| 3 American soldiers in casemate 649 No. III of the Marine-Küsten-Batterie (MKB) Seebahnhof have moved in – they are cooking rations and hang their laundry. Casemate 649 No. III was a R650 bunker design by Organization Todt. It was equipped with a Marine nationale (“French National Navy”) canon de soixante-quinze millimètres Modèle 1924 (“seventy-five millimeter (three-inch) cannon Model 1924”) which was designated Flak M22-24(f) by the German Heer (“Army”). Casemate 649 No. III had an additional 20 millimeter (0.78 inch) Flak 28 cannon on the roof. German anti-invasion plans focused on the ports. As a result, Cherbourg and Le Havre were the most intensely defended points in lower Normandy. Cherbourg harbor was protected by numerous gun batteries; MKB Seebahnhof was located on the pier in front of the Gare Maritime Transatlantique (“Transatlantic Maritime Station”). 3 R650 design bunkers, each with 75 millimeter Flak M22-24(f)s and a 20 millimeter Flak 28 on the roof and additional machine gun “tobruks” covered the sea approaches to the 2 piers of Cherbourg’s darse Transatlantique (“Transatlantic dock”) while 4 R631 casemates, 2 R634 casemates, a 601 casemate, and a 655 casemate with machine guns, Skoda 47 millimeter (1.85 inch) anti-tank guns and 50 millimeter Kampfwagenkanone 39 L/60s covered the railroad switches and the approaches to the R650s. Cherbourg harbor commander Fregattenkapitän Hermann Witt (June 28, 1892 – December 10, 1988) retained overall command of the sailors of Marineartillerieabteilung 260 that garrisoned these forts, along with 8 others of various sizes and states of completion. By June 20, 1944, 3 United State Army divisions – the 4th 9th and 79th Infantry – were approaching Cherbourg when port demolitions began. A major Allied naval bombardment force was sent to engage the forts, which were firing on the advancing infantry. The attached American 105 millimeter (4.1 inch) and 155 millimeter (6.1 inch) artillery was not always powerful enough to knock out the thick concrete casemates. 3 battleships, 4 cruisers, and 10 destroyers, along with minesweepers, from both the United States Navy and the United Kingdom Royal Navy, engaged the forts through spotting by Supermarine Spitfires flown by specially trained United States Navy personnel from the battleships’ reconnaissance squadrons. The United States Navy and Army Air Force provided air cover. The Allied warships dueled multiple Nazi German forts for 3 hours, reducing some of the forts eventually. The infantry support fire from the warships could reach along roads far inland, blowing German tanks into “scrap.” Pillboxes were “powdered” and gun emplacements “tossed sky high.” But a 280 millimeter shell hit USS Texas (BB-35) killing 1 man, and a shell struck USS O’Brien (DD-725)’s combat information center, killing 13. As the Task Force withdrew at 1500 Hours, USS Tuscaloosa was requested to engage MKB Seebahnhof and coastal batteries at the Naval arsenal. Tuscaloosa continued accurately firing as she maneuvered out to sea, at 25,000 yards (23,000 meters) and again out a further 27,000 yards (25,500 meters). Witt, an ardent Nazi, focused on denying the Allies the use of Cherbourg. The outer breakwaters sheltering the Petite Rade artificial harbor were breached in numerous locations by explosions. The Quai Homet was cratered in 9 locations while the Digue de Homet breakwater was blasted open to the sea. More than 100 ships, barges, cranes, and other obstructions were sunk throughout the port area to block the passages and basin entrances. The harbor itself was strewn with 268 mines including 74 controlled mines, 107 moored contact mines, 14 magnetic influence mines, 3 acoustic mines, and 7 sweep-wire cutters, plus an unknown number of Küstenmine-A (“Coastal mine-A,” KMA). Some of these mines had delayed-action fuses so that they would detonate only after a number of vessels had passed overhead. The 44th Field Artillery Battalion bombarded several remaining coastal batteries into submission. Surrender negotiations began on the morning of June 27, and most of the strongpoints surrendered by 1330 Hours, with about 990 prisoners being taken. Even before all the forts were reduced, work to restore the port had begun, but it would be months before it was in full operation again, and would not be fully repaired until 1952. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0405.jpg |
| Image Size | 1,020.81 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2932 x 2172 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Cherbourg |
| State or Province | Normandy |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-65638(170) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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