StP12 Ravenoville St-Hubert

4./919. Grenadier Regiment, 709th ID.
Lieutenant Meidam (the 4th Company of the First Battalion of the 919th GR)
1 x R667 casemate with a steel cupola..
1 x R634 casemate.
1 x R612 casemate + searchlight.
1 x Wellblech bunker.
1 x Munitions bunker.
4 x Pz.Drehturm Bf.67 neu Tobruk.
1x 5cm KwK L/60. 1 x 7.5cm F.K.
3 x (APX R) R35 3.7cm KwK144(f) co-axle M.G.3 11 (f).
1 x (APX 1 CE) S35 4.7cm KwK173 (f) co-axle M.G.311 (f)
1 x Searchlight (Scheinwerfer) 150cm

I suppose its ART not Graffiti.

A large crew room for about nine men, commander, gunner, ammunition handlers, one man in the Tobruk and another covering the rear door with the close combat machine gun. The 20P7 dome has been removed I have added one for effect and a Tobruk gunner in his place.

The rear entrance has an embrasure and defence room with a machine gun covering the rear door. A small wall has been added here and at two other bunkers of this style covering the entrance further down the beach. So they may have found a week spot and filled it with the wall??. Ventilation room had up to three ventilation pumps, usually hand operated by turning a large handle. Anti gas or anti smoke filters filters can be used. When the gun fires the smoke and fumes would be very thick, so the ventilators would be started and fresh air from outside is sucked through the filter and pressurises the bunker, thus no fumes or gas can enter.

2026 the grass had bee mowed, so I managed to walk around the bunker. The entrance is full of rubbish to stop anybody gettingin.

This is such a large bunker for the defence here, it may also have been a small HQ for the area.

Several tank rounds have hit this side., Sherman tanks with infantry support moved north up the beach and beach road, attacking the Wn's as the went. These all fought very well and slowed the Americans down. At the time of the advance north, the German defenders were holding their own at times and were awaiting a counter attack from the north and east. To dislodge the Americans that had landed on Utah Beach. Their problem was, there was no counter attack, there was no spare infantry and tanks to take part. So when their ammunition was depleted, they either surrendered or tried to get out and move north to the next defence and start all over again.

Looking up into the defence Tobruk, it would have had steel ladder rungs for access.

Close combat defence to cover an attack on the door, there would have been a steel shutter and a fixed mounted machine gun.

Looking into the close combat defence room.

Looking into the main entrance with another close combat defence embrasure, if you got past the last machine gun, you then had this one to contend with. Also there would have been a closed 491p2 Gittertür steel gate.

This is where the steel dome or 20P7 cupola would have been. It was removed in the post war when steel was needed to build back a country and now has just left a massive hole.

On the evening of June 6, Lieutenant Meidam (the 4th Company of the First Battalion of the 919th GR) moves his men into Wn10 defence site. Then Wn10a and Wn11 and finally to StP12. With the survivors of the garrisons of the Wn10, Wn10a, Wn11 and StP12, StP12 holds out for several days. The anti-tank gun and the anti-landing field Kannon in StP12 are destroyed after June 7, and there is only one twin machine gun in the armoured cupola (the 6 embrasures of the R644 bunker at the back of the StP). Lt Meidam went (left unspecified date) when surrounded by numerous tanks and it has become impossible to leave the bunker in the dome but also because there is no more food and half of Germans are wounded and no way to treat them. The testimony of Lt. Meidam was collected by Lt. Col. Keil as prisoners when they were in the same camp. EF.