Îles Saint-Marcouf comprise two small uninhabited islands off the coast of Normandy, France. They lie in the Baie de la Seine region of the English Channel and are 6.5 km (4.0 mi) east of the coast of the Cotentin peninsula at Ravenoville and 13 km (8 mi) from the island of Tatihou and the harbour at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. In addition to the fortifications described below, on the larger island there is a lighthouse that dates to 1948.
The larger island, île du Large, is 500 m (1,600 ft) east of the smaller île de Terre. They have a total area of 1,400 ha (3,500 acres) and a maximum altitude of 10 m (33 ft).
The islands take their name from Saint Marcouf, a saint born in Bayeux, whom it was said could cure anyone of scrofula. He died on the Îles Saint-Marcouf on 1May 588 CE. There was a monastic presence on the islands until the 15th century.
During the French Revolutionary Wars the Royal Navy held the islands for nearly seven years as a strategic forward base. In July 1795 British sailors and marines from the Western Frigate Squadron under the command of Captain Sir Sidney Smith in HMS Diamond occupied the islands. Smith dedicated several gunvessels, including Badger, Hawke, Shark, and Sandfly, the last purpose-built for the role, to provide materials and manpower for fortifying the islands and establishing a naval garrison. Royal Engineers helped construct redoubts and shore batteries that detachments of marines and Royal Artillery, who augmented the sailors, helped man. In December 1795 the crew of Shark mutinied, in part because of the harsh conditions on the islands, and handed her over to the French.
The islands served as a forward base for the blockade of Le Havre, a launching point for intercepting coastal shipping, and as a transit point for French émigrés. The British repelled a major attack on 7 May 1798 by French troops at the battle of the Îles Saint-Marcouf, with minimal British but heavy French casualties.
Nautilus (1800).
The islands almost made naval history in late 1800. On 12 September Robert Fulton sailed his submarine Nautilus to Growan, near Isigny-sur-Mer, a small harbour near the islands. His objective was to use his submarine to attack the gunvessels protecting the islands. He made two attempts, but each time his targets sailed before he could reach them. Increasingly poor weather as winter approached prevented any further attempts.[1] Although Fulton continued work on his concept, he never again threatened the islands.
French control
The British returned the islands to France under the terms of Article 3 of the 1802 Treaty of Amiens; the last British forces left the islands in May 1802. Napoleon ordered the islands fortified and the work began in 1803. The primary defences consisted of a fort on Île du Large, 170 meters in diameter. The main structure is a circular fort with a diameter of 53 meters, with 48 firing ports for cannon on two levels of 24 casemates each. This work was completed by 1812. There are seven underground chambers and a cistern. The fort could accommodate 500 troops.
In 1840 a lighthouse was constructed within the fort. German forces destroyed it during World War II.
Later construction, between 1860 and 1867, added a quay, a powder magazine, and a semaphore station, the whole encircled with moats carved into the rock. The total complex covers 2.5 hectares. The quay has since disappeared, reclaimed by the ocean. In 1871, 200 Communards from the Paris Commune were incarcerated here in deplorable conditions.
On Île de Terre, the fortifications date to between 1849 and 1858. They consist of a shore battery and a guard house capable of housing some 60 troops. Neither island was attacked again until the 20th Century.
World War II
In World War II the islands became the first French territory that seaborne Allied forces took on D-Day. At 04:30 on 6 June 1944 four US soldiers, armed only with knives, swam ashore from two-man canoes. When they had verified that the islands were unoccupied, 132 troops from 4th and 24th Squadrons of the U.S. 4th Cavalry Group landed on the islands to secure the approaches to Utah Beach.[2] Although they faced no resistance, the US troops suffered 19 casualties, killed and wounded, from mines that the Germans had left.[3]
Nature reserve
The French government directly administers the islands, which have the status of a protected nature reserve with restricted access. Île de Terre has been a designated nature preserve since 1967. Île du Large has been off-limits since 1991 for reasons of safety. The primary bird species are seagulls and cormorants. In winter tens of thousands of seagulls shelter on the islands. Although access to the islands is forbidden, anchoring between them is permissible.
