# La Fort De La Cité, St Malo- Pic Heavy



## DigitalNoise

La fort de la Cité

Well, it has been a long time since I have posted a thread on here and 6 months after visiting this site I finally got around to putting this together.

During a road trip to France, a few of us headed out to investigate a few highlights of the second world war. Having stopped at the usual spots like Omaha beach and Pointe du Hoc which were very interesting and moving, we headed along the coast into Brittany to check out what I thought was going to be something along the same lines. When we got there, I was mesmerised by the place. I don't think I've visited anywhere which has fascinated me so much and having spent a lot of time exploring British defences you suddenly realised how inferior they were to the the infamous Atlantik Wall.

This place is steeped in history and it's hard trying to edit it down into one thread, but I'll do my best.

The small peninsula of La Cité d' Aleth has long been an excellent position to command the entrance to the river Rance and the entrance to the harbour of St Malo. A thriving Roman town existed there of which parts of the chapel remain. 

In the 18th Century the French King wanted a strong fortification built on the headland. A task he appointed to Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, A famous military architect. This fort was used by the French army up until 1935 but it then became derelict. 
During the second world war, after the British were driven out of France The Germans realised the strategic importance of the position and dug in with 32 bunkers linked by a tunnel system 14 meters deep in the granite.
This was not the only position defended so heavily, the rest of the area became heavily fortified, completely cutting off navigation into the main port in northern Brittany. The small island of Cézembre several kilometers offshore had guns with a range of 18 Km. This apparently then became the most intensely bombed and shelled area on the planet during the allied offensive that was to follow.
The man in charge of Festung St Malo Was Colonel Andreas Von Aulock. This man was a hardened veteran of many nazi campaigns and gained quite a reputation during the battle for Stalingrad. When talking of La Cité d' Aleth he vowed "doing my duty as a soldier, I will fight until the last stone".

Back in the Fort, the underground artillery battery consisted of 2 75mm guns facing Dinard and two 105mm guns facing St Malo. These were dug into the cliffs in fortress type buildings with the only access being from the tunnel system. There were Three 40mm AA positions on highest point of the fort and countless machine gun positions. All this was backed up by the fearsome M19 mortar bunker in the middle of the parade square which was capable of firing 120 40mm rounds per minute from within a ten inch thick armoured steel cupola.






A plan of the main part of the fort. More gun positions are out of view.





A view of St Servan with the fort in the background, taken in 1944





The old French fort is in the top left corner, the Nazi fortifications ran all along the headland.





A P38 Lightning flies low over the fort.





The bombardment begins on the 4th of August 1944. RAF Mosquitoes and USAF P38s start to tear the area apart. A US Army war correspondant at the scene was a young lady by the name of Lee Miller, a close friend of Man Ray and Picasso who built quite a reputation for herself with her surrealist wartime images. 





A map showing German positions and the Allied advance.




This aerial battle was also noted as the first time napalm was used in war.





US Troops shelling the nearby fort of Petit Bé

The US Troops arrived at the fort on the 9th of August, unaware of the position's strength. After three days of bombing, the first infantry attack was a failure with the loss of 40 us soldiers. The 200 Germans within their positions hardly suffered a scratch. An intense bombardment from land and air followed by two more failed assaults left the Americans in a difficult position. In a moment some have likened to the destruction of the Death Star in Star Wars, one of their P38's managed to drop a napalm tank right into one of the fort's air vents, rapidly sapping the oxygen within the underground complex. Von Aulock ordered the immediate surrender of the fort.





American soldiers raise the flag in the barrel of a 40mm bofors AA gun. As a memorial to this moment, the gun has remained where it fell after it's position suffered a hit from a high explosive bomb.










Shell casings litter the floor





German soldiers are marched back in to St Malo down Rue de la Cité





Americans celebrate the capture of the fort against one of the six steel machine gun cupolas mutilated by shellfire.

So, on to the fort today. Much has been taken over the years but the entire complex remains intact. 10 % of the underground system is used by the museum that is now on site. This offers a tour of the anit aircraft section of the fort and is well worth the few quid for the entry and tour. This does leave out much of the site though and by having a good root around there are plenty of interesting things to find. A campsite is also located in the fort's grounds, and we had to make use of this to get the best from the place. The views that are most typical of the fort are the 47 tonne steel machine gun cupolas So I will begin with these and work my way around. 




_DSC2793 by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr

This is the cupola on the NE side of the fort faces over to the town of St Malo. It has taken considerable damage, presumably from across the harbour. This was not all done during the battle, the cupolas were apparently used to test weaponry after but there is no hard evidence to say either way.




Carved like Butter by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
A closer view of the battered seaward side




In the Campsite by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The Cupola in this shot is the one that was in the photo with the American troops earlier. Now it's surrounded by holidaymakers.




Halfway in by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
A shell embedded in the steel armour.




A quick look inside by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Looking inside shows the mechanism for sealing the embrasures. A periscope would have also protruded from the ceiling to find targets.




Scale by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Another shell 




SW Cupola by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
This cupola, in the south covers the two main entrances to the tunnel complex.




Deformed Embrasure by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr




MG position by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The bunker this cupola stands upon with the entrance defence embrasure on the left.




Entrance by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
One of the two main entrances to the tunnel system




Western MG Cupola by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The Western cupola




Stop and think by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr




Impact by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr




Entrance4 by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Arriving at the old French fort's main gate, this is what you are met with.




