Maisy Battery — Attraction in Bayeux

What a find! Meaning from both the point of view of Mr Sterne, who quite literally uncovered this site, & on mine and my husband's for getting there this trip. It's a place that's caused & is still causing, much theorising & controversy - so it was always on the to-do list, especially as we were staying 3 minutes down the road in Gefosse Fontenay.

The mystery surrounding the very existence & ultimate secrecy of the Maisy battery is still very much up in the air. But perhaps this layer of cover-up just goes to add to the overall 'vibe' and raw quality of the place, a quality that that is disappointingly missing from other sites such as Pointe du Hoc to name just one, now that access is 99% restricted & you're forced to follow the herd & take photos at designated spots only. It's the freedom, the untapped possibility, & the quiet reverence of Maisy that sets it apart.

So no, there are no mannequins here thank goodness! There are no disruptive audio displays or pristinely mocked-up rooms, no meddling or messing. Perhaps this is just me, but I feel that these cliches of the museum leg of the tourist trail just serve to detract from the location. They're great for an actual museum, brilliant, the more the merrier, but for the actual location.... not for me. You can't feel what's happened somewhere (and surely that's why you're there?) if all your senses are being ambushed by mock-ups & glossy, noisy displays. Maisy is the perfect example of beautiful rawness, & whilst the artefacts found there will at some point be on display in a museum, it's fantastic to explore the site in its current state.

We visited three times during the 79th anniversary of D-Day, & and (obviously) there was something that drew us back. Not only the unpolished tracks and explorable bunkers, but the friendly & welcoming staff too. Many thanks to Lorna & her lovely colleague! On our final trip the day we went home, we were allowed to observe a short but emotional ceremony, the 10th June being the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the battery.

Thanks to all for allowing access to such an important, fascinating & respectful location... we...

The Maisy battery and the Brasilia Battery (WN83 WN84) was closly located to the small town of Maisy.

Today you can still see some of the remains of WN84 and WN83 which probably consisted out of three batteries, (Les Perruques, La Martiniere and Foucher Farm) which would have had several First World War French field howitzers.

Pointe du hoc would play an important roll in the reason why the Maisy battery was ignorant several times by the Allies and why it could freely shell the Omaha beaches for several days. It all comes down two too simple things, U.S. military leaders should have targeted Maisy and its battery of heavy artillery guns instead of going trough Pointe du Hoc, which the Germans had largely abandoned by the time of the Normandy invasion, but even more to blame is the commander Lt colonel James E Rudder of the U.S. Army Ranger unit who failed to follow orders, putting his men directly in harm’s way.

Several months after the battle, the Maisy Battery was, for reasons unknown, was covered up by american dozers and forgotten.

Gary Sterne found it again in 2004 and in June 2006, the site was opened for the first time to visitors, since then nothing really has changed.

After you pay 7 euros to a nice English lady, you can move trough the site freely

Now I can understand that it's not a government supported museum, and it has to work with the things it has. I really find the work Gary Sterne did extremely interesting and it sad to say but this is one of the most dirtiest museums you can visit, it's unnecessarily dirty, from old trash, small fallen trees that aren't removed, and overgrowth that gets in your way. and people using the bunkers as toilets and you have to watch your step to not step into human poopie. Still I really enjoy this museum and the findings of Gary Sterne, I applaud his effort into bringing this part of history to life, but I just cant ignore small...

During my time in Normandy I was told by a fellow friend that I had to go and visit the Maisy Battery. I guess you could say at the time I had quite a bit of knowledge of what went down on D-Day but I was completely shocked about the history of the battery during the war. Something I had no idea about in which I was then captivated to learn more about at the site.

It is quite breathtaking and remarkable of how much effort and care its taken to preserve this newly discovered site. Information about the place are available for most languages which is very helpful. I would also recommend to have a guide as the staff (especially Anita and Micheal) are very informative, kind and helpful as you navigate through the trenches of the once fortified german positions.

During my visit at Maisy (5th of June) they had re-enactors at the site with an incredible arrange of WW2 gear, from authentic weapons, clothing, helmets, equipment etc. One of the many highlights was in the communication bunker, one of the helpful re-encators (Tom) had the ONLY known working field phone and circuit board that you could actually use and talk to other people on the site. You are certainly reliving history at its finest. They take great care and accuracy to make you feel you are stepping back in time to the year of 1944.

Its safe to say that this incredible independent team at Maisy Battery are keeping this incredible and important history alive and my goodness they are doing an amazing job!! Certainly an experience that I will remember for the...