20/05/44 - France, Liberation of Cherbourg and Limoges
May 20th, 1944
Operation Overlord
Endgame in Cherbourg
Cotentin - Admiral Walter Hennecke's last stand did not last very long. Before dawn, the Kriegmarine forces in turn offers their surrender - although they had carefully destroyed or sabotaged everything still within their reach that might have been of use to the enemy.
The fall of Cherbourg therefore takes place less than 48 hours after the naval bombardment that targeted the town. The US Navy therefore played a significant role in the capture of Cherbourg. Just after the intervention of the Allied fleet, Reichert had sent a most alarming radio message to his commanders, in which he indicated that his resistance was becoming "useless, due to the intense fire we are taking from the sea". Admiral Hennecke, a man of his profession, spoke much later of a "naval bombardment of hitherto unparalleled ferocity".
The affair left its mark throughout the Wehrmacht - it was even mentioned in the newspaper Front und Heimat, which urged its readers to beware of the role of the Allied fleet, giving their adversaries "a particular advantage" thanks to ships that could be used at any time as floating artillery. "A torpedo boat has the firepower of a howitzer battery and a destroyer that of an artillery battery. A cruiser is equivalent to a regiment. Battleships equipped with 38 to 40 cm guns have no equivalent in land warfare. They can only be challenged by an unusual concentration of very heavy batteries. In this respect, it has to be admitted that the German coastal batteries were unable to do much: their aim was hampered by smoke, their radar was scrambled, they were constantly being shelled, and above all (but the Germans were unaware of this)... their ammunition was defective, which explains in part why the damage suffered by the Allied ships was so slight*!" The summary published by the German newspaper ends with a statement by Gerd von Rundstedt himself, who said that Allied naval fire support was "flexible and well directed [in] support of land troops (...) ranging from battleships to destroyers (...) like rapidly mobile artillery, constantly available, in defence against our attacks as well as in support of [Allied] attacks. The whole is skilfully led by air and ground observers, and has a great capacity for rapid fire from a distance". On the other side, Eisenhower commented more soberly in his memoirs: "the final assault was materially assisted by powerful and accurate naval fire."
The port is therefore secure - unfortunately, it seemed unlikely that it would be used for anything for several weeks. The defenders of the Reich have done their job well**! In the meantime, we'll have to make do with the Mulberries... and try to free up another port.
Nevertheless, the fall of the Festung Cherbourg finally frees up the VIIth Corps, which is able to head south for more rewarding tasks. Joseph Collins leaves only engineer units in the Cotentin to begin reconstruction, as well as covering forces responsible for besieging the other batteries and coastal positions on the peninsula. They all fall within five days - the famous Hamburg battery on the evening of the 20th. For the rest, it is on to the Loire!
The liberation of Brittany
Ille-et-Vilaine - A day of transition for the American army in this sector - after the costly ambush at Saint-Grégoire, John Wood's 4th Armored is unable to wrest Rennes from the Nazi occupiers, due to a lack of infantry. Robert Macon's 83rd Infantry Thunderbolt continues to play the role of utilities in front of Saint-Malo - where the first paratroopers of the 101st have barely arrived - and especially in front of Dinan, which is still heavily shelled. The only thing that calms the ardour of the American artillerymen is a certain lack of ammunition: in theory, the 83rd still occupies what looks very much like a salient ventured into enemy territory.
Wood is therefore annoyed - all the more so as he regularly has his chief Joseph Collins on the phone, who is himself being pestered by Patton to "sort out the problem of this bloody Brittany, now that the problem of this fucking Reichert has been sorted out". An explicit instruction, which speaks for itself.
The 4th Armored must therefore bypass Rennes. Yes, but which way? For Wood, the most logical solution would be to head for Châteaubriant, to the south, to then target Nantes and Saint-Nazaire. It's a long way (100 kilometres) but still less than Brest. The problem is that this manoeuvre also means that the Shermans are paraded in front of enemy lines! What's more, the rapid ascent of Bradley's troops from the south makes this solution much less attractive to the leader of the 1st US Army - why spend an armoured division reaching out to his colleague! So what about marching towards Laval, further east? There is no point: the advance of the VIIIth Corps and the Anglo-Canadians showed that the road to Paris and Orléans is already open or about to be.
So off to the west and the Brittany peninsula. The guns of the 37th Tank Bataillon first head for Saint-Gilles, aiming for the N12 as far as Saint-Méen-le-Grand, before undoubtedly taking the minor Morbihan roads leading to Vannes. Behind them, the artillery continues to intermittently pound the positions of Colonel Eugen König in Rennes. To his great surprise and (at least equally) great relief, he realises that the much-feared assault is not coming. As the town is not surrounded, he takes advantage of the situation to try and evacuate his last non-combatants - administrative staff, the wounded, etc. - and his captives. He still has around 800 "terrorists" and 400 prisoners of war to transfer to Germany. And while preparing these convoys, König doesn't forget to ask his chiefs for authorisation for him and his men to leave...
Jig towards the Seine
Mayenne - The Vth Corps continues to slip along in the rain without encountering any resistance, apart from a few roadblocks improvised by stragglers where Fate had abandoned them. The 29th Infantry Blue and Gray (Charles Gerhardt) is ordered to take Mayenne - at least its east bank, and ideally a bridgehead west of the river of the same name. This task is more difficult than it seems! Firstly, the river is only crossed by four bridges. Secondly, the occupying forces seem to have decided to hang on to this crossroads - it serves several routes to safety from Brittany, currently used by a host of different elements, but all on the run!
Gerhardt does not have sufficient means of crossing the Mayenne. He therefore had to seize at least one intact structure. So, while preparing a night assault, he stays on the outskirts of the town towards Ambrières and Oisseau, looking for a plan...
Fortunately for the American, the GIs are not alone: a group of eight maquisards commanded by René Justin - leader of a spy and escape network - have spontaneously come to them in Domfront-en-Poiraie, with a great deal of intelligence on the enemy positions. As a result, Ambrières is not crushed by an artillery bombardment planned for the same day, as a precautionary measure... The man is credible. He is useful, concise, efficient - and a good speaker too. So much so that he was able to confer - after several reports - with Patton himself, under a tent somewhere on the road to Flers. The Old Man - who still appreciates these biting Frenchmen as much as he does - is willing to put his trust in Justin. And he has his group placed at the head of the column. Starting tonight, they'll have to infiltrate the town and surprise the Huns at a crossing point...
Normandy - The 2nd Infantry Indian Head (Walter Robertson) reaches Lalacelle and splits into two columns heading for Alençon and Sées respectively - one to open up the road to Orléans, the other to support the forces crushing the remaining Germans a little further north. Behind, the 30th Infantry Old Hickory (General Leland Hobbs) continues to flank the British forces on its left and slide towards Rânes, in order to sweep up any stragglers left in the countryside.
In front, the LXXXI. ArmeeKorps of Adolf Kuntzen is disintegrating under the blows of the French 2nd DB, which pushes forward and closes the road to Gacé despite the persistent rain. Leclerc's unit finally joinsup with George Erskine's 7th Armoured Division at the end of the day, on a country road somewhere east of Trun. What remains of the German forces in the sector have now been wiped out: a week of intense fighting has destroyed the equivalent of three or even four infantry divisions. Hanskurt Höcker (15. Feld Division) managed to escape, but Curt Jahn (late 709. ID) is captured. As for Adolf Kuntzen, the last we saw of his car, it was speeding towards Dreux with the lightest of escorts!
It is now up to Tom Rennie's 3rd Infantry, then Robert Knox Ross's 53rd Welsh Infantry, to stabilise a new front on the Saint-Pierre-en-Auge - Vimoutiers - Sées line. The lines are still porous: we are not on the Eastern Front; the countryside is relatively hospitable and distances are manageable on foot. Over the next few days, dozens of groups, sections and even individual soldiers march through the wilderness, with no prospects other than heading east by compass or sunlight, hoping to avoid a nasty encounter.
Meanwhile, the 15th Infantry Scottish (Gordon MacMillan), 6th Airborne (Richard Gale) and 50th Infantry Northumbrian (Douglas Graham) continue to push back the debris of the 709. ID (less than a regiment), the 36. Panzergrenadier and the 4. Fallschirmjäger (both badly damaged) towards Orbec, beyond the Orbiquet. Lisieux falls in the night, abandoned by the occupying forces. Panzergrenadiers and parachutists alike retreat quickly - they would be in Le Neubourg by nightfall.
And they are right to hurry! On the coast, Harry Crerar's I Canadian Corps continues to advance along the Seine towards Bourg-Achard and approaches Rouen. Rouen, where the 26. Panzer under Smilo von Lüttwitz has just arrived to cross the river through a city under siege. Someone is going to have to defend the right bank of the Seine, at least for the next few days.
The United Nations triumph once and for all in Normandy. However, to the astonishment of the British, the French under Leclerc do not seem any happier about their joint success. Their minds are elsewhere - further east. That's understandable... but the officers seem frankly worried. Worse still, they communicate this feeling to the whole troop. Before nightfall, rumours of a possible bloodbath in the capital spreads wildly. The French tanks suddenly swing eastwards and begin driving towards Laigle, even though they have not received orders to do so from the Allied headquarters. As for Leclerc de Hauteclocque, he now seems unreachable!
The coup de trop
Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole - General Friedrich Dollmann, commander of the VII. Armee (one of his AKs is destroyed, the other two are locked up in Festungen) learns of the outcome of the operations near Argentan at the end of the day, while the surrender of Cherbourg has been trumpeted on all the allied radios since the previous day.
After a telephone conversation with Rundstedt in which - according to his aide-de-camp - the word Kriegsgericht (court martial) is uttered, Dollman, as if the victim of a sledgehammer blow, locks himself in his office. In the evening, people are worried - the General has not come down for dinner. The aide-de-camp takes it upon himself to enter the silent, darkened room. In the half-light, he catches a glimpse of a figure slumped over the desk...
.........
