Located around the iconic Fort de la Hogue - a 300-year-old fortress site which remains under the ownership of the French Navy – German forces built a series of bunkers, pillboxes, and gun emplacements.
This strategic location offers incredible views over the bay towards Morsalines and Utah Beach to the south west, the island of Tatihou to the north east, plus a huge expanse of sea to the east of the small peninsula setting.
The site is open to the public on a few days each summer where you can see some of the additional construction which took place from 1940 onwards around the now listed Vauban tower and fortress walls. A climb up the spiral steps inside the tower gives you an incredible view of the surrounding area.
The additional German builds include R677 and R612 casemates for field guns, machine gun positions, mortar and MG Tobruks, and observation posts.
Perhaps the stand-out builds here are the four, dome-topped pillboxes – two of which can be seen along the seawall on the left-hand side of the road as you drive towards the fort site. Each pillbox features three embrasures for observation and firing positions and don’t look out of place on the original wall.
At the entrance to the restricted Naval area there are two large concrete blocks which retain the steel loops for connecting a Belgian gate to close off the moated site from the rear.