The Fort du Roule is a collection of French and German fortifications built in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries on the Roule mountain in

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 ...

(

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (, ; Norman: ''Tchidbouo'') is a port city in the department of Manche, Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016.Bay of Cherbourg from English attacks. The current fort, at the top of the mountain, was built between 1853 and 1857 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 ...

. In 1928, the Navy built extensive tunnels under it to store equipment. During the Second World War, the

Todt Organisation Organisation Todt (OT; ) was a civil and military engineering organisation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, named for its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior member of the Nazi Party. The organisation was responsible for a huge range ...

built several tunnels, installed

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 for artillery, and built gun emplacements. The fort was captured after fierce fighting by the U.S. Army on June 26, 1944. After the war, the Navy took possession of the site and set up its command post in the first maritime region until 1988, when part of the site became a naval communications center. The School of Military Applications of Atomic Energy uses some of the facilities. The fortifications at the top of the mountain now house the Cherbourg Liberation Museum, and the tunnels leading to the German gun emplacements are open to the public.

References

Military history of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Forts in France Buildings and structures in Manche Military installations established in 1793 1793 establishments in France History of the French Navy Atlantic Wall {{fort-stub