The Longues-sur-Mer battery (in German: ''Marineküstenbatterie (MKB) Longues-sur-Mer'') was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

German artillery battery constructed near the French village of

Longues-sur-Mer Longues-sur-Mer () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandie region in northwestern France. The Longues-sur-Mer battery is nearby, part of the Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados ...

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 ...

. The battery was sited on a cliff overlooking the sea and formed a part of Germany's Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications. It was located between the Allied landing beaches of

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and Omaha and shelled both beaches on D-Day (6 June 1944). The battery was captured on June 7 and played no further part in the Normandy campaign. The battery is the only one in Normandy to retain all its original guns in situ. It was listed an historical monument in October 2001, and remains in a good state of conservation.

Construction

The battery is located halfway between

Port-en-Bessin Port-en-Bessin-Huppain () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. The commune contains the two towns of Port-en-Bessin and Huppain. Population History The name ''Huppain'' stems from Norse ...

in the west and Arromanches-les-Bains in the east and north of Bayeux. Construction of the battery - code-named Widerstandsnest (Wn) 48 - began in September 1943 and was completed by April 1944. Although constructed and manned initially by the Kriegsmarine, the battery was later transferred to the German army in late 1943. Four casemates of '' regelbau'' (meaning standard) type M272 requiring 600 square metres of concrete and four tons of steel reinforcement were built each with a 150mm TK C/36 marine gun (manufactured by German-controlled

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in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia), with a range of approximately and a rate of fire of six to eight shots per minute. The casemates had walls and ceilings over thick. The guns were positioned on a central pivot mount (''Mittelpivotlafette'' - MPL) TL C/36. Behind each gun were rooms containing the shells and charges.

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was managed from a ''regelbau'' type M262A two-story command post located in front of the guns on the cliff edge. It was equipped some of the most technically advanced firing control systems available in Normandy. It communicated with each gun battery via an armoured electrical communication system. Also situated at the battery were ammunition bunkers and shelters for defending troops. Three 20 mm anti-aircraft guns were placed at the battery with a searchlight. Around the battery was a minefield, barbed wire fences and machine-gun and mortar pits for defence. A Soviet 122 mm K390 cannon was also placed in an open gun pit close to the entrance to the battery.

Garrison

The battery had a garrison of 184 officers and men, under initial Kriegsmarine command were later transferred to the Heer.

Normandy landings

The battery at Longues-sur-Mer was situated between the landing beaches Omaha and

. In the build up to D-Day, the battery was attacked by aircraft on several occasions. On the evening of 5/6 June 1944 the battery was attacked by bombers, little damage was inflicted on the casemates, but bombs severed the armoured communication system. A large amount of the bombs dropped hit a nearby village. The fire control post reverted to visual signals to control some of the guns and this affected their accuracy. The bombing was followed from 05:37 on the morning of the landings by bombardment from the British cruiser ''

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''. The battery itself opened fire at 06:05, and at 06.20 targeted the headquarters ship for Gold Beach, HMS ''Bulolo'', which retreated out of range. At 08.00 the British cruisers ''Ajax'' and ''

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'' engaged the battery. By 08.45 no shots were fired by the battery's guns for a time as the Germans undertook repairs. The heaviest damage was caused by the explosion of the ammunition for an anti-aircraft gun, mounted by the Germans on the roof of casemate No.4, which killed several German soldiers. After effecting repairs the battery's guns once again opened fire towards Omaha Beach. The French cruisers '' Georges Leygues'' and '' Montcalm'', assisted by the World War I vintage

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USS ''Arkansas'' returned fire on the battery. The return fire knocked out one casemate and damaged two others. The still active fourth gun opened fire intermittently during the afternoon and evening of D-Day but caused little impact on the Allied landings. The battery had fired over 100 shots through the day. The crew of the battery (184 men, half of them over 40 years old) surrendered without a fight to advancing British troops of C Company of the 2nd

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at midday on June 7.

Advanced Landing Ground B-11

Close to the Longues-sur-Mer battery a temporary Advanced Landing Ground (code-named B-11) airstrip was built by the Allies. The airstrip was active between June 21 to September 4, 1944 and used by the 125th Wing of the No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group flying Spitfires, and by the French air ace

Pierre Clostermann Pierre Henri Clostermann (28 February 1921 – 22 March 2006) was a World War II French fighter pilot. During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General Charles de ...

Gallery of bunker photographs

File:Bunker in Longues-sur-Mer (2).jpg, Command post bunker on the cliff edge File:Atlantic Wall, Longues-sur-Mer (2).jpg, Casemate No. 2 File:Atlantic Wall, Longues-sur-Mer (3).jpg, Casemate No. 3 File:Atlantic Wall, Longues-sur-Mer.jpg, Casemate No. 4 File:Batteries longueville.JPG, Lines of casemates at Longues-sur-Mer

External links

Photos from Longues-sur-Mer BatteryGuide to visiting Longues-sur-Mer Battery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longues-Sur-Mer Battery Atlantic Wall Military history of France during World War II Military history of Normandy Fortifications in France World War II sites in France Tourist attractions in Calvados (department) Monuments historiques of Calvados (department)