​​This area of the battlefield for Operation Overlord, which was undertaken on 6 June 1944, D-Day, would become an important part of the whole Normandy Campaign. It was the important left flank that had to be secured and held.&nbsp;​The area of the walk should have been secured and in Allied hands by the end of D-Day. However, this was not to be the case, and a static frontline would be formed from 6 June until 17 August 1944. It was on 17 August that the Allies would undertake Operation Paddle as they began to advance from the area of the Breville ridge, eastwards, as they pushed the German forces back towards the river Seine. &nbsp;​The northern area of the walk around Plage de la Redoute is filled with German concrete from the ‘Atlantic Wall’ defences in the area. This was given the name of Weiderstandnest (Resistance nest) 5 (WN05). This includes the observation post for Oberleutnant (Lieutenant) Raimund Steiner, the officer in charge of the Merville Gun Battery.&nbsp;​From the beach area and through the dunes, the walk passes by the German position of WN06. The walk heads into the village of Sallenelles, which was eventually liberated by the Belgian soldiers of Brigade Piron in August 1944.&nbsp;​The walk then starts to climb southwards along the Breville ridge, where the frontline was positioned. Units that held the line here included the Commandos of the 1st and 4th Special Service Brigade, British 6th Airborne Division, and 51st Highland Division. Many memorials can be found in the villages of Amfreville, Breville, and up to Chateau St Come. &nbsp;​Intense fighting took place day in and day out, with one of the largest battles on 12-13 June 1944. This would eventually see the liberation of Breville, which had become a ‘thorn in the side’ of the British 6th Airborne Division.​&nbsp;

France

La Route de la Libération de l’Europe est un itinéraire culturel certifié par le Conseil de l'Europe reliant les pays, régions, lieux de mémoire et histoires marquant la libération de l’Europe de l’occupation du régime nazi. La route a été conçue par la Fondation LRE comme un moyen de réfléchir à l’histoire de la guerre et à ses conséquences à longs termes grâce à une approche multinationale et multi perspective. Avec des centaines de sites et histoires dans neuf pays européens, la route relie les principales régions traversées par les forces Alliées en 1943-1945.La Fondation LRE et sa branche nationale LRE France présentent ici la Route de la Libération en France, la partie française de l’itinéraire qui vise à créer des sentiers de la mémoire dans toutes les régions françaises touchées par la Seconde Guerre mondiale et la Libération. Vous pouvez ainsi découvrir et visiter des musées, des monuments et des sites historiques, et en apprendre plus sur les histoires et les itinéraires thématiques de la LRE en France.

​The village church in the middle of the green. The village saw heavy fighting from 6 June 1944, D-Day.​ 

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The WN05 Merville-Franceville, an extensive bunker site.

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​Close to Chateau Hauger, Amfreville. The viewing platform offers an excellent vantage point to look west and towards the Port of Oueistreham.

The Orne river estuary

Breville ridge

​​On 23 March 1942, Adolf Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 40, which was the order for the creation of an Atlantic Wall. 6,200km of coastline needed to be defended. They used slave labour, such as Organisation Todt, and conscripted workers to build hundreds of defensive positions. &nbsp;​​WN06 is located to the north east of the village of Sallenelles. Here, the position was manned by the Wehrmacht (German army), Grenadier Regiment 736, 716th Infantry Division. &nbsp;​​The Wiederstandnest was created to prevent any advance from Merville-Franceville-Plage towards Sallenelles.. WN06 overlooked the Orne estuary area to the north and the road to the east.&nbsp;​​Three concrete bunkers were constructed, with one containing a 5cm cannon and a second with a steel cupola placed on top. Both offered fields of fire across the open area of the estuary and the road approaches. Remains of WN06 are still present today and are located next to the main road. A more recent function of one of the larger bunkers saw it used as a nightclub, ‘Bunker club’.&nbsp;​​On 6 June 1944, No.45 Royal Marine Commando, after advancing from Sword Beach, consolidated at Ranville. They were then tasked to advance to the village of Merville. They did so via the area of Sallenelles and came under heavy fire from the German positions around WN06. The decision was to bypass it to advance towards their objective on the afternoon of D-Day. WN06 remained active and was not attacked.&nbsp;​On 12 June, No.48 Royal Marine Commando put in a further attack to try and clear the Germans from WN06. However, they were unsuccessful as the German forces had reinforced the position with men from the 711th Infantry Division sent from Le Havre.&nbsp;​The frontline would hold in this area until Operation Paddle in August 1944, where the Allies would successfully clear the Germans from this position during the advance along the coastline.&nbsp;&nbsp;

