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The Crisbecq Battery, also called Marcouf Battery, was a World War II artillery battery constructed by the Todt Organization near the French village of Saint-Marcouf in the department of Manche in the north-east of Cotentin peninsula in Normandy. It formed a part of Germany's Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications. The main armament were three Czech 21 cm Kanone 39 canons, two of which housed in heavily fortified casemates. The Battery, with a range of , could cover the beaches between Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue and Pointe du Hoc. Prior to the Invasion of Normandy, the battery was subject to frequent aerial bombardments but it was still operational on D-Day, 6 June 1944. On this day, the battery was engaged in combat with the Allied naval and landing forces on Utah Beach. During the course of the battle, it sank the USS ''Corry'' and damaged several other ships. The battery came under attack from the American 4th Infantry Division on 7 June. Under the leadership of Walter Ohmsen, the crew of the battery defended itself until 11 June. On 12 June, soldiers of the 9th Infantry Division, started their attack but found only an empty evacuated battery. ==Construction== Prior to construction of ''Marine Küsten Batterie "Marcouf"'' (Naval Coastal Battery Marcouf) or ''Seeziel Batterie "Marcouf"'' (Sea Target Battery Marcouf) an alternative position on Mount Enaut, near Dodainville (roughly south southeast of the battery), had been considered. However, the exceptional view of the coast from Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue to Pointe du Hoc from its current position was the decisive difference.〔Tanne p. 4.〕 Construction of the battery began in mid-1941 by the Todt Organization. Initially, the laborers were Russian and Polish prisoners of war, in later 1943, the workforce was augmented by hired workers from France. The original armament planned for the battery was four 210-mm navy guns (21 cm Kanone 39), six 75-mm anti-aircraft guns (Canon de 75 modèle 1897) and one 150-mm gun in an open firing pit.〔Joyce 2006〕 Due to ordnance supply problems, the site instead consisted of three 210-mm navy guns, with only two of them protected by large concrete casemates, a command post, shelters for personnel and ammunition, and several defensive machine-gun emplacements. The site also had several natural defensive features. Any attack on the fort could only be prosecuted by moving along a narrow trail. On the western side lay open fields, while the eastern side consisted of swamps or deep slopes.〔Harrison 2003〕 Except for the Cherbourg and Le Havre harbor batteries, it was the most powerful battery in the bay of the Seine with a range of more than . The first 210-mm gun was installed on the 19th of April.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Crisbecq Battery」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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