Crisbecq battery

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Crisbecq battery
Battery from Crisbecq (2010)

The Crisbecq naval coastal battery was a German gun emplacement from the Second World War. It is located in Saint-Marcouf in the French department of Manche , just a few kilometers northwest of the Utah Beach landing strip of the invasion of Normandy .

The facility covers an area of ​​over 4 hectares, is elevated and offers an excellent view of the sector from Saint Vaast la Hougue to the Pointe du Hoc . It was built from the beginning of 1942 by the Todt Organization and was partially still under construction at the time of the invasion. With its 21 cm long-barreled Škoda guns, this battery dominated a large area of ​​the Atlantic Wall . The facility also included 155 mm cannons, anti-aircraft guns, grenade launchers and machine gun stands. In the over 80 km long invasion area, it was the most powerful facility of its kind.

American troops from the 4th Infantry Division , which landed near Utah Beach , attacked the battery several times between June 6 and 12, 1944. The battery crew under the command of Lieutenant Walter Ohmsen offered bitter resistance with great losses. On June 8th, the Americans occupied part of the battery. The Germans withdrew into the bunkers and Ohmsen asked the Azeville battery to fire his own battery in order to drive away the enemy who had entered. This succeeded and the US soldiers withdrew. The German soldiers left the battery on the night of June 12th. Of 406 German defenders, only 78 men were able to withdraw.

The facility with its 21 shelters and bunkers has been exposed since 2004 and can be visited.

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Coordinates: 49 ° 28 ′ 47.3 "  N , 1 ° 17 ′ 46.5"  W.