​Wiederstandnest 06 (WN06) ‘Moulin du Buisson’​

WN05 was made up of several concrete defensive positions overlooking this small area of beach and west towards the mouth of the River Orne. It included multiple gun emplacements, such as 75mm and 35mm cannons. These were supported by machine gun nests and anti-aircraft guns. This sector of the Atlantic Wall was defended by soldiers of the German 716th and 711th Infantry Divisions.&nbsp;The observation bunker was a key element of the Merville Gun Battery located 2km southeast of WN05. The battery was manned by the 716th Infantry Division’s Artillery Regiment (1716th). In 1944, this bunker sat along the beachfront; over time, shifting sand has now placed it among the dunes.&nbsp;On the night of 5 June 1944, Steiner was present in this bunker. He had stored his bicycle, used to travel between the battery and the observation post, inside. The site is now referred to as “Steiner’s bike shed.” Despite this, Steiner chose to use a different bunker 500 meters to the east as his command post. Due to drizzle and rain, Steiner assumed a landing was unlikely and went to sleep.&nbsp;Just after midnight on 6 June, Steiner was awoken by a call from his second-in-command, Hauptwachtmeister Buskotte. Buskotte reported that an Allied glider had landed near the Merville Battery and that close-quarter combat had begun. Steiner immediately contacted General Richter at 00:28 to inform him of the fighting, but the warning was not taken seriously.&nbsp;Steiner and several of his men exited their bunker and moved into the surrounding dunes. He recalled the sound of bombers overhead striking targets further west. More aircraft soon followed, towing gliders. Steiner noted their unusual size and even fired upon them with two other soldiers. He believed that one glider he hit later crashed east of the Merville Battery.&nbsp;Later that morning, Buskotte called again, stating the battery was under renewed attack. This was the assault by Lt. Col. Otway and the British 9th Parachute Battalion. Steiner ordered artillery from the 711th Division to fire on the Merville position due to Allied presence and told Buschotte to move the men into protective bunkers.&nbsp;Buskotte’s final call reported the British attempting to use flamethrowers. Steiner then retrieved his bicycle and rode to the Merville Battery to assess the situation himself.&nbsp;

​​Steiner’s ‘Bike Shed’ Observation Bunker and WN05.​ 

​​The village of Amfreville is located on the Breville Ridge and overlooks the Orne River and the approaches to Caen to the west. This area of high ground would become a crucial part of the Allied plans for Operation Overlord in 1944. The high ground needed to be held, and a defensive perimeter was formed on the left flank of the invasion area.&nbsp;​On D-Day, early afternoon, 3 Troop, No.3 Commando, who had landed on Sword Beach that morning, was ordered to advance to the village of Amfreville. They were told that the 9th Parachute Battalion, British 6th Airborne Division, was under pressure from German forces and in need of support. 3 Troop left the area of Ranville on bicycles and headed towards the Ecarde crossroads which is at the bottom of the hill on Rue Morice. They then began the slow advance uphill towards this area of the village.&nbsp;​3 Troop entered the village on Rue Morice through the high Norman stonewalls that offered some protection. As they approached, they could see a rifle muzzle sticking out of a window of the upper floor of 8 Rue Morice. This is the house on the corner with blue shutters. The Commandos of 3 Troop opened fire, and the rifle fell out of the window. They then continued the advance.&nbsp;​They came around the corner from the high stone walls and towards the area of the pond, now where the memorial is, and where they then fired upon.&nbsp;​The fire came from the ground-floor window of the old Post Office, which is now the Café Associatif de la Poste. This severely wounded several men, including Ronald ‘Dixie’ Dean. He lay in the road mortally wounded whilst the German machine gunner continued to fire with his Russian Maxim machine gun. Dixie’s friend Ossie Osbourne was able to quickly recover him and dragged him back down the road and into the protection of the Norman stonewalls. A short time later, Dixie would die in the arms of his friend Stan Scott. He is now buried in Ranville War Cemetery.&nbsp;​The village was cleared of Germans late on D-Day and held by the Commandos. No.3 Commando held this area of the village in the coming weeks at numerous points as hard fighting developed. This area would also remain the frontline until the middle of August, when the Commandos started to advance eastwards during Operation Paddle.&nbsp;​The memorial commemorates the men of No.3 Commando. It is one of several memorials to them and the other Commando units who held this village and line during the Normandy Campaign.​&nbsp;