"Even today, it is not certain that General Dollmann committed suicide by poisoning. The hypothesis is, of course, eminently credible: given the total collapse that the German army had just suffered in Normandy, and the atmosphere that had prevailed since Valkyrie in the Wehrmacht - indeed in the Reich in general! - it seemed obvious that Berlin would want to find a scapegoat for the disaster. Manstein had already paid the price in January, even before the attack, and then it was von Weichs' turn in May. It seemed obvious that Friedrich Dollmann, a traditional officer who was far removed from the Nazi ideal held up as an example since March 15th, would follow suit. And also that it would be worse for him, as he had neither the support nor the rank to protect him. It is therefore very likely that the head of the 7. Armee, in despair, preferred death to a rigged and humiliating trial, which could also have led to his family's ruin.
However, much later, Gerd von Rundstedt would put forward a different version of events! The field marshal readily admitted (as he often did after the war!) that Hitler was responsible and that, "enraged beyond all reason", he had promised Dollmann the rope. But Rundstedt claimed that he had managed to protect his subordinate and save his life if not his command. The phone call mentioned by Dollman's aide-de-camp did not promise him a court martial, but rather the chance to avoid one, replaced by a simple disgrace (with a possible replacement by Paul Hausser, who was on the Polish front at the time). And Dollmann would then have died of a stroke following a severe stress attack, which was understandable at the time.
We know that Rundstedt devoted his last years to defending a German army that had fallen victim to its political leaders. So, Dollmann: unwitting victim of Walkyrie or just unlucky? We find it impossible to say. The two hypotheses are not completely exclusive. They nonetheless say something about the decay of the German army, its morale, and the overall decline of its officer corps, condemned to win or die - the first option now proving visibly unattainable".
(Jean-Jacques Picassier, La chance du démon, Tallandier 2008)
The 16. Panzer finally reunited in Normandy
Evreux - The Collins column joins up with the Back column during the night, as the Panzer Lehr arrives at Dreux to take up position as a relay for its machines.
The 16. Panzer is finally reassembled after a nine-day odyssey through a France in a state of latent insurrection, as a steamroller named Auchinleck set off from Normandy to join up with another steamroller named Frère, which is coming up from the southern third of France to pincer together a large part of the German army in Western Europe. During the journey, more than one hundred and fifty soldiers were killed or put out of action. Half a dozen SdKfz and a dozen lorries littered the fields and roads of Burgundy, and five Panthers were taken for the defence of Groß Paris. But above all, the losses suffered during Lüttich have not been made up for - in short, the 16. Panzer now has barely 60% of its theoretical strength.
The question now is: what should we do?
Panzer Lehr in doubt
Dreux - General Fritz Bayerlein is also asking himself this question. His precious elite division (which is in no better shape than the 16. Panzer) finds itself eighty kilometres ahead of the defence line decreed by the command, under the nose of an enemy that is clearly as numerous as it is well-armed... And now he learns that the infantry whose retreat he is supposed to be covering has been wiped out near Alençon!
Understandably, the Bavarian is worried. To fight for the Reich, to die perhaps - yes. But for the Reich, and not in vain. In the absence of aerial reconnaissance, the positions of the opposing fronts remains uncertain: the fog of war is opaque. So, despite his reluctance - too bad for his reputation - Bayerlein asks Westheer HQ for instructions for a drawer redeployment manoeuvre, which he suggests should be coordinated with Back, to cover the approaches to Groß Paris from Mantes-la-Jolie in the north-west and Etampes in the south-west. Of course, this would also free up the direct route to the west of the French capital - but fighting in a dense urban environment is not the business of the panzer divisions... who also remember that a few Panthers have been confiscated in transit. So let Governor Kittel's foot soldiers fend for themselves. Meanwhile, the Panzerwaffe does its job - manoeuvring. Obviously, with events in progress, Bayerling would have no answer tonight...
Southern Front
Operation Arrowheads
Southern France - Second day of rain in western France. The second day of paralysis for the Allied air force, another day that facilitates the enemy's movements. And according to the meteorologists, we won't see any improvement until the 22nd. This news would enrage an explosive-tempered general like Patton, but Bradley and his deputies at the 7th Army are just disappointed - and not very unhappy at that: the USAAF would not be able to take credit for the day's successes, which would silence some of the bad tongues in Bordeaux.
.........
VIII US Corps, Charente - Within the 7th Army, the VIIIth Corps currently leads the way in terms of enemy units routed and liberated territory. Its leader is determined to maintain this lead, if only through a healthy spirit of competition with his colleagues. What's more, this offensive doesn't really resemble a real battle - it even turns into a gigantic game of chase. The objective for the VIIIth Corps is therefore to flank the Festungen at Royan and La Rochelle, identify their weaknesses and if possible reduce them without destroying the towns too much, as they had been politely told by the French, who would already have their hands full rebuilding Lyon, Cherbourg and no doubt other towns after the war. But fortress work would be reserved for the infantry divisions.
Geoffrey Keyes therefore orders a roque between the 85th Infantry and the 2nd Armoured at 5am - the manoeuvre has to start by 7am at the latest. The 85th Infantry Custer (John Coulter) is ordered to try to negotiate with the 159. ID in Royan and to cover La Rochelle, where the 349. ID is located. Meanwhile, the 2nd Armored (Edward Brooks) will pursue the 265. and 245. ID northwards.
The enemy does not even try to maintain a link between the two supposed fortresses, much to the dismay of Coulter, who would have liked to have been able to further reduce their resources before withdrawing to prepared positions. However, his scouts give him encouraging news about Royan: the 159. ID is not a front-line unit, but a reserve unit, not very manoeuvrable and lacking in heavy resources. It seems to have established three defensive hubs at Saujon, Médis and Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, with advanced positions at Le Chay, Semussac and Meschers-sur-Gironde. The bridge at La Tremblade has been destroyed and elements are standing guard on the Seudre estuary. Elements of the... 265. ID? But it's running away from Brooks! This is obviously no longer a major adversary. A small half of the Custer maneuvers to surround La Rochelle, while the rest of the division, and in particular the bulk of the artillery, takes up positions in front of Royan. Coulter kindly warns his adversary that he knows his position is precarious and that he has the means to crush him in one or two days, but his adversary knows that these two days are crucial if the main body of the 1. Armee is to be able to retreat, and he would have none of it.
Around La Rochelle, the GIs enter Rochefort and are welcomed as heroes by the population. Some are lucky enough to leave with a small cord given as a souvenir by the workers at the former Corderie Royale***. Today at Fort Brening, among the relics of the American infantry, you can find a real sea-rope given to Coulder by the Corderie after the war. A small reconnaissance section goes to Oléron with the help of a trawler belonging to a sailor from Fouras: the German positions have been abandoned as indefensible. The whole island is officially liberated by a single platoon, which is carried in triumph through the various villages and leaves with... a few digestive problems, after having been invited all day to taste glads of mussels marinière. At around 20:00, the 85th completely envelops the 349. ID, which has entrenched itself in the peri-urban belt around La Rochelle and whose left flank is covered by the Poitevin marshes, where any unit would find it difficult to operate.
As for the 2nd Armoured Hell on Wheels (Brooks), it is hot on the heels of an enemy that is still trying to slip through eastwards. Deploying more and more widely, its left wing liberates Saint-Jean d'Angély shortly after midday, where it finds the remains of 265. ID which has passed through the town in the morning, then reaches Surgères in the evening. The division's centre and right wing pursue the 245. ID as far as Chizé and Bioux-sur-Boutonne, where the enemy still does not appear. A puzzled Brooks finally realises that his enemy must have wanted to pass through Niort with the 265. ID first. He is therefore able to intercept them at Saint-Maixent. Pushing his unit forward, Brooks succeeds in positioning two-thirds of his division on a line from Saint-Maixent to La Motte Saint-Héray. Tomorrow, his enemy would be forced to fight, and he would destroy them. The only fly in the ointment is that the logistical and material support echelon told him that almost half his tanks and lorries could run out of fuel at any moment, due to mechanical fatigue or running out of petrol, the reserves having reached their low point! The 2nd Armored still has two days of petrol left before being forced to stop. What's more, the men are exhausted, having ridden for almost twelve hours. But Brooks has achieved his main objective: to corner his opponent. And on the other side, he's pretty sure that the Landsers are no fresher! He is right: Düvert and Sander, pushing their troops forward, enter Niort at nightfall and let their men rest for a few hours. Most of them fall asleep, but a few others, having lost all hope of ever seeing the Heimat again, go on the rampage, especially after looting a wine cellar near the station. To "get back to Germany faster", a dozen men try to start up a locomotive that had been sabotaged by SNCF railwaymen (like all the locomotives in the West, in fact: part of the running gear or boiler has disappeared, officially taken to maintain a locomotive that had already left, and in reality buried nearby). Surprised by the Feldgendarmen, the unfortunate men are accused of desertion - they are shot at dawn the next day.
The cat-and-mouse game continues between the 9. Panzer (Erwin Jolasse) and the 1st Armored Old Ironsides (Ernest Harmon) and once again the (big) mouse wins. Having lost precious hours getting round Angoulême and then reorganising his division, Harmon, who could not bear it, finally arrives in Ruffec late in the evening. At the same time, Jolasse reaches Vivonne and leads his men over the last few kilometres with a strong escort to report back to Kurt Gallenkamp, who congratulates him - even though he had not been able to reach Niort for several hours, which was beginning to worry him... From the next day, Jolasse would have plenty of time to siphon off what is left of the petrol in Poitiers, which is not much but better than nothing! Gallenkamp and his staff leave with him, as the infantry does not seem to be available.
That evening, at VIIIth Corps HQ, everyone is happy and begins preparing the Bordeaux wines for the next day. In all likelihood, within two days the 80. AK will have completely ceased to exist and the equivalent of three départements will have been liberated. A great feat of arms.
.........
