Wn38 St-Cóme-de-Fresné, la Guerre (Gold Beach)
K.V.U. Gruppe Bessin (Gold/Omaha Beach) · AOK 7 Normandy · France
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Situated on the coast to the East of Arromanches-les-Bains.
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
1/916. & 2/916. 352nd Div.
1 x Ringstand Nr.1694.
1 x Tobruk BF.58c.
1 x Anti-tank wall.
1 x Ringstand 5cm le.Gr.W.36 mortar.
2 x Abri Feldmässig
1 x 5cm KwK L/60.
1 x 5cm le.Gr.W.36 mortar.
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Wn38 a small Wn with
Plan
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
1950's air photo showing the position very well.
Geoportail 1950's
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Plan of the defences in the area of Wn38. Minefields surrounded the Wn with Mf.1 on the sea front and Mf.88 covering the rear and inland fall back Wn's of 40 & 41.
German Maps
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
This is the German artillery map of the area where fire could be called down on the beach by Forward Artillery Observers, using code names such as
German Artillery Maps
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
This is the area called 'la Guerre' the rear of Wn 38 and on the German artillery map its No.207 as a target if needed and it was.
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Machine gun bunker with two embrasures, they are very like the ones on Omaha Beach.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Machine gun bunker with two embrasures.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Machine gun bunker with two embrasures.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Ringstand for a 5cm KwK.
22 March 2015
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
The view from Wn40 Arromanches.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
An Allied plan of an Nr.1694 with its concrete cover.
DEFE 2/487
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Nr.1694 with its concrete cover.
22 March 2015
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Nr.1694 with its concrete cover.
22 March 2015
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Nr.1694 with its concrete cover.
Note the small ammunition niche with hinged concrete doors.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Nr.1694 with its concrete cover.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
The view along the coast.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
A post D-Day photo of the ringstand with the gun still in place and set in its protected slot in the wall.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Ringstand now showing the slot where the gun could slot to protect it from gunfire and the ammunition niche with its concrete doors. The slot on the right side is for access into the ringstand.
22 March 2015
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
A good match.
22 March 2015 / 1940's
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Post D-Day possibly post Wartime and the gun has now been removed.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
The very strong concrete wall covering the sea side.
22 March 2015
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Nice picture from the sea.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
View down the beach towards Wn39
22 March 2015
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
The view up the beach looking east.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Wn38 from the sea.
22 March 2015
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
May 1944 and a USAAF P58 Lightening reconnaissance aircraft flying down the coast and photographing Gold Beach. He has taken a fantastic picture absolutely spot on, the beach defences are being thickened up , the tank wall has been built (left side) and the Nr. 1694 has its concrete cover over it. Four houses in place but now they have all gone, either removed by the Germans to use for extra defence or blown up in the battles for Wn38..
19 May 1944 An American PRU photograph from AH.
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Ringstand for an 81mm mortar.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Ringstand for an 81mm mortar.
10 March 2013
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Ringstand for an 81mm mortar, the entrance into the mortar ringstand with a small ammunition room and the ringstand.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
The anti-tank wall running along part of the coast, this may be where the houses were pulled down so the wall could be built.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
This shows the sea wall and the sea defences.
19 May 1944 An American PRU photograph from AH.
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Barbed wire entanglement.
WO 232/29 Notes on German Obstacles
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
6th June 1944 and things change drastically. All building work in this part of Normandy stopped and every able bodied man went on the defensive. The allies attack started at around midnight with bombings, parachute drops and ship to shore artillery. At 6.30am. the 231st Infantry Brigade started to land not exactly where it wanted to but due to wind and weather plus other problems which always happen in the heat of war, they gradually moved east with the tide taking them away from Wn38 and Wn37 to around Jig green and Jig Red. The defence guns at Wn39, 38 & 37 had not been destroyed in the bombing and all came alive and started to attack the landing craft coming in.
Y36 Operation Neptune-Overlord Assault by 50th Division
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
An Allied Bigot map of Wn38 showing what they thought were the beach obstacles and defences.
Bigot Map
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Jig Green, Gold Beach 50th Div troops running a shore.
The troops landing landing had to assault Wn37 first and than worked their way around the rear and attacked from inland. It took almost the whole day to gradually wear the defence down.
A good read is a new book 'The D-Day Landing on Gold Beach'. by Andrew Holborn. He also has another book '56th Infantry Brigade and D-Day'.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
Sexton 25lb'er mounted on a Sherman chassis was used to fire on beach targets on the run into the beach and when landed continued on to support the infantry and armour.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
The beach has now been taken and this could be D-Day + a few days. A Bofors anti-aircraft gun is set up on the beach, large Tank Landing Ships now unloading directly onto the beach.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
The view from Wn37 along the whole front of Asnelles-sur-Mer.
WO 252/149 Northern France Check Reconnaissance - Beaches
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
The large anti-tank wall has now been breached so that vehicles can come and go off the beach and a roadway built up to take them.
Int
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
As the landings were taking place on D-Day, ships were also leaving British ports that were war worn and of no use to trade. They were sailed across and sunk in long lines in many places along the coast to act as breakwaters for the Mulberry 'B' ('B' British, 'A' American).
Int
Wn38 Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
This is an Engineer plan of the area after D-Day showing the new road network laid out by the Royal Engineers.
Y32 Combined Operations Bulletin
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
This is the plan for 'Phase Lines' of how the attack was planned.
Y36 Operation Neptune-Overlord Assault by 50th Division
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
This is the route and attack by the 2nd Devon Regiment on the attack of the Longues batterie. That and the Commando attack on Port-en-Bessin are two of the most dramatically important advances next to Pegasus Bridge, but very little is talked about them.
Y36 Operation Neptune-Overlord Assault by 50th Division
Wn38 St-Côme-de-Fresné, la Guerre
