Set back from the small coastal town of Ault on the fringes of the Somme estuary, German forces established a large gun batterie to protect the long beaches and river mouth from Allied landings.
Today very little remains when compared to more than 20 buildings and emplacements which were originally situated here, and those that do remain are difficult to access as the town expands and covers this site.
The batterie was centred around three Krupp-built German 17cm K18 heavy field guns which had a range of around 28km and we located in open emplacements set back from the town in what are now agricultural fields.
In front of the guns was a R636 observation/command post which featured a large rangefinder on the roof for pinpoint firing. The rangefinder is no longer in place, but the bunker can still be seen in the shadow of the lighthouse which stands on the high ground behind the beach. There’s a number of new properties constructed around the building and so access is limited without permission from the homeowners, which we were able to secure and are grateful.
To the south east of the R636 you can see the remains of a ringstand for a 5cm KwK anti-tank gun and a large R607 ammunition storage bunker which would have been originally connected to one of the three large emplacements for the field guns.
At the edge of the site to the north east of the command post is a stand for a Wurzburg Riese radar system which would have given early warning to the batterie. This is now completely overgrown and inaccessible.