IVth US Corps, Vienne - The most important battle of the day is the battle of Saint-Junien (for the Germans) or Rochechouart (for the Franco-Americans). Two German divisions, the 327. ID (Rudolf Friedrich) and the 708. ID (Edgard Arnt) face the 1st Infantry Big Red One (Clarence Huebner), who want to prevent them from crossing the Vienne river. Although their orders are to withdraw as quickly as possible, the Germans have no choice: if they cross the Vienne now, the Americans could attack them from behind and massacre them. The two German generals know that although they are nominally two against one, the US division is far stronger and has more firepower. Having coordinated the day before, they intend to use the classic hammer and anvil tactic. The Big Red One will undoubtedly pounce like a wolf on the first prey within its reach: the 327. ID will have to hold around Rochechouart while the 708. ID will outflank the American's right wing to catch him from the rear. In the evening, the two divisions could withdraw via the Saint-Junien and Saint-Victurnien bridges.
In the morning, Huebner throws the 18th Infantry Rgt at Rochechouart, supported by all the division's artillery except for the 155 mm of the 5th Field Artillery Btn, held in reserve at Chéronnac, where Huebner's HQ is located. But after the inconclusive confrontations of the previous day, he deploys a significant part of his forces on his right to cover the Vayres and try to find a ford: this is the mission of the 1st Engineer Btn and the bulk of the 26th Infantry Rgt. And on his left, one of the battalions of the 16th Infantry Rgt is tasked with taking Chassenon and pushing on to the Saillat-sur-Vienne bridge if there is no opposition.
So when Edgard Arnt launches his 708. ID - or what is left of it - on the village of Vayres to envelop the Americans, he comes across a company of the 26th Infantry Rgt. His infantrymen quickly realise that it is a much larger unit than an enemy company that would play the same role as them and sounds the alarm. The 708. ID comes under fire from the 5th FAB while the 748. Grenadier Rgt tries to establish a bridgehead in the village. Quickly overrun, the company of the 26th Infantry Rgt retreats in good order and the 26th Rgt regroups on Les Meynieux and Glandoulat, while Huebner commits his reserve on the heights west of Vayres. While the 5th FAB fights on the eastern outskirts of the village, the 728. Grenadier Rgt tries to force its way across the Vayre north of Glandoulat, but comes up against the 1st Engineer Btn and suffers a bitter failure. It is true that the 728. GR has been severely depleted by the previous day's fighting, that it lacks experienced officers to lead the assaults, that the engineers are very comfortable in defence... and that the 105 mm of the 33rd Artillery Btn are quickly diverted from the attack on the village to help them. It is a massacre: the Landsers of the 708. ID lose the equivalent of three companies to shellfire.
By midday, if Vayres is still in the hands of the 708. ID, the 748. Grenadier Rgt has suffered heavy losses and the bulk of the 728. Grenadier Rgt is routed. Arnt begins to regret his decision to enlist: he now has only two melee battalions, the 708. Feldersatz (it's all in the name) and the 708. Division-Fusiliers-Bataillon. Playing for all it was worth, he throws them forward with what is left of the 728. GR in an attempt to outflank the 16th Infantry Rgt from the south and silence that damned 5th FAB, whose 155mm shells have a devastating effect. He keeps with him at Les Ollières only the Flak-Kompanie (which lacks heavy armaments and has not the slightest target, in the rain and with no tanks in front) and the other divisional units (the equivalent of two companies), which had been heavily used during the fighting on the Dordogne and could no longer carry any weight today.
Unfortunately for the 708. ID, immediately after the departure of the elements sent to the south, the 26th Infantry Rgt receives the order to counter-attack to retake Vayres, and the 16th stretches its device from the plateau of Peyrassoulat to the forest below. There, the American regiment confronts the Landsers. Trees and cover prohibit any consistent maneuver. It is a battle made up of a set of skirmishes, where a dozen men can inflict a failure on a company, cross it without knowing it or be swept away. At 15:00, it is clear that the Landsers would not get through, as the 16th Rgt holds the western approaches to the woods too well. They therefore go up towards Vayres… to fall on the 26th Rgt, which has pushed back the 748. Grenadier Rgt on the other side of the river. Caught in a pincer movement, the two battalions and what remains of the 728. GR are dispersed. Some try to retake the village and end up under the bullets of the 26th Rgt, others try to escape through the woods, where a large number are shot down or captured by the Americans. Arndt, faced with the destruction before his eyes of his division, tries to clinch with as many people as possible. But his retreat quickly becomes a rout, with the Landsers running towards the bridges to reach them before the Americans arrive. What remains of the 708. ID is transformed into a dozen scattered groups trying to reach Saint-Junien or Saint-Brice-sur-Vienne. While Arndt still hopes to reach a bridge in time, detonations ring out in the woods around his car – but they are not American rifles. A burst of Sten sweeps through his car, killing his driver. Edgard Arndt is captured and dragged with a few other officers to the Château de Saint-Auvent. According to the official accounts, we lose track of him there. But after the war, some former Resistance fighters feeling the need to lighten their conscience will give the location of his grave; examination of the general's corpse will clearly show that he was shot at close range. He has paid – perhaps unfairly – the price of the numerous “anti-terrorist operations” that have ravaged the region****. Everywhere southeast of Rochechouart, ambushes harass the survivors of the division. The 708. ID no longer exists.
On the side of the 327. ID, Friedrich is of course unaware of the fate of his colleague, but his men do not fail to notice the numerous artillery fire further south and fugitives joining them. Regrouping his troops, he therefore abandons the affair and, protected by a short artillery barrage, he evacuates Rochechouart in the afternoon and pushes his men to the limit. They cross the Vayres at Saint-Junien after repelling a reconnaissance step at Saillat-sur-Vienne. At the end of the afternoon, the four bridges between Saillat and Saint-Brice are blown up.
Having learned that the survivors of the 708. ID have suffered numerous attacks from the Resistance, Friedrich, once a refugee north of the Vayres, decides – to intimidate other “terrorists” or to restore heart to his men? – decides to retaliate in the surrounding area. He orders Saint-Junien to be set on fire and to make its population pay for the death of several tens, even several hundred Reich soldiers killed by “franc-tireurs”. So no mercy. The whole district between the town hall and the collegiate church is set on fire and the Romanesque collegiate church built on the tomb of Saint Junien is no exception. Inside the building, about forty hostages, including the mayor and the priest, are locked up. They only get out thanks to the courage of scouts from the clandestine troop formed in the area, who manage to force one of the north side doors, while the interior of the building fills with toxic smoke***** – in the end, there will be only a few deaths.
These atrocious rituals accomplished******, Friedrich reaches Bellac with his 327. ID (or what remains of it) in the evening. He can't stay there too long: it's too close to Limoges and right on the road to Poitiers, which seems to be the Americans' objective. The next day, we will have to push on to Montmorillon, at the very least. Around 22:30, he manages to reach the head of the LXIV. AK, Karl Sachs, and tells him the results of the day. Sachs does not choke on learning of the loss of the 708. ID. He who feared the loss of the two divisions, he is not going to cry because he only lost one. In addition, the 362. ID (Heinz Greiner) still managed to slip right in front of the enemy. It is camping for the night near Azerables and intends to reach Chateauroux tomorrow; it will join the staffs of the LXIV. AK and XC. AK there.
As for the rest of the US IVth Corps, the bridges at Limoges have been rehabilitated, and the 36th ID Texas (John Dalquist) clears the city, clearing the way for the 3rd Armored Spearhead (Maurice Rose), tasked with hunting down the 362. ID. Not knowing in which direction to go, Rose chooses to coordinate his movement with the 7th Infantry Bayonet (Lyman Lemnitzer), which has found a bridge over the Vienne at Dognon. While the 7th takes care of the Dauges bog, the 3rd Armored emerges north of Limoges and settles for the night between Chamboret and Compraignac. Huebner having warned his colleague of the breakaway of the 327. ID, Rose intends to cut him off from Argenton, unaware that the German will try to pass further west.
………
US Vth Corps, Millevaches plateau – The last face to face of the day concerns XC. AK (Wilhelm Wetzel) and the US VIth Corps (John Lucas). Dropping out of the labyrinth of Millevaches, Lucas' units gradually move into position and organize to storm the positions on which the XC. AK seems to have entrenched himself. In reality, Wetzel ordered a general retreat to Châteauroux. In the evening, the 266. ID is in Argenton and the 85. ID in Chavin. On the other hand, the 355. ID starts to lag behind and just reaches Aigurande. Sensing that this exhausted division will soon be caught up by the enemy, Wetzel adds to it what remains of the PanzerAbteilung of the XC. AK to support him during the sacrificial battles that the division will have to carry out. This is to occupy the US VIth Corps, not just to allow the rest of the XC. AK to get by, but also to protect the rest of the 1. Armee, whose forces are dwindling every day. Tired, the American divisions are happy to limply accompany the opposing movement, and to stop early enough to allow their soldiers to rest. The 28th Infantry Keystone (Lloyd Brown), the 88th Infantry, the 3rd Infantry and the 10th Mountain Climb to Glory (Lloyd Jones), which pushes the 334. ID in front of it, therefore camped on a Le Grand Bourg – Evaux-les-Bains lines.
Operation Dixmude
Massif Central – Vichy is liberated. Constellated with craters, its burnt casino and its streets strewn with debris, but liberated. Under pressure from the 19th DI (Pierre Kœnig), Heinz Hellmich's 243. ID manages to break free towards Varennes-sur-Allier - where it joins Erwin Menny's 84. ID. The two units now head towards Nevers, thus avoiding the Morvan massif where - it seems - bad things are happening for the Germans. The 14th DI (Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert) does try to block their way… but it finds herself threatened – not attacked, but still! – on his left by the 165. ID (Wilhelm Daser), also retreating from Montmarault towards Moulins and who has to play solidarily not to find himself in turn stuck… In addition, Daser still has the cover for him of the 334. ID (Friedrich Weber), which clings between Cosne-d'Allier and Souvigny, which protects it at least a little from a possible blow of the Americans on its back. The French of the Belgian corps therefore do not destroy their opponent. However, they continue to put pressure on him, even to cut cruppers to him. The aviation still cannot intervene? What does it matter! It won't last, it's spring... And by advancing on a Le Montet – Neuilly-le-Réal line, the soldiers don't forget that if they progress on their land, it's also because the enemy is leaving them. .
