June 15th, 1940
Brittany - In the Channel, the first evacuations of British and Canadian soldiers begin in Cherbourg and Saint-Malo (more than 50,000 men were evacuated through these ports). Only the 157th Brigade is still fighting alongside the French. However, the Luftwaffe is kept at bay by British planes: no loss is to be deplored. However, it drops magnetic mines in the Bay of Brest.
The ports of Brest, Saint-Malo and Lorient are confined.
The 1st Canadian Brigade, whose landing had been completed the day before (the convoy carrying the rest of the 1st Canadian Division had turned back towards England), begins to deploy north of Rennes, in agreement with the Franco-British deal.
Normandy - The Xth Army continues its withdrawal.
Withdrawing during the night and part of the day, Groupement Duffour and the 3rd Corps succeed in a delicate maneuver: pivoting from east to west around the Cavalry Corps, they manage to take position on the high forest valleys of the Risle, Iton and Avre rivers, thus unmasking the 5th CA holding the Dive. The Germans, who march primarily on the Evreux-Chartres axis in order to trap the Army of Paris, does not pursue.
The 5th Corps is a resurrected unit, resulting from the reconstitution of the infantry divisions evacuated from Dunkirk, which continued in Normandy, as it did wherever the evacuees had been landed. At Rouen, Lieutenant-Colonel Clogenson, who had also survived the fighting in Belgium, is in charge of reorganizing what is left of the GA 1. He sets up four Light Infantry Divisions (1st, 32nd and 43rd DLI and 1st DLI Nord-Africaine), composed of a reduced staff, a group of a motorized reconnaissance group, two infantry regiments with three battalions, a mixed artillery regiment, an engineer battalion and a mixed signals company. There are few officers and until June 10th, many of those present considered the reconstitution of the units of GA 1 as a pleasant joke. The cadres had to be purged: thus, two division generals (De Camas and Lucas), refusing to impose on their men their men the efforts required by the situation, were sacked. Huntziger's first instructions, which were finally considered coherent by all, began to modify this state of mind then the clear and energetic political decisions of the "Sursaut" silenced the last doubters.
Finally, the 5th CA is reborn just in time. On June 15th, its reformation, under the command of General René Altmayer, is almost complete (1st DLI General Barthélémy, 1st DLINA General Tarrit, 32nd DLI Colonel Sevez, 43rd DI General Vernillat). Five motorized squadrons, 16 infantry battalions, four artillery groups and four divisional anti-tank companies are combat-capable, with a motorization rate of about 50 percent.
The individual weapons are supplemented by drawing on the training stocks of the Normandy depots (11,500 individual weapons, 760 FMs, 290 machine guns, 100 mortars and 260,000 grenades are distributed). Captain Le Hingrat gets his hands on the 25
anti-tank guns from the Granville practical shooting course, which are used to equip the companies with divisional and regimental equipment. Most of the artillery comes from the Vincennes cache. About fifty old 75 mm train-roller guns are distributed among the four groups reformed by the personnel of the 54th RANA and the 327th RAD. The means of transport provided by the general staff prove to be very insufficient, thus they first proceed with requisitions, then the isolated military vehicles without mission orders are recovered and any civilian buses available. Finally, a few men seized - by force! - the automobile depots of Rennes and Caen before the arrival of the Germans
Ile-de-France - On the left wing of the Armée of Paris, the 10th CA is in position on the Senonches-Ablis line at noon, but it is impossible for it to link up on its right with the 25th CA on its right. Indeed, the latter had retreated as best it could, pressed by the XL. AK. At the end of the day, the scattered elements of the 85th DIA regroup on the Orge, from Dourdan to Saint-Chéron; the 241st DLI extend the front to Chamarande. But these two units are followed by light elements of the 9. and 28. ID which took advantage of the previous night to infiltrate the French position. Worse, on their right, its own right flank uncovered by the rapid withdrawal of the VIIth Army (1st CA), the
Groupement Bazelaire retreats to the southwest, to take cover behind the Essonne. Faced with the risk of a break in the front between the 10th and 25th CA, General Héring decides to engage in an evasive maneuver. The car transport companies are placed at the disposal of his right wing, threatened with dislocation. Ten mobile platoons of GRM are in charge of clearing the routes.
