King Tiger's World War 2 Battlefield Tour (Europe)

[King Tiger]

7. Smashing the Atlantic Wall - Longues-sur-Mer Battery & Saint-Marcouf Battery

With British and American Airborne troopers fighting inland, clearing the Germans along the exits, securing bridges and key objectives,
they have greatly confused and disrupted the Germans defence command.

The next job would be in the hand of Allied Naval Expeditionary Force,
which assembly 1,213 warships (battleships, cruisers and destroyers),
to launch a massive shore bombardment along all the landing beaches and Germans fortification,
to make way for the largest seaborne
INVASION


D Day Naval Bombardment

Shore Bombardment

Maximum Firepower

The German coastal defence as shown in the movie "The Longest Day".
[vid]PMoNSFmACWI[/vid]

 

[King Tiger]

German Fortification along Atlantic Wall - Longues-sur-Mer Battery

Jun 1944 - Longues-sur-Mer Battery

May 2010 - Longues-sur-Mer Battery

 

[King Tiger]

Jun 1944 - Longues-sur-Mer Battery

May 2010 - Longues-sur-Mer Battery

 

[King Tiger]

Fortification along the coast

 

[King Tiger]

On D-Day, the batteries in Longues-sur-Mer duel with Allied Naval firepower.

Longues-sur-Mer Battery fired over 115 shells against Allied Navy.
The Allies returned to them more than what they give.

 

[King Tiger]

Longues-sur-Mer Batteries were totally outgunned and outnumber against overwhelm Allied firepower
Here a destroyed battery bunker.

Destroyed Battery Bunker - Inner view
This battery got a direct hit, no German crews survive the impact.

Destroyed Battery Bunker - Outer view
Notice the intensive damage done to the bunker

 

[King Tiger]

The bits and pieces of the battery gun barrel.

 

[King Tiger]

Notice the external damage still found in the some of the battery bunker today

 

[King Tiger]

How to determine the diameter of the gun barrel.
This photo will tell you.

 

[King Tiger]

KT at Longues-sur-Mer Battery

 

[King Tiger]

Of the 180 Germans manning Longues-sur-Mer Battery, 60 were killed,
the rest surrendered to the advancing Allies armies the following day.

 

[King Tiger]

 

[King Tiger]

Inside view of Longues-sur-Mer Battery

 

[King Tiger]

Close up view of Longues-sur-Mer Battery

Inside view of the bunker

 

[King Tiger]

German Fortification along Atlantic Wall - Saint-Marcouf Battery

Jun 1944 - Saint-Marcouf Battery

May 2010 - **

** Sorry, this is the nearest it can resemble to Saint-Marcouf Battery as I am unable to locate the actual one along the coast, there are too many ** :embrass:
** There is a good history to tell about Saint-Marcouf Battery hence I post it here **

 

[King Tiger]

Saint-Marcouf Battery have full views of Utah Beach.
It was the most powerful battery in the area with a range of more than 30 km (20 miles), and protected by large concrete casemates,
a command post, shelters for personnel and ammunition, and several defensive machine-gun emplacements.
The powerful naval battery, garrisoned by 300 men, held out until 12 Jun 1944, despite massive air and sea bombardment.

Three 21cm Skoda guns were placed in Saint-Marcouf as part of the Atlantic Wall in Normandy.
Despite the battery was bombed continually from April 1944 until D-Day, June 1944 - with over 600 tons of bomb, the guns stayed operational.
The 101st Airborne tried to overrun the battery on the night before D-Day but failed.

On D-Day, the cruiser USS Quincy and the battleship Neveda bombarded the battery, which the battery returned fire and
sank the only destroyer, USS Cory (or major US ship), lost on D-Day.
The battleships USS Arkansas, USS Nevada and USS Texas were ranged and fired against the battery,
knocking one gun out at approximately 08:00hrs and destroying the second one at around 09:00hrs.
After this, the battery was silent.
During the day the battery had sunk several landing-craft and damaged several ships.

The next day the battery opened fire again but was bombarded by three cruisers until it was silenced.
On the 7th June the 1st battalion of the US 22nd Infantry tried to capture the battery at the same time as the US 2nd Battalion
tried to capture the neighbouring battery in Azeville. Both attempts were repulsed.

Battery commander, 33-year-old Oberleutnant zur See Walter Ohmsen, called for artillery support on his own position from the Azeville Battery.
The following day a new attempt was made to capture the battery after a massive bombardment with artillery, mortars and naval guns.
The attackers forced their way up to the battery and the attack became close-quarter combat in the perimeter defences.
The attack was driven back after artillery fire from Azeville.
But after Azeville was overrun on June 9 (Saint-Marcouf losing its fire support) Ohmsen was ordered to withdraw (night of June 11/12).
Under cover of darkness 78 German soldiers, all that remained of a 300-man garrison withdrew, carrying their wounded.
Ohmsen was awarded the Knight's Cross.

 

[xtemujin]

Great series of the defensive guns, reminds me of the movie Guns of Navarone.

 

[Omega23]

great... thanks for sharing such knowledge.. better then some others who always post nonsense replies.

Hope to see more photos from you thanks again

 

[Numnumball]

Love the latest set of pics :thumbsup:

 

[stonefish35]

Awesome coverage King Tiger. I doubt my other half will be willing to permit such a trip of this itinery.