………
In the Morvan, the hunt continues – here too, slowed down by the rain. The 255. ID (Theo-Helmut Lieb), hard hit during the fights the day before, passes in front. It arrives in Autun at the end of the day, having therefore almost (almost!) caught up with the troops retreating at the same time in the Saône valley. Behind, the Belgians press the enemy on the direct route from La Boulaye – it is the 7th Chasseurs Ardennais (General-Major Arthur Lambert) and the Tancrémont, who jostle the 16. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division of Karl Sievers. The Belgians alternate skillfully between caution and violence, but alas, in both cases, it is not without losses. For its part, the 4th DI (Roger Libbrecht) outflanks the enemy and enters Montceau-les-Mines, abandoned by the Occupation and in the hands of local insurgents reinforced by FFI guerrillas. These retreat from the Autun sector to escape retreating columns far too powerful for their liking. Among these improvised fighters, there are many diggers of… Polish origin, who did not need much motivation to go and kill some Boche or Collabo! In short, the city is quickly liberated, held and totally secure. Especially since at the same time, the 1st Chasseurs Ardennais (Colonel Florent Merckx) passes on the left as a scout towards Charmoy, closing the road to any – very unlikely – German action in the sector. The regiment is advancing rapidly. Tomorrow, he may be at Le Creusot...
Operation Marguerite
Around the Saône – The 182. ID (Richard Baltzer) and the 14. SS-Panzergrenadier Götz von Berlichingen (Otto Binge) cross the Dheune. Then, after having blown up all the bridges, these two units continue towards Beaune – obviously hoping to reach Dijon, without however forgetting to help themselves in the cellars on the way. Behind, the 3rd Armored Division of Jean Rabanit and the 15th DBLE Massada-Valmy remain entangled in various problems, between combing, supply and maintaining order. The Dheune is reached in the middle of the day, of course – but to cross it, you will have to wait for the bridge workers!
On the west bank of the Saône, the LXXXV. ArmeeKorps of Erich Straube continues to withdraw with relative control on a line going roughly from Seure (it is the 91. Luftlande Infanterie of Wilhelm Falley) to Poligny (it is the 5. Fallschirmjäger of Gustav Wilke), with the 39. ID in between. That's good: Hans Kroh's 2. Fallschirmjäger has just arrived in Champagnole. Having lost, it is true, a few dozen soldiers on the way, between ambushes and help from legionnaires... But it remains largely able to continue alone towards Pontarlier.
The course of operations could therefore seem controlled by Straube's corps. However, it must be understood that, of these four divisions, none can claim to be intact… far from it! And it is also the case of the 16. SS-Panzer Hitlerjugend… The most fit is the 5. FJ, very recently formed, but the others have hardly more than a fraction of their theoretical strength: a quarter (39 . ID), a third (Hitlerjugend) or a half (91. LL and 2. FJ). The situation therefore remains desperately against the Heer, still unable to even claim to recover on a given line. On the other hand, indeed, it can always ride in front. A bit like the French in July 1940, some would say. However, the German command, despite the concerns of recent days, is no longer too worried. The sky is always with the Reich, and the Doubs, as well as the marshes of Dol, form major obstacles on which the Heer counts to slow down its adversaries. Here, no question of moving to the Baltic, it is true – but it is hoped that the simple attrition and the natural dispersion of the Allied forces will buy enough time to form a real Visigoth line, using the troops in redeployment from all over occupied Europe. The French are not going to run all the way to Berlin! Even to go as far as Marseille, the Reich had to take a three-week break! And it was the Master Race at its best, not a mediocre pack of African dogs, besides already with less of a bite!
Indeed, on the side of the pursuers, the excitement seems to have given way to caution. The French tanks have suffered more than significant losses for three weeks – worsening these will not change the final result. Basically, it must be remembered that the entire French army has been fighting for four long years “with broken backs” and is undergoing an increasingly visible and dangerous phenomenon of attrition. New recruits, most of whom are still in training, are only arriving very gradually, while the old guard of veterans is worn down by the particularly intense pace of operations.
However, for the Republic to continue to hold its rank until victory on the lands of the Reich (and after the war), its army must – as it has become accustomed to – continue to manage, to wait, to save money… And, paradoxically, to slow down the pursuit of an opponent who has been badly mistreated. Even if it means letting the Allies across the Atlantic do the dirty work tomorrow... Many will say (or at least think) that they just had to get there sooner!
For Paris
Civil war scenes
Lycée Saint-Louis (Paris, 6th arrondissement), at dawn – Why did they stay when so many others have fled for several days now? Why then do they cling to a body politic which is inexorably and silently dissolving? The ideal they serve for bad or less bad reasons has already been denied by many comrades. Others, even more numerous, have left the city, even the country, supposedly to continue to serve him, but above all because they fear having to justify themselves. Only them are left. Who are they ? Idealists on the run, provincials whose home town fell into the hands of what is called here "the Enemy", candids who believed that it was a mark of confidence to receive the order to stay in Paris to supervise other comrades, pretentious people who think that one against a thousand, they will succeed in reversing the course of the war. There are indeed about sixty reasons to explain the presence within the walls of this Parisian high school which serves as their barracks for these sixty militiamen of all tendencies and police forces of the NEF. They wait. They speculate. They dream. During this time…
………
They are a few hundred. Of all ages. Men, women, teenagers. Residents of the neighborhood, passers-by, travelers who found themselves stuck in the Parisian powder keg when it started to explode. Through them, the rumor spread like wildfire. The Germans plan to blow up the Eiffel Tower, the neighbor knows it from a reliable source through a cousin who works at the Kommandantur but on behalf of the Resistance. He would have heard that… By word of mouth the rumor became certainty. So, something must be done. But what ? Attack the Hotel Meurice? We thought about it but... So, attacking patrols? Not very satisfying. But it seems that there would be Doriotists who would not have fled and who would hide in the area! At Saint-Louis high school! Exactly. They could try to join this Doriot, this Déat, all these Collabos of misfortune who took the road to the East… So, the day before, an idea spread, finding its origin in discussions at the end of the night. Tomorrow at dawn, we will go and clean some Collaborators...
Soon the group grew. Coming from all walks of life, its members embody everything that the Metropolis has had to undergo for almost four years. Four years of deprivation, of misfortune. How many fathers, sons, uncles and nephews, brothers and friends, dead, wounded, missing or prisoners in Germany? How many fatal news, arriving weeks and months after the event, from Sardinia, Greece, Italy or even Indochina? How many absences of news during all these years? How many elderly relatives fell seriously ill or died during this time? How many women and children carried away by the ridiculous chance of hostage-taking, roundups, bombings? Four years of listening to the news of the defeats, then the victories of a government which, in the distance, had decided to continue to embody the greatness of France. Four years of suffering the dreary daily life of an endless war and the deprivations imposed by an illegal but very present government.
Four years of penance, a penance that seemed reserved for the French, even if the war now ignited the entire planet. And now the Allies arrive. They are close, closer every day, every hour. Life will resume its course. We will eventually find out what happened to this father, this son, this fiancé, this uncle, this cousin, this brother, this friend, this neighbor. But who will pay for these four years? There must be a culprit. But who ? The Germans evacuate. Doriot and Laval fled. Radio Paris doesn't even broadcast anymore. Soon there will be nothing left of those four years. Something has to be done. But, of the culprits… There are just a handful of them, there at the corner of the street…
………
The doors of the school are closed when the crowd arrives. In front, of course, no guard dares to stand sentry in a street of this Paris which begins to boil as in the finest hours of the last century. We knock, we threaten to break down the door. Again and again. In his finest black uniform, a man from the PSE who more or less proclaimed himself leader of the group gathered in the establishment comes to try to intimidate these intruders, surrounded by two of his most imposing men (in two other uniforms , it's less chic, but too bad). But the troublemakers are not intimidated, they demand accountability. The man from the PSE would give them a few scapegoats, but which ones? He tries to explain, pathetic, that there are supporters of Doriot, Laval, the late Bucard or even nostalgic for the miracles that “the Marshal” would surely have done. All have been tearing each other apart for days over political and military issues...
But the crowd doesn't care. She is there for one thing. Get revenge. Revenge for privations and humiliations. The man from the PSE doesn't see the first shot coming, he and his acolytes are defending themselves, one of them has drawn a gun, but in front there are weapons too, of all kinds - knives of cooking with shotguns, passing through weapons introduced into Paris by the Resistance and ordinance pistols emerging from the Other War, the one where we fought only on the front. The first militiaman succumbs, and the sequel is inevitable: the crowd can no longer retreat, the militiamen no longer have any other refuge in the city and perhaps even in the entire country, so they fight, with blows of pistol, knife, foot and fist. In a civil war, killing each other is often what we know how to do best. After long minutes, some would say almost an hour, the most timid, remaining outside, give the alert: the Boches are coming. And when the detachment of the Abteilung P-III arrives (these armed administrators were not in too much of a hurry), a deafening silence reigns in the Saint-Louis high school. The Germans can only pick up the wounded and count the dead, often without being able to distinguish the militiamen in civilian clothes from the insurgents. In the distance rumbles the tumult of the Parisian insurrection. It is decided to transport the forty or so bodies to the morgue as quickly as possible, after which the men of P-III hasten to return to their entrenchment, where the surviving militiamen would be (momentarily) sheltered. Who knows, there may still be trains heading east…
* The Allied sailors were very lucky – the American Admiralty will recognize this itself, by asking in its reports that long-range shooting be henceforth favored for troop support…
** So much so that Hennecke will receive the Knight's Cross by Hitler's decree for his action, "an unprecedented feat of arms in the annals of coastal defense".
*** The most qualified workers were taken on board during the Grand Demenagement. These are low-skilled workers and retirees put back to work by the Occupation.
**** OTL, Edgard Arnt was killed by the Resistance at the Château de Crogny to avenge the inhabitants of the region who were victims of the massacres perpetrated by the SS.
