| Original caption: “Bomb damage in Cherbourg, France after its liberation.” The shattered clock tower of the Gare Transatlantique de Cherbourg (“Cherbourg Transatlantic Station”) Train Station amid the debris after the Nazi German garrison blew it up on the night of June 22-23, 1944. Cherbourg was a major transatlantic port for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. An expansion that finished in 1933 expanded Cherbourg into a deep water port, allowing 2 oceangoing ships to dock directly alongside the new pier, Quai de France. The Train Station had 3 platforms and 4 tracks to allow passengers, baggage and freight to quickly load and depart for Paris. The Nazi Germans heavily fortified the Quai de France, expecting a major landing after the Dieppe Raid in August 1942. Pillboxes with interlocking fields of fire were constructed on the pier by the Todt Organization. Captured French and Czech artillery was emplaced and crewed by Kriegsmarine (“Navy”) and Heer (“Army”) units. When landings occurred on June 6, 1944, on nearby Utah Beach, plans for demolition were enacted in Cherbourg. The Nazis realized that Cherbourg would be a major target for logistical operations to supply the Allied Forces. Ships were sunk across the breakwater, blocking access to the port. The United States Army 4th, 9th, and 79th Infantry Divisions advanced on Cherbourg. The garrison commander, Lieutenant General Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben (October 30, 1894 – June 18, 1964), directed 21,000 men, but they were a mix of Heer, Kriegsmarine, labor, and Ostruppen that had never maneuvered or trained together. The fighting soldiers were exhausted after weeks of heavy combat. Ammunition, food, medicine and fuel were lacking. Nevertheless, the garrison held out as long as it could while engineers placed demolitions to destroy the port. The Americans engaged in urban fighting, reducing Nazi German strongpoints as they converged on the port. Some of the bunkers built to defend an invasion from the sea were also able to fight an invasion from land. Eventually the resistance collapsed; negotiations brought about the final surrender of Cherbourg on June 28. Quai de France and the Train Station are heavily damaged. Part of the dock collapses, taking the tracks with it. 2/3 of the southern end of the Transatlantic Station had been destroyed. American military engineers, United States Navy SeeBees and French construction workers immediately set to work. By the end of August 1944, all the wrecks and debris had been completely removed. The port of Cherbourg opened on July 16, with construction still going on. By war’s end, a staggering 2,826,740 tons of cargo had been unloaded there, in addition to 130,210 personnel entering the combat theater via the port. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0440.jpg |
| Image Size | 818.15 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2920 x 2207 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of Strategic Services |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 6, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Cherbourg |
| State or Province | Normandy |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-226-FPL-CP(385) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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