La batterie de Longues-sur-Mer
This site, owned by the Conservatoire du Littoral and managed by the Calvados Department, consists of a plateau at an altitude of 65 metres which extends into a marl-limestone cliff running along the coast. As the cliff erodes, it gives the landscape a distinctive appearance by forming scree slopes (piles of large limestone boulders).
Situated in the Normandy Allied Landings area, between Omaha Beach and Gold Beach, the Longues-sur-Mer battery, built by the Germans, was subjected to intense aerial and then naval bombardment, preventing it from becoming fully operational on 6 June 1944. Consequently, it was captured the very next day by British troops. The Longues-sur-Mer battery is one of the few Atlantic Wall artillery batteries to have remained virtually in its original condition. It comprised four long-range 150 mm naval guns, each protected by a reinforced concrete casemate, a fire-control post and various facilities to operate and defend them.
In the damp hollows, dense thickets harbour giant horsetails and a profusion of eagle ferns, which are sensitive to dry air. Also present are numerous orchids and a remarkable plant endemic to Normandy: the whitish senecio. This Asteraceae grows at higher altitudes. Its leaves and stem are hairy and silvery. Its flowers are a very bright yellow, contrasting with the colour of the leaves.
As for wildlife, the rugged terrain provides unexpected shelter for a number of rare birds: the northern fulmar, the rock thrush, the grey warbler and the chattering warbler, the multivocal warbler, and the grasshopper warbler. The presence of chiroptera (bats), such as the Greater Mouse-eared Bat and the Notched-eared Bat, has been confirmed at the site. They use the bunkers in particular as wintering grounds.