***** Some of these scouts will be present at the 1947 Peace Jamboree.
****** Friedrich thought of going as far as Oradour-sur-Glane and also destroying this village, but time ran out.
Operation Overlord
Endgame in Cherbourg
Cotentin - Admiral Walter Hennecke's last stand did not last very long. Before dawn, the Kriegmarine forces in turn offers their surrender - although they had carefully destroyed or sabotaged everything still within their reach that might have been of use to the enemy.
The fall of Cherbourg therefore takes place less than 48 hours after the naval bombardment that targeted the town. The US Navy therefore played a significant role in the capture of Cherbourg. Just after the intervention of the Allied fleet, Reichert had sent a most alarming radio message to his commanders, in which he indicated that his resistance was becoming "useless, due to the intense fire we are taking from the sea". Admiral Hennecke, a man of his profession, spoke much later of a "naval bombardment of hitherto unparalleled ferocity".
The affair left its mark throughout the Wehrmacht - it was even mentioned in the newspaper Front und Heimat, which urged its readers to beware of the role of the Allied fleet, giving their adversaries "a particular advantage" thanks to ships that could be used at any time as floating artillery. "A torpedo boat has the firepower of a howitzer battery and a destroyer that of an artillery battery. A cruiser is equivalent to a regiment. Battleships equipped with 38 to 40 cm guns have no equivalent in land warfare. They can only be challenged by an unusual concentration of very heavy batteries. In this respect, it has to be admitted that the German coastal batteries were unable to do much: their aim was hampered by smoke, their radar was scrambled, they were constantly being shelled, and above all (but the Germans were unaware of this)... their ammunition was defective, which explains in part why the damage suffered by the Allied ships was so slight*!" The summary published by the German newspaper ends with a statement by Gerd von Rundstedt himself, who said that Allied naval fire support was "flexible and well directed [in] support of land troops (...) ranging from battleships to destroyers (...) like rapidly mobile artillery, constantly available, in defence against our attacks as well as in support of [Allied] attacks. The whole is skilfully led by air and ground observers, and has a great capacity for rapid fire from a distance". On the other side, Eisenhower commented more soberly in his memoirs: "the final assault was materially assisted by powerful and accurate naval fire."
The port is therefore secure - unfortunately, it seemed unlikely that it would be used for anything for several weeks. The defenders of the Reich have done their job well**! In the meantime, we'll have to make do with the Mulberries... and try to free up another port.
Nevertheless, the fall of the Festung Cherbourg finally frees up the VIIth Corps, which is able to head south for more rewarding tasks. Joseph Collins leaves only engineer units in the Cotentin to begin reconstruction, as well as covering forces responsible for besieging the other batteries and coastal positions on the peninsula. They all fall within five days - the famous Hamburg battery on the evening of the 20th. For the rest, it is on to the Loire!
The liberation of Brittany
Ille-et-Vilaine - A day of transition for the American army in this sector - after the costly ambush at Saint-Grégoire, John Wood's 4th Armored is unable to wrest Rennes from the Nazi occupiers, due to a lack of infantry. Robert Macon's 83rd Infantry Thunderbolt continues to play the role of utilities in front of Saint-Malo - where the first paratroopers of the 101st have barely arrived - and especially in front of Dinan, which is still heavily shelled. The only thing that calms the ardour of the American artillerymen is a certain lack of ammunition: in theory, the 83rd still occupies what looks very much like a salient ventured into enemy territory.
Wood is therefore annoyed - all the more so as he regularly has his chief Joseph Collins on the phone, who is himself being pestered by Patton to "sort out the problem of this bloody Brittany, now that the problem of this fucking Reichert has been sorted out". An explicit instruction, which speaks for itself.
The 4th Armored must therefore bypass Rennes. Yes, but which way? For Wood, the most logical solution would be to head for Châteaubriant, to the south, to then target Nantes and Saint-Nazaire. It's a long way (100 kilometres) but still less than Brest. The problem is that this manoeuvre also means that the Shermans are paraded in front of enemy lines! What's more, the rapid ascent of Bradley's troops from the south makes this solution much less attractive to the leader of the 1st US Army - why spend an armoured division reaching out to his colleague! So what about marching towards Laval, further east? There is no point: the advance of the VIIIth Corps and the Anglo-Canadians showed that the road to Paris and Orléans is already open or about to be.
So off to the west and the Brittany peninsula. The guns of the 37th Tank Bataillon first head for Saint-Gilles, aiming for the N12 as far as Saint-Méen-le-Grand, before undoubtedly taking the minor Morbihan roads leading to Vannes. Behind them, the artillery continues to intermittently pound the positions of Colonel Eugen König in Rennes. To his great surprise and (at least equally) great relief, he realises that the much-feared assault is not coming. As the town is not surrounded, he takes advantage of the situation to try and evacuate his last non-combatants - administrative staff, the wounded, etc. - and his captives. He still has around 800 "terrorists" and 400 prisoners of war to transfer to Germany. And while preparing these convoys, König doesn't forget to ask his chiefs for authorisation for him and his men to leave...
Jig towards the Seine
Mayenne - The Vth Corps continues to slip along in the rain without encountering any resistance, apart from a few roadblocks improvised by stragglers where Fate had abandoned them. The 29th Infantry Blue and Gray (Charles Gerhardt) is ordered to take Mayenne - at least its east bank, and ideally a bridgehead west of the river of the same name. This task is more difficult than it seems! Firstly, the river is only crossed by four bridges. Secondly, the occupying forces seem to have decided to hang on to this crossroads - it serves several routes to safety from Brittany, currently used by a host of different elements, but all on the run!
Gerhardt does not have sufficient means of crossing the Mayenne. He therefore had to seize at least one intact structure. So, while preparing a night assault, he stays on the outskirts of the town towards Ambrières and Oisseau, looking for a plan...
Fortunately for the American, the GIs are not alone: a group of eight maquisards commanded by René Justin - leader of a spy and escape network - have spontaneously come to them in Domfront-en-Poiraie, with a great deal of intelligence on the enemy positions. As a result, Ambrières is not crushed by an artillery bombardment planned for the same day, as a precautionary measure... The man is credible. He is useful, concise, efficient - and a good speaker too. So much so that he was able to confer - after several reports - with Patton himself, under a tent somewhere on the road to Flers. The Old Man - who still appreciates these biting Frenchmen as much as he does - is willing to put his trust in Justin. And he has his group placed at the head of the column. Starting tonight, they'll have to infiltrate the town and surprise the Huns at a crossing point...
Normandy - The 2nd Infantry Indian Head (Walter Robertson) reaches Lalacelle and splits into two columns heading for Alençon and Sées respectively - one to open up the road to Orléans, the other to support the forces crushing the remaining Germans a little further north. Behind, the 30th Infantry Old Hickory (General Leland Hobbs) continues to flank the British forces on its left and slide towards Rânes, in order to sweep up any stragglers left in the countryside.
In front, the LXXXI. ArmeeKorps of Adolf Kuntzen is disintegrating under the blows of the French 2nd DB, which pushes forward and closes the road to Gacé despite the persistent rain. Leclerc's unit finally joinsup with George Erskine's 7th Armoured Division at the end of the day, on a country road somewhere east of Trun. What remains of the German forces in the sector have now been wiped out: a week of intense fighting has destroyed the equivalent of three or even four infantry divisions. Hanskurt Höcker (15. Feld Division) managed to escape, but Curt Jahn (late 709. ID) is captured. As for Adolf Kuntzen, the last we saw of his car, it was speeding towards Dreux with the lightest of escorts!
It is now up to Tom Rennie's 3rd Infantry, then Robert Knox Ross's 53rd Welsh Infantry, to stabilise a new front on the Saint-Pierre-en-Auge - Vimoutiers - Sées line. The lines are still porous: we are not on the Eastern Front; the countryside is relatively hospitable and distances are manageable on foot. Over the next few days, dozens of groups, sections and even individual soldiers march through the wilderness, with no prospects other than heading east by compass or sunlight, hoping to avoid a nasty encounter.
Meanwhile, the 15th Infantry Scottish (Gordon MacMillan), 6th Airborne (Richard Gale) and 50th Infantry Northumbrian (Douglas Graham) continue to push back the debris of the 709. ID (less than a regiment), the 36. Panzergrenadier and the 4. Fallschirmjäger (both badly damaged) towards Orbec, beyond the Orbiquet. Lisieux falls in the night, abandoned by the occupying forces. Panzergrenadiers and parachutists alike retreat quickly - they would be in Le Neubourg by nightfall.
And they are right to hurry! On the coast, Harry Crerar's I Canadian Corps continues to advance along the Seine towards Bourg-Achard and approaches Rouen. Rouen, where the 26. Panzer under Smilo von Lüttwitz has just arrived to cross the river through a city under siege. Someone is going to have to defend the right bank of the Seine, at least for the next few days.
The United Nations triumph once and for all in Normandy. However, to the astonishment of the British, the French under Leclerc do not seem any happier about their joint success. Their minds are elsewhere - further east. That's understandable... but the officers seem frankly worried. Worse still, they communicate this feeling to the whole troop. Before nightfall, rumours of a possible bloodbath in the capital spreads wildly. The French tanks suddenly swing eastwards and begin driving towards Laigle, even though they have not received orders to do so from the Allied headquarters. As for Leclerc de Hauteclocque, he now seems unreachable!
The coup de trop
Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole - General Friedrich Dollmann, commander of the VII. Armee (one of his AKs is destroyed, the other two are locked up in Festungen) learns of the outcome of the operations near Argentan at the end of the day, while the surrender of Cherbourg has been trumpeted on all the allied radios since the previous day.
After a telephone conversation with Rundstedt in which - according to his aide-de-camp - the word Kriegsgericht (court martial) is uttered, Dollman, as if the victim of a sledgehammer blow, locks himself in his office. In the evening, people are worried - the General has not come down for dinner. The aide-de-camp takes it upon himself to enter the silent, darkened room. In the half-light, he catches a glimpse of a figure slumped over the desk...
.........
