Wn36 — Asnelles - Roseau Plage (Gold Beach)

This Wn just happened to be in the way of the 1st Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment on D-Day.

A very small Wn with just two machine guns and a 5cm anti-tank gun.

One A/T gun and two machine guns. Wn 36 covers a gap where a landing could be made to the right of Wn38 and marsh land that would make landings very difficult. A mine field covered the gap between Wn's 36 & 37 and another behind Wn36 MF75.

Twin machine gun emplacement and the ringstand. A small munitions bunker and two Abri Feldmässing (small concrete crew bunkers).

The ringstand is still in place, a very damaged munitions bunker and Feldmässing behind but the machine gun emplacement has been removed.

After D-Day.

The 5cm KwK 39 L/42.

A crew of around three or four men with ready ammunition set around the inside wall and a small Vf crew/ammunition bunker behind it.

Ringstand November 2016 with the tide coming in. A crew of around three or four men with ready ammunition set around the inside wall and a small Vf crew/ammunition bunker behind it.

Possibly for the two machine guns.

This may be the M.G. pill box??.

This is the Bigot map for this section of Gold Beach. This plan shows where nearly all the defences were. Bigot was the code word for anybody let into the secret of D-Day, starting with the planners, senior officers and then spreading out to a lot of officers of units about to land on D-Day.

Although it was the British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division it also included Battalions from the Devonshire, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, and East Yorkshire Regiments. This area was assigned to the 231st Brigade the Hants & Dorsets. H-Hour was 07.25 hrs and by 10.00 hrs La Riviere was captured and moving inland. Le Hamel was in British hands by mid-afternoon.

H-Hour was set for 07.25 hours, 50 minutes later than in the American sector to allow for the difference in the tide, this meant that high water was later in the British sector. The 1st Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment lost its Commanding Officer and Second-in-Command within minutes of landing. Following up behind the 1st Hampshires were the Commandos of the 4th Special Service Brigade. They too suffered badly during the run in and only one of their allotted landing craft actually reached the shore. The decision to land the tanks directly on to the beach however proved to be the saving grace as there was no German armour in the area. Once ashore the tanks provided close support to the infantry and most of the initial German resistance was quickly overcome.

A painting by Juliet Kathleen Pannett

Between Wn36 and Wn35.

Sherman Flail Tank possibly one that was hit by the 8.8cm anti tank gun at Wn37 which was inside the R677 casemate.