Battle of Brittany
The American advance into Brittany
| date | August 1, 1944 until the end of the war |
|---|---|
| place | Brittany , France |
| output | Liberation of Brittany including Rennes , St. Malo and Brest , and encirclement of the German troops in St. Nazaire and Lorient until the end of the war |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| VIII Corps | |
| losses | |
|
not exactly known |
not exactly known |
.svg){kind=small}
The Battle for Brest during the Second World War was the continuation of Operation Cobra , to the outbreak of the US Army out of the beachhead in Normandy led. It began on August 1, 1944 and lasted until the end of the war in May 1945 due to the siege of the cities of Lorient and Saint-Nazaire, which the Germans had declared as fortresses .
The actual fighting was largely over by the end of September 1944, and a large part of the US American units had been relocated to the east front. However, a smaller siege force had to be held there because the German fortress commanders in Lorient and St. Nazaire refused to surrender. Due to the strongly fortified city walls and the supply of the defenders by German submarines from the Atlantic, it was foreseeable that the cities could not be conquered. Brittany itself was secured by members of the French resistance, the Resistance .
prehistory
Brittany under German occupation
In the course of the western campaign, the German Wehrmacht occupied northern France and with it Brittany. Rennes fell on June 18, 1940 and only a day later the German troops were in Brest. With that, Brittany fell to the Germans almost without a fight.
The Breton coast became part of the Atlantic Wall and the important port cities turned into fortresses. Large submarine bunkers were built in Brest, Lorient and Saint-Nazaire , which served as bases for the German submarines used in the battle of the Atlantic . The bunker in Brest was the largest ever built in the world.
Despite many victims in their own population by the German occupiers, some Bretons saw the way to independence in cooperation with the fascist Germans, whose efforts go back to the first millennium. The most radical nationalists of the “Nationalist Breton Party” ( Parti National Breton - PNB) and its underground organization “Gwen ha du” contributed to it.
In 1943/44 Bezen Perrot (also known as the Breton weapons association of the Waffen-SS) was founded as a unit of Breton nationalists, which was deployed as an auxiliary force by the Security Service (SD) in Brittany in 1944. The Catholic priest and abbot Jean-Marie Perrot , who was a sympathizer of the Breton liberation party PNB, founded it with the support of Sipo / SD . Bezen Perrot was a splinter group of the Kadervenn , a Breton nationalist organization. The name Bezzen Perrot was coined by Ael Péresse . After Perrot's death in December 1943, the group was reorganized under the name of Bezen Kadoudal under Célestin Lainé . From March 1944, 60 to 80 volunteers were involved in attacks on the French Resistance. At the beginning of the American advance, some members went into hiding and a large group joined the German retreat to eastern France. Those who stayed behind came to German special SD units and active Waffen SS units such as the SS Storm Brigade France and were relocated to the Eastern Front.
Operation Overlord
After the capture of the port city of Cherbourg on June 27, 1944, whose important port facilities had been severely destroyed by the Germans, and the subsequent American breakout of the Overlord bridgehead, the city of Avranches , which represents the entrance to Brittany , was closed on June 30th. Captured July 1st by General George S. Patton's newly formed 3rd US Army . The ports in Brittany, which have now become very important for the further success of the advance towards Germany, were originally intended to be conquered by the entire 3rd US Army. A corresponding part of the Overlord Plan was the construction of a large new American port in the Bay of Quiberon . The planners had to assume that the Germans would succeed in destroying the Atlantic ports before they were occupied by US troops. In the final stage, the 3rd US Army was to line up north of the Loire in order to advance towards the east.
However, since it had been shown that the German resistance had collapsed on the broad front and the German 7th Army had largely been withdrawn to defend Normandy, Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to only send the 8th US Corps on to Brittany and take up the fight to the east with the other forces. Surprisingly, the Americans took the bridge at Pontaubault over the Sélune (7 km south of Avranches) undamaged, so that Patton managed to cross seven complete divisions with around 100,000 soldiers and 10,000 vehicles over the bridge into Brittany in just three days respectively.
When Hitler learned of the situation on the Western Front in Berlin , he immediately declared the Atlantic ports to be fortresses and ordered them to be defended to the last man. General Wilhelm Fahrmbacher , who became the commander in chief of the German troops in Brittany on August 1st , then withdrew the available units to the port cities. In Brest , Lorient and Saint-Nazaire, the German ships and submarines were preparing for a quick departure.
Battle for Brittany
The advance
In order to cut the German supply links, General Troy H. Middleton ordered the 4th US Armored Division south to Quiberon Bay. The US 6th Panzer Division was ordered to advance directly into Brittany as far as Brest as quickly as possible. Middleton, who had originally intended to go west with his units, was ordered by Patton to stay at headquarters . As a result of this decision, Middleton soon lost contact with his rapidly advancing divisions. Logistical problems were also associated with the high speed of the march. An adequate supply of the units with supplies, especially ammunition, could only be guaranteed again when the advance came to a standstill.
The tanks and vehicles of the VIII Corps crossed Brittany at high speed. This is how an Allied soldier reported to a supply unit who fought in Brittany:
“Within a couple of days we were passing out rations like Santa Claus on his sleigh, with both giver and receiver on the move. The trucks were like a band of stage coaches making a run through Indian territory. We got used to keeping the wheels going, disregarding the snipers, and hoping we wouldn't get lost or hit. "
“Within a few days we were spending the rations like Santa Claus on his sleigh; Issuer and recipient in full motion. The trucks were reminiscent of the settlers' covered wagons that sped through an Indian territory. We tried to keep the wheels rolling while we ignored the snipers and hoped not to get hit or get lost. "
The Allied commanders ordered a rapid advance. Since the Germans had withdrawn to the port cities, the Americans met hardly any resistance in the open country. French civilians stood in the streets and waved to them. The children shouted for chewing gum, chocolate, and candy that the crews of the vehicles threw at them.
