La Rue d'Ozouville N49 39.039 W001 43.470 Map 1110E
Early in the occupation of Normandy the Germans place four captured Skoda 100 mm
cannon of Czech origin built in 1916.
These guns were originally horse drawn and even in 1940 were possibly still
using horses as motive power.
The guns when new had a range of 10 kms and placed here 3 kms from the sea their
range and usefulness would be limited. It was probable that they were placed
here just after the occupations as a stop gap until bigger and better guns could
be installed at Castel Vendon to the west and at Amfreville (York) to the east.
The four guns installed here, were manned by the 2nd regiment of the AR/1709.
Two of the cannon were placed under H669 casemates, one of the most common types
in Normandy.
The other two being kept in the open.
The embrasure in the casemates limit the guns range a traverse of 60 degrees, but if
necessary the guns could be withdrawn from the casemate to be used in the open,
as the entrance was wide enough.
There was also a small storage area either side of the entrance to store the
shells.
The rear entrance could be closed off from the elements once the gun was in situ
by means of wood and tarpaulins, the holes to support this structure are visible
in the rear wall either side of the entrance.
There are no signs of the usual perimeter defenses to the site, but they may
well have been lost in the intervening years.
