Crisbecq Battery

Saint-Marcouf, FR

The most powerful German coastal battery on the Cotentin Peninsula, equipped with three **210 mm Czech-made Skoda guns** capable of firing 27 km out to sea. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the battery engaged the USS Nevada and other Allied warships supporting the Utah Beach landings, drawing sustained naval and aerial bombardment in return. Unlike most Atlantic Wall positions, Crisbecq held out for five days after D-Day, only falling on June 12 after its ammunition was exhausted. The reinforced concrete casemates survive largely intact and now house a museum with original artillery pieces and a panoramic view over the Cotentin coast.