HISTORY LESSON

The Azeville Battery is just a short drive from Sainte-Mère-Eglise. Leaving town follow the road towards Ravenoville (same turn-off for "Super U" supermarket) and then follow the road signs for Azeville. A visit to this battery is fascinating as there is a guided tour of the 300 meters of underground galleries that link the bunkers. Four 105 mm canon were installed in December 1941. The battery had no view to the sea so the guns had to be fired blind and Utah Beach was just on the very edge of their range. Azeville was manned by a team of 170 young soldiers. Some were housed in the bunkers on site, others were lodged in the nearby villages. Along the underground passages are alcoves once used for storage of food.



Doors lead into rooms used for the storage of ammunition where the walls are made of one meter thick reinforced concrete. From the air the Azeville battery was disguised as private homes. Traces still remain of the camouflage. Yellow ochre was used to paint false bricks on the bunkers and black lines were added to give the impression of mortar joints. A shell from the USS Nevada, located off the shore of Utah Beach, passed through two walls of a gun bunker shattering the concrete and killing 5 men before landing unexploded in a field on the other side of the building. The bomb was only discovered 7 years ago. Note: The USS Nevada was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.