On August 2nd, the 4th US Armored Division enclosed the Breton city of Rennes and on August 7th began the siege of Lorient. This meant that Brittany could only be reached from the east through an American barrier belt. After five days, the 6th US Armored Division had advanced the approximately 230 kilometers from there to Brest and reached the outskirts of the city on August 7th. The 83rd US Infantry Division tried from August 5th to liberate the northern port city of St. Malo .
The role of the French resistance and allied special forces
The FFI , the Forces Françaises de L'Intérieur, was also active in Brittany and was headed by the French officer Albert Eon stationed in London shortly before D-Day . The 20,000 resistance members in Brittany were not nearly as well equipped as their colleagues in Normandy. They only had outdated equipment, little ammunition and weapons . During the night of June 5 to 6, 1944, four groups of the French 4th SAS (36 soldiers) jumped over southern and northern Brittany in the course of Operation Overlord in order to defeat the bases "Dingson", "Samwest" and "Grog "To build, of which the French Resistance will be supported and landing and jump zones should be marked for the rest of the battalion . The task of the French SAS was to destroy all communication lines and routes and to prepare ambushes and acts of sabotage to prevent the Germans from advancing towards Normandy. The associations marched through the country from June to July 1944 and equipped the local members of the Resistance with weapons. They also trained them to fight.
Further SAS groups and supplies were flown in night after night in the area of Saint-Marcel , "Dingson", about 35 kilometers northeast of Vannes , whereby the Allied forces succeeded in carrying out the sabotage successfully in most cases. The SAS teams grouped around 10,000 Resistance fighters in the area who helped them to carry out their tasks. On June 18, 200 men from the French SAS, along with four armed jeeps and around 2,500 members of the Resistance engaged in a fight with an estimated 5,000 German soldiers supported by groups of mortars . The SAS troops and the Resistance held their positions until late at night, only to retreat under cover of darkness. After these battles, the SAS units were hunted down by the Germans by all means, which is why many did not manage to stay alive. Today a museum in Saint-Marcel commemorates the fighting.
When the US advance westward began, the British flew modern equipment into Brittany using transport machines and gliders and dropped it with parachutes . The 2nd Squadron of the 3rd SAS was flown into Brittany to replace the men of the 4th SAS. Over time, however, the American march became a problem. The vehicles, weapons and other supplies often ended up in areas that had already been overrun by the Americans. The Resistance therefore had to laboriously transport the goods to the intended locations in front of the Americans.
Despite the difficulties that arose, the Breton Resistance had their sense of achievement. Units of the FFI attacked the airport near Vannes with armed jeeps and were able to take it after a short time. 150 resistance members conquered important railway bridges near Morlaix and FFI groups guided the US vehicles through Brittany thanks to their local and language skills.
The French SAS (530 soldiers) lost 276 men (81 dead, 195 wounded) during the fighting in Brittany.
Battle of Rennes (August 2-4)
The 4th US Armored Division under General John Wood drove towards Rennes from the north. In the rural areas they were greeted by waving and applauding Bretons, who also handed them wine and flowers. Occasionally, individual German soldiers surrendered who were captured.
As soon as the immediate vicinity of Rennes was reached, the Americans were shot at from individual German resistance pockets. There were some injured. So there was a German artillery attack on the head of the vehicle column 15 kilometers from the outskirts of Rennes near Saint-Aubin-d'Aubigné , which forced the Americans to withdraw about a kilometer and wait there for the night. The next morning, some German planes flew over the area, but were driven away by Allied machine gun fire. The further advance on Rennes proceeded with only slight German resistance, whereby prisoners could be taken again and again along the way.
In Rennes, the Germans attempted a flank attack on the advancing Americans, but they called the 8th Air Force for help. After the air raid, German soldiers surrendered in droves. Rennes was free from German resistance from August 4th. Around 2,000 soldiers from the Wehrmacht and SS surrendered.
The 4th Armored Division drove further south and was given Nantes , Saint-Nazaire and Lorient as their next targets. On August 6th, with the help of the Resistance, they captured Vannes.
Battle of Saint-Malo and Dinard (August 5th to 14th)
The 83rd US Infantry Division under Major General Robert C. Macon , which was at La Cardonière and Feugères after breaking out of the bridgehead , was ordered to take Saint-Malo and Dinard . On August 3, she began to advance, reaching around 10:00 am the city Pontorson . When the troops drove on the coastal road at Mont Saint-Michel and Dol-de-Bretagne , they received the last operational instructions and waved to Saint-Malo.
While the Americans were advancing on Saint-Malo, they were informed by members of the Resistance that about 10,000 German soldiers were still in the city. The American intelligence had assumed about half. In fact, there were still more than 12,000 Germans in the city at that time. It later emerged that many German soldiers from the most varied of troops had withdrawn from the bridgehead to Saint-Malo when the Americans broke out. There were also soldiers from the occupied English Channel Islands .
The city was not only defended by this unexpectedly high number of German soldiers, but also by a far-reaching artillery position of the Marine Artillery Department 608 on the offshore island Île de Cézembre , whose guns could also be aimed at the mainland.
