Marg03 — Ste Marguerite plage

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.

 

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)

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.

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 Pompiers 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.

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.

R622 on the beach.

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.

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.

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.

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.

R622 twin group shelter.

Either a machine gun/observation position, or an ammunition niche.

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.

SK/M.G. Splitterschutz baracke zerst - Splinter protection barrack destroyed.

SK/M.G. Splitterschutz baracke zerst - Splinter protection barrack destroyed.

Now south of the road and up into the fields. SK/M.G. + barracks?, an R612 casemate, trenches and an R622 twin group shelter.

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 for a 5cm KwK. The position and the trenches around it. The path is a right of way and a lovely walk.

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 for a 5cm KwK. The view down to the beach.

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..