Merville Gun Battery
| Merville Gun Battery | |
|---|---|
| Part of Atlantic Wall | |
| Normandy, France | |
Largest casemate of the Merville Battery today | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Artillery battery |
| Owner | Nazi Germany 1942–44 France 1944–present |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Several casemates and trench system |
| Site history | |
| Built | World War II |
| Built by | Organisation Todt |
| In use | 1942-1944 |
| Materials | Concrete, steel, barbed wire |
| Battles/wars | Normandy landings, Operation Tonga |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Wehrmacht |
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.