Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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9. Kp.III. Grenadier-Regiment 736,
716th Infantry Division.
5 x Vf/MG stands
1 x Ringstand 1694-type with concrete roof.
1 x Anti-tank wall.
1 x 69-type mortar ringstand.
1 x 58c-type ringstand.
4 x Unterstands.
1 x 5cm KwK L/60 Pak.
1 x Gr.W278(f) mortar.
Ringstand 1694-type with concrete roof.
5cm KwK L/60 Pak gun.
Vf/M.G.
69-type.mortar ringstand.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Google Maps
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Geoportail 1947
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Plan of the defences where the main defence was the section of the town boarderd by the sea front and the first lateral road. A frontage 240m x 60m. The whole perimeter was wired in and a minefield with anti-tank and ant-personnel mines. One 5cm KwK, an 8.14cm mortar and a double opening pill box for machine guns. On the flanks were four small machine gun pill boxes probably all built by the platoon that were stationed here. made out of local materials and anything they could borrow from the Todt Org. the main builders of bunkers in France. Down the eastern road was an anti-tank wall 10ft x 4ft with a machine gun covering the rear areas and the western road also another machine gun and the 5cm KwK which could also fire down this road able to fire E, S and W. There were several small concrete bunkers uses as living accomadation and maybe the odd cellar. Any windows that were facing out of the defence would have been bricked up and places for machine guns and rifles left open.
Mines.
Defended house.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
German plan.
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer with Wn's 25,24 & 27. MF54 'Mine field' covering the beach area.
Yellow writing on the sign would mean it was a dummy mine field.
'S' mine box.
Teller mine.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Artillery map.
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Fire from inland batteries could be called down onto the beach. Using the code word 'Koln' the gunners could quickly look up the details of the target, dialing the ranges and compass direction and within seconds four shells could be sailing through the air.
10cm field artillery.
10.5cm F.K.
10cm ammunition box.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
09 March 2013
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
The defence of Langrune was a linear defence running for quite a long way along the sea front, with machine gun posts, a mortar and a 5cm KwK gun. Several houses were also strengthened. A beach landing would be very hard here due to a high seawall running its full length. The landings happened far to the left and right and Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer was taken by Commandos on D+1.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
1945
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
The sea wall at Langrune.
A shell set into the concrete, when a boat hits the wooden stake, a striker plate will hit the shell and it will explode.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
09 March 2013
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The only pillbox/M.G. stand left here. There was two.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
09 March 2013
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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A closer look at the M.G. stand.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
09 March 2013
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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A closer look at the M.G. stand. Made from local materials and reinforced concrete.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
09 March 2013
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The roof section.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
09 March 2013
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Looking back from Langrune-sur-Mer towards Luc-sur-Mer.
7.92mm belted ammunition.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Google
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Plan of the main defence layout around this block of houses all now removed. Wire along the sea front and along the top of the rear wall. Mines all around and beach defences in the water.
Plan of an anti-tank wall.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Geo1950's
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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One of the beach exits with a defended pillbox to he right (MG).
The houses along the front took quite a battering on D-Day morning from naval artillery. The defenders bricked up the windows and left a small slits to fire machine guns and rifles through.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
WO 252/149
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
One of the beach exits with a defended pillbox to he right.
The houses along the front can be seen here battering by the naval artillery bombardment.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
WO 252/149
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
Eastern side of the defence.
Plan of this area showing the MG strong point and the barbed wire along the sea wall.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Jean-Peirre Gabriel
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Two brackets fitted to the sea wall to hold wooden posts to carry barbed wire all the way along the front.
Barbed wire.
.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Jean-Pierre Gabriel
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The marks in the concrete are the remains of the pillbox that was here.
Plan.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Jean-Pierre Gabriel
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The rear wall of the pillbox.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
WO 252-149
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
A mortar Tobruk sat around here in a Bf.69 emplacement with a mortar team. They would have consisted of a team of around four to five men with one being a corporal in charge. Fire orders would come from look out positions along the Wn or even from neighboring Wn's by a land line field telephone. One of the crew, probably the corporal may have used the smaller Tobruk as a lookout spotting for the gun.
Plan.
69-type.mortar ringstand from the air showing the Tobruk for a machine gun and observation and the larger for an 8cm Mortar..
