The Atlantic Wall Batteries of Normandy

By 1944 the Germans had fortified the Normandy coast as part of Hitler's Atlantic Wall, a belt of concrete batteries, bunkers and obstacles. Several survive in remarkable condition and are among the most atmospheric sites of the landings.

Longues-sur-Mer is the highlight: the only battery in Normandy to keep its original naval guns in their casemates, set dramatically on the cliffs between Gold and Omaha.

Pointe du Hoc, scaled by US Rangers under fire, remains a cratered moonscape of shattered bunkers. Inland, the casemates of Azeville and Crisbecq show how the batteries were built and camouflaged.

Further east, the Merville Gun Battery - stormed by British paratroopers in darkness - now houses a museum complete with a Dakota aircraft. The recently excavated Maisy Battery lets you walk hundreds of metres of original trenches.

Together these sites trace the full span of the Atlantic Wall, from clifftop gun emplacement to buried command post.

See how these places sit in relation to each other on the interactive map.