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One of the most important strongpoints in the German defence line,
along the eastern coastline of the Cherbourg peninsula, was the heavy
naval fortification at St. Marcouf. Four 210 mm artillery pieces, six
75 mm pieces flanking and one 150 mm piece. Despite this impressive
fortification behind the Madeleine beach still being under
construction, the gun battery and it's 400 costal gunners,
constituted a seroius defensive threat to any military landing
operation from the sea side. On April 19, the very first of the
battery guns was fully mounted and ranged at target. The very next
day the war started for the battery and it's crew: Every evening,
coming out of the sunset, the bombers from England came and belched
out their mortal load on the fortification, dropping their eggs in
the nests, created by the craters from the previous nights bombing
raid. Despite consecutive air raids, the 400 'Marcoufians' continued
to improve and enlarge the fortification...
('They're
coming..!' by Paul
Carel) |
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Rommel's Wall:
The solid concrete walls of the 210 mm gun battery at Saint-Marcouf
were 13 feet thick. |
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Arial view of the Crisbecq fortification: Fontenay - Dagueville -
Crisbecq. In foreground is village of St. Marcouf. (Insert: One of
the forts). Despite massive and relentless heavy naval artillery
fire, the Allied never succeded to neutralize the German
fortifications at Crisbecq. |
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A famous photo taken near the wall of the church in St. Marcouf.
The men pictured here are from the 4th Infantry Division, accordingly
to the US Goverment's official history. But blackened faces, bloused
trousers, gauze armflags and trench knives on ankles all point to
them being paratroopers. Men of the 508th PIR (Paratroop Infantry
Regiment) were in the area and wore gauze flags as did troopers of
the 506th. Note the stairway is blown down to rubble, here by one of
the 8 inch guns of the cruiser USS Quincy (US Army). |
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The naval fortification at St. Marcouf and the 210 mm artillery
pieces, created an increasing problem for the allied invasion forces
on Utah beach. Ground forces of the 4. US Division, enforced by naval
artillery support from Allied battleships, engaged into heavy
fighting to break through the German defense and neutralize the
strongpoint. Ohmsen requested 'fire on own positions' from the
nabouring battery Azeville, forcing the Allied to pull out with heavy
casualties. Early June 12, Allied patrols of the US 29th IR reached
the fortification and occupied the abandoned strongpoint at 08:20 a.m. |
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Admiral Hennecke, supreme commander of Marine Kommandantur
Cherbourg, telephoned on June 11 Oberlieutnant Walther Ohmsen. The
Admiral ordered him to gather his men and make preparations to leave
the fortification. In the night of June 12, Ohmsen and 78 costal
gunners, including the wounded, left Batterie Marcouf. Ohmsen had two
major concerns: Not to be intercepted by one of the Allied patrols in
the area, and to reach German lines before dawn. At nightfall, a
group of brave men silently abandoned their position and set out into
the dark carrying their wounded on quickly improvised stretchers,
made of sticks, towels and other means at hand. Moving north, Ohmsen
was determined to reach Quinéville. More precisely a hill near
La Pernelle, where the headquaters of the 1261. Küstenartillerie
Regiment was located. Early at dawn the group arrived safely at the destination. |
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