The Merville Battery, Go to It !! Options

[Sgt Eagle]

THE MERVILLE BATTERY
=================
Located near a small place called Merville-Franceville, about 10 km from the coast, Normandie, France. The site is part of the "D-Day Le Choc" ("D-Day the collision") route in Normandie. This is one of the 8 tourist routes that guide you through the Normandy battlefields. You can find information on these routes with most of the tourist offices.The routes are very well signed.

Address:
Avenue de la Batterie de Merville
14810 Merville-Franceville

THE ASSAULT :
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The Merville Battery was considered as treathning for the Beach assault troops in the British sector of the landing and had to be taken out .
But What happened during the night of the 5th to the 6th June 1944 ?

Lt Colonel Terence Otway's daring attack on the Merville Battery
==========================================

The advanced elements of the 9th Parachute battalion had been dropped on DZ V and had reached the battalion Rendez-Vous point without any difficulties .
Major Allen Parry and his men setted out the lights marking the company's location .

In the meanwhile Major George Smith and CSM's Harold and Miller moved on to the Merville battery wich was one mile away from DZ V.Lancaster bombers made a raid on the battery but missed it , their bombs landed south of the battery , nearly knocking out Major Allen Parry's party.Meanwhile the aircrafts transporting the main body of the battalion were approachingthe French-Norman coast.
Due to the fact that most of the pathfinders materials had been damaged , there were sadly enough just a few lights working and indicating DZ Vwhen those aircrafts reached it.The smoke coming from the bombs dropped by the Lancasters covered the lights , wich resulted in the faact that only a few Airborne sticks landed on DZ V, others were scattered into the Dives marshes or even on the high grounds between Cabourg and Dozule.
Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway , was only able to regroup 150 of his initial 550 men strong battalion.

None of the jeep and anti tank guns transporting gliders had called in on the DZ.The battalion 3 inch mortars,the sappers,the field ambulance section and the naval bombardement parties were all missing .

Keeping in mind that the Merville battery had to be destroyed before 05.30 hours , Lt Colonel Terence Otway was in the obligation not to wait ,so he moved on without his heavy materials and sappers.

This post has been edited by Sgt Eagle: Jul 18 2004, 02:56 PM

[Sgt Eagle]

Lieutenant Colonel Otway's buste
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(IMG:http://www.uploadimages.net/images/734429Otway.jpeg)


The 9th Battalion stele
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(IMG:http://www.uploadimages.net/images/3498649thBatMemo.jpeg)

[Max (UK)]

Lt Colonel Clarence Otway's daring attack on the Merville Battery

Great post, Eagle.

His name is Terence Otway though, hehe. (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Sgt Eagle]

The Merville - Franceville Battery
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(IMG:http://www.uploadimages.net/images/837809merville.jpeg)



(IMG:http://www.uploadimages.net/images/178988Mervilles.jpeg)

This post has been edited by Sgt Eagle: Jul 18 2004, 02:00 PM

[Sgt Eagle]

Great post, Eagle.

His name is Terence Otway though, hehe.  (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

OOPS sorry Max my mistake , that's when you write down a story from the head , my memory mixed up two different names , I've edited the begin part of the story and corrected the mistake , thanks for letting me know Max (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)


Currahee !!!!!!!!!

Mark W.

[Sgt Eagle]

The assault (part 2)
-----------------------

Following a road skirting the northern edge of the Gonneville village, Lt Colonel Otway reached the crossroads were Major George Smith waited them up.Smith and his warrant officers, having reached the Merville battery, had managed to cut their way trough a wire fence , then made their way trough a mine field and an inner wire fence and had managed to locate some enemy positions.

A taping party conducted by Captain Paul Greenway had managed to secure four lanes trough the minefields locating and disarming several tripwires (Booby-traps).
Lt Colonel Otway splitted his force into four assault groups , but decided to use only two breaches in the wire fence .It was 04.30 hours .

As the battalion was redeploying,six enemy machine guns opened fire, three from either flank.
The one Vickers machine gun engaged with the battalion reposted on the enemy on the left side while a party formed by an NCO and six men engaged those on the right side,as they made their way to the main entrance of the battery.

At the same momenttwo of the three gliders carrying aboard the 58 men strong assault group of Captain Robert Gordon Brown suddenly flew low over the battery and came immediately under fire making that one of them that was touched , disappeared into the night ( it landed several miles higher up) , while the other one landed on a lane behind a fence , avoiding with a close call a mine field .
Lieutenant Hugh Pond and his men came out of this glider and were immediately engaged by enemy troops .

It was then that Lt Colonel Terence Otway launched his attack , bangalore torpedoes were detonated and the four assault groups went in .
Having overrun the battery's defences,the German defence troops were under fire on all sides , they had to fight their way to the gun casemates coming under fire of three machine guns , who were silenced by a Bren gun team
once the casemates reached Otway's men eliminated the gun crews and neutralised the guns by making them unoperational .
It was 05.00 hours by then and all the guns were neutralised and the battery was token .

The 9 th Parachute battalion had reached her goal, Otway broadcasted is all clear message , The Merville battery was out of order , of the force that attacked the battery 65 men were killed, wounded or missing in action .


Currahee !!!!!!!!!

Mark W.

