​Wiederstandnest 06 (WN06) ‘Moulin du Buisson’​

​​On 23 March 1942, Adolf Hitler issued Führer Directive No. 40, which was the order for the creation of an Atlantic Wall. 6,200km of coastline needed to be defended. They used slave labour, such as Organisation Todt, and conscripted workers to build hundreds of defensive positions.  

​​WN06 is located to the north east of the village of Sallenelles. Here, the position was manned by the Wehrmacht (German army), Grenadier Regiment 736, 716th Infantry Division.  

​​The Wiederstandnest was created to prevent any advance from Merville-Franceville-Plage towards Sallenelles.. WN06 overlooked the Orne estuary area to the north and the road to the east. 

​​Three concrete bunkers were constructed, with one containing a 5cm cannon and a second with a steel cupola placed on top. Both offered fields of fire across the open area of the estuary and the road approaches. Remains of WN06 are still present today and are located next to the main road. A more recent function of one of the larger bunkers saw it used as a nightclub, ‘Bunker club’. 

​​On 6 June 1944, No.45 Royal Marine Commando, after advancing from Sword Beach, consolidated at Ranville. They were then tasked to advance to the village of Merville. They did so via the area of Sallenelles and came under heavy fire from the German positions around WN06. The decision was to bypass it to advance towards their objective on the afternoon of D-Day. WN06 remained active and was not attacked. 

​On 12 June, No.48 Royal Marine Commando put in a further attack to try and clear the Germans from WN06. However, they were unsuccessful as the German forces had reinforced the position with men from the 711th Infantry Division sent from Le Havre. 

​The frontline would hold in this area until Operation Paddle in August 1944, where the Allies would successfully clear the Germans from this position during the advance along the coastline.