Les Caplains N49 38.744 W001 33.430 Map 1210E
The German defences on this old French Fort
include four 150mm rapid fire guns.
They were German built guns made by Rheinmetal Borsig, based on a Krupp design.
They could fire eight rounds a minute and had a range of 18kms.
The Germans in effect just took over the fort after the fall of France. The
Germans gave the site the name of "Brommy".
The Casemates were, unusually, of several types, including one M272 and two M176
and one type M195.
There is no reason why the Germans employed three different casemates to house
the same type of guns, the reason may have been the type of gun mounts
available..
There were two Fire Control Posts, one built by the Germans and the other they
adapted from the original French design.
The Batterie fell to the advancing Americans on 25th June after it had been
subjected to both air attack and bombardment from the sea.
The gun crews, before their demise, had fought as infantry, as had many of the
technical staff and Todt Org personnel before the fall of Cherbourg.
Most of the fort, which included a medical bunker at the rear of the site, still
exists.
Access is restricted as the site is in a restricted zone used by the French
Navy, although now abandoned.
