"On this stonne I will build my kingdom" - a french victory in the Ardennes, 1940

Archibald

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(Text of Eric Denis published in September 2007 on forum ATF 1940. http://atf40.forumculture.net/un-miracle-de-1940-mais-ou-f24/une-victoire-francaise-a-stonne-t430.htm translated with Babelfish with some improvements).

May 13, 1940.

A thousand aircrafts. The Luftwaffe had come en masse. And the AK Guderian had followed soon thereafter. Now a bridge of boats stood over the Meuse; soon german tanks would flood France. Infantry of the 10 PzD bridgehead was protected by 300 flak guns.

Preceded by an air attack out of the commun run for the time, since more than 1.000 apparatuses of Luftwaffe the French positions of the sector attack, the AK Guderian had not met too many difficulties to cross the Meuse, and began the construction of a bridge of boats which would be usable by the tanks as of the 14 in the morning.
The infantry of the 10. PzD has just created its bridgehead, towards 16:00, in Floing-Gaulier - it extended it until Chémery. A clever Guderian installed nearly 300 flak guns in the sector, fearing rightly a allied air intervention.

The French were in panic. The 55e DI had been stunned by Stukas, and severely beaten. The 7th BCC and 213e IH counter-offensive had not been launched. The French high command awaited the 3rd DIM and the 3rd DCR which were on the way to arrive on the sector.

The 1. and 2. PzD went full west – threatening France. The 10. PzD and Grossdeutschland advanced south of Sedan, toward two small villages - Stonne and the Mont Dieu.
In the evening of May 14, these two units stormed their objectives. The resistance of the 6th GRDI was unexpected and heroic. The germans tooks a severe beating, their fast tanks ambushed by the heavier, better-armored French units. Bigger guns and thicked armour played in favour of the French for the first time.
As a result the frontline stabilized the 14 in the evening.
 

Archibald

Banned
DCR = Armoured division
BCC = Tank batallion
DI = division of infantry
DIM = motorized division of infantry
RA = self-propelled artillery

The French High command was panick-stricken but, amid the chaos, come a ray of light. Someone decided that General Bertin Boussu – head of the 3e DIM – would lead a counter attack from Chemery, with four majors units; they were the 3e DCR, 3rd DIM, 7 th BCC, and 213e IH.
Two decisions happened early in the morning of May 14, 1940, changed history forever. First, general Flavigny decided that Bertin Boussu needed more time to mount its counter attack. Indeed the 3e DCR was not there yet.
Secondly, it was decided that French and british airpower would be directed, not against Sedan pontoons – defended by every german AA gun. The bombers would instead back the French counter-attack over the Mont Dieu and Chemery, to Sedan !

The day of May 15 saw the French gather their assets. The Germans had achieved their goals in the South and did not move this day.

In the morning of the 16, the whole of the French troops massed near Stonne (3rd DCR, 7th BCC, 3rd DIM and 213e ID) were ready for a powerful counterattack. Above their heads the RAF engaged the whole of its formations on the German positions of Stonne. The units of Flak, concentrated on the passages of the Meuse were almost absent on the city, and the German units underwent severe bombings.
At 8:00 in the morning, the combined artillery of the main French Units entered the party, and a helluva of shells - 75 to 155 - fell down on the positions of Wehrmacht, already damaged by the air raids.
 

Archibald

Banned
Thank you !

Here's a map of the Ardennes near Sedan. Red circles mark important battles, 13-18 may 1940 OTL. Red lines mark German main axis of attack.

The POD is May 13, 1940.

The german bridgehead extended to Chemery, which is very close from the Mont Dieu wooden hills.

Three panzer divisions crossed the french defences in Sedan; the 1st, 2nd and 10th panzers.
1&2 Pz went west, and crushed a french counterattack in La Horgne. They later reached Abbeville, and allied troops were trapped in Northern France.
The 10 Pz went south, and literally crashed on the french defenders in Stonne, Le Mont Dieu, Tannay, and Les Grandes Armoises.
There, the french hold their positions for ten days. But it was only defensive, and no counterattack was ever atempted on the Sedan bridgeheads.
Thruth be told, General Flavigny ordered a counterattack from Mont Dieu toward Chemery on May 14 and May 15 OTL. It never happened; it will happen it this ATL, which major butterflies. :)

Stonne.JPG
 
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Archibald

Banned
May 15-17 1940: the two battles of Stonne.

General Bertin-Boussu was trustful in the value of the troops put under its command. Stonne could not fall; it would become a stronghold, a first step on the road to Sedan and the german bridgeheads that had to be destroyed.

The french methodical action begun with all guns available shelling the german positions. The hard cannonade lasted more than one hour, and as soon as it ceased, whereas the German units left thir shelters to join their stations of combat, emerged the B1 heavy tanks of the 3rd DCR supported by the light tanks and the infantry of the 3rd DIM.
213e ID and the 7th BCC were maintained in reinforcement for a possible exploitation.