"Even today, it is not certain that General Dollmann committed suicide by poisoning. The hypothesis is, of course, eminently credible: given the total collapse that the German army had just suffered in Normandy, and the atmosphere that had prevailed since Valkyrie in the Wehrmacht - indeed in the Reich in general! - it seemed obvious that Berlin would want to find a scapegoat for the disaster. Manstein had already paid the price in January, even before the attack, and then it was von Weichs' turn in May. It seemed obvious that Friedrich Dollmann, a traditional officer who was far removed from the Nazi ideal held up as an example since March 15th, would follow suit. And also that it would be worse for him, as he had neither the support nor the rank to protect him. It is therefore very likely that the head of the 7. Armee, in despair, preferred death to a rigged and humiliating trial, which could also have led to his family's ruin.
However, much later, Gerd von Rundstedt would put forward a different version of events! The field marshal readily admitted (as he often did after the war!) that Hitler was responsible and that, "enraged beyond all reason", he had promised Dollmann the rope. But Rundstedt claimed that he had managed to protect his subordinate and save his life if not his command. The phone call mentioned by Dollman's aide-de-camp did not promise him a court martial, but rather the chance to avoid one, replaced by a simple disgrace (with a possible replacement by Paul Hausser, who was on the Polish front at the time). And Dollmann would then have died of a stroke following a severe stress attack, which was understandable at the time.
We know that Rundstedt devoted his last years to defending a German army that had fallen victim to its political leaders. So, Dollmann: unwitting victim of Walkyrie or just unlucky? We find it impossible to say. The two hypotheses are not completely exclusive. They nonetheless say something about the decay of the German army, its morale, and the overall decline of its officer corps, condemned to win or die - the first option now proving visibly unattainable".
(Jean-Jacques Picassier, La chance du démon, Tallandier 2008)
The 16. Panzer finally reunited in Normandy
Evreux - The Collins column joins up with the Back column during the night, as the Panzer Lehr arrives at Dreux to take up position as a relay for its machines.
The 16. Panzer is finally reassembled after a nine-day odyssey through a France in a state of latent insurrection, as a steamroller named Auchinleck set off from Normandy to join up with another steamroller named Frère, which is coming up from the southern third of France to pincer together a large part of the German army in Western Europe. During the journey, more than one hundred and fifty soldiers were killed or put out of action. Half a dozen SdKfz and a dozen lorries littered the fields and roads of Burgundy, and five Panthers were taken for the defence of Groß Paris. But above all, the losses suffered during Lüttich have not been made up for - in short, the 16. Panzer now has barely 60% of its theoretical strength.
The question now is: what should we do?
Panzer Lehr in doubt
Dreux - General Fritz Bayerlein is also asking himself this question. His precious elite division (which is in no better shape than the 16. Panzer) finds itself eighty kilometres ahead of the defence line decreed by the command, under the nose of an enemy that is clearly as numerous as it is well-armed... And now he learns that the infantry whose retreat he is supposed to be covering has been wiped out near Alençon!
Understandably, the Bavarian is worried. To fight for the Reich, to die perhaps - yes. But for the Reich, and not in vain. In the absence of aerial reconnaissance, the positions of the opposing fronts remains uncertain: the fog of war is opaque. So, despite his reluctance - too bad for his reputation - Bayerlein asks Westheer HQ for instructions for a drawer redeployment manoeuvre, which he suggests should be coordinated with Back, to cover the approaches to Groß Paris from Mantes-la-Jolie in the north-west and Etampes in the south-west. Of course, this would also free up the direct route to the west of the French capital - but fighting in a dense urban environment is not the business of the panzer divisions... who also remember that a few Panthers have been confiscated in transit. So let Governor Kittel's foot soldiers fend for themselves. Meanwhile, the Panzerwaffe does its job - manoeuvring. Obviously, with events in progress, Bayerling would have no answer tonight...
Southern Front
Operation Arrowheads
Southern France - Second day of rain in western France. The second day of paralysis for the Allied air force, another day that facilitates the enemy's movements. And according to the meteorologists, we won't see any improvement until the 22nd. This news would enrage an explosive-tempered general like Patton, but Bradley and his deputies at the 7th Army are just disappointed - and not very unhappy at that: the USAAF would not be able to take credit for the day's successes, which would silence some of the bad tongues in Bordeaux.
.........
VIII US Corps, Charente - Within the 7th Army, the VIIIth Corps currently leads the way in terms of enemy units routed and liberated territory. Its leader is determined to maintain this lead, if only through a healthy spirit of competition with his colleagues. What's more, this offensive doesn't really resemble a real battle - it even turns into a gigantic game of chase. The objective for the VIIIth Corps is therefore to flank the Festungen at Royan and La Rochelle, identify their weaknesses and if possible reduce them without destroying the towns too much, as they had been politely told by the French, who would already have their hands full rebuilding Lyon, Cherbourg and no doubt other towns after the war. But fortress work would be reserved for the infantry divisions.
Geoffrey Keyes therefore orders a roque between the 85th Infantry and the 2nd Armoured at 5am - the manoeuvre has to start by 7am at the latest. The 85th Infantry Custer (John Coulter) is ordered to try to negotiate with the 159. ID in Royan and to cover La Rochelle, where the 349. ID is located. Meanwhile, the 2nd Armored (Edward Brooks) will pursue the 265. and 245. ID northwards.
The enemy does not even try to maintain a link between the two supposed fortresses, much to the dismay of Coulter, who would have liked to have been able to further reduce their resources before withdrawing to prepared positions. However, his scouts give him encouraging news about Royan: the 159. ID is not a front-line unit, but a reserve unit, not very manoeuvrable and lacking in heavy resources. It seems to have established three defensive hubs at Saujon, Médis and Saint-Georges-de-Didonne, with advanced positions at Le Chay, Semussac and Meschers-sur-Gironde. The bridge at La Tremblade has been destroyed and elements are standing guard on the Seudre estuary. Elements of the... 265. ID? But it's running away from Brooks! This is obviously no longer a major adversary. A small half of the Custer maneuvers to surround La Rochelle, while the rest of the division, and in particular the bulk of the artillery, takes up positions in front of Royan. Coulter kindly warns his adversary that he knows his position is precarious and that he has the means to crush him in one or two days, but his adversary knows that these two days are crucial if the main body of the 1. Armee is to be able to retreat, and he would have none of it.
Around La Rochelle, the GIs enter Rochefort and are welcomed as heroes by the population. Some are lucky enough to leave with a small cord given as a souvenir by the workers at the former Corderie Royale***. Today at Fort Brening, among the relics of the American infantry, you can find a real sea-rope given to Coulder by the Corderie after the war. A small reconnaissance section goes to Oléron with the help of a trawler belonging to a sailor from Fouras: the German positions have been abandoned as indefensible. The whole island is officially liberated by a single platoon, which is carried in triumph through the various villages and leaves with... a few digestive problems, after having been invited all day to taste glads of mussels marinière. At around 20:00, the 85th completely envelops the 349. ID, which has entrenched itself in the peri-urban belt around La Rochelle and whose left flank is covered by the Poitevin marshes, where any unit would find it difficult to operate.
As for the 2nd Armoured Hell on Wheels (Brooks), it is hot on the heels of an enemy that is still trying to slip through eastwards. Deploying more and more widely, its left wing liberates Saint-Jean d'Angély shortly after midday, where it finds the remains of 265. ID which has passed through the town in the morning, then reaches Surgères in the evening. The division's centre and right wing pursue the 245. ID as far as Chizé and Bioux-sur-Boutonne, where the enemy still does not appear. A puzzled Brooks finally realises that his enemy must have wanted to pass through Niort with the 265. ID first. He is therefore able to intercept them at Saint-Maixent. Pushing his unit forward, Brooks succeeds in positioning two-thirds of his division on a line from Saint-Maixent to La Motte Saint-Héray. Tomorrow, his enemy would be forced to fight, and he would destroy them. The only fly in the ointment is that the logistical and material support echelon told him that almost half his tanks and lorries could run out of fuel at any moment, due to mechanical fatigue or running out of petrol, the reserves having reached their low point! The 2nd Armored still has two days of petrol left before being forced to stop. What's more, the men are exhausted, having ridden for almost twelve hours. But Brooks has achieved his main objective: to corner his opponent. And on the other side, he's pretty sure that the Landsers are no fresher! He is right: Düvert and Sander, pushing their troops forward, enter Niort at nightfall and let their men rest for a few hours. Most of them fall asleep, but a few others, having lost all hope of ever seeing the Heimat again, go on the rampage, especially after looting a wine cellar near the station. To "get back to Germany faster", a dozen men try to start up a locomotive that had been sabotaged by SNCF railwaymen (like all the locomotives in the West, in fact: part of the running gear or boiler has disappeared, officially taken to maintain a locomotive that had already left, and in reality buried nearby). Surprised by the Feldgendarmen, the unfortunate men are accused of desertion - they are shot at dawn the next day.
The cat-and-mouse game continues between the 9. Panzer (Erwin Jolasse) and the 1st Armored Old Ironsides (Ernest Harmon) and once again the (big) mouse wins. Having lost precious hours getting round Angoulême and then reorganising his division, Harmon, who could not bear it, finally arrives in Ruffec late in the evening. At the same time, Jolasse reaches Vivonne and leads his men over the last few kilometres with a strong escort to report back to Kurt Gallenkamp, who congratulates him - even though he had not been able to reach Niort for several hours, which was beginning to worry him... From the next day, Jolasse would have plenty of time to siphon off what is left of the petrol in Poitiers, which is not much but better than nothing! Gallenkamp and his staff leave with him, as the infantry does not seem to be available.
That evening, at VIIIth Corps HQ, everyone is happy and begins preparing the Bordeaux wines for the next day. In all likelihood, within two days the 80. AK will have completely ceased to exist and the equivalent of three départements will have been liberated. A great feat of arms.
.........