No.3 Commando and the Post office

The Château St Come was a stud horse farm that was present here during the Second World War. It is still active today and is private property. The chateau and farm sit to the eastern side of the road, and a long driveway leads to it through the grounds. The grounds and farm buildings were heavily contested between the German forces and the men of the British 6th Airborne Division and the 51st Highland Division. &nbsp;​Up until 13 June 1944, neither side controlled the grounds of Chateau St Come. Accounts state that at numerous times either the British or Germans occupied it, until attacks came in and forced one side or the other out. One account even recalls British paratroopers got into the main chateau to find the Germans had left in a hurry leaving rations that had recently been cooked.&nbsp;​The British frontline was positioned on the western side of the road and then crossed into the grounds of the Chateau St Come, and then cut southeast through the woods.&nbsp;​To the western side of the road is the Bois des Monts Bungalow; this is a private house. The bungalow and grounds were used by Lieutenant Colonel Otway of the 9th Parachute Battalion as his Headquarters. This also included a tool shed building being used as an aid post. The frontline defensive positions here were incorporated into the sunk lane, which runs parallel to the grounds. Slit trenches were placed parallel to the road, looking out towards Château St. Come. This included Private Ron Jepp’s machine gun position, where the green gate is located at the top of the sunken lane, looking straight down the driveway into the Château's grounds. He would be killed at this position on 12 June 1944; he is now buried in Ranville War Cemetery.&nbsp;​During the day of 12 June, ‘day of day’s, the Germans launched several attacks towards the frontline of the 9th Parachute Battalion at Bois des Monts. The line stood firm, and Otway was proud of his men, who took many casualties, but not once did the Germans break through the line. At one point during the fighting, a Padre, Captain John Gwinnett, ran across the road whilst German fire was incoming. He pinned a pendant of Pegasus, the emblem of the Airborne Division, to the large oak tree that is still there today on the corner by the memorial.&nbsp;​In this area, you can find numerous memorials, including one to the 9th Parachute Battalion on the driveway to the Chateau St Come and the piper of the 51st Highland Division that remembers the men of the 5th Black Watch and their failed attack on Breville from 10 June 1944.&nbsp;

Chateau St Come & Bois des Monts

​​​On 6 June 1944, the German forces that occupied the Breville ridge area were pushed back from the villages by the Allies. However, the Germans held onto Breville-les-Monts. For the British 6th Airborne Division, whose task it was to hold the ridge and a defensive perimeter, the village of Breville was referred to as a ‘thorn in the side’.&nbsp;The Germans on D-Day had formed a defence of the village and were heavily engaged by the British forces from the area of Amfreville and Chateau St Come. Daily patrols went out from the village, or British patrols would come forward. Each side would be under mortar fire and small arms fire as the British looked to push the Germans back and out of the village.&nbsp;An unsuccessful attack was made from the sunken lane, Bois des Monts bungalow. This was on 10 June 1944 by the 5th Black Watch, 51st Highland Division. Three companies of men numbering upwards of 200-300 men carried out a front attack on the village. It was unsuccessful, with Company A receiving many casualties in the field close to the crossroads. German resistance was strong and stopped the attack that had made its way over the open ground in a frontal attack.&nbsp;After intense fighting throughout the day on 12 June. The German forces had put in numerous attacks from Breville towards the Chateau St Come. It was then decided by Major Richard ‘Windy’ Gale, the officer in charge of the British 6th Airborne Division, that the Germans must be consolidated at Breville and the ‘thorn in the side’ removed.&nbsp;At his disposal, he only has a small number of reserves, this was the 12th Parachute Battalion and a company of men from the 12th Devon’s. They were briefed that an attack would go in late at night and would be preceded by an artillery barrage in support.&nbsp;The men of the 12th Parachute Battalion and 12th Devon’s formed up on the large green in front of the church in Amfreville at around 21:00. Sadly, artillery sounds fell short and killed the two senior officers from the respective battalions; many others were killed or wounded.&nbsp;The attack had to still be carried out, and supporting the two battalions was the Sherman tank from the 13/18 Hussars. When the attack advanced into the village, the 12th Battalion slowly forced the Germans out.&nbsp;&nbsp;The church had been hit directly during the artillery barrage; the Germans had stored ammunition within it. It was destroyed by the force of the blast and exploding ammunition. Today, all that can be seen is the outer wall and a small area of the altar. Around the cemetery, damage can be seen to many graves. The village was extensively rebuilt following the battle. It was finally liberated and held by the British on 13 June.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Breville ridge

Photos

Sites and stories along the route

Wiederstandnest 06 (WN06) ‘Moulin du Buisson’

Steiner’s ‘Bike Shed’ Observation Bunker and WN05.

No.3 Commando and the Post office

Chateau St Come & Bois des Monts

Breville-les-Monts church and battle of 12 June 1944

Breville ridge

Photos

Sites and stories along the route

​Wiederstandnest 06 (WN06) ‘Moulin du Buisson’​

​​Steiner’s ‘Bike Shed’ Observation Bunker and WN05.​

No.3 Commando and the Post office

Chateau St Come & Bois des Monts

Breville-les-Monts church and battle of 12 June 1944

Wiederstandnest 06 (WN06) ‘Moulin du Buisson’

Steiner’s ‘Bike Shed’ Observation Bunker and WN05.