Grancamp in Normandy was particularly well situated, since it controled the bay of the Grand Vey and the mouth of the river Vire. The Germans had installed there two coastal batteries, they were within range of fire from the Landing beaches. The first battery was fitted out with four 105 mm guns, the second with six 155 mm guns. In the night of 5-6 June 1944, a hundred allied bombers dropped nearly 600 tons of bombs on the blockhouses. But despite the heavy shelling, the German guns opened fire on the American fleet landing on Utah Beach near Varreville. On 7 June, the Allied Navy reduced to silence the German batteries with its heavy guns. On 8 June, the 3rd Battalion of the 116th Regimental Combat Team, with support of the 743rd Tank Battalion entered Grancamp. At the end of the day the Americans had neutralized the last German snipers.