IVth US Corps, Vienne - The most important battle of the day is the battle of Saint-Junien (for the Germans) or Rochechouart (for the Franco-Americans). Two German divisions, the 327. ID (Rudolf Friedrich) and the 708. ID (Edgard Arnt) face the 1st Infantry Big Red One (Clarence Huebner), who want to prevent them from crossing the Vienne river. Although their orders are to withdraw as quickly as possible, the Germans have no choice: if they cross the Vienne now, the Americans could attack them from behind and massacre them. The two German generals know that although they are nominally two against one, the US division is far stronger and has more firepower. Having coordinated the day before, they intend to use the classic hammer and anvil tactic. The Big Red One will undoubtedly pounce like a wolf on the first prey within its reach: the 327. ID will have to hold around Rochechouart while the 708. ID will outflank the American's right wing to catch him from the rear. In the evening, the two divisions could withdraw via the Saint-Junien and Saint-Victurnien bridges.
In the morning, Huebner throws the 18th Infantry Rgt at Rochechouart, supported by all the division's artillery except for the 155 mm of the 5th Field Artillery Btn, held in reserve at Chéronnac, where Huebner's HQ is located. But after the inconclusive confrontations of the previous day, he deploys a significant part of his forces on his right to cover the Vayres and try to find a ford: this is the mission of the 1st Engineer Btn and the bulk of the 26th Infantry Rgt. And on his left, one of the battalions of the 16th Infantry Rgt is tasked with taking Chassenon and pushing on to the Saillat-sur-Vienne bridge if there is no opposition.
So when Edgard Arnt launches his 708. ID - or what is left of it - on the village of Vayres to envelop the Americans, he comes across a company of the 26th Infantry Rgt. His infantrymen quickly realise that it is a much larger unit than an enemy company that would play the same role as them and sounds the alarm. The 708. ID comes under fire from the 5th FAB while the 748. Grenadier Rgt tries to establish a bridgehead in the village. Quickly overrun, the company of the 26th Infantry Rgt retreats in good order and the 26th Rgt regroups on Les Meynieux and Glandoulat, while Huebner commits his reserve on the heights west of Vayres. While the 5th FAB fights on the eastern outskirts of the village, the 728. Grenadier Rgt tries to force its way across the Vayre north of Glandoulat, but comes up against the 1st Engineer Btn and suffers a bitter failure. It is true that the 728. GR has been severely depleted by the previous day's fighting, that it lacks experienced officers to lead the assaults, that the engineers are very comfortable in defence... and that the 105 mm of the 33rd Artillery Btn are quickly diverted from the attack on the village to help them. It is a massacre: the Landsers of the 708. ID lose the equivalent of three companies to shellfire.
By midday, if Vayres is still in the hands of the 708. ID, the 748. Grenadier Rgt has suffered heavy losses and the bulk of the 728. Grenadier Rgt is routed. Arnt begins to regret his decision to enlist: he now has only two melee battalions, the 708. Feldersatz (it's all in the name) and the 708. Division-Fusiliers-Bataillon. Playing for all it was worth, he throws them forward with what is left of the 728. GR in an attempt to outflank the 16th Infantry Rgt from the south and silence that damned 5th FAB, whose 155mm shells have a devastating effect. He keeps with him at Les Ollières only the Flak-Kompanie (which lacks heavy armaments and has not the slightest target, in the rain and with no tanks in front) and the other divisional units (the equivalent of two companies), which had been heavily used during the fighting on the Dordogne and could no longer carry any weight today.
Unfortunately for the 708. ID, immediately after the departure of the elements sent to the south, the 26th Infantry Rgt receives the order to counter-attack to retake Vayres, and the 16th stretches its device from the plateau of Peyrassoulat to the forest below. There, the American regiment confronts the Landsers. Trees and cover prohibit any consistent maneuver. It is a battle made up of a set of skirmishes, where a dozen men can inflict a failure on a company, cross it without knowing it or be swept away. At 15:00, it is clear that the Landsers would not get through, as the 16th Rgt holds the western approaches to the woods too well. They therefore go up towards Vayres… to fall on the 26th Rgt, which has pushed back the 748. Grenadier Rgt on the other side of the river. Caught in a pincer movement, the two battalions and what remains of the 728. GR are dispersed. Some try to retake the village and end up under the bullets of the 26th Rgt, others try to escape through the woods, where a large number are shot down or captured by the Americans. Arndt, faced with the destruction before his eyes of his division, tries to clinch with as many people as possible. But his retreat quickly becomes a rout, with the Landsers running towards the bridges to reach them before the Americans arrive. What remains of the 708. ID is transformed into a dozen scattered groups trying to reach Saint-Junien or Saint-Brice-sur-Vienne. While Arndt still hopes to reach a bridge in time, detonations ring out in the woods around his car – but they are not American rifles. A burst of Sten sweeps through his car, killing his driver. Edgard Arndt is captured and dragged with a few other officers to the Château de Saint-Auvent. According to the official accounts, we lose track of him there. But after the war, some former Resistance fighters feeling the need to lighten their conscience will give the location of his grave; examination of the general's corpse will clearly show that he was shot at close range. He has paid – perhaps unfairly – the price of the numerous “anti-terrorist operations” that have ravaged the region****. Everywhere southeast of Rochechouart, ambushes harass the survivors of the division. The 708. ID no longer exists.
On the side of the 327. ID, Friedrich is of course unaware of the fate of his colleague, but his men do not fail to notice the numerous artillery fire further south and fugitives joining them. Regrouping his troops, he therefore abandons the affair and, protected by a short artillery barrage, he evacuates Rochechouart in the afternoon and pushes his men to the limit. They cross the Vayres at Saint-Junien after repelling a reconnaissance step at Saillat-sur-Vienne. At the end of the afternoon, the four bridges between Saillat and Saint-Brice are blown up.
Having learned that the survivors of the 708. ID have suffered numerous attacks from the Resistance, Friedrich, once a refugee north of the Vayres, decides – to intimidate other “terrorists” or to restore heart to his men? – decides to retaliate in the surrounding area. He orders Saint-Junien to be set on fire and to make its population pay for the death of several tens, even several hundred Reich soldiers killed by “franc-tireurs”. So no mercy. The whole district between the town hall and the collegiate church is set on fire and the Romanesque collegiate church built on the tomb of Saint Junien is no exception. Inside the building, about forty hostages, including the mayor and the priest, are locked up. They only get out thanks to the courage of scouts from the clandestine troop formed in the area, who manage to force one of the north side doors, while the interior of the building fills with toxic smoke***** – in the end, there will be only a few deaths.
These atrocious rituals accomplished******, Friedrich reaches Bellac with his 327. ID (or what remains of it) in the evening. He can't stay there too long: it's too close to Limoges and right on the road to Poitiers, which seems to be the Americans' objective. The next day, we will have to push on to Montmorillon, at the very least. Around 22:30, he manages to reach the head of the LXIV. AK, Karl Sachs, and tells him the results of the day. Sachs does not choke on learning of the loss of the 708. ID. He who feared the loss of the two divisions, he is not going to cry because he only lost one. In addition, the 362. ID (Heinz Greiner) still managed to slip right in front of the enemy. It is camping for the night near Azerables and intends to reach Chateauroux tomorrow; it will join the staffs of the LXIV. AK and XC. AK there.
As for the rest of the US IVth Corps, the bridges at Limoges have been rehabilitated, and the 36th ID Texas (John Dalquist) clears the city, clearing the way for the 3rd Armored Spearhead (Maurice Rose), tasked with hunting down the 362. ID. Not knowing in which direction to go, Rose chooses to coordinate his movement with the 7th Infantry Bayonet (Lyman Lemnitzer), which has found a bridge over the Vienne at Dognon. While the 7th takes care of the Dauges bog, the 3rd Armored emerges north of Limoges and settles for the night between Chamboret and Compraignac. Huebner having warned his colleague of the breakaway of the 327. ID, Rose intends to cut him off from Argenton, unaware that the German will try to pass further west.
………
US Vth Corps, Millevaches plateau – The last face to face of the day concerns XC. AK (Wilhelm Wetzel) and the US VIth Corps (John Lucas). Dropping out of the labyrinth of Millevaches, Lucas' units gradually move into position and organize to storm the positions on which the XC. AK seems to have entrenched himself. In reality, Wetzel ordered a general retreat to Châteauroux. In the evening, the 266. ID is in Argenton and the 85. ID in Chavin. On the other hand, the 355. ID starts to lag behind and just reaches Aigurande. Sensing that this exhausted division will soon be caught up by the enemy, Wetzel adds to it what remains of the PanzerAbteilung of the XC. AK to support him during the sacrificial battles that the division will have to carry out. This is to occupy the US VIth Corps, not just to allow the rest of the XC. AK to get by, but also to protect the rest of the 1. Armee, whose forces are dwindling every day. Tired, the American divisions are happy to limply accompany the opposing movement, and to stop early enough to allow their soldiers to rest. The 28th Infantry Keystone (Lloyd Brown), the 88th Infantry, the 3rd Infantry and the 10th Mountain Climb to Glory (Lloyd Jones), which pushes the 334. ID in front of it, therefore camped on a Le Grand Bourg – Evaux-les-Bains lines.
Operation Dixmude
Massif Central – Vichy is liberated. Constellated with craters, its burnt casino and its streets strewn with debris, but liberated. Under pressure from the 19th DI (Pierre Kœnig), Heinz Hellmich's 243. ID manages to break free towards Varennes-sur-Allier - where it joins Erwin Menny's 84. ID. The two units now head towards Nevers, thus avoiding the Morvan massif where - it seems - bad things are happening for the Germans. The 14th DI (Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert) does try to block their way… but it finds herself threatened – not attacked, but still! – on his left by the 165. ID (Wilhelm Daser), also retreating from Montmarault towards Moulins and who has to play solidarily not to find himself in turn stuck… In addition, Daser still has the cover for him of the 334. ID (Friedrich Weber), which clings between Cosne-d'Allier and Souvigny, which protects it at least a little from a possible blow of the Americans on its back. The French of the Belgian corps therefore do not destroy their opponent. However, they continue to put pressure on him, even to cut cruppers to him. The aviation still cannot intervene? What does it matter! It won't last, it's spring... And by advancing on a Le Montet – Neuilly-le-Réal line, the soldiers don't forget that if they progress on their land, it's also because the enemy is leaving them. .
