Mont Canisy battery – Stp 13
German batteries of the Atlantic Wall in Normandy
Unit: 2nd Battalion of the 1255th Marine Artillery Regiment (2./HKAA1255)
Codename: Stp 13
Artillery guns: 6x 155 mm
Outcome: under British control in August 1944
The Mont Canisy battery is located on the heights dominating Bénerville-sur-Mer, west of Deauville. It is one of the strong points of the Atlantic Wall of the region, defending in particular the maritime access west of the mouth of the Seine.
Composition of the Mont Canisy battery
Three casemates type Regelbau H679 are built by the organization Todt to install 155 mm guns of French origin (155 mm GPF) with a range of 19 kilometers. At the front of these fortifications, six 134Sk catches for 155 mm guns are also built.
The site also has a highly developed underground system that allows gunners and battery defenders to move from one point to another while remaining protected. It includes two shooting command posts, numerous shelters and ammunition bunkers, a Renault R35 tank turret and several positions for machine guns.
The battery also includes four 50 mm guns, a 105 mm K420 gun, a 105 mm FH365 gun and a 76.2 mm anti-aircraft gun.
Mont Canisy battery during D-Day
Bombed in the night of 5 to 6 June 1944 by the Allied squadrons, the battery was targeted by HMS Warspite at the dawn of D-Day. Always active, Stp 13 opened fire on the allied armada and one The 80-minute artillery duel between HMS Ramillies and Mount Canisy resulted in the retirement of four 155-mm guns.
A few days later, the gunners of the 2./HKAA1255 put some guns back into condition and resumed firing sporadically against the Allies. It was not until the end of August that the battery of Mount Canisy fell into the hands of the British soldiers, launched during Operation Paddle.
