La Cotinière
La Cotinière, audio général
To defend against a possible Allied landing from the west, the Germans positioned a battery of four guns of Belgian origin.
Two of these weapons were protected by casemates that allowed fire to be directed to the northwest, linked to six external platforms to fire towards the horizon.
A rangefinder placed on a casemate aided direction finding. Around these bunkers were ammunition bunkers, blockhouses for the personnel and various light protective structures for close defence (machineguns, antiaircraft defence, minefields and anti-landing obstacles).
An antitank gun was posted at the entrance to La Cotinière port as an extra precaution.
In the autumn of 1944, the post was grouped with the powerful Luchs battery at Saint-Séverin to the south.
The site is the place of work and execution of two Russian POWs, Vladimir Antonenko and Evgueni Krasnoperov who are buried in the Saint-Pierre cemetery.
La Cotinière, Anton and Anna
Anton
This bunker, codename Anton, was constructed according to the standard catalogue of the Todt Organisation and is a Type 669. The main room consisted of an entrance for the gun, on wheels, and a base to fix it to the ground; it fired through a northwest-oriented slit. On each side of the room, two smaller rooms held ammunitions and a ventilation system to extract gases when the weapon was fired.
Outside, on top of the bunker was a terrace for the 60cm diameter searchlight. Its 5,400W light enabled it to follow an aircraft at night at a distance of between 1 and 5km.
Anna
The “Anna” bunker sheltered one of four 75mm guns taken from the Belgian army after its defeat in 1940. Its northwest orientation gave a defensive range of 11km.
On the roof was a range finding post that enabled the distance of a target to be determined. By coordinating readings from other batteries, a target could be localised with sufficient precision to enable firing.
The casemates were true concrete strongboxes, designed to resist bombing and to protect personnel and equipment.
La Cotinière, Rommel
Rommel
The “Rommel” bunker was part of the lighter concrete shelters off the official Todt Organisation catalogue. The walls were thin, had no emergency exit and little resistance to bombing. These opportunistic structures met a particular need and were adapted to the local environment. The materials used varied: concrete, wood, reinforced concrete, rubble or corrugated iron …
The name “Rommel” followed in the logic of the names given to batteries. Anton, Anna, Dietrich, Frieda …
The shelter for personnel left a trace as it was a rare witness to the men (Germans convinced or otherwise of their cause, foreign POWs under duress, requisitioned or salaried workers) who had formerly built or occupied the battery.
Crédits
©Service Historique de la Défense
www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr
www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr
©Stéphane Calonnec
©EPCAD/Défense / Auteur inconnu
©BAMA Bundesarchiv Militararchiv
©Archives CCLSO
©Thierry Richard/Oléron production
