Footsteps of WWII · Normandy
Merville Battery
Fortification · 6 Jun 1944
The story
The Allies believed this battery of four concrete casemates could fire on Sword Beach and the fleet. The 9th Parachute Battalion, 6th Airborne Division, under Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway, was ordered to destroy it before dawn on 6 June. The drop was badly scattered and only about 150 of some 600 men reached the rendezvous, without most of their heavy equipment. Otway attacked anyway. The paratroopers broke in after a short, costly fight and put the guns out of action. They proved to be First World War-era 100 mm Czech howitzers, not the heavier guns that had been feared.
What to look for
The four casemates survive in a wooded site with trenches and bunkers. Casemate No. 1 holds the museum, and another recreates the attack with sound and light. A C-47 Dakota, 'SNAFU Special', stands on the site, and a memorial to Otway is near the entrance.
Plan your visit
Seasonal museum, normally closed in winter: open daily 10:00–18:30 until 15 November 2026, then closed until spring. Adult about €9.50. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Sword Beach and the Grand Bunker, Ouistreham · 4 km
- Pegasus Bridge and Memorial Pegasus · 6 km
- Caen Memorial (Mémorial de Caen) · 16 km
- Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer · 21 km
- Hill 112, Esquay-Notre-Dame · 25 km
- Arromanches: Mulberry harbour and D-Day Museum · 32 km
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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