This post has been edited by Sgt Eagle: Jul 18 2004, 02:54 PM

[McIntee]

I was at Merville June 7th and happened to be there for a 3 Commando memorial service. Along with the amazing story of the initial assault it is important to remember that when the guns were knocked out, the paras moved on and left the battery un-attended. The Germans promptley re took it and 3 Commando was ordered to take it back again. However, they had no idea about what they were in for. They did not know the layout or even that it had minefields. They took heavy casualties.

[ham and jam]

His name is Terence Otway though, hehe

Believe me he would tear you of a strip if he saw you calling him Clarence (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I wrote to Otway the other week and for some reason I spelt his name Terrence and of course its just the one r, I dont know why I did it, ive seen his name so many times (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) and know its one r. Anyway he picked me up on it in his reply, although he said I had spelt it the English way and his name is spelt the Irish way.

Andy

[Sgt Eagle]

Believe me he would tear you of a strip if he saw you calling him Clarence (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)


Andy

Well Andy that's why I immediately edited my post and corrected Lt Colonel Otway's name in his real name Terence , I don't want to have to explain myself to British paratroopers , knocking on my door at night , to rip me in to several pieces (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)


I still don't know how I did this error (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/huh.gif) , i must have had to many Calvados (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)


Currahee !!!!!!!!!!

Mark W.


PS : I think that in my case here we can speak of a "General" mistake , Andy (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

MW

[ham and jam]

As the battalion was redeploying,six enemy machine guns opened fire, three from either flank

Some dispute down the years to actually how many machine guns the Germans had at the battery. British Paras say 10, and there have been lots of them interviewd, where as the Germans say only one was in operation. Many of the Paras hadnt even spoken to each other about how many machine guns there were so its too much of a coincidence that they all suggest 10. Major Smith mentions atleast 4 inside the battery and 2 paras say they knocked out 3 just on the right side of the battery.

The German officer in charge of the battery, Steiner, and another German Buskotte, have claimed allsorts of different things over the years of which most of it has been rubbished by the paras. Steiner claimed the guns were not put out of action and that they were firing later on June 6th. Many paras have said that the guns were damaged, and George Hawkins who lay wounded in casemate 4, for a few days, says that he only ever heard one gun fire and that only a few shells were fired, and none of these on June 6th. Plus Steiner was not even at the battery on D-day, so he would have been told this info from Buskotte. Theres many other inaccuricies from the Germans.

Merville was just the start of 6 days of hell for the men of 9th Para, after Merville they had to take and hold Chateau St Come,and the surrounding area, they were eventually helped out by the Black watch who also suffered very bad casualties and also the heavy machine guns of the middlesex regiment.

Even today the survivors of 9th para are at odds with the Commonwealth war graves commision as the 9th say over 190 men are still unaccounted for. These men were probably lost and drowned in the flooded areas. Colonel Otway, says we were there, the civil servants were not. Battalion roll calls are missing as well as stick lists for gliders and planes.

On the 13th of June Denis Edwards and the 2nd Ox and Bucks entered the area as relief for 9th para and the Black Watch.

Denis has wrote to some lengths in his book about the devastation around S Come.

" All around was evidence of brutal warfare such as id never seen before. God I was horrified. I saw shell shock on a massive scale, groups of men stood around in a dazed state, staring at us with vacant and bewildered eyes".

Every square foot of ground seemed to be strewn with parts of human bodies.
Denis came across what was left of a copice, trees torn to shreds, branches everywhere, tops of trees missing and some still smouldering. in this small area was around 20 bodies, British and German. Denis says it was difficult to be exact with how many as most were not whole, many detached heads, arms and legs everywhere. British lay dead across German and vice versa. The scene was horrifying but the smell was worse, the warm sunshine was taking its toll on the pieces of human flesh that lay around. One scene Denis came across was of a Canadian para who had been run through with a German rifle and bayonet and this had stuck him to the tree trunk, in turn the Canadian para had reached over the top of the German and stabbed him in the middle of his back. The 2 of them had died at some point propping each other up.

Andy

[Sgt Eagle]

Thanks for adding this Andy , the story of the six machine guns , I don't know if it's true but , I read it and translated it from an article in Dutch , the article was a reprint of an interview round the 4oth birthday of D-Day , and it was Lt-Colonel Otway himself who told the events at Merville battery .


Currahee !!!!!!!!!

Mark W.

[ssgtwildbillm...]

Nice post Andy I learn something new all the time here on WBG about WWII. (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Sgt Eagle]

Well i think you can't beat Andy at the history of the British Airborne and other divisions (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Currahee !!!!!!!!!

Mark W.

[Sgt Eagle]

As you saw on the poor collection of pictures , sorry I have more but I've got no Scanner , I've visited the Merville battery site as it looks nowadays .

I must say , when you get over there , you can't be otherwise than surprised and impressed , Impressed because when you stand at the entrance and see the surface the battery takes , you can only say one thing , THIS WAS INDEED A DARING ATTACK !

A part of the battery , is sadly enough unvisitable because it's located on private grounds and the farmer who owns this part asks to much money for this landpart , way to much for tha association that works on volunteers .
That part of the battery is regulary flooded and you can see from the fence that the casemats are regulary under water , there's always water standing inside them .
It's a shame I think , but money rules the world .

The command bunker is well preserved and a small Airborne museum is located inside , it's worth the visit , and when passing by my friends , make a jump at the Merville battery shop , bying a souvenir is helping the association to keep the site in shape (IMG:http://forums.wildbillguarnere.com/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Currahee !!!!!!!!!

Mark W.

[ianhay_7]

*BUMP*