AA bunker by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The place is pretty much the same as it was after the battle, just with a lot of the mess cleaned up.




53 by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The 40mm bofors gun damaged by an air raid.




40mm Bofors by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr




Shrapnel damage  by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr




Memorial by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Several memorials are on site. This is the main keep of the fort.




Memorial12 by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The entrance to the museum.




Entrance Defense by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Entrance defence to one of the three anti aircraft positions. The observation cupola for one of the NE 105D bunkers is visible in the background which faces St Malo. The highest point of the fort.
Inside the old French fort's perimeter, all guns face inward. The parade square is a killing ground with seven machine gun posts.




Paul by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr




Tetrahedons by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Anti tank tetrahedrons laid out by the museum.




Looking across the fort by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Stepping back you can see the stacks of bunkers.




The main keep by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The German bunkers are integrated with the old French fortifications.




Twin 105B by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Two machine gun bunkers covering the outer walls with enfilading fire and also two guns facing inwards.




Memorial15 by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
An observation cupola on a type 105c machine gun bunker. It has taken a beating from a variety of projectiles.




Machine gun position. by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Working our way outside again, you can see how the bunkers were camouflaged well from the outside, designed to blend in with the walls of the fort.




MG Embrasure, type 105b by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr




Gun room for MG by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The gun room in the above bunker




667 Gun bunker by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Off the beaten trail is this 667 bunker for 5cm KWK. The remains of the gun mount stand in the foreground under the ivy. This position took some fire.




Searchlight position by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The remains of the searchlight battery. As you can see it was pretty much demolished.




Unexploded shell by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
I found several unexploded shells buried into the cliff side. I'd have loved to have taken one home but thought better of it.




A way in? by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
All you can see of one of the 75mm gun positions in the cliffs facing Dinard. The guns still remain inside these sealed bunkers, some destroyed in the fighting, some blown up by the Germans on surrender. Unfortunately access is not allowed and the hatch here is a 5m shaft to nowhere.




Low Tide by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The view this gun would have had.




Untitled by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The positions in the eastern ditch had taken some consideable damage and access to the interior is possible to the keen hearted.




Aerial Bombardment? by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
A close up view of the damage.




Quite a hole by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Access to one room is possible, luckily this is the room that leads to the observation cupola.




Ladder up to the observation cupola by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The ladder up was hard work, but manageable.




Hole Punch by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
Inside the cupola. Some rounds had punched clean though it.




Untitled by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
One almost went straight through.




Shell hole by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The area around the fort still bears many scars, there are many shell holes.




St Servan by Digital Noise Photography, on Flickr
The town of St Servan with La Tour Solidor, a 13th century tower that was also used by the Germans. More gun positions are dotted along the coastline and a large air raid shelter to the right of the tower.

Well, that's most of it for you. If you want to see more of the fort, including the interior of the museum, have a look at flickr over the next couple of days. Thanks for looking


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## bonecollector

Lush pictures mate.
It looks like an amazing site.


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## Priority 7

Nice pics bud those turrets have taken a seriously pounding....


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## tommo

fantastic


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## godzilla73

This is de-licious! I've done a few bits of the Atlantikwall and its true that they are much more solid than the British Coastal defences. Also, the French have a really good attitude to them in that they tend to just let them sit there rather than trying to fill them in or knock them down. I'm off to this bit of France in a couple of months, so you've just given me a few more things to look at - Cheers!
GDZ


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## King Al

Absolutely fantastic selection there DigitalNoise, Great pics and really nice to see the old pics and maps


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## DigitalNoise

Thanks guys, I've put more time into this place then any other but it's been worth it. We were there for three days in all.

I'll post some shots of the inside of the tunnel system, these are the only one's I have found, on The Festung St Malo Website





The remains of a car





The inside of one of the 611 artillery bunkers.





Remains of a railcar, there was a narrow gauge railway inside the tunnel system.





Lots of sand.





The remains of one of the 75mm guns





One of the other gun bunkers.

Now wouldn't it be nice to get inside there


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## nelly

Brilliant, I don't normally get excited about military stuff but that is really good.

That unexploded shell shot, scary but really interesting


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## homosapien1918

wow epic explore and post, cheers


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## Curious Dragon

I have to agree, this is a monumental report and the pictures are outstanding.
I don't think I'd have wanted to be around as those Cupolas took a pounding.

The background iformation and pictures are great too and help tell the story so well.


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## night crawler

Brilliant report there Mark, I don't think I'd hav ewanted to be in those Cupolas when they were getting hit.


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## Curious Dragon

night crawler said:


> Brilliant report there Mark, I don't think I'd hav ewanted to be in those Cupolas when they were getting hit.



And there was me thinking I was the only chicken


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## gingrove

Great report! Almost makes me want to go and have a look round France.


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## DigitalNoise

I hope nobody was in them, that'd be horrible, I can imagine it'd ring like a bell every time it got hit. When I was up in the small cupola at the end I thought if anyone was in there they'd be a gonner for sure. Hence why I didn't stay longer than I had to. 

It's a great place to go for a wander at the end of the night. Gets you thinking.

Yeah Godzilla, the french have the right attitude, there's usually some graf but it's always good out there.


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## Foxylady

Brilliant stuff, DN. Great write up and pics. Such amazing military history. That must have been a great explore. Cheers.


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## Stuey101

Wow! great pics!


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## DigitalNoise

Thanks Stu


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