Currently, the fortifications are falling into ruins. Since 2003, the association "Les amis de l'île du large Saint-Marcouf" (Friends of Saint-Marcouf), together with students from the Collège de Carentan, have initiated a campaign to convince the authorities once again to permit recreational access to the Île du Large. In 2009 the Friends of Saint-Marcouf received permission to commence preservation work on the fortifications and they have been working there since then.(See: [1] Website, in French, of "les Amis de l'île du Large Saint-Marcouf".)
^"Harvey Olson, American Soldier". warchronicle.com. from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
^. UTAH Beach to Cherbourg. Department of the U.S. Army, Historical Division. 1 October 1947. Archived from the original on 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
References
Flexner, James Thomas (1993) Steamboats come true: American inventors in action. (Fordham Univ Press).
Laws, Lt. Col. M.E.S. "The Defence of St. Marcouf", Journal of the Royal Artillery, Vol. 75, No. 4, pp. 298–307.(Pdf version)
James, William (1837). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. Vol. 2. R. Bentley. pp. 114–8. ([2])
Further reading
Gérard Morizot — Histoire des îles Saint-Marcouf en Cotentin, jusqu'au XIXe siècleISBN2-9516531-0-7
Îles, saint, marcouf, comprise, small, uninhabited, islands, coast, normandy, france, they, baie, seine, region, english, channel, east, coast, cotentin, peninsula, ravenoville, from, island, tatihou, harbour, saint, vaast, hougue, addition, fortifications, de. Iles Saint Marcouf comprise two small uninhabited islands off the coast of Normandy France They lie in the Baie de la Seine region of the English Channel and are 6 5 km 4 0 mi east of the coast of the Cotentin peninsula at Ravenoville and 13 km 8 mi from the island of Tatihou and the harbour at Saint Vaast la Hougue In addition to the fortifications described below on the larger island there is a lighthouse that dates to 1948 Iles Saint MarcoufIles Saint Marcouf from the beach at RavenovilleIles Saint MarcoufLocation in NormandyShow map of NormandyIles Saint MarcoufIles Saint Marcouf France Show map of FranceCoordinates 49 29 45 N 1 09 00 W 49 49583 N 1 15000 W 49 49583 1 15000 Coordinates 49 29 45 N 1 09 00 W 49 49583 N 1 15000 W 49 49583 1 15000Country FranceRegionNormandyThe larger island ile du Large is 500 m 1 600 ft east of the smaller ile de Terre They have a total area of 1 400 ha 3 500 acres and a maximum altitude of 10 m 33 ft The islands take their name from Saint Marcouf a saint born in Bayeux whom it was said could cure anyone of scrofula He died on the Iles Saint Marcouf on 1 May 588 CE There was a monastic presence on the islands until the 15th century Contents 1 British occupation 2 French control 3 World War II 4 Nature reserve 5 Citations and references 6 Further reading 7 External linksBritish occupation EditDuring the French Revolutionary Wars the Royal Navy held the islands for nearly seven years as a strategic forward base In July 1795 British sailors and marines from the Western Frigate Squadron under the command of Captain Sir Sidney Smith in HMS Diamond occupied the islands Smith dedicated several gunvessels including Badger Hawke Shark and Sandfly the last purpose built for the role to provide materials and manpower for fortifying the islands and establishing a naval garrison Royal Engineers helped construct redoubts and shore batteries that detachments of marines and Royal Artillery who augmented the sailors helped man In December 1795 the crew of Shark mutinied in part because of the harsh conditions on the islands and handed her over to the French The islands served as a forward base for the blockade of Le Havre a launching point for intercepting coastal shipping and as a transit point for French emigres The British repelled a major attack on 7 May 1798 by French troops at the battle of the Iles Saint Marcouf with minimal British but heavy French casualties Nautilus 1800 The islands almost made naval history in late 1800 On 12 September Robert Fulton sailed his submarine Nautilus to Growan near Isigny sur Mer a small harbour near the