The Mont Canisy battery was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

battery constructed close to the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

village of Benerville-sur-Mer in the

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

department in the

Lower Normandy Lower Normandy (, ; ) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departments, Calvados, Manche and Orne, that cover ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Located on the highest ground in Normandy ( high), the vantage point overlooks the

Côte Fleurie The Côte Fleurie () (or Flowery Coast) stretches for approximately between Merville-Franceville-Plage, at the mouth of the Orne river, opposite Ouistreham to the west and Honfleur on the Seine estuary in the east. It forms part of the eastern ...

. The bunker complex was constructed between 1941 and 1944 to protect the

River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...

estuary and the port of

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

. It was a large artillery bunker complex between Cherbourg and Le Havre (the largest being the Maisy Battery complex with its 6 x 155mm French guns at Le Perruques); 4 x 105's at La Martiniere; 4 x 150mm's at Foucher's farm). The battery is east of the

Houlgate battery The Houlgate battery (also called the Battery de Tournebride) was a World War II German artillery battery constructed close to the French village of Houlgate in the Calvados department in the Lower Normandy region. Built into the top of a cliff, ...

. A French naval coastal battery was on the site from 1935 to 1940. In 1940 the guns were put out of action before the site was captured by advancing German troops in 1940. Much of the site is now a nature reserve and the bunker complex is open to the public and guided tours take place throughout the summer.

French battery

In late 1938 the French army installed four 138mm cannons at the battery and in January 1940 three 75mm guns were added. The battery was evacuated on 14 June 1940 and the German army later occupied the strategic position.

Construction

The Germans built the twenty-five hectare bunker complex (designated Widerstandsnest WN Vill 013 - resistance nest or strongpoint) in 1942 to house six captured French First World War-vintage 155mm cannons. In January 1944, two casemates were constructed to protect two artillery pieces from Allied bombing of the site. The complex featured several

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, 25 ammunition bunkers, 25 barracks, defensive mortar pits and Tobruks fitted with machine guns and a post fire control bunker all linked by 250 metres of tunnels.

Garrison

The battery was garrisoned by the 2nd Company of the 1255 Heeres-Küsten-Artillerie-Abteilung (HKAA).

D-Day and Normandy landings

By the time of the Normandy landing in June 1944, only four cannons remained, two in casemates. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, , and HMS ''Roberts'' engaged the bunker complex at Mont Canisy. However, the German guns could not reach the warships and it was determined that they were not a threat to the landing beach at

Sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

either ( distant). As the Allies advanced out of Normandy, the Germans evacuated the bunker complex on 21 August 1944 without a fight.

Gallery of bunker photographs

File:Mont Canisy Battery (2).JPG, Defensive Tobruk position File:Mont Canisy Battery (4).JPG, View from Mont Caisn towards Le Harve File:Mont Canisy Battery (12).JPG, Casemate for 155mm artillery File:Mont Canisy Battery (16).JPG, Casemate at Mont Caisy battery File:Mont_Canisy_Battery_(20).JPG, Open position for 155mm artillery with bunker storage behind File:Mont Canisy Battery (22).JPG, Steps leading to bunker 15m underground File:Mont Canisy Battery (10).JPG, Machine gun Tobruk

References

External links

Les batteries du Mont Canisy
{{Battle of Normandy Atlantic Wall Military history of France during World War II Military history of Normandy Artillery battery fortifications in France