………
In the Morvan, the hunt continues – here too, slowed down by the rain. The 255. ID (Theo-Helmut Lieb), hard hit during the fights the day before, passes in front. It arrives in Autun at the end of the day, having therefore almost (almost!) caught up with the troops retreating at the same time in the Saône valley. Behind, the Belgians press the enemy on the direct route from La Boulaye – it is the 7th Chasseurs Ardennais (General-Major Arthur Lambert) and the Tancrémont, who jostle the 16. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division of Karl Sievers. The Belgians alternate skillfully between caution and violence, but alas, in both cases, it is not without losses. For its part, the 4th DI (Roger Libbrecht) outflanks the enemy and enters Montceau-les-Mines, abandoned by the Occupation and in the hands of local insurgents reinforced by FFI guerrillas. These retreat from the Autun sector to escape retreating columns far too powerful for their liking. Among these improvised fighters, there are many diggers of… Polish origin, who did not need much motivation to go and kill some Boche or Collabo! In short, the city is quickly liberated, held and totally secure. Especially since at the same time, the 1st Chasseurs Ardennais (Colonel Florent Merckx) passes on the left as a scout towards Charmoy, closing the road to any – very unlikely – German action in the sector. The regiment is advancing rapidly. Tomorrow, he may be at Le Creusot...
Operation Marguerite
Around the Saône – The 182. ID (Richard Baltzer) and the 14. SS-Panzergrenadier Götz von Berlichingen (Otto Binge) cross the Dheune. Then, after having blown up all the bridges, these two units continue towards Beaune – obviously hoping to reach Dijon, without however forgetting to help themselves in the cellars on the way. Behind, the 3rd Armored Division of Jean Rabanit and the 15th DBLE Massada-Valmy remain entangled in various problems, between combing, supply and maintaining order. The Dheune is reached in the middle of the day, of course – but to cross it, you will have to wait for the bridge workers!
On the west bank of the Saône, the LXXXV. ArmeeKorps of Erich Straube continues to withdraw with relative control on a line going roughly from Seure (it is the 91. Luftlande Infanterie of Wilhelm Falley) to Poligny (it is the 5. Fallschirmjäger of Gustav Wilke), with the 39. ID in between. That's good: Hans Kroh's 2. Fallschirmjäger has just arrived in Champagnole. Having lost, it is true, a few dozen soldiers on the way, between ambushes and help from legionnaires... But it remains largely able to continue alone towards Pontarlier.
The course of operations could therefore seem controlled by Straube's corps. However, it must be understood that, of these four divisions, none can claim to be intact… far from it! And it is also the case of the 16. SS-Panzer Hitlerjugend… The most fit is the 5. FJ, very recently formed, but the others have hardly more than a fraction of their theoretical strength: a quarter (39 . ID), a third (Hitlerjugend) or a half (91. LL and 2. FJ). The situation therefore remains desperately against the Heer, still unable to even claim to recover on a given line. On the other hand, indeed, it can always ride in front. A bit like the French in July 1940, some would say. However, the German command, despite the concerns of recent days, is no longer too worried. The sky is always with the Reich, and the Doubs, as well as the marshes of Dol, form major obstacles on which the Heer counts to slow down its adversaries. Here, no question of moving to the Baltic, it is true – but it is hoped that the simple attrition and the natural dispersion of the Allied forces will buy enough time to form a real Visigoth line, using the troops in redeployment from all over occupied Europe. The French are not going to run all the way to Berlin! Even to go as far as Marseille, the Reich had to take a three-week break! And it was the Master Race at its best, not a mediocre pack of African dogs, besides already with less of a bite!
Indeed, on the side of the pursuers, the excitement seems to have given way to caution. The French tanks have suffered more than significant losses for three weeks – worsening these will not change the final result. Basically, it must be remembered that the entire French army has been fighting for four long years “with broken backs” and is undergoing an increasingly visible and dangerous phenomenon of attrition. New recruits, most of whom are still in training, are only arriving very gradually, while the old guard of veterans is worn down by the particularly intense pace of operations.
However, for the Republic to continue to hold its rank until victory on the lands of the Reich (and after the war), its army must – as it has become accustomed to – continue to manage, to wait, to save money… And, paradoxically, to slow down the pursuit of an opponent who has been badly mistreated. Even if it means letting the Allies across the Atlantic do the dirty work tomorrow... Many will say (or at least think) that they just had to get there sooner!
For Paris
Civil war scenes
Lycée Saint-Louis (Paris, 6th arrondissement), at dawn – Why did they stay when so many others have fled for several days now? Why then do they cling to a body politic which is inexorably and silently dissolving? The ideal they serve for bad or less bad reasons has already been denied by many comrades. Others, even more numerous, have left the city, even the country, supposedly to continue to serve him, but above all because they fear having to justify themselves. Only them are left. Who are they ? Idealists on the run, provincials whose home town fell into the hands of what is called here "the Enemy", candids who believed that it was a mark of confidence to receive the order to stay in Paris to supervise other comrades, pretentious people who think that one against a thousand, they will succeed in reversing the course of the war. There are indeed about sixty reasons to explain the presence within the walls of this Parisian high school which serves as their barracks for these sixty militiamen of all tendencies and police forces of the NEF. They wait. They speculate. They dream. During this time…
………
They are a few hundred. Of all ages. Men, women, teenagers. Residents of the neighborhood, passers-by, travelers who found themselves stuck in the Parisian powder keg when it started to explode. Through them, the rumor spread like wildfire. The Germans plan to blow up the Eiffel Tower, the neighbor knows it from a reliable source through a cousin who works at the Kommandantur but on behalf of the Resistance. He would have heard that… By word of mouth the rumor became certainty. So, something must be done. But what ? Attack the Hotel Meurice? We thought about it but... So, attacking patrols? Not very satisfying. But it seems that there would be Doriotists who would not have fled and who would hide in the area! At Saint-Louis high school! Exactly. They could try to join this Doriot, this Déat, all these Collabos of misfortune who took the road to the East… So, the day before, an idea spread, finding its origin in discussions at the end of the night. Tomorrow at dawn, we will go and clean some Collaborators...
Soon the group grew. Coming from all walks of life, its members embody everything that the Metropolis has had to undergo for almost four years. Four years of deprivation, of misfortune. How many fathers, sons, uncles and nephews, brothers and friends, dead, wounded, missing or prisoners in Germany? How many fatal news, arriving weeks and months after the event, from Sardinia, Greece, Italy or even Indochina? How many absences of news during all these years? How many elderly relatives fell seriously ill or died during this time? How many women and children carried away by the ridiculous chance of hostage-taking, roundups, bombings? Four years of listening to the news of the defeats, then the victories of a government which, in the distance, had decided to continue to embody the greatness of France. Four years of suffering the dreary daily life of an endless war and the deprivations imposed by an illegal but very present government.
Four years of penance, a penance that seemed reserved for the French, even if the war now ignited the entire planet. And now the Allies arrive. They are close, closer every day, every hour. Life will resume its course. We will eventually find out what happened to this father, this son, this fiancé, this uncle, this cousin, this brother, this friend, this neighbor. But who will pay for these four years? There must be a culprit. But who ? The Germans evacuate. Doriot and Laval fled. Radio Paris doesn't even broadcast anymore. Soon there will be nothing left of those four years. Something has to be done. But, of the culprits… There are just a handful of them, there at the corner of the street…
………
The doors of the school are closed when the crowd arrives. In front, of course, no guard dares to stand sentry in a street of this Paris which begins to boil as in the finest hours of the last century. We knock, we threaten to break down the door. Again and again. In his finest black uniform, a man from the PSE who more or less proclaimed himself leader of the group gathered in the establishment comes to try to intimidate these intruders, surrounded by two of his most imposing men (in two other uniforms , it's less chic, but too bad). But the troublemakers are not intimidated, they demand accountability. The man from the PSE would give them a few scapegoats, but which ones? He tries to explain, pathetic, that there are supporters of Doriot, Laval, the late Bucard or even nostalgic for the miracles that “the Marshal” would surely have done. All have been tearing each other apart for days over political and military issues...
But the crowd doesn't care. She is there for one thing. Get revenge. Revenge for privations and humiliations. The man from the PSE doesn't see the first shot coming, he and his acolytes are defending themselves, one of them has drawn a gun, but in front there are weapons too, of all kinds - knives of cooking with shotguns, passing through weapons introduced into Paris by the Resistance and ordinance pistols emerging from the Other War, the one where we fought only on the front. The first militiaman succumbs, and the sequel is inevitable: the crowd can no longer retreat, the militiamen no longer have any other refuge in the city and perhaps even in the entire country, so they fight, with blows of pistol, knife, foot and fist. In a civil war, killing each other is often what we know how to do best. After long minutes, some would say almost an hour, the most timid, remaining outside, give the alert: the Boches are coming. And when the detachment of the Abteilung P-III arrives (these armed administrators were not in too much of a hurry), a deafening silence reigns in the Saint-Louis high school. The Germans can only pick up the wounded and count the dead, often without being able to distinguish the militiamen in civilian clothes from the insurgents. In the distance rumbles the tumult of the Parisian insurrection. It is decided to transport the forty or so bodies to the morgue as quickly as possible, after which the men of P-III hasten to return to their entrenchment, where the surviving militiamen would be (momentarily) sheltered. Who knows, there may still be trains heading east…
* The Allied sailors were very lucky – the American Admiralty will recognize this itself, by asking in its reports that long-range shooting be henceforth favored for troop support…
** So much so that Hennecke will receive the Knight's Cross by Hitler's decree for his action, "an unprecedented feat of arms in the annals of coastal defense".
*** The most qualified workers were taken on board during the Grand Demenagement. These are low-skilled workers and retirees put back to work by the Occupation.
**** OTL, Edgard Arnt was killed by the Resistance at the Château de Crogny to avenge the inhabitants of the region who were victims of the massacres perpetrated by the SS.
***** Some of these scouts will be present at the 1947 Peace Jamboree.
****** Friedrich thought of going as far as Oradour-sur-Glane and also destroying this village, but time ran out.
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