
Wn23 Tailleville
Headquarters complex inland of Juno and Sword landing beaches

Wn23 Tailleville site overview

What to see
The walled chateau at Tailleville stands between the large Distelfink I and II radar complexes of nearby Douvres-la-Delivrande and the coastal Atlantikwall defensive sites of Juno and Sword beaches between Courseulles and Ouistreham.
Like many of the large chateau in France it was taken over by German forces following the occupation and they set to improve the existing defences with stronger concrete fortifications in key places.
Chateau de Tailleville was no exception, and you can still see the evidence of the occupation at the site.
Facing north towards the beach areas and routes, the outer wall of the site has additional schartes or embrasures for machine guns and a large section which has been given additional concrete support looks to have housed something of a larger calibre such as a 5cm KwK anti-tank gun.
In front of the wall, you can still see a Tobruk for a heavy machine gun while at the north west corner there’s a ringstand emplacement which is still in good condition. This would have supported a swivelling 5cm KwK anti-tank gun which would have had a wide arc of fire across the open fields to the north and west.
To the rear is a defensive Tobruk which protect the entrance to the chateau grounds from the south. This now hosts a memorial to the Canadian soldiers who lost their lives in liberating the chateau and village.
Perhaps the most unusual of the additions to the chateau’s defences is the observation/sniper position created at the top of a 20m high pine tree. Close inspection of its trunk reveals steel steps have been added – similar to those found in Tobruks in larger casemates and bunker. This would have enabled a soldier to get an incredible view of the surrounding area from inside the crown of the tree.
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