Wn16 'Morris' Colleville Montgomery
Bunker complex target for British on D-Day
Wn16 site overview
What to see
There are numerous German strongpoints positioned around the Ouistreham and Colleville area which were objectives for British soldiers landing on Sword beach on D-Day June 6, 1944.
Three of the larger gun sites earmarked for attack were named after makes of cars – Wn12 ‘Daimler’, Wn16 ‘Morris’ and Wn17 ‘Hillman’. Wn12 and Wn16 both featured R669 type gun bunkers while Wn17 Hillman – just south of what is now called Colleville-Montgomery – was the site of the regimental HQs plus a series of defensive structures and trenches built into the hillside overlooking the area.
Four R669 casemates were planned at Wn16 'Morris' for the 10cm captured French guns but only three were ever built, the fourth weas still under construction when the British attacked the site on D-Day June 6, 1944. These casemates superseded a series of open emplacements at the site which covered the Sword Beach area around Ouistreham.
Today the site has nearly all been covered over with a new housing estate and developments in 2020-2022 now mean that only a single casemate and one of the original three open emplacements can be seen.