Batteries de Crisbecq, Saint-Marcouf

A very interesting location being the central command post of the Germans. We did the guided tour and were surprised by the information given and the amount of artefacts in the bunker. There is a guide (he only speaks French) who will tell about the history and the battle which has been raging here for over a week. You can enter the bunker and he will tell you about the artefacts which are located inside. Definitely worth the money for this experience. The open gun positions are fake to give an impression of what it could like like and to put the guns in a more interesting position but this adds to the experience in the other museum which is not linked to the bunker tour so be aware that you have to pay entrance again.

It adds to the story of D-day. Here you can find the AA guns and anti ship cannons. Takes about an hour. 10 euro entry fee. I enjoyed it.

During my visit in Normandy I visited all the batteries near the beaches of D-day. One of these battery was Crisbecq. The story about this battery is amazing. At first sight the bunkers look very impressive. Especially the one with the naval gun. The entrance ticket is not expensive and the parking is free. After the entree you will see the places were the guns stood. There are still some guns but these are replacements or replicas. The information boards are not that great and the downside is that there are two bunkers that are not allowed to visit. This because they are not on the ground of the museum. Still it is worth to visit this battery.

This is extremely interesting if only from the aspect of what engineering it took to build this in the first place. When you walk through it it defies logic to think that the Germans would put this much time, effort and money into something that was basically a stationary "wall". One gun emplacement alone says it has 100 tons of steel as part of the construction. Be sure to walk the entire complex to fully comprehend how they built a small 'city' underground. Obviously it was no match for the air strikes and naval bombardment, but it was up to the foot soldiers to make the final push.

Lots of work has gone into u covering, discovering, and making it accessible to many. Well done. I would recommend to all interested in DDay.