On August 5, the Americans called on the French people to leave the city. As a result, local authorities from Saint-Malo tried to convince the German city commandant Colonel Andreas von Aulock , a Stalingrad veteran, about the surrender of the historic city, but von Aulock strictly refused.
Even in the smaller suburbs, the approaching Americans came under heavy German defensive fire, which forced them to leave their vehicles and advance on foot. German resistance increased in the outskirts of Saint-Malo. Nevertheless, the 83rd US Infantry Division succeeded in advancing steadily. In fierce fighting, the soldiers fought their way through anti-tank traps , barbed wire barriers and minefields , under constant machine gun and mortar fire. For this purpose, the Germans used tanks and, above all, snipers , which kept the Americans in distress and brought their advance to a halt.
The city of Dinard was held by a German combat group made up of elements from the 77th Infantry Division under Colonel Rudolf Bacherer . From the afternoon of August 10, they had to assert themselves against the pincer attack by two American regiments , which lasted until August 13. Bacherer and 3,496 Germans were captured.
In Saint-Malo, the Americans fought the Germans with heavy, three-day artillery fire . Von Aulock had set up his headquarters in the old citadel , whose strong walls could not even be penetrated by armor-piercing shells with a projectile weight of 500 kg. The city itself was declared secure on August 14 after the surrender of 657 German soldiers.
A captured German chaplain was sent to the citadel to persuade von Aulock to surrender, but the latter refused with the words: “A German soldier does not surrender.” The Americans then launched a coordinated attack with members of the FFI, which even up to the citadel roof reached. But they had to turn back after artillery fire from the island of Cézembre and machine gun fire from the citadel's courtyard opened. A summoned bomber squadron threw tons of bombs on the citadel, but this did not lead to the hoped-for result. The Americans then brought two 203 mm artillery pieces into position 1.5 kilometers away and shot at the citadel on the harbor side and in its exhaust holes. They then began preparations to drop napalm over the citadel. But even before the drop, the Germans surrendered on August 17 with 400 soldiers. The old town of Saint-Malo was almost 80 percent destroyed in the almost two-week siege.
The artillery position on the Île de Cézembre was pelted with napalm bombs by the now diverted bombers and the German crew was then asked to surrender, which their commander, Lieutenant Richard Seuss, refused. The Americans then ignored the island. Most of the 83rd US Infantry Division withdrew towards the Loire Valley, only the 330th US Infantry Regiment stayed behind and waited for the German surrender. On August 31, 24 Lockheed P-38s dropped napalm bombs on the island and another 300 bombers bombed the artillery site. The Germans continued to refuse to surrender. It was not until September 2, after intense artillery bombardment from land and sea by the HMS Warspite , that the Germans saw their hopeless situation and surrendered.
Battle of Saint-Nazaire (August 5, 1944 to May 8, 1945)
In the port city of Saint-Nazaire, which was proclaimed a fortress, there were around 35,000 German soldiers, whose fortress commander was initially Major General Maximilian Hünten . In the course of the siege, Hünten took over the post of combat commander on September 26th and was then replaced by Lieutenant General Hans Junck as the new fortress commander. With them in the city was Rear Admiral Hans Mirow , who had been in command of the Loire naval defense since February 1944 .
In August the 6th U-Flotilla in the harbor was disbanded and the ships of the 7th U-Flotilla moved to Norway . One of the most successful German submarines, U 123 , was sunk in Saint-Nazaire on August 19 because it was not navigable. It was raised by the French after the war and used until 1959 under the name Blaison . The last boat, U 267, left the base on September 23. Only U 255 was still damaged in the port. A Heinkel He 115 brought some important parts for the repair of the boat in October. In March 1945 a new commander for U 255 reached Saint-Nazaire. After a few brief trips, U 255 left the port on May 8, 1945 and surrendered four days later on the open sea. On April 23, U 510 also arrived in Saint-Nazaire, which was unable to continue its journey from Japan to Norway due to a lack of fuel. The boat was still in port at the time of the surrender and was taken over into the French Navy as Bouan .
As in Lorient, the Americans had the problem (see below) that the city was too strongly fortified and the German defenders had built up a well-developed network of artillery positions around the city. Storming Saint-Nazaire was therefore impossible. The decision was therefore made to lock in the German troops and prevent them from breaking out. For this purpose, the besiegers developed a sophisticated patrol system that covered the area around the city over a large area. The Germans also acted similarly to find gaps in the siege ring. Scouting parties kept meeting each other and there were minor skirmishes in which there were dead and prisoners on both sides. On November 29th, Germans and Americans arranged a short-term armistice to exchange prisoners.
Under the fortress commander Lieutenant General Hans Junck, the 265th Infantry Division Saint-Nazaire held until the German surrender on May 8, 1945, because it could be supplied from sea via Spain and Germany by submarines.
Battle of Brest (August 7th to September 20th)
Advance of the 6th Panzer Division
The US 6th Armored Division under Major General Robert W. Grow moved towards Brest in two different ways . One route ran along the coast to the north, the other through the interior of Brittany. Obstructed by the eye of the needle at Pontaubault, the tanks could not take over the head of the advancing troops on August 2nd. But they managed to catch up quickly during the day and ensure flank protection. The next morning, Command Group B, which consisted of the 38th Regimental Combat Group of the 2nd US Infantry Division , reached Dinan south of Saint-Malo. The German resistance there led to the site being bypassed. Command group A in the interior, consisting of reconnaissance units , tank destroyers, engineers and infantry, did not encounter any resistance worth mentioning. Both groups only rested briefly at night to refuel. The reserve unit switched from the north to the south route. French resistance groups joined the Americans, who were advancing rapidly west, and led them past smaller German resistance nests in surrounding villages. Thanks to information from the FFI, the Americans bypassed the town of Carhaix on August 5th, where around 2000 soldiers from the German 2nd Paratrooper Division had prepared for the defense. At Poullaouen there was a two-hour shootout between the Germans and the Americans, during which the Germans were thrown back to Huelgoat . At Le Cloître , too , the Germans defended the town with mortars and machine guns. As darkness fell, the attack on Le Cloître was postponed until the next day. On August 6, the German resistance was quickly broken and the town was taken.
