Enfola Coastal Battery

The military structures on the Capo Enfola peninsula were built between the two World Wars, as part of the "Coastal Defense" plan that involved all of Italy from 1935 to 1938. 

The coastal battery was constructed to control the stretch of sea separating Elba from the Tuscan coast and Corsica. It was manned by about 200 soldiers and equipped with four cannons with a firing range that overlapped with the twin outpost located at Punta del Falcone in Piombino.

To allow the anti-aircraft guns to be used at night, powerful searchlights were installed to brightly illuminate the sea and the Piombino Channel. In addition, sound detection systems and range-finding towers were used to aim the heavy artillery.

Shortly before Operation Brassard, when French troops were tasked with occupying Elba in an amphibious operation, the Enfola battery played a key role.

To destroy the four formidable cannons that could hinder the landing at Marina di Campo beach, 12 inflatable boats carrying 80 French soldiers set off from Procchio and silently approached the cliffs of Capo d’Enfola, paddling to avoid making noise.

In total darkness, they began to climb the cliff overlooking the sea, but after two hours of slow ascent, a falling stone alerted the Germans.

This triggered a fierce hand-to-hand fight, which ended with the destruction of the bunkers using plastic explosives.

At the end of the mission, only 14 commandos survived, while the Germans retreated to the Tuscan coast.

Curiosity: Few know that this wartime episode inspired the 1961 film “The Guns of Navarone”, a classic Hollywood drama with a remarkable cast including Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, and David Niven, directed by J. Lee Thompson.

The remains of these wartime structures on the promontory are still clearly visible: the bunkers, water collectors and cisterns, gun emplacements, and casemates.

Well camouflaged and sheltered from potential enemies is the powder magazine, a long and spacious cave entirely carved into the rock where charges and ammunition were stored. A small tunnel with a vaulted brick roof forms the exit of the magazine, located on the opposite side from the main entrance.

Inside the barracks, you can still recognize the various rooms used as soldiers' dormitories, where large iron rings attached to the walls are visible, once used to support hammocks hung from the walls.