islands His objective was to use his submarine to attack the gunvessels protecting the islands He made two attempts but each time his targets sailed before he could reach them Increasingly poor weather as winter approached prevented any further attempts 1 Although Fulton continued work on his concept he never again threatened the islands French control EditThe British returned the islands to France under the terms of Article 3 of the 1802 Treaty of Amiens the last British forces left the islands in May 1802 Napoleon ordered the islands fortified and the work began in 1803 The primary defences consisted of a fort on Ile du Large 170 meters in diameter The main structure is a circular fort with a diameter of 53 meters with 48 firing ports for cannon on two levels of 24 casemates each This work was completed by 1812 There are seven underground chambers and a cistern The fort could accommodate 500 troops In 1840 a lighthouse was constructed within the fort German forces destroyed it during World War II Later construction between 1860 and 1867 added a quay a powder magazine and a semaphore station the whole encircled with moats carved into the rock The total complex covers 2 5 hectares The quay has since disappeared reclaimed by the ocean In 1871 200 Communards from the Paris Commune were incarcerated here in deplorable conditions On Ile de Terre the fortifications date to between 1849 and 1858 They consist of a shore battery and a guard house capable of housing some 60 troops Neither island was attacked again until the 20th Century World War II EditIn World War II the islands became the first French territory that seaborne Allied forces took on D Day At 04 30 on 6 June 1944 four US soldiers armed only with knives swam ashore from two man canoes When they had verified that the islands were unoccupied 132 troops from 4th and 24th Squadrons of the U S 4th Cavalry Group landed on the islands to secure the approaches to Utah Beach 2 Although they faced no resistance the US troops suffered 19 casualties killed and wounded from mines that the Germans had left 3 Nature reserve EditThe French government directly administers the islands which have the status of a protected nature reserve with restricted access Ile de Terre has been a designated nature preserve since 1967 Ile du Large has been off limits since 1991 for reasons of safety The primary bird species are seagulls and cormorants In winter tens of thousands of seagulls shelter on the islands Although access to the islands is forbidden anchoring between them is permissible Currently the fortifications are falling into ruins Since 2003 the association Les amis de l ile du large Saint Marcouf Friends of Saint Marcouf together with students from the College de Carentan have initiated a campaign to convince the authorities once again to permit recreational access to the Ile du Large In 2009 the Friends of Saint Marcouf received permission to commence preservation work on the fortifications and they have been working there since then See 1 Website in French of les Amis de l ile du Large Saint Marcouf Citations and references EditCitations Flexner 1993 p 273 Harvey Olson American Soldier warchronicle com Archived from the original on 5 December 2013 Retrieved 2 April 2015 THE SEABORNE ASSAULT Task Force U Moves In UTAH Beach to Cherbourg Department of the U S Army Historical Division 1 October 1947 Archived from the original on 2008 04 18 Retrieved 2008 04 03 ReferencesFlexner James Thomas 1993 Steamboats come true American inventors in action Fordham Univ Press Laws Lt Col M E S The Defence of St Marcouf Journal of the Royal Artillery Vol 75 No 4 pp 298 307 Pdf version James William 1837 The Naval History of Great Britain from the Declaration of War by France in 1793 to the Accession of George IV Vol 2 R Bentley pp 114 8 2 Further reading EditGerard Morizot Histoire des iles Saint Marcouf en Cotentin jusqu au XIXe siecle ISBN 2 9516531 0 7External links EditIles Saint Marcouf nature reserve Aerial photos Archived 2007 05 17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Iles Saint Marcouf amp oldid 1153577476, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
