Wooden ramps

Wooden ramps were used by the Germans in World War II to defend areas from terrestrial and aquatic/semi-aquatic vehicles. A wooden ramp consisted of a medium-sized tree trunk angled 15-20 degrees, with the raised end towards land and supported by two or four legs. The wooden ramp could flip an amphibious vehicle over as it landed on the beach. The devices were sometimes made additionally dangerous by attaching mines to the log. The most famous use of wooden ramps was during the Allied beach assaults during Operation Overlord. The Germans used them to destroy Allied vehicles, particularly Landing Craft Mechanized boats and variants and, in the case of the Americans, Sherman DD tanks. However, because the Germans expected a high-tide landing, they primarily positioned the wooden ramps too far up the beach. Had events gone as they predicted, the ramps would have been mostly underwater and thus less visible.