Atlantikwall - Fire Command Post Batterie de Longues-sur-Mer

This M262 fire command post bunker is located on a cliff off the coast, approximately 300 metres from the Longues-sur-Mer battery.

The ground floor houses the observation post with a view of more than 180 degrees over the sea. The lower level of the fire control command post also contains a map room for fire control calculations, a radio room and rooms for officers and crew.

The telemetry room is located in the upper part of the command post under a 70 cm thick concrete slab, which is supported by four steel struts.


The lookouts used binoculars to spot the ships. The geographical coordinates and firing angles were then calculated by the telemetry. This information was then transmitted by radio to the four casemates behind the command post, which could then open fire.

Because the command bunker was built at a very late stage, it was not yet fully operational on D-Day. Nevertheless, the battery was very active on D-Day before the bunkers with the cannons were taken out one by one by naval gunfire. The battery was captured by British troops on 7 June.

An interesting fact is that this bunker was used for the famous scene from “The Longest Day” in which Major Pluskat saw the invasion fleet approaching just before the shelling began: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFzdleJarI0 Incidentally, this was not the bunker where Pluskat was actually located. That was further east, near Ste. Honorine.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar & Tony Honders
• Photos: Tony Honders
• RYAN, C., De langste dag, Schuyt & Co./ Just Publishers, 2008.