Nazis' secret base found (Omaha Beach battery contains 40 buildings "untouched" since D-Day)

The Sun (U.K.) ^ | January 24, 2006 | TOM NEWTON DUNN

[Stoat]

Nazis' secret base found

Revealed ... the Nazis’ untouched secret bunker
 

By TOM NEWTON DUNN

Defence Editor 

A WARTIME bunker used by Nazis to bombard Allied troops during the D-Day landings has been unearthed untouched — after 60 years.

British treasure hunter Gary Sterne found the base exactly as it was when German troops fled after the Normandy invasion in June 1944.

Gary, 41, said: “It’s truly incredible. Apart from damage to the radio room, the whole place seemed to escape bombing unscathed.”

 

Treasure hunter ... Gary with RAF medals
 

The bunker sprawls over 20 acres and is thought to be the hidden German battery that decimated US soldiers at Omaha Beach, seven miles away.

The encampment contains 40 buildings — including a field hospital.

Some of the offices contain army papers — as well as radio equipment.

Amateur historian Gary found it in dense undergrowth after buying a German army map at a French car boot sale.

The dad of two, from Manchester, kept it secret for three years so he could buy the land near the village of Grandcamp-Maisy.

He now plans to open it as a tourist attraction this year.

[dsc]

"Did he grab those metals off skeletons?"

No, the colors are too bright. Almost too bright for them to be originals.

My little bit of (nothing significant) fruit salad isn't anywhere near that old, but it's already faded.

[mass55th]

I'm planning on going to Normandy the end of April. The tour will include the D-Day beaches, the Caen Museum, Pointe du Hoc, the American Cemetery, and some other sites. Unfortunately, I doubt this site will be open by then, and since I'll be on a tour, I doubt it will even be included in the tour plans. Darn the luck...that means I'll have to go back :)

I've never been overseas, but have always heard that the people of Normandy were about the only ones in France who were grateful for the Allied invasion. Many of their citizens and homes were lost during the Allied bombings, yet they reportedly saw it as a step toward freedom. It will be interesting to see if this is still true.

[mass55th]

"Hey, has anyone seen the History Channel Documentary made from the book Blood from a Stone: The Quest for the Life Diamonds."

Yes, I've seen it twice and it is well worth seeing a third and fourth time. Simply amazing!!

[unionblue83]

Maybe this is a chapter of French history that they are trying to forget. You know, all of those uncivilized Americans on French soil. However, this is still a terrific find.

[Ragnar54]

The malice that the French leaders have had toward the US is anything but a myth, as evidenced by the statement by Mitterand:

"France does not know it, but we are at war with America. Yes, a permanent war, a vital war, a war without death. Yes, they are very hard the Americans, they are voracious, they want undivided power over the world."

Chirac voiced a similar sentiment in support of Bove Chirac slams US food domination .

The We Are All Americans editorial invokes the leftist CIA-Bin Laden Myth. It then proceeds to suggest "Might it not then have been America itself that created this demon?"

A fundamental problem is that the French still think of their country as significant, and American dominance is a threat to their cherished fantasy. This fantasy goes back to our colonial times, when the French thought that a small settlement in Quebec allowed them to claim most of the continent.

Another problem is that the French have no commitment to any ideals: they are simply pragmatists jockeying for advantage. As Miller and Molesky point out,

"The most shameful legacy of the Vichy regime was its complicity in the German plan to murder the Jews of Europe."

Further,

"During the occupation of France, the Germans sent relatively few Polk units to administer order; the French were all too willing to keep their fellow citizens in line."

and

"..it was said that the quickest way to send a message to the Germans was to mark it 'Top Secret' and deliver it to Free French headquarters."

Paxton's claim that the US and France are "first democracies" is grossly inaccurate. The US is a constitutional republic, and has avoided colonialism. The French failed miserably as a colonial power, leading Roosevelt to comment "Anything must be better than to live under French colonial rule".

The French can always be counted on to oppose American initiative in any area. This is why they are defended by the left. Paxton would have us believe that Landais's problem was "madness, not Frenchness"; how does one tell the difference? And yes, Villepin is oily, Pétain was “a well-groomed thug and bigot,” Napoleon was "dwarfish". As far as de Gaulle is concerned, Truman called him an "SOB", and Roosevelt had hidden secret service agents cover de Gaulle with machine guns when they met.

