Although the battery commander, Oberleutnant Zur Zee, settled in the village Chateau and many of those under him were billeted in the local farms and houses commandeered by the Germans, around 10 barracks were built on the site so that, in the event of an attack, the men could live isolated in their camp surrounded by minefields and barbed wire.
Unlike the casemates, these shelters were much less well protected, and some tipped over under bombardment. The shelters were designed for short range defence with machine-gun Tobruks on the roof. Like the control bunker, the conventional right-angled entrance to the barracks was protected by an automatic weapon placed in a loophole which made access even more difficult for enemy troops.
The Loophole would rake the access to the Gun Casemates making it very difficult to gain access intothe bunkers with their right-angled entrance's
During the intensive bombardments in the build up to D-Day, some soldiers preferred to take refuge in the casemates or munitions stores which could endure the bombs much better. To link together all the different elements of the battery, the Germans dug covered communications trenches which provided poor protection during bombing raids. The final defensive elements of the battery on the site in 1944 were 3 anti-aircraft guns located just behind the control bunker, and a mortar Tobruk on the other side of the metal road. The battery was thus a veritable strongpoint equipped to withstand both long and short-range attacks.
The mortar Tobruk used at Longues battery site. Three of The Four bunkers can be seen in the background
