Merville Gun Battery
Encyclopedia
The Merville Gun Battery was a coastal fortification in Normandy
, France
, in use as part of the Nazis' Atlantic Wall
built to defend continental Europe from Allied invasion. It was a particularly heavily fortified position and one of the first places to be attacked by Allied forces during the Normandy Landings commonly known as D-Day.
s, built by the Todt Organisation. Each was designed to protect First World War-vintage 14/19 Tschechisch 100 mm guns
. Other buildings on the site included a command bunker, a building to accommodate the men, and ammunition magazines. During a visit on 6 March 1944, to inspect the defences, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
ordered the builders to work faster, and by May 1944, the last two casemates were completed.
The battery was defended by a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun and several machine gun
s in 15 gun positions, all enclosed in an area 700 by surrounded by two barbed wire
obstacles 15 feet (4.6 m) thick by 5 feet (1.5 m) high, which also acted as the exterior border for a 100 yards (91.4 m) minefield. Another obstacle was an anti-tank ditch
covering any approach from the nearby coast.
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in use as part of the Nazis' Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
built to defend continental Europe from Allied invasion. It was a particularly heavily fortified position and one of the first places to be attacked by Allied forces during the Normandy Landings commonly known as D-Day.
Defences
The Merville Battery was composed of four 6 feet (1.8 m) steel-reinforced concrete gun casemateCasemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s, built by the Todt Organisation. Each was designed to protect First World War-vintage 14/19 Tschechisch 100 mm guns
Skoda houfnice vz 14
The Skoda houfnice vz 14 and Skoda houfnice vz 14/19 were 100mm [3.93-inch] mountain howitzers made in Czechoslovakia by the famed Skoda works.-Skoda houfnice vz 14:...
. Other buildings on the site included a command bunker, a building to accommodate the men, and ammunition magazines. During a visit on 6 March 1944, to inspect the defences, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
ordered the builders to work faster, and by May 1944, the last two casemates were completed.
The battery was defended by a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun and several machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s in 15 gun positions, all enclosed in an area 700 by surrounded by two barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
obstacles 15 feet (4.6 m) thick by 5 feet (1.5 m) high, which also acted as the exterior border for a 100 yards (91.4 m) minefield. Another obstacle was an anti-tank ditch
Anti-tank trench
Anti-tank trenches, also called anti-tank ditches, are ditches dug into and around fortified positions to hold up the advance of enemy tanks. Anti-tank ditches were first used in World War I by Germany in an effort to protect their trenches against the newly developed British tanks. An anti-tank...
covering any approach from the nearby coast.
Further reading
- The Day the Devils Dropped In. Neil Barber, Pen & Sword Books 2002. ISBN 978 1 84415 045 8