The soldier Bob Sales from the 29th Infantry Division described the event as follows:
“When St-Lô fell we were given a short rest. Then the 2nd, 8th and 19th Divisions were sent to swing down to the Brittany peninsula. This was slow fighting all the way to Brest and Brest was at the far end of that peninsula and it took us a long time to clear it. Brest was a submarine base but the Americans wanted Brest its port but Hitler had taken the troops there to fight to the death and it took us a month or so to take Brest. "
The German defenders
The port city of Brest, which is important for the Germans, was defended by the 2nd Parachute Division under General Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke . She had been transferred to Brittany in mid-June (excluding the Paratrooper Regiment 6, which continued to fight in Normandy). Hitler had declared the Brittany ports to be “fortresses” ; the division had then withdrawn to Brest and was preparing for the arrival of the advancing American units. It was supported by the 343rd Infantry Division and parts of the 266th Infantry Division under Lieutenant General Erwin Rausch and troops of the sea commander . In total there were around 35,000 to 40,000 Germans in the city.
The city itself and its surroundings were fortified by a very extensive defense system; this belonged to the Atlantic Wall. The French fortifications were built to protect the port from land and sea. Heavy coastal batteries stood along the shore from Le Conquet on the western tip of Brittany to the city of Brest. Heavy and light artillery stood on the Crozon and Plougastel peninsulas . On the land side an outer ring of fortifications had been created, the strongest point of which was in the western part of the city. As everywhere in Brittany and Normandy, the area consisted of the typical bocage terrain with its hedgerows. The military port within the city on both sides of the Penfeld River was surrounded by an old fortress wall that was about 9 meters high and 4.5 meters wide.
During the German occupation , the city's fortifications were expanded even further. These included casemates , shelters, anti-tank trenches , street barricades and extensive minefields . In addition, there were artillery pieces of the latest technology that had been set up on the old city walls. The old French protection systems for the port had also been modernized. In particular, the guns on the Crozon and Plougastel peninsulas could now not only reach the port entrance, but also provide support fire for the defense on the inland side. The caliber of the heavy batteries varied up to 28 cm. Since the naval base and especially the submarine bunkers played a major role in the Atlantic battle, Brest was a preferred target for allied bomber formations and was protected by many anti-aircraft guns on the German side . Taking into account possible ground combat, when positioning these anti-aircraft guns, such locations were chosen that would also enable later action on enemy infantry and tank units. The German defenders benefited from the fact that German anti-aircraft guns (here in particular the 8.8 cm guns ) were well suited for fighting tanks due to their aiming device and high muzzle velocity. British Lancaster bombers ( Royal Air Force , No. 617 Squadron ) dropped 6,000-kilogram bombs called " Tallboy " on August 5 , which caused enormous damage. The Brest submarine repair yard received six direct hits.
First enemy contacts
On August 7, Allied Command Group B encountered the first outposts of the Brest defenders, which they suddenly exposed to heavy artillery fire. Since a further advance was only possible with higher troop strength, it was decided to wait for the other units. Command group A was not expected on the left flank until late afternoon and the reserves of command group B were not expected until the early morning of the next day. In a meeting that night, the leading officers came to the conclusion that a coordinated attack by the entire division would be necessary to take Brest. This had to be carried out immediately in order to take advantage of the surprise effect. Otherwise more forces would have to be used. To do this, they reorganized the attack and artillery positions as well as the reserve for August 8th.
In a situation analysis carried out later, it turned out that the Germans would hardly have been able to offer any resistance in the event of a rapid attack from the north, as they had only defended lightly in the northwest area towards the suburb of Guipavas. But as Command Group B was the first to arrive in a relatively heavily defended area of the city, the surprise effect was lost, and the Germans quickly began to prepare for an attack from the north. For this purpose, among other things, the existing anti-aircraft guns were converted to ground fire. In addition, reinforcements from the opposite Crozon Peninsula crossed over, so that a successful attack got increasingly poor prospects of success over time.
On the morning of August 8, the Americans sent Major Ernest W. Mitchell Jr. in a jeep armed with a white flag to Brest Fortress to deliver an ultimatum to the defenders on behalf of Division Commander Grow . In it the Germans were asked to surrender immediately, otherwise Brest should be destroyed. The Germans immediately rejected the ultimatum.
Late at noon, the Americans had to rethink their plans as a significant movement of German troops from the east had been identified. Within a short time these could be identified as parts of the German 266th Infantry Division, which had worked its way from Morlaix via Plouvien to the rearguard of the Americans and had already started attacking the supply trains. In view of the danger, Major General Grow ordered countermeasures that included breaking off the Brest attack on the one hand and turning the division in the opposite direction on the other. Around midnight, the German division commander Lieutenant General Karl Spang was captured , and the positions of the German soldiers could be identified. Grow ordered the attack at dawn. The units of the 266th Infantry Division fighting here were completely eliminated on August 10th. Other parts of the 266th Infantry Division were fighting at the same time as flank protection in the south of the German attack on Mortain Company Liège . Most of the division members of the US 6th Armored Division then gathered in an area west of Plouvien in the north of Brest. After a day of rest, they began planning the Brest attack. For this purpose, artillery positions were selected that allowed the advancing soldiers to be supported right into the city center without having to change positions.