69-type mortar ringstand.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Bunkesarchiv
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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A mortar section in action in a field position. The Commandos complained about being bombarded by mortar bombs.
Mortar section.
Tobruk spotter.
/278_14cm_gr_w_278(f)100.jpg)
Brandt 8.14cm Gr.W 278(f) mortar.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
WO 252-149
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
View along the beach front at the sea wall with the 5cm KwK in its protected ringstand.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
WO 252-149
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
A closer view of the ringstand.
Plan.
5cm KwK with gunner in place.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Jean-Pierre Gabriel
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The 1694-type ringstand just after the war.
Plan.
Elevation plan of this casemate/ringstand.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Jean-Pierre Gabriel
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The 1694-type ringstand with a lot of shell splatters against the emplacement.
Plan.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
DEFE 2/487
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The Nr1694 ringstand plan.
Ringstand.
5cm KwK L/60.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Jean-Pierre Gabriel
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer Wn27 Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer
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The 1694-type ringstand at Wn27 Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer with the gun still in place showing what the 5cm KwK L/60 would have looked here at Langrune.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Google
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The lookout now has been built over the original 1694-type ringstand.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
09 March 2013
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Attack
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
On the allied side, maps were made to show every eventuality. These were made from information from the French resistance, photo reconnaissance, frogmen and many other ways.
Photo reconnaissance Spitfire.
The USAAF used Lightening as PRU's.
Fitting a camera.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
06th June 1944
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
The landings took place both sides of Langrune, Sword beach to the east, 3dr British Div & 48 RM Commando and West, Juno with the 3rd Canadian Div & 40 RM Commando. The Commandos were given the job of landing on both sides of each beach to secure the gaps in between.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
06th June 1944
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Here 48 RM Commando landed around Nan Red sector at 08:45 and moved inland to consolidate after a disastrous landing It was not until 12:00 before they could start their advance on Langrune.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
06th June 1944
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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48 RM Commando moved parallel to the beach to Langrune fighting nearly all the way, they had to take Wn 27 Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer first.
When the Commando arrived at Wn26 and started their attacke, they came to a halt very quickly. Then a Centaur 95mm gunned tanks of the 2nd. Royal Marines Support Group arrived and fired all its ammunition at the ten foot high, four feet thick. Their 90mm guns were only short range high explosives and did very little damage. The second Centaur ran over a mine and was disabled.
The Commando found they were too weak to take Wn26 (they had lost a lot of men on landing) that day and were ordered to move back and turn around and start to defend the area against an expected attack by Von Luck's Panzer's. Intelligence had informed them that a counter attack was likely to come in from the south at any time. The Commando moved south to a defence line covering any counter attack.
Next morning D+1 48 Commando turned around and started the attack on Wn26 again. This time with an M10 Wolverine tank destroyer. The attack started but the mined Centaur was in the way, a minefield was breached and that allowed the M10 to go forward forward.
RM Centaur coming ashore.
RM Centaur.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
06th June 1944
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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Plan of the route that 48 Commando took over the two days the fought there D-Day and D+1.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
D+1
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
The M10 Wolverine with Col. Moulton CO. of 48 RM Commando watching it moving forward.
It fired all its solid shot and started to put holes through the A/T wall. A Sherman command tank arrived and fired H/E shells and blew the rest of the wall apart. The Sherman tried to negotiate around the damaged wall and dropped into a trench but still managed to fire along the promenade.
The defenders started to surrender.
M10 Wolverine in Normandy.
An M10 crawling through a French village.
Commandos in Langrune.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
D+1
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
This may not be Langrune but it gives an idea of the D-Day devastation to the towns in France. Here Sherman DD tanks working down the road as they would have an D-Day +1 to try and break through the anti -tank wall.
The tanks fired many shells into the A/T wall but it took men with pick axes and shovels to get through.
Centaur tank.
Churchill AVRE landing.
Sherman tank.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
D+1
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The tank attack in support of 48 RM Commando's.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Jean-Pierre Gabriel
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
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The remains of the Gas Works wall in Langrune showing battle damage.
I would like to thank
Jean-Pierre Gabriel for helping me with the extra details in and around Langrune-sur-Mer.
Churchill AVRE landing.
Sherman tank.
Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
09 March 2013
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Wn26 Langrune-sur-Mer
Details
France
Great Britain
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