Battle of Abbeville

The Battle of Abbeville took place from May 28 to June 4, 1940. At the same time evacuated during the Battle of Dunkirk , the British in Operation Dynamo , the British troops across the English Channel. They were able to benefit from the fact that the armored German troops had a halt order from May 24th to 26th . After General Maurice Gamélin (1872–1958) was removed from office on May 19 (about a week after the start of the German attack) - his actions contributed decisively to the rapid defeat on the Western Front - General Maxime Weygand (1867 –1965) his successor as chief of staff. He was trying to fight a way out of Abbeville at all costs .

aims

Allied goals

Weygand gave several offensive orders of the day:

• protect the still free ports of Dieppe , Le Havre and Rouen (whereas Calais , Boulogne-sur-Mer and Dunkirk were encircled and all about to fall)
• to push the Germans back from their bridgehead in order to later be able to build a line of defense on the Somme - the "ligne Weygand".

One can compare this idea with the 'miracle on the Marne' in 1914, when the German advance on the Marne came to a halt and the French were able to 'keep it in check' there for a long time. Weygand tried to imitate the features of Joffre at that time . Attempts were made to create a stable, tight front ; the aim was not to destabilize the enemy through direct attacks.

Goals of the Germans

The aim of the Wehrmacht was to secure the flanks of its stopped units that fought and - though more in the north - contributed to the capture of the ports. Their banks of the Somme were enough for them; it did no harm to them if the French crossed the river. The OKH was faced with the onerous question of whether one should accept losses in order to hold the bridgehead. In the event of Rot (conquest of France in the course of the western campaign ), the Abbeville bridges were not preferred routes for German troops; their center of gravity was further east. It can be said that Abbeville was more important to the French than to the Germans.

troops

Allied side

Weygand had - from what was left of his units - over 400 tanks; these were divided between the 1st Armored Division , which had remained in Normandy, the 4th DCR from De Gaulle and the 2nd DCR from Colonel Perré . After the failure of the Battle of Montcornet and the attack in the Crécy-sur-Serre sector , the 4th DCR was freshly replenished. He also received the 5th British DI under General Victor Fortune, who came from Lorraine .

German side

Opposite, on Mont Caubert, were units of the 57th Infantry Division . They were equipped with 37 mm cannons , 88 mm anti-aircraft cannons and batteries of caliber 105 and 150 mm.

The battle

Tank battle

Instead of having all of his tanks compete against the German tanks at the same time, Weygand launched three attacks in a row. It was the largest allied tank attack in the West since the beginning of the war.

The 57th withstood the advance; it was well installed in its defensive positions. The English lost 66 tanks and withdrew on May 27th. De Gaulle tried to take Mont Caubert and attacked three days in a row with 190 tanks, the 22nd colony infantry regiment and 1200 dragons portés ( dragoons  ?).

The Allies lost 260 tanks and 200 men in these days of battle; there were 1,200 deaths on the German side. The attack showed that even a tank attack can sometimes be stopped by infantry if the infantry is well positioned and equipped with anti-tank guns (PAK). It turned out that only the eight-eight could penetrate the armor of the British heavy tanks of the Matilda II type . The Germans used this defense technique again four years later, namely on July 18, 1944 at the Battle of Caen .

Consequences and conclusion

The Battle of Abbeville is considered a success for the Allies. Nevertheless, Dunkirk fell on June 4th. The battle alone was not enough to turn the tide of war. With a view to the imminent surrender of France - on June 22, 1940 in Compiègne - the battle was only an episode.

In his book De Gaulle sous le casque , published in 1990, Henri de Wailly compared the stubbornness of de Gaulle to attack the front on Mont Caubert with the stubbornness of the French knights at the Battle of Crecy in 1346.

Others

Charles de Gaulle was appointed Brigadier General on May 24 ; the appointment took effect on June 1st.

After the Battle of Abbeville, de Gaulle was quoted in the army order as saying:

“On May 7, 1940, à peine formée, la 4th DCR, sur les ordre du colonel de Gaulle a été jeté dans la bataille. Isolée de toute unité combattante au nord de l'Aisne au cours d'actions sur Montcornet, Crécy-en-Serre et dans les massif de Laon, a pris l'ascendant sur l'ennemi. Quelques jours plus tard, par une série de fougueuses attaques, a arrêté l'ennemi débouchant d'Abbeville ... The 4th DCR a bien mérité de la Patrie. "

(For example: the 4th DCR was just formed under the command of Colonel de Gaulle and was thrown into battle. In the north of the Aisne, isolated from any fighting unit - in the course of the actions on Montcornet, Crécy-en-Serre and in the massif of Laon - she took the ascending path to the enemy. A few days later, with a series of violent attacks, she stopped the enemy who was coming out of Abbeville. ... The 4th DCR did a great deal of service to the fatherland).

Web links

• Daily orders and war diary of units involved (French)

Footnotes

1. ^ Henri de Wailly wrote "étirée en pelure d'oignon sur plusieurs dizaines de kilomètres" (roughly: as thin as an onion skin pulled apart over dozens of kilometers)