Merville Gun Battery

The Merville Gun Battery is a decommissioned coastal fortification in Normandy, France, which was built as part of the Germans' Atlantic Wall to defend continental Europe from Allied invasion.It was a particularly heavily fortified position and one of the first places to be attacked by Allied forces during the Normandy Landings commonly known as D-Day.A British force under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway succeeded in capturing this position, suffering heavy casualties.The Merville Battery is composed of four 6-foot-thick (1.8 m) steel-reinforced concrete gun casemates, built by the Todt Organisation.During a visit on 6 March 1944, to inspect the defences, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ordered the builders to work faster, and by May 1944, the last two casemates were completed.
Side view of another casemate
Atlantic WallNormandyArtillery batteryNazi GermanyFranceWorld War IIOrganisation TodtNormandy landingsOperation TongaWehrmachtfirst places to be attackedTerence OtwayBattle of Merville Gun BatterycasematesTodt OrganisationFirst World WarleFH 14/19(t) 100 mm (3.93-inch) mountain howitzersField MarshalErwin Rommel20 mm anti-aircraft gunmachine gunsbarbed wireminefieldanti-tank ditchOutlineBattlesOperationsAlliedCommandersCasualtiesConferencesTopicsAir warfare of World War IIIn EuropeBlitzkriegComparative military ranksCryptographyDeclarations of warDiplomacyGovernments in exileHome frontAustralianUnited KingdomUnited StatesLend-LeaseManhattan ProjectBritish contributionMilitary awardsMilitary equipmentMilitary productionNaval historyNazi plunderOppositionTechnologyAllied cooperationMulberry harbourStrategic bombingPuppet statesArt and World War IIMusic in World War IITheatersAsia and PacificSouth-East AsiaPacificNorth and Central PacificSouth-West PacificIndian OceanEuropeWestern FrontEastern FrontMediterranean and Middle EastNorth AfricaEast AfricaWest AfricaAtlantictimelineAmericasAftermathChinese Civil WarCold WarDecolonizationDivision of KoreaFirst Indochina WarExpulsion of GermansGreek Civil WarIndonesian National RevolutionKeelhaulMarshall PlanOccupation of GermanyOccupation of JapanOsoaviakhimPaperclipSoviet occupationsBalticHungaryPolandRomaniaTerritorial changes of GermanyTreaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to GermanyUnited NationsWar crimesAllied war crimesforced labourWehrmacht war crimesThe HolocaustResponseNuremberg trialsItalian war crimesJapanese war crimesNanjing MassacreUnit 731ProsecutionCroatian war crimesGenocide of SerbsPersecution of JewsGerman military brothelsCamp brothelsRape during the occupation of GermanyRape during the liberation of FranceSerbiaSook ChingComfort womenMarocchinateParticipantsAlliesAlgeriaAustraliaBelgiumBrazilBulgariafrom September 1944CanadaCzechoslovakiaDenmarkEthiopiaEswatiniFinlandFree FranceGreecefrom September 1943LuxembourgMexicoNetherlandsNewfoundlandNew ZealandNorwayPhilippinesfrom August 1944Sierra LeoneSouth AfricaSouthern RhodesiaSoviet UnionBritish EmpirePuerto RicoYugoslaviaAlbania protectorateWang Jingwei regimeIndependent State of CroatiaGerman ReichAzad HindFrench IndochinaItalian Social RepublicEmpire of JapanManchukuoSlovak RepublicThailandVichy FranceNeutralAfghanistanBhutanIrelandLiechtensteinPortugalSwedenSwitzerlandVatican CityResistanceAlbaniaAustriaCzech landsEstoniaGermanyKorean Liberation ArmyKorean Volunteer ArmyLatviaLithuaniaMalayaNortheast ChinaSlovakiaWestern UkraineQuốc dân ĐảngViet MinhFinnish prisoners in the Soviet UnionAzerbaijanItalian prisoners in the Soviet UnionJapanese prisonersGerman atrocities against Polish POWsatrocities by GermansPolish prisoners