Gi331 Le Verdon 'Lauban' E. Battr

On our trip to France in November 2012 we crossed the Gironde river at Royan to Verdon by ferry and then looked around the bunkers of of the Medoc.

 

Plan of the batteries and defences of Pointe de Grave. The blue line is the anti-tank ditch that completely crossed the peninsular. Gi331 is the red spot. Today the area in the front of the batterie position is now been reclaimed from the sea, so what we now see as grass would have been the sea.

Such an unusual place, a railway line connected to the main SNCF railway line that ran between Embarcadère du Verdon and Bordeaux. There is a ferry service across the Gironde to Royan and also there was a transatlantic service. In 1939, the French located a batterie of two 24cm(E) [E = Eisenbahn/railway]. Later captured and removed by the Germans. Then they were replaced by two more captured 28cm (E) guns (French). A new layout was designed and a set of ammunition bunkers of Vf/Vf2a design were used. A Vf2a is oblong bunker with a passage at the front and one door, it would have an escape on one side and fittings for an fire to heat the bunker. Here I believe they did away with the escape. Thus making a bigger internal size and two entrances each side at one end. All or nearly all of the ammunition bunkers are linked by a arrow gauge railway line, it does not use a steam or electric engine but ammunition carriages are all pushed by man power.

1939 a French 24cm E batterie. StP Gi 331H 'Lauben' E.Battery.721. 1 x R119 PC, command bunker.. 2 x R502 twin group shelter. 2 x R621 group shelter. 1 x R638 small dressing station. 6 x Vf2a shelter. 16 x Vf2 (and half Tôle métro). 2 x 28cm K.Br.K (E) Railway guns. 1 x 2cm KwK. 2 x 2cm Flak 38. 2 x 2cm Flak 30. 3 x 7.5cm F.K.16n.Art.

The roadway is the bed of the railway line and three ammunition bunkers covered in undergrowth can be seen on the left side.

About 16 Vf ammunition stores were built for the guns and a narrow gauge railway ran through the doorways of all the stores.

Although it is a red cross it does not mean it was a hospital/casualty clearing but possibly where the first aid equipment was stored. Or somebody has added it since??

Battle damage. Probably from the massive bombing attacks on the area.

Chimney for the heating plant. If its holding Cordite, it needs to be kept dry at all times so heating and ventilated was very important. The hole down the bunker wall is so if a hand grenade was to be dropped into the chimney, then it would roll out of the lower slot exploding harmlessly .

You can actually see the railway running through the bunker and the first gun above the bunker. The closed freight carriages were also used for ammunition delivery.

The rear door where a narrow gauge railway could come through.

Inside with the chimney in the top left hand of the rear wall.

The passageway for the narrow gauge railway.

 

A WW1 railway gun made by Schneider, France (Schneider-Creusot, Saône-et-Loire) to use in that war. As the barrels wore out, they were re bored from 27.4cm to 28.5cm. The gun had a weight of 152,000kg and two four axle bogies. It could adjust its barrel by 2° for fine adjustment, if more is needed then it turned on the turntable. The shells weight was 270kg and a range of 27,000m that would take a shell far out to sea. The rate of fire was, one round every five minuets. If I have this correct? a ship traveling at 20Knotts (32km), the battery may fire around 12 rounds per gun in in the time it would take a ship to travel to the point. How accurate against a sea target, I have no idea. Out on the pointe was a wooden tower that was used to direct the fire from the batterie. The guns were assembled into a train of for crew, ammunition, repair/engineering, electrical generating and the gun Pulled usually by powerful steam engine. The gun and crew were self sufficient and could move around where needed as long as there were rails. A line crew would survey the route and the sighting of the gun and then any engineering work carried out. The train would steam to the firing point and then the crew would set it up. First the gun would be shunted onto a Vögal type turntable. This allowed the gun to rotate 360°. A geared handle could be used to wind around the turntable. Ammunition from either its railway wagon or from as here a set of Vf magazines can be brought by narrow gauge railway lines to the gun and then craned up and pushed into the breach. First the shell, then a powder bag of silk filled with cordite and then the case. A brass reusable container. Once all is loaded, the breach is wound closed and the gun elevated. Usually the gun would be pointing in the direction of fire, so when the barrel is elevated for range, the primer fuse has been fitted and a cord attached a waiting the order to SHOOT. When the order is given, the string is pulled and a very large bang follows. You then wind the barrel down and reload in five minuets.

The circle is about where the first railway gun turntable was situated. On the right the red arrow is the way to an R502 bunker.

Track to the R502 bunker. The guns came not just themselves, but a full trainload with crew carriages, ammunition wagons, repair and spares wagons and often there own engine. The engine would be stored locally ready to be called on to remove the gun train to another position when needed.

One of the doors to get inside.

Twin group shelter.

Some steps in the woodland where I would think there were wooden huts laid out as Officers Mess and other uses.

Tôles Métro (fuze store). Fuzes spelt with a Z so not mistaken for an electrical fuse. Fuzes/detonators are very delicate and need to be stored separately from the ammunition.

Ammunition arriving near the gun. Nice camouflage on the ammunition bunker.

The flak bunker sitting right in front of the gun turntable. This is the same at the other turntable.

A smart guard on duty, note the ladder up to the Flak position.

The gun is driven up onto a turntable.

Plan of a turntable. Possibly called a Vögele turntable.

This is the main SNCF line from Bordeaux to the port.

I think this is an Vf ammunition bunker.

Camouflaged shutters.

I am not sure what this bunker was, its used as a shed and full of all sorts, so I could not see inside.

Details on the wall.

This looks like an escape.

And the steel steps to climb out.

Looking across the top and its like a double front?

The owner very kindly took us into his back garden and showed us the Flak position on the hill.

Here he is showing us the position.

Flak emplacement for a 2cm Flak. There were two types of Flak: - 2 x 2cm Flak 38. 2 x 2cm Flak 30.

Ammunition storage.

 

It has square shaped 3mm +- thick wire and distance between the spikes is from 30 to 40 millimetres (taken from a barbed wire website).

A little further down the road is this garage.

Made of brick and concrete.

Inside the second. Ideal for a Kübelwagen or a Flak trailers.