What to see

In 1941, occupying German forces established two railway gun batteries on the western outskirts of Cherbourg positioned to defend the port and city from Allied attack from land or sea.
Standing near to one of the bastions of the city’s French fort at Equeurdreville, they comprised of one 28cm Kurze Bruno gun of Batterie E721 and four 24cm calibre guns of the E722 batterie.
The larger gun – serial number 918540 - was kept separate to the four smaller guns and was used as a crew training gun. It was a weapon captured from the Belgium army during the First World War and was located here from 1941 until 1942 when the gun was moved to a site between La Rochelle and Bordeaux in western France.
The four 24cm guns – serial numbers 919079, 919081, 919082, and 919083 – were positioned on rotating platforms to allow them to be turned through 360 degrees for firing at land or sea-based targets.
The E722 batterie remained in Cherbourg until May 1944 when it moved to the Caen area to boost defences and then as the Allies landed in Normandy, they were withdrawn further east to prevent their capture, although one gun was taken by American forces after it was trapped by a damaged section of railway line to the south of Saint Lo.
Nothing remains of the main Cherbourg railway gun turntables or gun positions today, with the Stade de la Marine sports centre at the French Navy base now standing at the location, although you can see two concrete open emplacements for 20cm anti-aircraft guns on top of the walls of the French fort.