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ENEMY DEFENCES OF SPECIAL CONCERN TO THE BN. III

RYES.
As far as is known NO enemy defences exist in RYES, though it may well be an HQ, in which case there may be a few Tps in defence of it.

MASSE DE CRADALLE
Again is undefended and NO defences exist apart from a few Training trenches etc., and it is most unlikely that these will be manned,

This village has NO Defences but tps are billeted here and the odd German may be met.

VILLAGE OF LONGUES.
This is undefended, but a few trenches for air raid protection do exist. All tps normally billeted here will most certainly be drawn into the Battle posn on the sounding of the Alarm.

GUN BATTERY POSN AT LONGUES.
The Gun Bty posn NORTH Of LONGUES consists of a Bty of 4 x 155 MM. Coastal Guns - a Pl posn fwd on the cliff edge and network of trenches surrounding the whole.

The posns on the cliff consist of two or three pillboxes containing MGs and some open slit trenches with fire posns for MGs.. These are sited mostly on the cliff edge and their main fire task is undoubtedly seawards and covering the track that winds up from the Beach.

An OP for the Gun Bty is situated within this locality. The posn is wired to the Landward side and almost certainly along the cliff edge.

The Gun Bty is about 300 - 400 yds to the rear of this locality and consists of 4 X 155 MM Coastal Guns in Casemates with concrete shelters for personnel and gun. For the immediate defence of the guns a trench system surrounds the emplacements on the three landward sides, with the exception of a gap on the Eastern side of about 150 yds to the cliff edge. The Southern side of this trench system stretches EAST to WEST for 400 yds. On the WESTERN side the system extends over a distance of some 500 yds joining up with the locality on the cliff top. A belt of wire probably not more than 10 feet thick surrounds the whole posn.

Extensive minefields laid to a most irregular pattern completes the defences. These minefields consist of belts of varying lengths and widths laid at angles to each other. So that, though there is no continuous mine belt around the locality, no gaps exist anywhere, some belts are 8 rows deep and up to 70 feet in width, others 3 deep and 40 wide. There is no regular pattern at all.

To the WEST and SOUTH sides of the trench system there are concrete MG emplacements, 3 to the WEST and to the SOUTH. These MGs will be sited for the defence of the locality and also to cover the minefields. The personnel manning these trenches have concrete shelters. Strength of the posn would be about 30 in the fwd posn, about 70 manning the guns and possibly a defence pl of about 40, for the close defence of the guns, Whether many of these will be in a fighting state after the bombardment, is hard to say, however, it is certain, that if attacked, the remaining gunners would assist the Def Pl in resisting the attack. Though most of the MGs of the fwd pl are sited to fire seawards, it is almost certain that some of the MGs could be moved and to fire into the Bty itself. Thus any attack on the Bty itself could not be undertaken without interference from the Cliff Top. Exact posns can be studied from the Overprint Maps.

COUNTER ATTACK. FORCES IN OUR SECTOR. PART IV.

The GERMAN is bound to have an organised counter attack programme, just what it is we do not know, but from tps dispositions the following appears probable:

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