 One of the howitzers on display at the Maisey Batterie |
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This is one of the most remarkable stories of from the second world war and the efforts of one man to bring back to life a long since forgotten German gun batterie located at Grand Camp Maisy, Normandy. Historian and military expert Gary Sterne from England bought a pair of U.S. Serviceman's trousers at a military memorabilia auction, in one of the pockets he found an old map from D-Day and upon further research he found a vast German gun batterie which was ordered to be dug over by the Americans after the war had ended. Gary has spent a great deal of time and money uncovering the site and buying the land from a number of land owners and farmers. I had the pleasure of meeting with Gary's son in 2013 and he and his father have an amazing story to tell. Since 2013 Gary has written a book which is a must read and can be bought via Amazon.  An absolute must read by military historian Gary Sterne Read this article first "Does Point du Hoc still matter". Here is a newspaper article on-line detailing Gary's find: Daily Telegraph article - January 4th, 2008. Here is the link to buy Gary's book Cover up at Omaha Beach |
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Maisy Batterie 7 Route des Perruques 14450 Grandcamp-Maisy Coordinates: 49.376637 -1.061366 If you are coming from Omaha Beach or have just visited the bunker ruins at Point du Hoc then the Maisy Batterie is easy to find and this is a "must" visit on your itinerary. Take the D514 until you reach the small town of Maisey, shortly after passing through the town you will come across a road called des Perruques. Take this turning and continue driving a short distance, the batterie parking is on your left. I have posted a photo of the entrance to your right. This is a sprawling complex, make sure you bring plenty of water to drink if visiting during the summer months as it can get hot here. The site is beautifully preserved and deserves the appreciation of what Gary Sterne did to bring this back to life let alone tell the story about what really happened here on D-Day and the U.S. Army Rangers that fought to take it. I took my time at this site and you should do the same, I was able to take several hundred photographs that day but will only publish some of them on this site. Again when you visit Normandy the Maisy Baterrie should be on your list. |  Click to enlarge map  The entrance sign to the batterie  The office to buy your tickets which also has a small gift shop. I was lucky enough to speak to Gary's son on my visit in 2013, he is a wealth of information and will answer any questions you have. If you pre-book a guided tour I believe you will speak to Gary himself. |
 Click to enlarge map. |
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 Click to enlarge map. |
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The prior bombing run missed the target! |  Click to enlarge map. |
I used two different cameras on the 2013 visit. The Nikon Coolpix 35mm and the Apple iPad mini. Click on each thumbnail image to enlarge. |
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 The R622 personnel bunker with tobruk. |  A close up of the R622 bunker. |  Stepping down into the bunker, machine gun embrasure position dead ahead. |
 A look inside this beautifully preserved bunker. |  The metal plate and red paint still visible on the MG42 firing position. |  The original heating stove to the left and I am not sure what that is on the right side. Any ideas? let me know please. |
 The original bed frame for one of the soldiers housed in this personnel bunker. |  Mind the step - On the way out of the bunker. |  This view is looking out of the tobruk emplacement. |
 A nice look down the stairs to this rather cramped tobruk emplacement. |  The inside of the tobruk. Here the German soldier would have had a swivel mounted MG42 machine gun. The two pipes you see would have housed a communications radio to the bunker. |  A look out from the tobruk position, giving you a commanding view of the trenches and surrounding complex. |