According to the American intelligence, the upstream defense line of the Germans was between Saint-Renan, Gouesnou and Guipavas. However, their strength was unknown. In the positions located there, which were surrounded by minefields and could be covered by artillery, the Americans suspected 3,000 soldiers, who had in the meantime been reinforced by at least one reserve regiment of the German 2nd Parachute Division. In addition, there was an uncertain number of naval and anti-aircraft units.
As a result of the battle with the 266th Infantry Division, the Germans in Brest had meanwhile been put on high alert, and the surprise effect that could have been exploited with a quick attack on August 7th was no longer there. At the present time, the American division leadership suspects around 20,000 German soldiers in Brest. Three days before, she had asked VIII Corps headquarters for artillery and infantry reinforcements to ensure a successful capture of Brest. However, on August 12, around 7:00 p.m., new orders came in. The attack on Brest was postponed. With the exception of a combat group that was supposed to control the Germans off Brest, the 6th US Armored Division was ordered to Lorient to relieve the 4th US Armored Division. The VIII Corps then began dispatching three infantry divisions to capture the Brest fortress. These were the 2nd, 8th and 29th US Infantry Divisions.
Beginning of the battle
The new Allied infantry divisions were again divided into a Einsatzgruppe A, which patrolled the two peninsulas of Plougastel and Crozon, and a Einsatzgruppe B, which was supposed to lead the main thrust across the Plougastel peninsula and simultaneously move into Brest. The advance on the Plougastel Peninsula began on August 21. After the B group had succeeded on August 23, the hill 154 at the southeast end of the elevation on the peninsula, observation posts were set up, which explored Brest and the north side of the Crozon Peninsula from there. Since the Germans had lost this prominent position, a fierce struggle broke out around the rest of the peninsula, which only ended on August 30 with the capture of the Plougastel peninsula.
The main attack on Brest began at 1 p.m. on August 25. The US 29th Infantry Division attacked in the west, the US 8th Infantry Division in the northeast and the US 2nd Infantry Division in the east. Due to bad weather, the RAF's supporting air strikes by heavy bombers had to be canceled, only the lighter planes could fly in. The Warspite fired at the coastal batteries at Le Conquet and Saint-Mathieu. The German resistance was very strong along the entire front line, so that the Americans made little progress during the afternoon. The RAF bombed the city that night, and the next day the American Air Force deployed heavy bombers on the anti-aircraft batteries of the Crozon Peninsula and the city's forts.
The ground attacks on August 26th again encountered stubborn German defenses. As a result, the Americans only made minor gains in terrain. The encirclement of Brest was completed and the Germans cut off from the western coastal batteries when the 29th US Infantry Division advanced the following day to the road leading from Brest to Le Conquet.
The progressively worse weather over the next few days prevented the Americans from gaining further ground. In the emerging fog, the air forces could only rarely be deployed, but what actually brought the advance to a standstill at the end of August was the shortage of ammunition, especially with the American artillery.
At the beginning of September the situation was as follows: Task Force B, which had meanwhile shrunk to battalion strength, sealed off the Plougastel peninsula. An artillery group had posted guns on the peninsula from which the port of Brest and the north side of the Crozon peninsula could be fired. Task Force A in the south, consisting of an anti-tank battalion, a reconnaissance group and a few engineers, secured access to the Crozon Peninsula. In the west, the 29th US Infantry Division organized a Combat Group S, which was supposed to secure the western part of Brittany and attack the coastal batteries there and, if possible, eliminate them.
On September 1, the Americans continued the attack on Brest at 10:00 a.m. Despite the bombing by light American bombers, the German resistance was fierce. For this reason there were very few gains in terrain; on the contrary, the Americans had to back off a little at the front of the 8th US Infantry Division. The next day, southwest of Guipavas on the main road from Brest to Landerneau , the 2nd US Infantry Division captured the strategically important Hill 105, which was occupied by German anti-aircraft guns. This made it possible to move the front line in the east around three kilometers closer towards Brest. On the same day, Hill 80 was captured. On the Crozon Peninsula, Einsatzgruppe A advanced against little German resistance in the first days of September and was quickly in possession of the eastern half.
From September 3, the Americans had to replenish their ammunition stocks, which lasted until September 8. During this time, with the support of the air forces, especially the combat bomber, attempts were made to keep the Germans under pressure. The Allied land gains were therefore only minimal. On the eastern flank, the front was about 900 meters closer to Brest, on the west by only about half. Combat Group S, sent westward, was able to advance about 2.7 kilometers. On the Crozon Peninsula, Einsatzgruppe A now faced strong German resistance. The front line there remained relatively immobile; with help from the other divisions could not be expected.
After a change in the army structure in the area of the eastward advancing Allied troops, the VIII. Corps came on September 6th to the 9th US Army under Lieutenant General William H. Simpson . A day later the ammunition stocks were replenished to the point where preparations for a coordinated attack on Brest began. More shiploads of ammunition were on the way.
Battle in the suburbs and outskirts
The attack began at 10:00 on September 8th with good progress towards Brest from the west. Two more important heights could be taken, and 370 Germans were taken prisoner by the Americans. Among them were a battalion commander and commanding officers from two paratrooper companies . In the middle sector, the 8th US Infantry Division again encountered considerable German resistance, so that their gain in space was only 600 meters by noon. In the afternoon they advanced through smaller suburbs, which had to be taken street by street in an arduous house-to-house war. On the west side, the front was only about 900 meters closer to Brest. A total of 988 Germans were captured that day. The following night, six LSTs and two platoons brought the expected additional ammunition. For the first time, the American artillery off Brest could be adequately supplied with ammunition.
