GERMAN LONG-ON-SEA BATTERY
One of the best-preserved batteries in Europe, comprising four casemates and a fire direction station.
The charming little village of Longues-sur-Mer, perched on high cliffs, was ideally suited to cannon fire. And the Germans made no mistake, installing a formidable battery here. Built in 1943, it was never actually completed, as Allied bombing raids intensified in the run-up to D-Day. Situated between the British and American beaches, the battery comprises four casemates and one of Europe’s best-preserved fire direction posts. It is the only battery on the Atlantic Wall to have retained its guns. Film buffs will certainly recognize the command post where a scene from The Longest Day was filmed: when a German officer stares in horror at the immense Allied fleet emerging from the fog. Today, on this wild and windy site, the walk is breathtaking. To the west, you can see the artificial port of Arromanches, and to the east, Omaha Beach.
The site is open to visitors free of charge all year round. Guided tours are, of course, a great way to add another piece to the puzzle. And in 2023, the visitor paths around the battery are scheduled to be renovated, with a circuit on the site’s history and biodiversity.
Finally, to extend the discovery, if you continue along the battery road, you’ll come to a small pebble beach called Le Chaos, where the water is the colour of a lagoon.
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