page_title: Walter Ohmsen
section_title: Normandy invasion
hierarchical_section_title: Walter Ohmsen / Military service / Normandy invasion
caption_attribution_description: English: No. 19 Casemate of the Crisbecq Battery after the 21 August 1944 explosion
context_page_description: Walter Ohmsen was a highly decorated Oberleutnant zur See in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. On 6 June 1944 the Western Allies launched Operation Overlord, the amphibious invasion of Normandy, France. Ohmsen was the first German defender of Fortress Europe to sight the invasion force. His battery engaged in heavy fighting and subsequently Ohmsen was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the defense of the Crisbecq Battery against the American 4th Infantry Division, which landed on Utah Beach. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recognised extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
context_section_description: Ohmsen had taken command of the Crisbecq Battery 49°28.8′N 01°17.8′W, also known as Marine Küsten Batterie "Marcouf" (Naval Coastal Battery Marcouf) or Seeziel Batterie "Marcouf" (Sea Target Battery Marcouf), on 1 February 1944. His command, including himself, consisted of three officers, 24 non-commissioned officers and 287 men of the Kriegsmarine. The unit was subordinated to the Marine-Artillerie-Abteilung 260 (M.A.A. 260—260th Naval Coastal Artillery Battalion). The battery's personnel was further augmented by members of the 6./Grenadier-Regiment 919 (6th Company, 919th Grenadier Regiment) of the 709. Infanterie-Division (709th Infantry Division) for ground defense under the command of Leutnant Geissler, which brought the overall manpower of the battery close to 400 men.
  On 6 June 1944, at 5 a.m. Ohmsen was the first to sight the Allied invasion fleet through the battery rangefinder. He immediately reported his observation to the Kriegsmarine headquarters at Cherbourg, which triggered the German alarm throughout installations on the Atlantic coast. The notification of the award of his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), announced in the German newspapers on 15 June 1944, also referred to Ohmsen as the first person to report the invasion fleet off Normandy. At 5:52 a.m. he received the order to open fire on the ships, which were then 17 kilometers (11 mi) away. At 5:55 a.m., Ohmsen's battery targeted and exchanged fire with the US cruisers USS Tuscaloosa and USS Quincy and the US battleship USS Nevada. At 6:30 a.m., the battery fired upon the US destroyer USS Corry and sank her.
  At 8 a.m., Nevada hit the foremost casemated gun. The US battleships USS Texas and USS Arkansas, originally assigned to provide covering fire for the landing at Omaha Beach, intervened to help silence the Crisbecq Battery. At 9 a.m. the concentrated fire of the three battleships put the second casemate out of action, when a shell from Nevada pierced the embrasure, killing the entire crew. The remaining gun behind casemate No. 24, withstood the naval bombardment, but was incapable of reaching targets out at sea; the gun initiated fire at 11 a.m., directed to the beach facing WN 5 Widerstandsnest 5 (Resistance Nest 5), 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away. It caused heavy losses among the Americans and hindered the landing of material and reinforcements at Utah Beach.
  The American 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division started their advance towards Saint-Marcouf and the Crisbecq Battery at 7 a.m. on 7 June. After the first assault they succeeded in entering Saint-Marcouf but were stopped in front of the battery by the 75 mm Flak guns that had been repaired and were put in firing positions against ground targets. A German counterattack on the flanks of the American forces, supported by the 105 mm K331 (f) guns from the Azeville Battery 49°27.7′N 01°18.42′W forced Captain Tom Shields to withdraw. Concurrent to this ground fighting, the artillery duel between the Crisbecq Battery and the Allied fleet continued. One of the Škoda 210 mm gun K39/41 had been put back into service during the previous night. The gun was damaged once more and remained silent for the rest of the day. The Americans brought several field artillery guns in position during the afternoon and immediately started firing at the battery. Subsequently, the battery was subjected to harassing fire every night.
  Ohmsen was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse) in the morning of 7 June 1944 for his defense of his strong point against the American attacks. On the evening of 7 June he received a phone call from Cherbourg with the information that he had been awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse) in addition to the earlier award. Ohmsen was wounded on the left hand during a bombardment of the battery in the afternoon of 8 June.
  The American 1st Battalion started their second attack on the battery at 10 a.m. on 8 June and retook the village of Saint-Marcouf. At 1:30 p.m. after the naval artillery had pr
caption: No. 19 Casemate of the Crisbecq Battery, 18 July 2010.[Notes 2]
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