Fort Roule N49 37.755 W001 36.648 Map 1210E
The Fort du Roule, a classic "French" star fort built in the nineteenth century, sits atop a rock spur which dominates Cherbourg from the south.
In 1944 the Germans had turned the fort into a formidable strong point. Coastal artillery, facing the harbour, was mounted in the lower level under the cliff edge.
The upper ramparts were studded with concrete machine-gun and mortar emplacements and protected by an antitank ditch.
Below this upper level were a series of galleries and underground passages linking the four Casemates which housed 105mm guns.
The guns were unusual in as much as they came from S-Boates.
Cherbourg was a S-Boate base and the guns were soon transfered from the German Army to the German Navy.
The Casemates were of the type 671 and this is the only site that had this combination of guns and bunkers.
The FCP is a non standard design, although one other was built at Garde de Guerin near St Malo..
The tunnels were not completed by D-day, but on the top of Fort Roule the German’s constructed or planned type L411a, L434, 501 & 607 type bunkers.
This upper part of the site is still owned by the military and is out of bounds.
The tunnels however are now open, although the casemates are blocked off.
