteries initially As part of the assault on the English coast and then As the first Steps in construction of an Atlantic Wall. However Todt w As killed in an air plane explosion feb. A 1942, and architect Albert Speer took Over the fortification Effort. In May work on the Atlantic Wall described by one nazi general As knots in a Chain began in Earnest. The Effort received new emphasis in january f 44 when Field marshal Erwin Rommel was put in charge of coastal defense along an Soo mile stretch of the most vulnerable areas including the eventual a Day Landing site. He ordered a beefing up of defences including the laying of millions of mines along the coast. He also tried to mine and stake Fields behind the coastal areas where glider landings might be attempted. By june 1944, More than 9,000 fortified positions were Complete. Today the emplacements Are visible every few Miles on the coast just As they were to agents of the French resistance who precisely plotted their Lay out during the War. Us a Ort do