On the next day, too, the Americans achieved major gains in terrain, especially in the north and east. At about 5:00 p.m., the US 2nd Infantry Division reached the outskirts of the city. Slowly they advanced, fighting for every house. This nerve-wracking house-to-house fight lasted until dark, when over 1,000 Germans were captured. The US 8th Infantry Division reached Lambezellec just north of Brest and took 185 prisoners. In the west, the 115th Infantry Regiment of the 29th US Infantry Division advanced against little German resistance to the Penfeld, which, however, did not bring them any closer to the city. In the far west, Kampfgruppe S took the artillery batteries at Le Conquet and shortly afterwards those at Lochrist. The commanding German officer went into American captivity with more than 1,000 men. However, a number of smaller German positions that had been isolated from the US units were still able to hold in the West.
The house-to-house fighting in Brest continued to intensify over the next few days. The Germans had holed up in well-chosen positions for defense and fired at the advancing Allied soldiers in every street and intersection with intense machine gun and anti-tank fire. The Americans continued their advance through the houses by securing one house and then blasting a hole in the wall leading to the adjacent house. They only entered the street in isolated cases, as this often had fatal consequences.
After the 8th US Infantry Division had reached the strong city wall on the banks of the Penfeld on September 10, an attempt to breakthrough was started after heavy artillery fire on this obstacle, but it failed. The Germans used increased defensive fire from the top of the wall, and the advancing American soldiers then broke off their operation. The next day began with heavy, direct artillery fire on the city wall, but only a few holes could be shot in the upper area, everything below remained intact. Again a success by storm was not to be expected.
While Kampfgruppe S was cleaning the Le Conquet peninsula in the west, the American high command decided to stop shelling the city wall and to lock the German troops in the old city until they were abandoned. For this purpose, intensive artillery and air attacks should be carried out. The US 8th Infantry Division was withdrawn from its positions in front of the city wall and was ordered to take the Crozon Peninsula. Other units were withdrawn to Plouvien in the north for refreshment and rest. The siege of the north side of Brest was now in the hands of the 2nd US Infantry Division.
On September 13, the Americans sent Colonel Reeves to the city to suggest to the German fortress commander General Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke that all Germans in Brest and the Crozon Peninsula should surrender. The news showed the futility of further resistance and that unnecessary bloodshed should be avoided. But Ramcke rejected the Americans' request. On the same day a US battalion captured an important German base in the west, and in the east the Americans fought their way house by house to Brest. The US 8th Infantry Division meanwhile moved units to the Crozon Peninsula.
The siege fighting continued unabated in the next few days. A German attempt to recapture the important base in the west failed. The Americans used four Crocodile tanks (→ Hobart's Funnies ) with flamethrowers in their counterattack, but they were all out of action after a short time. In the east, the Americans discovered tunnels and shelters with large numbers of German and some American wounded on their advance. All were immediately evacuated to American hospitals.
Task Force A was meanwhile assigned to the 8th US Infantry Division on the Crozon Peninsula. For September 15, the headquarters worked out a plan to attack the German artillery positions there, which were constantly firing on the left flank of the 29th US Infantry Division advancing on Brest. After the attack began at 8:00 a.m. with cloudy skies and rain showers, which hindered the deployment of the air forces, the Germans initially offered almost no resistance. Only after about two hours, after reaching the main line of defense, did the fire on the Americans intensify. Despite their best efforts, they did not succeed in penetrating the German line at any point.
Despite the time-consuming house-to-house fighting, the 2nd US Infantry Division made progress that enabled them to use mortars in addition to artillery to fire downtown. In the west, the Germans continued to hold out against the Americans in smaller bases. Some American units managed to break into the city wall, so that a patrol managed to penetrate to the steep bank near the submarine bunkers.
In mid-September, the effects of the constant artillery fire and the bombing by the planes on the Germans in the city became noticeable. The resistance slowly began to wane. On September 16, troops of the US 29th Infantry Division invaded the southwestern part of the city and turned their attention to the submarine bunkers in the harbor. The conquered hill 97 gave the Americans a glimpse into the old district of Recouvrance, directly west on the banks of the Penfeld. Fort Montbarey, which had been besieged for two days and one of the bases still held by the Germans, gave up in the late afternoon after an infantry unit and the newly deployed Churchill Crocodile tanks with their flamethrowers gave the pioneers the opportunity to attach explosive charges . This allowed a large opening to be blown into the fort, whereupon the Germans surrendered. Now the way into the old town was clear and the first combat groups reached Recouvrance in the evening. In the east, the troops of the 2nd US Infantry Regiment also advanced further. Strong German resistance came especially from the nests around the station.
On the Crozon Peninsula, the 8th US Infantry Division was able to record only minor gains in terrain, as the Germans tried with all their might to defend their important artillery positions there. Towards the evening of September 16, the Americans achieved a total of 1.5 kilometers. During the night they limited themselves to holding the front. When they resumed the attack in the morning the next day, there was hardly any defensive fire. The Germans had withdrawn to their nearest line of defense, farther back from Crozon. The Americans advanced up to three kilometers by noon, but the Germans offered no resistance. Even when important positions were taken, such as Guénolé train station and the nearby Höhe 96, American soldiers combed the districts of Crozon and secured the surrounding valleys, the Germans moved into new defensive positions further north of the peninsula. 1333 soldiers were taken prisoner by the Americans.
