You can see how the forts wall has been re built as camouflage.Gun room, the gun trails would have fitted into the half round steels set into the floor. Mais pour combien de temps… The amount of cordite put in them adjusted the guns range as well as hiring the barrel.Men reading in the toilet, I bet the Romans did the same.Toilet drains and this is where it all went and then out to sea.Looking towards the pointe viewed from the R611 in the middle of the picture is another Tobruk.We are now at the second R611.Yes me about to tackle a cliff edge to enter the R611.R611 gun room and passage. Concrete shield looks like its part of a French rifle range. A very strong steel cupola with six embrasures and a periscope in the top. La Varde : Une pointe chargée d’histoire Culminant à 32 mètres et d’une superficie d’environ 6 hectares, la pointe de la Varde marque historiquement la dernière défense malouine. Attention, chef d’œuvre en péril ! Varde was originally a Vauban fort like most around the French coast and then taken over after occupation and turned into a Ra109 a very strong defence position covering the top of the bay at Rothéneuf.Plan of the Wn showing the direction of fire from all the guns, the yellow dot was a Tobruk with a search light attached to it.The top of the steel dome in the R120 overlooking the bay.Ra109 Pointe de la Varde the view from St-Malo sea front showing the Pointe and the Vauban fort in the centre.Varde under attack by the Americans. A special machine gun mounting could be placed through this and any other hole and fired by its operative. A very extensive bunker for such a small gun. But this R667 does seem to have an escape, so putting them together means there must be an underground bunker of some sort?? La pointe de la garde guérin culmine à 48 m, axée vers le nord elle fut l'objet d'une étude approfondie de la part de l'occupant Allemand. A camouflage net hangs down over the embrasure.Ammunition was stored in the left hand niche and fired cases were put into the square hole in the back wall to remove them from gun room. Les travaux d'édification des bunkers vont se dérouler jusqu'en 1944 sous le contrôle du 9eme Festung Pionier Stäb dont le secteur délimité s'étend d'Avranches à St.Brieuc.Le Baustelle (chantier) LA VARDE, compte tenu de sa situation, nécessite des aménagements particuliers pour l'approvisionnement en matériaux. On aperçoit au loin le Phare de Rochebonne (19è et 20è siècles). Fort de la Varde forms the north-east corner of the Festung St Malo. This one is to the left of the gate on the inland side.Here is another photo showing how this Tobruk could cover the entrance and rears of the R600 and R667 below them.This is the view inside the fort from the eastern gate, there would have been a large barrack block on the right side now completely removed.R611/SK casemate for a field gun, very large casemate for such a small gun set into the outer wall of the fort. A commander below would have viewed through the periscope and would give fire orders for the machine gunner and fire orders for the field guns in the R611 casemates.The machine gun possibly an MG Schartenlafette 34Td Rh Blatt1.Crew room and note the sliding doors, this bunker has several.One of the sliding doors in the commanders room and also on the left the close combat window covering the main entrance passage.The way out of the R120 and it would have gone into an extensive trench system now covered over.Blanking plug, hinged and could be swivelled into position.Blanking plug in a cupola at Ra230 Fort de Cite de Aleth.R653 casemate for a 5cm KwK L/42 Gun. The gun here is an L/42 without a muzzle break on it. It also could be used to help target its main gun.Case room to store the brass cases and the cordite propellant charge.Possibly the case room where the shells propellant was stored. Désormais propriété de la ville de Saint-Malo, le Manoir de Limoëlou est celui de Jacques Cartier, découvreur du Canada en 1534. Mais la pointe de la Varde est désormais un havre de paix, paradis des promeneurs qui découvrent à son extrémité un panorama exceptionnel sur la baie. Ra109 Pointe de la Varde forms the North-Eastern defensive corner of the site of St Malo.
This was one of the firing points.Gun room for a 5cm KwK L/42 Pak gun and would have been set into the floor.The gun would have sat on the floor here and fired down into the valley covering the inland north - north/east flank.Crew room with the close combat window covering the rear entrance, the gas filtration system and the passage to the gas lock and way out.A crushed door. Cette œuvre unique, mais qui a subi l’assaut des marées, a beaucoup souffert. The view up into the turret showing the turret floor, the circular hole is for the periscope fitted through. This bunker has been badly damaged either by the French post war or the Americans training for attacking bunkers to help them as they move through Brittany.The point where another smaller fort sat. A fortress machine gun mounting could fire through all the embrasures with special blanking fittings to fit into the embrasures not in use. ?Looking down into the escape with its steel ladder rungs still in place.Plan of how an escape works from the underground bunker.Rear entrance usually would have had a blast wall across the rear.I would imagine a double door and a lifting draw bridge would have been here and used as the main gate.To the left of the entrance is a steel hand hold to climb up to the left hand Tobruk.The second Tobruk.
L'ancien fort Vauban de l'Arboulé est occupé par les Allemands en 1942. A l’instar de nombreuses avancées rocheuses, la pointe de la Varde a pendant des siècles été pensée comme un site stratégique pour se défendre des envahisseurs. From St-Malo its a nice drive north up the coast and you can park quite close to Varde´s entrance. The original open emplacement of the R600 with senior officers and high ranking civilians watching on. C’était une construction sommaire composée d’un mur d’enceinte défendu d’un fossé.Ce fort fut remanié au XVIIIe et XIXe sicèles, la pointe extrême fut dotée de puissantes batteries modernes.En 1942, l’armée allemande réaménagea les fortifications en y adjoignant des blockhaus pour contrôler les plages de Rothéneuf.