The Atlantikwall is considered one of the largest construction projects of the twentieth century. Built between 1942 and 1945, this defensive line was intended to prevent an Allied invasion of mainland Western Europe from the sea. The Atlantikwall consisted of a series of independent, self-sufficient strongpoints—both small and large—that could provide mutual fire support. Many of these strongpoints included bomb-proof bunkers, sometimes with walls and roofs up to two meters thick, made of reinforced concrete. Due to shortages of labour, materials, and fuel, only 510 of the planned 2,000 bunkers had been completed in the Netherlands by 1 May 1943. 

Harlingen was designated as a base as early as 1939 for the occupation of the islands of Terschelling, Vlieland, and Ameland, which the Luftwaffe (German Airforce) deemed necessary. 

In 1942, control of coastal defense was transferred to the naval forces stationed in the city of Groningen. In 1943, the Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber in den Niederlanden (Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht in the Netherlands), General der Flieger Friedrich Christiansen, visited Harlingen and its Hafenkapitän (Harbour Captain). Christiansen considered a Normandy-style landing on the islands and at the port city of Harlingen a possibility and expressed concerns about the limited combat strength of the Wehrmacht in the area. 

A German bunker from the Atlantikwall remains in the Engelse Tuin (English Garden) in Harlingen. This bunker is 20 metres long and 5 metres wide and is one of a total of 27 bunkers in the city. It served as the Commandopost Verbindingen – Gefechtsstand (Command Post Communications – Combat Headquarters), the nerve center coordinating the Frisian coastal defense between the villages of  Kornwerderzand and Zurich and the city of Franeker. The Gefechtsstand in the English Garden was protected by three smaller Tobruk Bunkers—small reinforced concrete structures that typically housed a machine gun. However, when Canadian forces liberated Harlingen, the bunker posed a small obstacle during the city's clearing operation. 

On the evening of 16 April 1945, following a brief artillery bombardment, infantry from the Highland Light Infantry of Canada waded through the Ried Canal at the Riedkade. With support from Sherman tanks of the Canadian Sherbrooke Fusiliers, they pushed the German forces back to the outskirts of Harlingen. Once inside the city, Captain William Douglas Tipper’s D Company focused on securing the Franekerpoort Bridge and the English Garden. The destroyed bridges prevented the tanks from entering, but some armoured carriers, equipped with heavy machine guns, successfully joined the urban combat. 

By 22:00, the Canadian forces had advanced deep into the city, and German resistance quickly collapsed. By around 04:30 the next day, Harlingen was fully under Canadian control. The German forces entrenched in the fortified English Garden had also failed to stop the Canadian advance. 

During renovations to the English Garden in 2009, the bunker briefly became visible again. The three Tobruk Bunkers remain, filled with soil but still identifiable. One is located near the Hoogstraat road, while the other two are situated in the middle of the garden. 

The English Garden was built on an old fortress embankment, which provided an elevated position—ideal for bunker construction. The Tobruk Bunkers were hidden within the park, making them difficult to spot from above, but they offered the German defenders a clear view of the surrounding area.