Cherbourg et sa rade BD-ORTHO 50-2022-0360-0370-6960-6965-LA93-0M20-E080

Cherbourg Harbour (French: ''rade de Cherbourg''; literally, the "

roadstead A roadstead or road is a sheltered body of water where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5-360. Port Construction and Rehabilitation'. Washington: United States. Gove ...

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

") is a harbour situated at the northern end of the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

, on the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

coastline, in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. With a surface area of 1,500 hectares, it is the second largest artificial harbour in the world, after the 4,500 hectare Ras Laffan Harbour in Qatar. As well as

Cherbourg Naval Base Cherbourg Naval Base is a naval base in Cherbourg Harbour, Cherbourg, Manche Departments of France, department, Normandy. The town has been a base of the French Navy since the opening of the military port in 1813. History Early works Cherbourg ha ...

, it has been used for mercantile shipping. It was begun in 1783, with its central harbour

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * ...

completed in 1853 – this was 3.64 km long, an average of 100 m wide at its base and an average of 12 m wide at its top, and sited 4 km from the coast. Three forts were added to its central wall in 1860. This and the two other breakwaters stretch for more than 6 km. The eastern opening into the harbour is 950 m wide and the western one 2.3 km wide. The harbour's maximum depth is 13 m at low tide.

History

Cherbourg had been a strategic stronghold for several centuries - its castle was first built in the 5th century to protect the whole width of the

Cotentin The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

. In the 17th century Vauban,

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

, launched a project to fortify the town, but they were finally razed shortly afterwards. In 1692 several naval ships under Amiral de Tourville put into the port at Cherbourg after the opening battle of the

Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...

—the port's lack of adequate defences were revealed when

fire ships A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the ad ...

destroyed many of the French ships under repair, including the ''Triomphant'' at the entry point into the port, the ''Admirable'' on the Mielles, and the ''Soleil Royal'', the admiral's flagship, on the pointe du Hommet. Cherbourg-Cessart

The long-planned fortification of the town was finally set in motion by

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

. In 1776, he set up a commission to choose between Cherbourg,

Ambleteuse Ambleteuse (; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Imbelteuse'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in northern France. History Ambleteuse began as a hamlet of a few huts in the middle of the dunes, f ...

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

as France's main strategic port for defence of the

- this was headed by Suffren and also including Dumouriez (later governor of Cherbourg) and La Bretonnière. La Bretonnière's report considered that only Cherbourg had a harbour large enough for 80 warships at once. Exceeding Vauban's designs, he planned the construction of a 4 km long harbour wall between île Pelée and pointe de

Louis-Alexandre de Cessart Louis-Alexandre de Cessart (25 August 1719, Paris – 12 April 1806, Rouen) was a French road and bridge engineer. He served in the "gendarmerie de la Maison du Roi", fighting at the battles of Fontenoy and Raucoux in 1745 and 1746. In 1747 he ...

's plans were chosen, which involved constructing a mole from 90 tree trunks 20m by 20m, filled in with stones and linked by iron chains. Construction began in 1783 and was completed in 70 years, by three architects -

, La Bretonnière and

Joseph Cachin Baron Joseph Marie François Cachin was a French engineer, most notable for his work at Cherbourg Harbour. He was born in Castres on October 2, 1757 and died in Paris on February 23, 1825. Biography Joseph Cachin, son of Pierre Cachin, was a bu ...

. The first trunk was laid on 6 June 1784, one kilometre from Île Pelée, and the harbour was filled with 300 to 400 boats ferrying stone from the port at Becquet to the mole to build against the trunks. However, the first trunks were severely damaged by storms. On 22 June 1786 Louis XVI made his only trip away from Paris and Versailles to see how far work on the harbour had progressed and assisted in sinking the ninth stone section. Cessart's plans were finally scotched in 1788, with funding having run out and the French Revolution imminent. This marked a return to La Bretonnière's plan, but in the period between 1789 and 1790 Dumouriez and Cessart left Cherbourg. Subsidies for the project were cut in 1790 and La Bretonnière was forced to hand in his resignation in 1792. Despite a law passed on 1 August 1792 ordering the construction of the military outer port, all works were suspended from 1792 to 1802. In 1802, intending to make Cherbourg one of his main military ports in preparation for his invasion of the United Kingdom,

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

ordered that work on the harbour wall be resumed to La Bretonnière's plans, by building up the central section to mount cannon. A decree of 25 germinal year XI (1803) ordered the engineer Cachin to excavate the military outer harbour at lac de Moeris - this was opened on 27 August 1813 in the presence of empress

Marie-Louise of Austria Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Theresia Josepha Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duke of Parma, Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress o ...

. That decree also ordered the construction of a new arsenal at the port. 1803 also saw Cherbourg's harbour fend off British attacks and become a base for privateers.

Works on the central wall were again interrupted between 1813 and 1832 and were only finally completed in 1853 under

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, with the western and eastern harbour walls only completed in 1895. The period also saw the opening of two basins in the naval base—the

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

basin (begun in 1814; 290×220×18 metres) on 25 August 1829 in the Dauphin's presence, and the Napoléon III basin (begun in 1836; 420×200×18 metres) on 7 August 1858 by Napoleon III and his wife. Work on the harbour was fully completed under the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

, with the addition of the eastern (1890–1894) and western (1889–1896) walls and the construction of a 'Petite rade' (digue du Hommet, 1899–1914, and digue des Flamands, 1921–1922). Charles Maurice Cabart Danneville made an entry point in the harbour's eastern breakwater, the digue Collignon, so that fishing boats could get out of the harbour rapidly, in case of emergency. That entry point later became the passe Cabart-Danneville. The breakwaters also resisted demolition by the Germans in 1944 during the

Battle of Cherbourg The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. It was fought immediately after the successful Allied landings on 6 June 1944. Allied troops, mainly American, isolated and captured the fortified port, which was ...

. On April 10, 1912, the British ocean liner

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking Iceberg that struck the Titanic, an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Ci ...

stopped at Cherbourg Harbour on its maiden voyage. The ship was too large to be properly docked there, so passengers were transported to Titanic with the smaller vessels SS Traffic and SS Nomadic. Among these passengers were

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He was among the most ...

and his wife

Madeline ''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of children's books written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series and a live action feature fi ...

. The ship would later

sink A sink (also known as ''basin'' in the UK) is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have a tap (faucet) that supplies hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for fas ...

on its voyage.

Forts

Fort du Homet

Fort de l'île Pelée

Fort Chavagnac

File:Cherbourg-Fort-Chavagnac.jpg, Fort de Chavagnac

Fort de l'Est

File:Cherbourg-Fort-de-l'est.jpg, Fort de l'Est, destroyed during the Second World War

Fort de l'Ouest

File:Cherbourg-Fort-de-l'ouest.jpg, Fort de l'Ouest

Central fort

File:Fort-central.jpg, Fort Central

Fort de Querqueville

File:FortQuerqueville.JPG, Entrance to the Fort de

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s of Fort de

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.

External links

* �
Les forts de la rade de Cherbourg ( 50 )
», ''Les Chemins de la mémoire, * �

», Netmarine *
Forts de la grande rade de Cherbourg
*
La grande rade
ville de Cherbourg-Octeville *
Situation de la Passe Cabart-Danneville
{{Authority control Cherbourg-Octeville Geography of Manche Ports and harbours of France Ports and harbours of the English Channel Roadsteads of France