Everything about Les Saint-marcouf totally explained
Îles Saint-Marcouf are a group of 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 kilometres east of the coast of the
Cotentin peninsula at
Ravenoville and 13 kilometres from the island of
Tatihou and the harbour at
Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue.
The larger island,
île du Large, is 500 metres east of the smaller
île de Terre. They have a total area of 1,400 ha and a maximum altitude of 10 m.
The islands take their name from
Saint Marcouf, a saint who died on the Îles Saint-Marcouf on
1 May 588, and there was a monastic presence on the islands until the 15th century.
British occupation
During the
French Revolutionary Wars the islands were held for nearly seven years by the
Royal Navy as a strategic forward base.
In July 1795 the islands were occupied by sailors from the Western Frigate Squadron under the command of
Captain Sir Sidney Smith in
HMS Diamond. He sacrificed two of his gun vessels,
HMS Badger and
HMS Sandfly, to provide materials and manpower for fortifying the islands and setting a temporary naval garrison. Further defences were constructed by Royal Engineers, and Royal Marines and Royal Artillery detachments were established.
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 emigrés. A major attack by French troops was repelled in May 1798.
The islands were returned to France under the terms of Article 3 of the 1802
Treaty of Amiens, and the last British forces left the islands in May 1802.
After 1803 the islands were fortified by the French, with circular tower gun batteries.
World War II
In
World War II the islands became the first territory taken on
D-Day by seaborne Allied forces. At 04:30 on
6 June 1944 soldiers of the 4th and 24th Squadrons of the U.S.
4th Cavalry Group landed on the unoccupied islands to secure the approaches to
Utah Beach.
Nature reserve
The islands are directly administered by the French government, and form a protected
nature reserve with restricted access.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Les Saint-marcouf'.
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