The Americans also made good progress in Brest on September 17th. In the morning they occupied the station and in the evening the city wall was completely occupied from the outside by American besiegers. To the north of Brest, a battalion of the US 9th Infantry Regiment managed to cross the wall and advance nearly a kilometer into the city by midnight. Only then did the Germans respond with targeted fire from well-protected positions. In the west, the US 29th Infantry Division advanced rapidly and took a bridge over the Penfeld around noon. The old part of Recouvrance was in American hands late in the evening. Only the Portzic fortress and the submarine bunkers continued until the next morning. They fell to the Americans around 8:00 a.m. on September 18.
German surrender
On September 18, the city area of Brest west of the Penfeld was completely secured. The number of German prisoners amounted to 2900 soldiers. The remaining German troops in the east of Brest under Colonel Pietzonka surrendered to their besiegers in the course of the day. Ramcke himself had crossed to the Crozon Peninsula before the city fell.
Despite the surrender in Brest itself, the battle on the Crozon Peninsula continued. That night the Americans occupied Camaret in the western part and advanced further north. When the Germans became aware of the hopelessness of the fight, they capitulated on September 19th. General Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke and a total of 37,382 German soldiers were taken prisoner in Brest. More than 4,000 German wounded were brought out of the city. Without the defenders in the port of Brest, some of whose bodies could no longer be found, the number of dead was 1,059 men.
The Crozon Peninsula could only be declared secure on September 20, as a small resistance group of 325 Germans stayed at Audierne and was only overpowered on that day.
During the 28-day siege of Brest, the Allies deployed 705 fighter planes and bombers over Brest in 97 missions , dropping 360 tons of bombs. The port facilities were almost completely unusable because they had been badly damaged by the bombings with phosphorus and napalm, and several important buildings and facilities had also been blown up by the Germans. In addition to the quays and cranes, this also included the destroyed breakwaters at the naval and civil port and the numerous sunk ships in the river and the port basins. The old district of Recouvrance was almost completely burned out.
Siege of Lorient (August 7, 1944 to May 10, 1945)
On August 9, the 4th US Armored Division reached the extensive German defense area around Lorient, which was an important submarine base and was surrounded by a ring of anti-aircraft guns and artillery. In Saint-Gilles fierce fighting broke out over a bridge that was one of the few entrances to Lorient. A Byelorussian cavalry brigade consisting of volunteers had been stationed in this place by the Germans to repel the American advance. After a short battle, the streets were covered in blood in the rain from the wounded or dead horses and soldiers. Further towards the village center, Belarusians had positioned themselves on the houses and, in turn, began to fire at the advancing US tanks. After a while, the tanks and other vehicles managed to break through to the bridge and cross it. When night fell, the Allies succeeded in getting artillery into position around three kilometers north of Lorient, near Caudan. After a short bombardment of the enemy positions in Lorient, the Americans brought the Germans an ultimatum to surrender, but this was rejected. Since further action would only have been possible with significantly reinforced artillery, the division leadership decided to partially withdraw to the Vannes area, about 60 kilometers southeast of Lorient. Only a smaller siege group was left behind.
Task Force B of the 6th US Armored Division advanced 180 kilometers from Brest to Vannes on August 14, to replace the units of the 4th US Armored Division north and east of the city. On the way there, they did not encounter any German resistance. Around noon a reserve command advanced on Lorient to support the remaining group of the 4th US Armored Division. In the evening, the command set up their quarters in the area of Le Faouet, around 35 kilometers north of Lorient. On August 15, the entire US 6th Armored Division had arrived at Lorient. The front line enclosed the fortress Lorient and the Quiberon Peninsula in the east and patrols from Redon in the east to the area to the Daoulas Peninsula in the west.
After Vannes had been taken and the wider area was controlled by the French resistance, the US 6th Panzer Division concentrated on the area around Lorient. The city itself was too fortified for a promising attack to be carried out there. The German defenders who came from parts of the XXV. Army corps under the Commander-in-Chief for Brittany, General Wilhelm Fahrmbacher, as well as remnants of the 265th Infantry Division under Lieutenant General Hans Junck, who was in the fortress of Saint-Nazaire, and Rear Admiral Otto Kähler , since February 1944 in command of the Bretagne naval defense [NB : Kähler was, however, taken prisoner by the US in Brest on September 18, 1944], passed, had no possibility of a counterattack in return and were also bound by Hitler's instructions to hold the port cities until the end. Both sides limited themselves to intensive patrols and artillery fire. The Americans had set up twelve observation posts around Lorient, from which reconnaissance units were sent to scout the German artillery positions. In addition, work began to mine the entire front line with booby traps . In some cases, German patrols could be captured. But even Americans were captured by Germans during minor skirmishes between scout troops .
The US 6th Armored Division was replaced on September 10 by the US 94th Infantry Division, which continued the siege, and moved east to the 3rd US Army . On November 17th, a short armistice was agreed for the purpose of the mutual exchange of prisoners. General Wilhelm Fahrmbacher surrendered on May 10, 1945, two days after the all-German surrender with 10,000 men to the Americans.
Aftermath of the battle
With the advance of the VIII. Corps of the 3rd US Army into Brittany, the Americans wanted to take the important Atlantic ports of Saint-Malo, Brest, Lorient and Saint-Nazaire from the German occupiers and use them to deliver supplies for the Allied troops in northern France. In addition, they wanted to build a new large American port in Quiberon Bay. In addition, the troops stationed there, under the command of the German units in Brittany, General Wilhelm Fahrmbacher, had to be prevented from stabbing the Allies in the rear as they advance towards Germany.
