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Ste-Marguerite-sur-Mer is a small village just back from the coast and its name was used in StP Gruppe Ste Marguerite. Here we are down on the beach with Quiberville to the west and the Phare d'Ally in the east.
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There are five bunkers that I found and one is the famous R622 that has fallen off the cliff. Due to the quarrying of chalk around the bunker it became very unstable. So it was pushed onto the beach I believe with the help of the local Fire Brigade and their hoses.
This was the area of the 348 Inf. Div. and Marg03 had elements of the Gren. Rgt. 864.
1 (3) x R622 twin group shelter.
3 x Vf67 Tobruk's.
2 (3) x R612 casemates. (Pos. one under construction?
1 x R134 ammunition bunker.
2 (1) x R502 twin group shelter.
2 x Geschützstellung open gun emplacements.
1 x SK/M.G.
3 x Pz.T tank turret.
2 x 7.5cm F.K.
1 x 5cm KwK.
Out of brackets are Chazette/Rolf (in brackets are from Relikte)
R612 casemate for the 7.5cm F.K.
Pz.T tank turret.
7.5cm F.K.
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The SHM plan of Marg03 showing its line running along the edge of the hill side. On the 19th August 1942 at the beach at Quiberville, Lord Lovat's No.4 Commando landed at Orange Beach 2 to attack the 'Hess battery' of six 150 mm guns above Varengeville-sur-mer. So possibly due to that happening, this area was strengthened and a row of bunkers could cover the beach, just in case another landing was tried.
Lord Lovat.
Lord Lovat at Newhaven after the raid had been completed.
The raid.
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R622 twin group bunker
The R622 twin group bunker It used to sit on the top of the cliff but due to the quarrying of chalk the bunker was left on a pinnacle of chalk. The Pompieres helped the local authorities with some jets of water to slide it off in a controlled and safe manner, thus leaving it in this unique position.
Chalk quarrying was carried on around the bunker, I presume by the farmer?? and it left the R622 on a pillar of chalk. The fire brigade (Pompiers) sprayed water from their hoses at the chalk and the bunker gradually slid down onto the beach.
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The bunker was quite a way back from the cliff edge in 1948. Trenches can be seen and possibly a Pz.T. Tobruk there? This was an infantry position defending the cliff.
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R622 on the beach.
details
Heating.
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R622 twin group shelter.
Called a shelter as it only has two meter walls and roof. When called a bunker it has 3.5 meters of concrete. There were fittings for three bunks high, nine bunks per side and 18 men per bunker, if full.
Folding beds on the wall.
Crew sleeping.
Fittings.
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R622 twin group shelter.
The two upper doors are for entry/exit, the lower door is to the Tobruk defence. The Tobruk had no access to the bunker and they had a speaking tube (Sprachrohr) to talk into the bunker. So he was out there on his own. His job was lookout, to warn of any problems and also to defend the bunker.
Tobruk defence.
Tobruk defence.
Sprachrohr.
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R622 twin group shelter.
The Tobruk entrance and also you can see the camouflage effects on the rear bunker wall. This is indicative to the Dieppe area.
Showing the entrance into a Tobruk on a bunker in Brittany.
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R622 twin group shelter.
This is the underside of the bunker and it was 80mm thick concrete. Until I came here, I had seen hundreds of bunkers, but this is the first time I had seen the underside of an R622.
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R622 twin group shelter.
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Either a machine gun/observation position, or an ammunition niche.
Machine gun crew.
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SK/M.G.
Splitterschutz baracke zerst - Splinter protection barrack destroyed.
No idea what it actually was, but it does have a machine gun, rife defence embrasure.
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SK/M.G.
Splitterschutz baracke zerst - Splinter protection barrack destroyed.
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SK/M.G.
Splitterschutz baracke zerst - Splinter protection barrack destroyed.
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Now south of the road and up into the fields.
SK/M.G. + barracks?, an R612 casemate, trenches and an R622 twin group shelter.
R612 casemate plan.
R612 gun room.
Inside was a 7.5cm F.K.
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R612 casemate.
Or Cow stand. You can see that this gun covered the road up from the beach.
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R612 casemate.
The flanking wall to protect the guns embrasure from direct fire from the sea.
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Eisenpfahel.
A German steel post to hold barbed wire.
Eisenpfahel.
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Vf600 for a 5cm KwK.
Vf600 - Vf =
V (Verstärkt) f. (feldmäßig [er]). Reinforced field work. There are two builds of a Vf600. One is just the top half for the gun and sometimes they have a two roomed shelter underneath. One is a crew room and the other an ammunition room.
Vf600 Ringstand plan.
Entrance, left to a crew room, right to the ammunition magazine.
Vf600 models
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Vf600 for a 5cm KwK.
The position and the trenches around it. The path is a right of way and a lovely walk.
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Vf600 for a 5cm KwK.
Good all around views. Any tank working its way off the beach would have had trouble with this gun.
Vf600 elevation.
5cm KwK gun in a Vf600.
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Vf600 for a 5cm KwK.
The view down to the beach.
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This part of Marg03 I could not get to as most is covered over and cannot be seen. Originally until the R612's had been built..
What I consider to be three R612's the north one and south were constructed, but the middle one was under construction. IGNF 1948
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