It is clear that the leftists would prefer that "Our Oldest Enemy" not be widely read.

[ezo4]

interesting?

[Cap Huff]

You don't think so?

I'd love to see this place. It would be a bit like stepping back in time. Not only are many of the WWII veterans leaving us, many of the places they were are losing traces of the war. About twenty years ago my dad went back to Foggia, Italy with a group of his B17 brothers in arms to visit the place where he flew out of on bombing runs. There was not a trace of the old base recognizable (they did get, however, the VIP treatment from the local Italian Air Force). I know from good sources that many of the British bases are long gone. In Thailand the "River Kwai" camps are overgrown, and memories are fading.

I hope this fellow does a credible job of preserving this site.

[Belasarius]

In the "Armoror" article they mentioned that French had covered the area with a meter of topsoil and farmed it. I'm sure after 1944 interesting war ruins containing boots and old duty rosters weren't in short supply and people wanted to get back to normal.

I'm not surprised that the French historians knew about it but didn't see any reason to add to their burden. They have plenty to take care of already. An entrepreneur should do well with this site unless the bureaucracy is in some way threatened. It's pretty new as historical things go so hard to tell.

In Europe there is so much history laying around it's hard to take care of all of it. I lived in Naples, Italy and there are Roman bricks and tiles everywhere and archaeological sites are common. They can't protect or maintain them because there is too much of it.

[Belasarius]

Great, thanks for the invite. I missed it and am nutty over this kind of stuff.

[rochester_veteran]

Supported by Allied naval gunfire from destroyers steaming dangerously close to shore, the American infantrymen gained the heights and beach exits and drove the enemy inland. By D-Day's end V Corps had a tenuous toehold on the Normandy coast

My Dad was a gunner on the USS Doyle and that was his destroyer group that almost grounded themselves in order to get close enough in to offer effective artillery support for the Omaha Beach landing. My Dad said they were awake for 3 days during the whole ordeal. MEG33, thanks for posting the fact sheet! It gave me the chance to brag about my Dad and the other hero's of D-Day!

BTW, that was one heckuva find that British treasure hunter Gary Sterne found, real interesting stuff. I've been to Normandy and Omaha Beach and I would've loved to have found it too!

rochester_veteran

[MEG33]

Thank You Veterans

[maximus2001]

I just returned from Normandy and discovered this guy is not being all that truthful on Grand Camp. While I was there I did some investigation and discovered it wasn't lost, after the war the farmers just covered it so the livestock could easily get around, and the Bunker at Ouistram shows the map where the guns were, and they were aimed at Utah Beach not Omaha. And I was told the French government stopped the digging.

[fishtank]

Wow. Impressive.

In related news, maybe Clint Eastwood can make a new movie about how gosh-darned compassionate the Germans were to the Americans ....

[Centurion2000]

I wonder if either the French or German governments will try to grab the site or its contents from him?

You know they are going to try.

[Stoat]

I just returned from Normandy and discovered this guy is not being all that truthful on Grand Camp. While I was there I did some investigation and discovered it wasn't lost, after the war the farmers just covered it so the livestock could easily get around, and the Bunker at Ouistram shows the map where the guns were, and they were aimed at Utah Beach not Omaha. And I was told the French government stopped the digging.

Wow!  Thank you very much for the update.  Do you know if the site was indeed as "untouched" as reported?

Does it seem to you that this guy was just making up a story in order to rope in investors or perhaps to resell overvalued 'artifacts'?

I hope that you had a great trip even if this was a disappointment for you.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Bump for reference.

[maximus2001]

No I never found the site, the general fellings with the locals , is they think he is just trying to open a tourist attraction and could care less about the facts. You cannot believe how hard I tried to find this place, but we did visit a lot of other places that were part of "The Longest Day", it was still a great trip!!

[aculeus]

The bunker sprawls over 20 acres and is thought to be the hidden German battery that decimated US soldiers at Omaha Beach, seven miles away.

Your post conforms with my understanding of Omaha. A battery seven miles distant does not.

[DelphiUser]

"All your base now belong to us..."

LOL, You took the thought right out of my head - - Stop that!

[shield]

This was posted soon after it came out last year.