Although the primary goal could only be achieved in Saint-Malo and Brest, as the besieged cities of Lorient and Saint-Nazaire were able to hold their own until the end of the war, the secondary goal was achieved by retaining German units in the cities. Saint-Malo and Brest subsequently played only a minor role in the Allied supplies, and the planned port in Quiberon Bay was never built. This was no longer necessary: on August 25, 1944, Paris capitulated almost without a fight; then Allied troops moved so quickly to the east, that they at on September 2, 1944 Mons already a battle of encirclement could lead. The port of Antwerp was in December 1944, the most important supply port.
The devastating destruction in the embattled cities meant that in the post-war years entire districts had to be freed from rubble and completely rebuilt. Brest was the most destroyed; it was redesigned according to plans by Jean-Baptiste Mathon . By 1961, the reconstruction was essentially complete. Brest today gives the impression of a largely faceless planned city with concrete buildings.
Lorient was almost completely destroyed in a bombing raid by the Allied forces on the nearby German submarine port in 1943 . But there were still some remains of Art Nouveau and architecture from the 1930s that could be taken into account in the reconstruction after the Second World War. Lorient was given the identity of a ville nouvelle ("new town", modern city).
Memorials
Several parishes in Brittany agreed to bury American and German soldiers in their cemeteries. Many were also buried in cemeteries in Normandy. In some village and parish cemeteries there are still graves of American, German and unknown soldiers. Shortly after the fighting, the Americans began building some large military cemeteries, which were later expanded into memorials. In 1953 there was an agreement with France on the design of German military cemeteries in Brittany by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge .
World War II Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial
The American war cemetery with its memorial for the fallen in Brittany is located 2.4 kilometers southeast of Saint-James , 19 kilometers south of Avranches and 22.5 kilometers north of Fougères .
4,410 American victims of the battles for Brittany and Normandy are buried on the 11.33 hectare site. The names of 498 Americans whose bodies have never been found and who are believed to be lost are engraved on the wall surrounding the terrace of the monument. The cemetery was opened on August 4, 1944 by the 3rd US Army to bury their fallen.
The monument, made of gray granite , houses the chapel and also two large maps describing American operations in the area, as well as flags of American units.
Ploudaniel-Lesneven military cemetery
German soldiers were later laid to rest in the cemetery north-east of Brest laid out by the Americans in autumn 1944, by order of the French authorities. From January 1961, the reburial service of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge expanded the grave site with further German dead. The official inauguration as a memorial took place on September 7, 1968. 5,800 German soldiers are currently buried here.
Fort Montbarey
The Montbarey fortress in Brest, built under King Louis XIV and one of the strong German bases during the siege of the city, now houses a museum. The fort is an official WWII memorial. A permanent exhibition about the time of the Finistère département under German occupation has been on view here since 1984 .
literature
- Jonathan Gawne: Americans in Brittany 1944: The Battle for Brest. Histoire and Collections, 2002, ISBN 2-913903-21-5 .
- Michael Schmeelke: German coastal fortifications in Brittany St. Malo - Brest. Podzun-Pallas, 2000, ISBN 3-7909-0725-1 .
- RE Stuckey: St. Nazaire Pocket, Aug 1944-May 1945. Kemble P., 1982, ISBN 0-906835-06-2 .
- Erich Kuby : Only smoking rubble. The end of the Brest fortress. Diary of the soldier Erich Kuby. Rowohlt, Hamburg 1959.
- Henry Corta (1921–1998), First Lieutenant SAS: les bérets rouges. amicale des anciens parachutistes SAS français, Paris 1952, French SAS in Brittany.
- Henry Corta: Qui ose gagne (Who dares wins). service historique de l'armée de terre (SHAT) Vincennes 1997, French SAS in Brittany, ISBN 2-86323-103-0 .
- Chester Wilmot : The Struggle for Europe. Gutenberg Book Guild, Zurich 1955.
Web links
VIII Corps in Brittany
- Battle for Brest - Short summary (English)
- US troops in northern France (English)
- 4th Panzer Division in Brittany (English)
- 6th Panzer Division in Brittany ( Memento from May 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
Saint-Malo and Dinard
- Battle of Saint-Malo and Dinard (English)
- Fortress Saint-Malo Archives (English)
Rennes
- Liberation of Rennes (French)
Brest
- 6th Panzer Division in Brittany ( Memento from May 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Report of the VIII. Corps (English)
- General of the parachute force Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (English)
Lorient
- 4th US Armored Division near Lorient (English)
- 6th Panzer Division in Brittany ( Memento from May 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Lorient during World War II on the city's website (English and French)
Notes and sources
- ↑ Website for the Battle of Brittany at: The Battle for Brittany. Retrieved June 23, 2006.
- ↑ www.resistance-bretonne.com
- ↑ Website for the liberation of Rennes under: Un program mémoriel de 2014 à 2018. ( Memento of the original of May 7, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved June 24, 2006.
- ^ Website on the Battle of Saint-Malo and Dinard at: Brittany Campaign - Section The Citadel ; Retrieved June 24, 2006.
- ^ Robin Neillands: The Battle of Normandy 1944. ISBN 0-304-36563-7 .
- ↑ Chester Wilmot: The Struggle for Europe. Maps on p. 352b and 400b.
- ↑ www.volksbund.de
- ↑ www.brest.fr , www.brest-metropole-tourisme.fr
