Cherbourg Harbour (French: ''rade de Cherbourg''; literally, the "

roadstead A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5- ...

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

"), is a harbour situated at the northern end of the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

, on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

coastline, in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, northwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. With a surface area of 1,500 hectares, it is the second largest artificial harbour in the world, after the 4,500 hectare Ras Laffan Harbour in Qatar. As well as

Cherbourg Naval Base Cherbourg Naval Base is a naval base in Cherbourg Harbour, Cherbourg, Manche department, Normandy. The town has been a base of the French Navy since the opening of the military port in 1813. History Early works Cherbourg had been a stronghold si ...

, it has been used for mercantile shipping. It was begun in 1783, with its central harbour

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

completed in 1853 – this was 3.64 km long, an average of 100 m wide at its base and an average of 12 m wide at its top, and sited 4 km from the coast. Three forts were added to its central wall in 1860. This and the two other breakwaters stretch for more than 6 km. The eastern opening into the harbour is 950 m wide and the western one 2.3 km wide. The harbour's maximum depth is 13 m at low tide.

History

Cherbourg had been a strategic stronghold for several centuries - its castle was first built in the 5th century to protect the whole width of the

Cotentin The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

. In the 17th century Vauban,

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

, launched a project to fortify the town, but they were finally razed shortly afterwards. In 1692 several naval ships under Amiral de Tourville put into the port at Cherbourg after the opening battle of the

Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May Old Style, O.S. (29 May New Style, N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with late ...

—the port's lack of adequate defences were revealed when

fire ships A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

destroyed many of the French ships under repair, including the ''Triomphant'' at the entry point into the port, the ''Admirable'' on the Mielles, and the ''Soleil Royal'', the admiral's flagship, on the pointe du Hommet. Cherbourg-Cessart

The long-planned fortification of the town was finally set in motion by

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

. In 1776, he set up a commission to choose between Cherbourg,

Ambleteuse Ambleteuse (; vls, Ambeltuwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. History Ambleteuse began as a hamlet of a few huts in the middle of the dunes, from which the derisory name of “carcahuttes" (huts made from old-boa ...

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

as France's main strategic port for defence of the

- this was headed by Suffren and also including Dumouriez (later governor of Cherbourg) and La Bretonnière. La Bretonnière's report considered that only Cherbourg had a harbour large enough for 80 warships at once. Exceeding Vauban's designs, he planned the construction of a 4 km long harbour wall between île Pelée and pointe de

Louis-Alexandre de Cessart Louis-Alexandre de Cessart (25 August 1719, Paris – 12 April 1806, Rouen) was a French road and bridge engineer. He served in the "gendarmerie de la Maison du Roi", fighting at the battles of Fontenoy and Raucoux in 1745 and 1746. In 1747 he ...

's plans were chosen, which involved constructing a mole from 90 tree trunks 20m by 20m, filled in with stones and linked by iron chains. Construction began in 1783 and was completed in 70 years, by three architects -

, La Bretonnière and

Joseph Cachin Baron Joseph Marie François Cachin was a French engineer, most notable for his work at Cherbourg Harbour. He was born in Castres on October 2, 1757 and died in Paris on February 23, 1825. Biography Joseph Cachin, son of Pierre Cachin, was a but ...

. The first trunk was laid on 6 June 1784, one kilometre from Île Pelée, and the harbour was filled with 300 to 400 boats ferrying stone from the port at Becquet to the mole to build against the trunks. However, the first trunks were severely damaged by storms. On 22 June 1786 Louis XVI made his only trip away from Paris and Versailles to see how far work on the harbour had progressed and assisted in sinking the ninth stone section. Cessart's plans were finally scotched in 1788, with funding having run out and the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

imminent. This marked a return to La Bretonnière's plan, but in the period between 1789 and 1790 Dumouriez and Cessart left Cherbourg. Subsidies for the project were cut in 1790 and La Bretonnière was forced to hand in his resignation in 1792. Despite a law passed on 1 August 1792 ordering the construction of the military outer port, all works were suspended from 1792 to 1802. In 1802, intending to make Cherbourg one of his main military ports in preparation for his invasion of the United Kingdom,

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

ordered that work on the harbour wall be resumed to La Bretonnière's plans, by building up the central section to mount cannon. A decree of 25 germinal year XI (1803) ordered the engineer Cachin to excavate the military outer harbour at lac de Moeris - this was opened on 27 August 1813 in the presence of empress

Marie-Louise of Austria french: Marie-Louise-Léopoldine-Françoise-Thérèse-Josèphe-Lucie it, Maria Luigia Leopoldina Francesca Teresa Giuseppa Lucia , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of ...

. That decree also ordered the construction of a new arsenal at the port. 1803 also saw Cherbourg's harbour fend off British attacks and become a base for privateers.

Works on the central wall were again interrupted between 1813 and 1832 and were only finally completed in 1853 under

Napoleon III of France Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, with the western and eastern harbour walls only completed in 1895. The period also saw the opening of two basins in the naval base—the

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

basin (begun in 1814; 290×220×18 metres) on 25 August 1829 in the Dauphin's presence, and the Napoléon III basin (begun in 1836; 420×200×18 metres) on 7 August 1858 by Napoleon III and his wife. Work on the harbour was fully completed under the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

, with the addition of the eastern (1890–1894) and western (1889–1896) walls and the construction of a 'Petite rade' (digue du Hommet, 1899–1914, and digue des Flamands, 1921–1922). Charles Maurice Cabart Danneville made an entry point in the harbour's eastern breakwater, the digue Collignon, so that fishing boats could get out of the harbour rapidly, in case of emergency. That entry point later became the passe Cabart-Danneville. The breakwaters also resisted demolition by the Germans in 1944 during the

Battle of Cherbourg The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. It was fought immediately after the successful Allied landings on 6 June 1944. Allied troops, mainly American, isolated and captured the fortified port, which was ...

Forts

Fort du Homet

Fort de l'île Pelée

Fort Chavagnac

File:Cherbourg-Fort-Chavagnac.jpg, Fort de Chavagnac

Fort de l'Est

File:Cherbourg-Fort-de-l'est.jpg, Fort de l'Est, destroyed during the Second World War

Fort de l'Ouest

File:Cherbourg-Fort-de-l'ouest.jpg, Fort de l'Ouest

Central fort

File:Fort-central.jpg, Fort Central

Fort de Querqueville

File:FortQuerqueville.JPG, Entrance to the Fort de

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

s of Fort de

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.

External links

* �
Les forts de la rade de Cherbourg ( 50 )
», ''Les Chemins de la mémoire, * �

», Netmarine *
Forts de la grande rade de Cherbourg
*
La grande rade
ville de Cherbourg-Octeville *
Situation de la Passe Cabart-Danneville
{{Authority control Cherbourg-Octeville Geography of Manche Ports and harbours of France Ports and harbours of the English Channel Roadsteads of France