Merville Gun Battery

Merville Gun Battery
Part of Atlantic Wall
Normandy, France
Largest casemate of the Merville Battery today
TypeArtillery battery
Site information
Owner Nazi Germany
1942–44
 France
1944–present
Open to
the public
Yes
ConditionSeveral casemates and trench system
Site history
BuiltWorld War II
Built byOrganisation Todt
In use1942-1944
MaterialsConcrete, steel, barbed wire
Battles/warsNormandy landings, Operation Tonga
Garrison information
GarrisonWehrmacht

The Merville Gun Battery is a decommissioned coastal fortification in Normandy, France, which was built as part of the Germans' Atlantic Wall to defend continental Europe from Allied invasion. It was a particularly heavily fortified position and one of the first places to be attacked by Allied forces during the Normandy Landings commonly known as D-Day. A British force under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway succeeded in capturing this position, suffering heavy casualties.