MaverickFM
Pathfinder Games
This week we are looking at the history behind our second map, Merville Battery.
The British capture of Merville Battery took place in the hours before the Normandy Landings on 6th June 1944. Merville Battery was targeted as the Allies believed that the guns stationed at Merville would have a range of roughly 8 miles and therefore be a threat to the landings at Sword beach.
The battery itself was built at the command of Field Marshall Rommel and completed only a month before the landings. The battery consisted of four gun casements made of 6ft (1.8m) steel reinforced concrete and was surrounded by machine guns, barbed-wire and a minefield. Unbeknown to Allied Intelligence, the guns were in fact 100mm and from the WWI era rather than a modern armament.
The 9th Parachute Battalion's advance party landed just after midnight on 6th June. Led by Major George Smith, they went ahead and scouted out the battery. Simultaneously a group of Lancaster Bombers were meant to target Merville, but the bombs missed the battery and landed further to the south.
At the same time more men were meant to land in order to launch the assault on Merville Battery. Unfortunately they were widely dispersed and by 2:50am only 150 men of the original 600 arrived at the rendezvous point. The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway decided to press on towards the Battery despite having limited weaponry.
They joined up with Major Smith’s reconnaissance unit just outside of the village of Gonneville Sur Merville. Smith’s party had cut their way through the barbed-wire around the battery’s perimeter and had marked a number of routes through the minefield within. The men were divided in four groups for the assault, then they settled down to wait for reinforcements that were arriving by Horsa Glider.
Back in England, one of the gliders never left the ground as its tow rope snapped during take-off. Of the remaining two gliders, one landed too far from their target to be of assistance. The remaining glider landed on the edge of the minefield and the men rapidly became embroiled in a firefight with some German soldiers heading to reinforce the battery.
Shortly after the glider landed, Otway launched his assault using explosives to create two paths through the minefield. This alerted the German defenders, who opened fire on the British men.
The Germans had moved their guns inside the battery, leaving the heavy, steel doors open for ventilation. This allowed the Brits to target them with phosphorous grenades, eventually taking control of the battery.
During the battle 22 Germans were killed and a further 20 or so taken prisoner. The German commander, Raimond Steiner, had been at a nearby command bunker during the battle and when he later tried to gain access to the battery he was forced back by heavy fire from the British troops. Shortly after, a German anti-aircraft gun arrived at the Battery seeking cover, instead Steiner decided to use it to target the British men in the battery and more men were gathered from the 2nd and 3rd Batteries to try and retake the battery.
The British meanwhile decided to use the last of their explosives to put the German guns in the battery out of action before leaving just before 5:00am as planned. They headed to their secondary target, the nearby village of La Plein. Unfortunately due to their lack of men and the high number of casualties sustained during the battle over Merville Battery, the British were only able to liberate half of the village. They were forced to wait for reinforcements from the 1st Commando Brigade later in the day before they could free the rest of the village from German control.
Whilst the British were in La Plein, the Germans reoccupied the Merville Battery. They successfully put two of the guns back into action. Fortunately for the British, Sword Beach wasn’t visible from Merville and out of range of the old armament. As a result the Germans weren’t able to successfully fire at the landings but continued to fire on Allied troops in the area until the Germans withdrew from the area.
Our next update will be a Community Questions, so if you have anything you want us to answer, head over here and ask away!
The British capture of Merville Battery took place in the hours before the Normandy Landings on 6th June 1944. Merville Battery was targeted as the Allies believed that the guns stationed at Merville would have a range of roughly 8 miles and therefore be a threat to the landings at Sword beach.
The battery itself was built at the command of Field Marshall Rommel and completed only a month before the landings. The battery consisted of four gun casements made of 6ft (1.8m) steel reinforced concrete and was surrounded by machine guns, barbed-wire and a minefield. Unbeknown to Allied Intelligence, the guns were in fact 100mm and from the WWI era rather than a modern armament.
The 9th Parachute Battalion's advance party landed just after midnight on 6th June. Led by Major George Smith, they went ahead and scouted out the battery. Simultaneously a group of Lancaster Bombers were meant to target Merville, but the bombs missed the battery and landed further to the south.
At the same time more men were meant to land in order to launch the assault on Merville Battery. Unfortunately they were widely dispersed and by 2:50am only 150 men of the original 600 arrived at the rendezvous point. The commander, Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway decided to press on towards the Battery despite having limited weaponry.
They joined up with Major Smith’s reconnaissance unit just outside of the village of Gonneville Sur Merville. Smith’s party had cut their way through the barbed-wire around the battery’s perimeter and had marked a number of routes through the minefield within. The men were divided in four groups for the assault, then they settled down to wait for reinforcements that were arriving by Horsa Glider.
Back in England, one of the gliders never left the ground as its tow rope snapped during take-off. Of the remaining two gliders, one landed too far from their target to be of assistance. The remaining glider landed on the edge of the minefield and the men rapidly became embroiled in a firefight with some German soldiers heading to reinforce the battery.
Shortly after the glider landed, Otway launched his assault using explosives to create two paths through the minefield. This alerted the German defenders, who opened fire on the British men.
The Germans had moved their guns inside the battery, leaving the heavy, steel doors open for ventilation. This allowed the Brits to target them with phosphorous grenades, eventually taking control of the battery.
During the battle 22 Germans were killed and a further 20 or so taken prisoner. The German commander, Raimond Steiner, had been at a nearby command bunker during the battle and when he later tried to gain access to the battery he was forced back by heavy fire from the British troops. Shortly after, a German anti-aircraft gun arrived at the Battery seeking cover, instead Steiner decided to use it to target the British men in the battery and more men were gathered from the 2nd and 3rd Batteries to try and retake the battery.
The British meanwhile decided to use the last of their explosives to put the German guns in the battery out of action before leaving just before 5:00am as planned. They headed to their secondary target, the nearby village of La Plein. Unfortunately due to their lack of men and the high number of casualties sustained during the battle over Merville Battery, the British were only able to liberate half of the village. They were forced to wait for reinforcements from the 1st Commando Brigade later in the day before they could free the rest of the village from German control.
Whilst the British were in La Plein, the Germans reoccupied the Merville Battery. They successfully put two of the guns back into action. Fortunately for the British, Sword Beach wasn’t visible from Merville and out of range of the old armament. As a result the Germans weren’t able to successfully fire at the landings but continued to fire on Allied troops in the area until the Germans withdrew from the area.
Our next update will be a Community Questions, so if you have anything you want us to answer, head over here and ask away!
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