On the right of the Army of Paris, the withdrawal of the VIIth Army continues. The last intact bridges over the Seine in the sector of the 1st Corps are destroyed at around 08:00 . Lieutenant-colonel Lestoquoi, who had led the vanguards of the VIIth Army to Holland a month earlier, takes the lead once more of the cavalry units of the 1st CA in order to protect the retreat of his road convoys. But the roads are so congested that the trucks that are to transport the rearguard of the 7th DINA and the 19th ID are not there. The 19th ID hands over the guard of the Corbeil bridge to the 74th GRDI (4th DIC) then tries to reach the Baillancourt station, where a train to Gien is improvised. The 7th DINA makes its way on foot through the forest of Fontainebleau, regroups, then reaches the stations of La Chapelle-la-Reine and Malesherbes, where they form a variety of trains by gathering all the available wagons. On the right wing, the 24th CA completes the crossing of the Seine in the afternoon. The four divisions (87th DIA, 57th DI, 2nd DLIC, 239th DLI) which remained in cover on the Seine until the execution of the movement will be withdrawn by automobile transport. It is time : from 17:00, elements of the 33. ID appear north of Fontainebleau, on the left of the 87th DIA.
On the orders of General Pichot-Duclos, checkpoints are set up in Chartres and Pithiviers. The soldiers who had been overrun are grouped together at these roadblocks and evacuated to Tours or Orléans, where they are placed at the disposal of the regional commanders. Here too, isolated military vehicles (trucks or cars) are immediately stopped, if they do not justify their presence by a written mission order - this measure is soon extended to public service vehicles and will yield excellent results both for traffic and for the operation of public services.
At the same time, road regulation units are improvised around the departmental gendarmerie brigades and gendarmerie brigades and the regional regiments of Eure-et-Loir and Loiret. These units are responsible for finding alternate routes in order to clear the roads. In the evening, all the military columns start to be preceded by mobile platoons in charge of pushing towards the side of the road any civilian vehicles slowing down progress.
It is considered today that in these dark days, the energetic action of General Pichot-Duclos saved the Army of Paris from debacle.
Champagne & Bourgogne - The German 9th Army reaches the Yonne. General Ritter von Speck, commander of the XVIII. AK, is killed while supervising the construction of a bridge at Pont-sur-Yonne. He was the only German general killed during the French campaign.
Further east, the German 2nd Army reaches a line between Sézanne and Vitry-le-François and continues towards Troyes. It comes up against the defenses of the 59th DLI near the Seine-Aube confluence, joined by the remains of the 82nd DIA and the surviving tanks of the 23rd and 41st BCC. The bridges are blown up in this sector and the defenders resist for part of the day. Nevertheless, the German infantry has strong air and artillery support and bridgeheads are established further east. Around noon, Germans are reported near the railway station of Arcis-sur-Aube. A B1bis of the 41st BCC sent to the site eliminates the enemy detachment. The 3rd DCR and the 53rd DLI withdraw, after holding the bridges over the Aube to the east of the Orient forest, until the engineers could destroy them. The 3rd DIM also defends the Aube all day east of Arcis, then withdraws to the Orient Forest, before crossing the river at Bar-sur-Seine during the night.
The bulk of the French infantry advances south-eastwards around Troyes and the Orient Forest.
The motorized columns composed of elements of the 14th ID and the 7th DLM, as well as wheeled elements of the 3rd BCC, cross the Seine south of Troyes and head south-west via Tonnerre and Auxerre. The providential discovery of two gasoline barges on the Canal de Bourgogne allows the vehicles to be refueled.
The remnants of the 7th BCC (four FCM 36 tanks) continue their retreat towards the south, through Autun.
On their side, German reconnaissance elements of the XVI. AK (mot) come up against the traffic jams at Troyes and Marcilly-le-Hayer. Rather than waste time, Kleist leaves some elements to pin the defenders before the XIV. AK (mot), which is still north of the the Seine, can break the French resistance. The progression becomes more difficult, on roads cluttered with refugees and while the gasoline shortage worsens. While the 3. PzD advances towards Auxerre, the 13. ID mot, preceding the 4. PzD, bypasses Troyes and progresses along the Seine, still having for its mission to take and hold the bridges. Other stops are put in place further south, at Auxerre and Tonnerre,with the remains of the Polish Brigade [1], the last tanks of the 7th DLM and the 3rd BCC, the 123rd RAL (23rd CA) and the 83rd Regional Infantry Regiment.
Lorraine - In northern Lorraine, the German 16th Army finally bypasses the obstacles and destructions of Montmédy to catch up with the rearguard of the IInd Army: it now presses the the 6th DINA which was slowly retreating. Dubuisson, who commands the place of Verdun, is preparing for an imminent attack. His defenses are weak (136th RIF, 1st DBILA, 21/I RTM), the forts that had enabled the famous victory of 1916 to be won have been abandonned since the end of the previous conflict and the works of the last few weeks cannot hide the gaping holes in their forts...
