Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
709.Infantry Division.
3./919 Grenadier Regiment. Oberts. Matz
3 x Vf2a bunkers.
1 x Vf1a bunker.
1 x Pz.T.FT17 MG 311(f).
1 x Pz.Drethurm Ft turret.
1 x Feldmässig.
1 x Geschützstelling.
5 x
Vf.8 Tobruk´s.
1 x Nr1694 ringstand.
1 x 5cm KwK L/60.
1 x 7.5cm F.K.38.
7.5cm F.K.38.
Vf.8 Tobruk.
Pz.Drethurm Ft turret.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
1950´s air photo of Beau Guillot showing the defences and where the sea was at the time of D-Day.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
The defence is one long line of bunkers and trenches and a small rear defence. Circled by barbed wire and mines.
7.5cm F.K.38.
5cm KwK L/60.
MG311 machine gun.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
Wn03 the low bank on the left and where I am stood it would have been the sea.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
Allied air photo of Wn03.
RAF PRU Spitfire.
USAAF Lightening was the Americans choice of PRU planes.
Replacing a camera in a Spitfire.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
The German plan showing where Wn02 (102 was the old numbered defence) was sighted and the mine field M.F.61.
Laying mines.
Beach defences.
Barbed wire.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot U Tobruk Pz.Drethurm MG 311(f).
U Tobruk Pz.Drethurm MG 311(f).
U Tobruk Pz.Drethurm MG 311(f).
Reibel MG311(f).
Plan.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot U Tobruk Pz.Drethurm MG 311(f).
The view the bunker would have seen.
U Tobruk Pz.Drethurm MG 311(f).
F.T.17 turret.
F.T.17 turret taken from a Renault F.T.17 tank.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
One of the treads to hold down the turret base.
Details2
Details2
PZ FT17 turret with an MG311(f).
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf1a
Continuing to a Vf1a.
Vf1a.
Vf1a inside.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf1a
The entrance to the passage.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf1a
Ammunition niche on the right and half way down tunnel is the entrance to the bunker.
Plan.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf8 Tobruk
The entrance into the Tobruk.
Plan.
Elevation.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf8 Tobruk
Nice flower pot.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
Looking back over darkening skies.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf.8 Tobruk.
Moving on.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf.8 Tobruk.
All the Tobruk's are Vf.8 type.
Vf.8 Tobruk plan.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf.8 Tobruk.
The entrance into the crew room.
Vf.8 Tobruk.
Tobruk under construction.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf.8 Tobruk.
Details
Tobruk fittings.
Details2
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Nr1694 ringstand
Parts of the gun still in place.
Nr1694 ringstand.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Nr1694 ringstand
Nr1694 ringstand for a 5cm KwK L/60.
5cm KwK L/60.
5cm KwK L/60.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Nr1694 ringstand
5cm KwK L/60.
5cm KwK L/60.
Nr1694 ringstand.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Trench
L shaped concrete trench.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Trench
L shaped concrete trench.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Feldmässig.
Feldmässig an oblong building which was probably used as sleeping, cooking, storage and maybe a small head quarters for the Wn.
Plan of the same sort of building at Wn05.
Wn73 on the Omaha sector.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Feldmässig.
Looking into the rear of the building.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Feldmässig.
Reinforced beam strengthening the roof.
Plan of how it may have been.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Feldmässig.
The end wall.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Feldmässig
Battle damage.
D-Day first they were bombed by USAAF Marauders.
USAAF Marauders.
Then Thunderbolts came in and bombed, rocketed & machine gunned the beach.,
And then American troops started to land on the north side of Beau Guillot. They should have landed much further up the coast but due to damages guide boats and strong tides they landed down here.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf2a
Vf2a plan.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf2a
The half round concrete wall is the escape.
Details2
Details2
Escape tunnel.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf2a
Entrance
Vf2a plan.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf2a
Plan.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot trenches
In front of these trenches is where the sea used to be.
Trenches.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Y trench
Y section trench.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Trenches
More trenches.
Digging in.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Trenches
Trench ammunition niche set into a trench.
These would hold small arms ammunition and hand grenades.
.
7.92 M.G. ammunition.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf.8 Tobruk
Over the fence is the last Tobruk.
Vf.8 Tobruk.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Vf.8 Tobruk
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
The view out to sea, then across the Grand Vey and the far side with
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot Bigot
Bigot map of what the Allies thought was there.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
How the north side of Beau Guillot would have looked like at around 07.00am on D-Day.
Utah Beach beach party soldier with the upside down u on his helmet. If you were on the beach and did not have that U upside down, you were pushed off inland.
Mine clearing.
Poupeville.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
In the next few days after D-day, ships (Gooseberries) were deliberately sunk to create a harbour and parts of the Mulberry harbour was used..
Gooseberries the code word for the ships.
Vehicles landing.
Utah Gliders flying over.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot
We visited the bank where most of the bunkers are situated but missed out the ones in the yellow box. It was about to rain very heavily.
Wn03 Le Beau Guillot