Grandcamp-Maisy

History

On 1 November 1972, the commune formerly known as Grandcamp-les-Bains amalgamated with Maisy (Its old INSEE code was 14392) and changed its name to Grandcamp-Maisy. In 1944 the town of Maisy was the site of a hidden German heavy artillery battery and the headquarters for the sector. Until early in the 21st century, the site was overgrown and had been covered by US engineers before the end of 1944 - well before any historians had a chance to examine the site. British military historian Gary Sterne rediscovered the site after finding an American invasion map, and purchased the site and turned it into a museum with over 2 miles of original German trenches and bunkers. From his research and released (previously top secret) papers, the site is many times larger than was originally thought. The labyrinth of trenches and tunnels had remained hidden for around 60 years. It contains office bunkers, supplies buildings, general quarters, radio rooms, and many other blocks, including an underground hospital (one of three which has been uncovered and can be visited). It may well be that when all the site is cleared and all the bunkers that are buried are rediscovered, this site will be one of the largest on the Atlantic Wall in the invasion area. The sheer size of the site poses many questions as to why it does not feature more prominently in Allied records - or why it was so well camouflaged - equally why the site did not have more attention paid to it by the Allies. The site was bombed, but not hit to any extent before D-Day. On the morning of 6 June 1944, claimed to have put the guns out of action, but Maisy was hit with shells for a further three days by many navy ships. The three casemates on the left side of the site (La Martinière) show no sign of damage from the…

Geography

Grandcamp-Maisy is located on the coast, northeast of Isigny-sur-Mer and west of Pointe du Hoc. It is an active fishing port, with a fish market located on the harbour side.

Most-observed species

• Common Cockle

  Cerastoderma edule (Linnaeus, 1758) · Bivalvia
  3,986
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  614
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  595
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  564
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  560
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  548
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  541
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  526

Most recent

• M 3.9 — 2011-07-14
  62 km SSE of Ventnor, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2007-11-06
  7 km SSW of Chanu, France
• M 3.5 — 2007-08-01
  2 km SSE of Blonville-sur-Mer, France
• M 2.6 — 2007-07-24
  15 km W of Étretat, France
• M 2.6 — 2007-05-22
  5 km N of Urville-Nacqueville, France
• M 3.3 — 2006-11-10
  20 km N of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, France