The IInd Army is also pressed in its center. The 6th DIC, which had broken away during the night of the 14th to 15th, precedes the infantry of the 12th German Army. The XLI. AK (mot) seize two bridges on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin during the night, at Sermaize and Contrisson, and, after having repaired them, progressed towards the south-east by pushing the right wing of the 3rd DINA. The vanguards of the 6. and 8. PzD fall on the 1st DIC in the sector of Saudrupt. Well entrenched, the 1st DIC shows that it can oppose a solid resistance, because the first German elements are promptly pushed back. But the attacks intensify at the end of the day, as the enemy tanks are engaged on the front line. The artillery of the 1st DIC (1st RAC) is mainly used as anti-tank and the battle is very tough.
Colonel Gallini spends the whole morning preparing the counter-attack of the CAC, which has great difficulty in organizing itself because of the ambient chaos (aggravated by the harassment of the Luftwaffe), but this delay allows the CAC to benefit from the unexpected arrival of the 43rd BCC, which arrives from the Argonne with about twenty R-35 tanks and three D1 tanks left over from the 67th BCC. In the early afternoon, at the urgent request of General Carles, who feared that the situation would get out of hand, the French counter-attack is finally launched, after an artillery preparation by the 201st RALC aimed at the axes of progression of the two German divisions. In the north, the 43rd BCC, accompanied by motorized elements of the 14th GRCA, flanks the leading elements of the 6. PzD at the level of Combles; a real tank battle is then fought in this sector, while the mounted groups of the 14th GRCA and the 71st GRDI try to cause as much damage as possible to the enemy's rear as possible. In the south, the attack is only led by the 1st Cavalry Brigade and the 22nd GRCA, because the 3rd Spahis Brigade had been sent in the meantime to hold the bridges over the Marne river to avoid the French position being flanked by a possible advance of the 1. PzD, which will be confirmed during the day. The cavalrymen fall on the 8. PzD west of Saudrupt. They are not able to hold against tanks for very long and certainly do not charge the enemy armor sabres drawn (no more than the Polish Uhlans had done in September 1939, contrary to what the propaganda of the Wehrmacht claimed). But their harassment action with 25 mm guns and 60 mm mortars greatly relieved the 1st DIC. The fighting will continue for most of the night, with no significant progress on either side.
Further west, the XXXIX. AK (mot) of Guderian completely pierces the 3rd DINA in its centre following in the 1. PzD's steps, which seizes Saint-Dizier and continues its advancethrough the valley of the Haute Marne, without worrying about its flanks and without trying to cross the Marne towards the east. The 36th ID is surprised between Saint-Dizier and Chaumont while it is moving towards the west. Its artillery is captured, as well as a part of its infantry. The 18th Infantry Regiment tries to resist at Joinville, but the progression of the German armoured continues undaunted. Part of the infantry of the 14th RI and elements of the 39th GRDI join the defenders of Chaumont.
In the evening, the leading elements of the 1. PzD arrive at the Chaumont block. There, they are stopped by the barricades set up by the 149th RIF and by the fire of the 194 mm rail battery. Still, Guderian underestimates the numbers and willingness to fight of the defenders. But he is afraid to give the French time to organize their defense beyond Chaumont. He relies on the 20. ID mot (XLI. AK (mot)) which must follow the 1. PzD south of Saint-Dizier, to eliminate the blockade the next day. Without warning his superiors, he leaves the city to the good care of a few covering units and launched the vanguards of the 1. PzD towards Langres.
Following a parallel route, but further west, the 29. ID mot is somewhat hindered in its progression by a blockade installed at Wassy by the survivors of the 12th Regiment of Zouaves (about 500 men, separated the day before from the 3rd DINA) and the motorcycle elements of the 71st GRDI (which are unable to join the 1st DIC).
The 2. PzD moves towards the Aube. Late in the evening, the first tanks coming from Vitry-le-François come up against the barricades of the 63rd GRDI at Montier-en-Der, which they did not succeed in forcing. An attempt to break through from the north-west is not pursued. General Condé (IIIrd Army), worried that the retreat of the IInd Army would cut off the axes of retreat of his left wing, obtains from the GQG that the units of the IInd Army which would enter the zone of his army pass under his command. Moreover, having seen that the fortress regiments were falling apart in the retreat, he decides that it is time to decide that it is time to stop their withdrawal. He orders them to entrench themselves on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin to fight there "without any spirit of retreat": at the announcement of the end of the retreat and the coming battle, the morale of the troops soars! The planned line of defense passes through the Moselle south of Nancy, which is declared an open city.
