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Houlgate battery

Détail

  • Nom
    Houlgate battery
  • Lieu
    HOULGATE
  • Contribution
    Julien Garnier
  • ID
    1406.1511

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Bunkers
Houlgate battery
Houlgate battery

The Houlgate Battery (also known as the Tournebride Battery) was a German artillery battery built near Houlgate in the Calvados region of France.
Built on top of a 91 m cliff, the bunker complex was created to protect the west bank of the mouth of the Seine, and was located 16 km east of Sword Beach.
It was commanded by Major Fritz Günther.

The former control post has been converted into an orientation table. During Operation Sunstar in late November 1941, the battery was the target of an unsuccessful raid by British commandos (Commando No. 9). Two weeks before D-Day, the battery was bombed by B-26 Marauders (500 tons). On June 5, the RAF bombed the battery but caused little damage. On the morning of June 6, 1944, the battery in turn bombed the Sword landing beach. The officer commanding the Merville battery also fired on Houlgate when it was attacked by paratroopers.

At 5:23 a.m. on June 6, 1944, the Royal Navy Roberts-class monitor engaged the enemy some 18 km off the coast, with its 15 380 mm guns, without causing any real damage.

At the end of June, the battery was bombarded again, this time by the HMS Erebus .

At the end of June 1944, the Germans evacuated the battery and moved the remaining guns inland.

 The Houlgate battery was seen as a serious threat to the landing beaches and was initially considered a target for No. 4 Commando. However, the need for commandos around the landing beaches, and the ability of the RAF and Royal Navy to silence the battery, led to the operation of No. 4 Commando "Frog".

 
Houlgate battery
Crédit photo Julien Garnier.
Blockhaus
Houlgate battery
Crédit photo Julien Garnier.
Blockhaus
Houlgate battery
Crédit photo Julien Garnier.
Blockhaus
Houlgate battery
Crédit photo Julien Garnier.
Blockhaus
Houlgate battery
Crédit photo Julien Garnier.
Blockhaus

Houlgate battery

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