Crisbecq Battery

 A before and after of the command bunker at Crisbecq Battery, located a few miles inland behind Utah Beach in Normandy, France. In the original photo, taken in 1944 shortly after D-Day, we can see a huge crater in front of the bunker's observation slit. It is deep enough to reveal the foundations, yet the front of the bunker is relatively unscathed.

This complex, and in particular this bunker, is significant, as it was from this room that the first Allied invasion was first spotted. This moment was recreated in The Longest Day, although the command bunker at Longues-sur-Mer was used in the movie instead.

The battery had three modern 210 mm guns with a range of almost 20 miles. This bunker served as the eyes, ears, and brain for the guns. It has ten rooms on four levels (two of which are underground), and is an unusual non-standard type. For example, some rooms inside are tiled. It had gas-tight compartments and was defended by machine guns and even an anti-aircraft gun.

This bunker communicated with the gun emplacements via cables that were armoured and buried underground. It also had a direct line to Cherbourg. None of these lines were severed despite the ferocious bombings. This site was also visited multiple times by Rommel.

Crisbecq Battery was bombed in the months prior to D-Day and again during the landings, but was not put out of action. It even became the only coastal battery to sink an Allied ship on D-Day (USS Corry). It was first attacked by foot soldiers at 1:30 am on D-Day, but managed to hold out for 6 more days, finally being put out of action by combined bombings, naval shelling and ground assaults.

Ancient History