The 2nd DIP is in place on the Saône, at Port-sur-Saône. Automobile companies 522, 523 and 524 go to the front of the 67th ID to lead it towards Dijon, avoiding the men the march on the last part of the route. This division will have to hold the Monts de Bourgogne, which guard the access to the plain of the same name. In the same way, the car companies of the Fifth Army remove the 54th ID to lead it on the Saône river between Gray and Auxonne. The city of Dijon must be defended by the 81st Regional Regiment. The motorized elements of the 23rd GRCA (13th CA) and the 56th GRDI (63rd ID) will have to hinder and slow down the enemy's advance if he should break through the plain between Langres and Dijon. The 2nd Spahis Brigade (Colonel Marchal), currently scattered in the Doubs, will have to go to the bridges of the Canal de Bourgogne.
The convoys of the services of the Fifth Army leave one after the other and will reach the south of France for the most part. The rail network in the east of France is, however, increasingly affected by the destruction caused by enemy aerial bombardments and by the saturation of the network by the trains of refugees and troops... Any total and definitive paralysis was nevertheless avoided thanks to the unending efforts of the railwaymen, mobilized by the prefects after Mandel's directives: gigantic traffic jams occur, punctual blockings multiply, the delays are generalized and are widespread and could be counted in days, but most of the time the trains are able to get through on the secondary tracks or after makeshift repairs to the main tracks. In the meantime, north and south of of Epinal as well as Vesoul, dozens of trains are blocked in the middle of the countryside one behind the other for about ten kilometers! The units that are being transported leave the train (where they often leave their heavy equipment, impossible to unload in the middle of the the countryside) to go on foot to insert themselves into the local defense system.
Alsace - The attacks against the Maginot Line continue, this time in Alsace, with operation "Kleiner Bär" (Little Bear), led by eight divisions of the 7th Army on the Rhine, between Rhinau and Neuf-Brisach. It is a real amphibious operation with the crossing of a river under enemy fire... Forty years later, an author spoke of the "longest day
of June 1940", in an analogy with the landings of 1943/44 - but it was a poor man's D-day! Sometimes, as in Rhinau, the Germans did not have any motorboats and rowed across the river fortunately for them, the French defenders were deprived of artillery support and had neither an air force nor counter-attack troops... The results are mixed: if the first French line is broken (the pillboxes and the bank works are destroyed by direct fire), the crossing of the river causes heavy losses, the progression in the forest and the marshes which border the Rhine is slow and difficult, and the objectives of the day are not reached... On the evening of the 15th, three German divisions have bridgeheads on the left bank of the Rhine, fragile pockets at the mercy of a counter-attack: but this one will never come, the gap-filling French units and the artillery
having started their withdrawal the day before. Some of these units interrupt their withdrawal to come back to fight in the plain, but the time lost in this round trip did not allow them to resist in front of the line of the villages.
While the 45th CAF and the 63rd ID prepare the defense of Belfort, the 44th CAF takes position on the Ballon d'Alsace. Further north, the 13th CA, on the rear of the 104th and 105th DIF, holds the valleys of the Vosges.
Provence & Alps - In retaliation for the raid of the previous day on Genoa and Vado, the Italian air force launches a major attack on the French airfields. At 11:40, the fighter control center of Toulon reports large formations of fighters and bombers that had crossed the border and were heading south-west - In reality, to avoid the coordination problems encountered earlier, the Italians only engaged fighters.
27 CR.42 of the 150th Gruppo attack Cuers-Pierrefeu, where the French fighters of the AC3 are taken by surprise on take-off: two Bloch MB-151s are shot down and four others seriously damaged (two will be reformed). A CR.42 is destroyed, while another one is forced to landat Cuers due to mechanical problems. Captured intact, it will be given to the Belgian Military Aviation, which owns five others, after the French propaganda had milked it for all its worth. The Italians also strafe Hyères, where six Chance-Vought 156F of the AB3 are destroyed on the ground.
25 CR.42 of the 23rd Gruppo attack the Cannet-des-Maures airfield, destroying a D-520 on the ground and damaging two others (on this occasion, the Italians realized that they had used a batch of defective incendiary ammunition). 15 other CR42s of the 18th Gruppo carry out free hunting missions in the vicinity of the airfields under attack.
The French Air Force reactes: a French patrol of Dewoitine 520 of the GC III/6, led by by Warrant Officer Le Gloan over Saint-Tropez, comes across the CR.42s providing cover. Three Italian fighters (and probably a fourth one), as well as an isolated BR.20, are shot down. Several other CR.42s are damaged by French fighters or flak, but they manage to reach Italy.
[1] After the fighting, General Maczek ordered his men to disperse, to reach the ports in small groups and embark for North Africa.
