Coastal Gun Battery St. Marcouf

Construction of the gun battery at st. Marcouf started in 1941. The battery was equipped with six 155 mm. guns, which in June in 1944 were being replaced with stronger and more modern 210 mm. guns. Three of these were operational, but only two installed in their pillbox on D-day 6th. june 1944. The Allies had regularly bombed the battery, in preparation for the landings at Utah Beach only 7 miles away. The day before D-day,there were droped 13000 lb. of bombs on the battery, which obliterated all the aircraft guns and killed a large number of soldiers. On the morning of 6th June when the first American landing craft became visible, the guns opened fire and sank the American destroyer USS Corry. Heavy fire from the attacking warship now put the guns out one by one and 7th June the allies ground forces began to attack the battery. The battery commander, Oberleutnant zur see Walter Ohms, got help from the nearby gun battery in Azeville as its guns shelled the attackers and repelled the attack. In the following days, one attack after another was repelled with heavy losses to the attacking Americans. 11th June Ohms was ordered to withdraw his men to the north and the battery was thus abandoned. Ohms achieved to reached the Germans lines along with 78 of his men and the 13th June he was awarded the Iron Cross.

The battery has today turned into a museum.