Guderian was following the evolution of the battle minute after minute on the radio, smiling. Soon, however, his smile vanished. He received a message from 10 Pzd officer. Their was panic in the men voice.
“We can’t stop the French. Furious tank versus tank fight. We are beaten by B1bis, severe losses of men.”
“What ? shoot them with your 37 antitank guns.”
“That doesn’t work. Our shells are miserably crashing on their armour. We can’t stop them.”

Guderian, in rage, turned its binoculars toward Stonne wooden hills.

What he saw petrified him.

A movement of panic had taken shape. Most soldiers flee down again the wooden hill.

Hans Bauer had never seen anything like that before. He had barely escaped that inferno and, hagast, was bringing Guderian some alarming news on the invincibility of the heavy tanks B1.

Looking in Hans Bauer eyes Guderian could see fear and panic.

“I’ve never seen anything like that! This damn effectiveness of their artillery – it rained shells like hell.
Then we were stormed by the B1 tanks, and could not stop them.


Bauer was nearly crying.


“I saw those B1 mastodons with their tricolour rosette storming our positions. Those who tried to resist were crushed by the French tanks. That was horrific. The battlefield was littered with anti-tank weapons and a good number of dead or shocked soldiers. Despite their losses they stormed Stonne and now the village is strongly in their hands.”

Bauer was cut by Guderian aid. “Hans, we intercepted a message from the french saying that a column of several hundreds of prisoners is transmitted backwards. It is only a beginning.”

For the first time, the once unstoppable Wermacht was retreating. The 10. PzD had been gutted by the French with most of its manpower lost.

Guderian was quick to react.

They now hold Stonne strongly – this only mean one thing: from there, they will attack our bridgeheads in Sedan. I can withstand the loss of a non important village like Stonne, but an attack on Sedan would be much more dangerous.

He called his staff.

“Order the 1 Pzd to move back to Sedan immediately. We need to reinforce our defence there as soon as possible.”

“But they are already deep in eastern France; they race full speed toward the Channel – probably in Abbeville. They can’t be available before 24 hours at best - probably 48 hours with full manpower !

Shit.

"What about the air force ? order every aircraft to patrol the sector of Sedan. And every artillery has to be gathered west of the Meuse. Beware of a potential continuity of the French action !” he concluded, worried.

General Bertin-Boussu was a happy man. What a sudden change in morale ! He smiled.

If I don’t stop my soldiers now, they will attack the bridgehead tonight, and push the germans out of the Meuse tomorrow !

Conscious of its first success, he ordered to stop near Stonne and his immediate area, while waiting for the redeployment of the 42e and 242e heavy artillery as well as every anti-aircraft batteries available.

Soon the Luftwaffe attacked en masse, as on May 14. The attacks caused some losses but this time things were different. First, they were obstructed by the deployed anti-aircraft guns. Above all, the Stukas no longer afraid the French soldiers - the French defence now mainly made up of soldiers of active.

The Luftwaffe bombing obviously meant that a german counterattack was imminent, so Bertin Boussu immediately ordered his troops to stop and dug. The tanks were dispersed and camouflaged, and the infantry worked with haste, organizing a defensive network. The anti-tank guns were temporarily put out of battery. Benefitting from the position raised the French gunners recut several times all the potential zones of attack. Their supply were organized, and the units could thus fill the tank with fuel and ammunition.

The German counter-attack on Stonne was formed by the remainders of the 10. PzD, Grossdeutschland, as well as the 2 infantry division.
Soon the horrendous fight renewed. Stonne laid in ruins. French infantry fought defensively, with B1 tanks camouflaged in the middle of the infantry firing at the attackers. Well positioned 75 guns of the 42e RA did a good job.
The german offensive broke altogether and miserably on French defenses. The fight was over in two hours.

The Wehrmacht would never occupy Stonne, and retreated, their losses increasing further due to the French heavy artillery. Over the last two days it fired several thousands of tons of ammunition !

Guderian nightmare was not over. As the night fell, irregular forces of the 3rd DIM were sent ahead in order to disturb even more the German lines. French commandos obtained excellent results, hammering enemy positions with grenade and automatic weapons – the germans did not have time yet to strengthened their positions correctly. French were everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and for the Wermacht it was permanent insecurity, with raids all the night.

As the day ended the French heavy artillery lengthened its shootings - up to the german bridgehead on the Meuse. An continous rain of shells considerably disturbed the passage of the German troops in West of the Meuse. The arrival of the night did not stoped the engagement of the French artillery, which had carried out the adjustment of its weapons before the day felt.
French sentries easily located enemy guns which systematically underwent a counter-shooting as soon as they open fire, exploding like fireworks. German losses were heavy, their supply ammunition difficult, if not impossible in most cases.

The French tactics mainly consisted in concentrating its shooting on the immediate outlets of the means of crossings, thus making it possible to destroy a great number of enemy materials and supplies and logistics.

In the morning of May 17, 1940, the Germans were unable to locate the French positions precisely. The irregular forces had played their part perfectly: on the german side no one felt safe from an attack. During the night, the French Staff send all units available to Stonne - organized into an Army Corps especially created for the circumstance.

May 17, 1940, would be decision day.
 
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