in the Soviet UnionRomanian prisoners in the Soviet UnionPreludeAfricaSecond Italo-Ethiopian WarSecond Sino-Japanese WarBattles of Khalkhin GolRemilitarisation of the RhinelandAnschlussMunich AgreementOccupation of CzechoslovakiaOperation HimmlerItalian invasion of AlbaniaInvasion of PolandBattle of the AtlanticPhoney WarFirst Battle of ChangshaBattle of South GuangxiWinter War1939–1940 Winter OffensiveNorwegian campaignGerman invasion of DenmarkBattle of Zaoyang–YichangGerman invasion of LuxembourgGerman invasion of the NetherlandsGerman invasion of BelgiumBattle of FranceDunkirk evacuationBattle of BritainBattle of the MediterraneanBritish SomalilandHundred Regiments OffensiveBaltic statesEastern RomaniaJapanese invasion of French IndochinaItalian invasion of GreeceCompassBattle of South HenanBattle of ShanggaoInvasion of YugoslaviaGerman invasion of GreeceBattle of CreteAnglo-Iraqi WarBattle of South ShanxiSyria–Lebanon campaignEast African campaignInvasion of the Soviet UnionSummer WarSilver FoxBattle of KievAnglo-Soviet invasion of IranSecond Battle of ChangshaSiege of LeningradBattle of MoscowBombing of GorkySiege of SevastopolAttack on Pearl HarborJapanese invasion of ThailandFall of Hong KongFall of the PhilippinesBattle of GuamBattle of Wake IslandMalayan campaignBattle of BorneoJapanese invasion of BurmaThird Battle of ChangshaGreek famine of 1941–1944Fall of SingaporeBattle of the Java SeaSt Nazaire RaidBattle of Christmas IslandBattle of the Coral SeaBattle of MadagascarZhejiang-Jiangxi campaignBattle of GazalaBattle of Dutch HarborBattle of MidwayAleutian Islands campaignFirst Battle of El AlameinBattle of StalingradKokoda Track campaignJubileeSecond Battle of El AlameinGuadalcanal campaignChinese famine of 1942–1943Black MayTunisian campaignBattle of West HubeiBattle of AttuBattle of KurskAllied invasion of SicilySmolenskSolomon Islands campaignCottageBattle of the DnieperAllied invasion of ItalyArmistice of CassibileNorthern Burma and Western YunnanChangdeSecond Battle of KievGilbert and Marshall Islands campaignTarawaBengal famine of 1943TempestMonte CassinoKorsun–CherkassyIchi-GoOverlordNeptuneMariana and PalauBagrationSecond Battle of GuamTannenberg LineWarsaw UprisingLiberation of ParisDragoonGothic LineBelgrade offensiveLaplandMarket GardenCrossbowPointblankVietnamese famine of 1944–1945Philippines (1944–1945)Syrmian FrontBudapestBurma (1944–1945)ArdennesBodenplatteDutch famine of 1944–1945Vistula–OderBattle of ManilaBattle of Iwo JimaIndochinaVienna offensiveProject HulaWestern invasion of GermanyBratislava–Brno offensiveBattle of OkinawaSecond Guangxi campaignWest HunanItaly (Spring 1945)Battle of BerlinPrague offensiveSurrender of GermanydocumentBorneoTaipeiNaval bombardment of JapanManchuriaAtomic bombingsDebateSouth SakhalinKuril IslandsShumshuSurrender of JapanPotsdam DeclarationEnd of World War II in AsiaBibliographyAmerican airborne landings in NormandyBluecoatCharnwoodCapture of Caen and Orne bridgesFortitudeGoodwoodGreenline, Pomegranate and ExpressJupiterLüttichMallardMartletSpringTitanicTotalizeTractableWindsorBrévilleCarentanChamboisCherbourgMerville BatteryVerrières RidgeVillers-BocagePointe du HocAmerican logistics in the Normandy campaignBritish logistics in the Normandy campaignOperation ChastityAmfrevilleAzevilleCrisbecqHoulgateLongues-sur-MerMont CanisyFalaise pocketHill 262Hillman FortressPegasus BridgeMilitary cemeteries in NormandyD-Day naval deceptionsDieppe RaidHobart's FunniesRhino tankAllied forces in NormandyOperation BodyguardOperation DragoonOperation JedburghJune 6, 1944, order of the dayPeople of Western Europe speechRommel's asparagusWeather forecasting for Operation Overlord