Battle of Bréville
49°14′25.0″N 0°13′33.8″W / 49.240278°N 0.226056°W
Battle of Bréville | |||||||
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Part of Operation Overlord | |||||||
British Parachute and Commando troops in Normandy, June 1944 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom | Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Richard Nelson Gale Johnny Johnson † Lord Lovat (WIA) | Erich Diestel | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
6th Airborne Division | 346th Infantry Division | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
162 Dead ^ | Over 400 confirmed dead[1] | ||||||
^ Numbers for the final attack 12 June |
The Battle of Bréville was fought by the
In June 1944, units of the 346th Infantry Division occupied
The British attack occurred over the night of 12/13 June 1944, when
After the capture of Bréville, the Germans never seriously attempted to break through the airborne division's lines again. The British division only being subjected to sporadic artillery and mortar fire. This lasted until 17 August, when the Germans started to withdraw and the 6th Airborne Division advanced to the River Seine.
Background
On 6 June 1944, the
The division's two parachute brigades, landing in the early hours of 6 June, were scattered across the countryside during the parachute drop. Most of the battalions could only muster around sixty per cent or less of their total strength on the drop zones (DZ). They did carry out all of their objectives, however, before the 6th Airlanding Brigade arrived by gliders to reinforce them at 21:00 that evening.[3]
The 6th Airborne Division, now with the
The airborne division's brigades prepared to hold the positions they had captured, with the 5th Parachute Brigade, as the division's depth formation, dug into the east of the River Orne bridge.[5] The 6th Airlanding Brigade was in the south between Longueval and Hérouvillette.[6]
The two remaining brigades dug in along a ridge of high ground that, if lost, offered the Germans a position to look down on the British landing zone. The 1st Special Service Brigade was in the north on a line from Hameau Oger to Le Plain. In between the commandos and the airlanding brigade was the 3rd Parachute Brigade.[5]
Their defensive line, however, was incomplete, as the small village of Bréville-les-Monts, between the commandos and the 3rd Parachute Brigade, was held by the Germans. Located on the ridge line it gave the Germans a view into Ranville, at the heart of the British position, the two captured bridges and in the distance Sword.[7]
Battle
7/8 June
At 01:30 on 7 June, the
The German 346th Infantry Division reached the area from its base at Le Havre. Their first attack, by the 744th Grenadier Regiment, was against the 1st Special Service Brigade. Attacking in strength, they were near to breaking through the line when No. 3 Commando counter-attacked and drove them back.[10] Later in the morning, No. 6 Commando came under artillery and mortar fire from Bréville. The commandos attacked and cleared the village of Germans, capturing several prisoners, some machine-guns and four artillery pieces. Then they withdrew to their original position.[8] The Germans reoccupied the village and formed their own defensive positions, facing the ridge line defended by 6th Airborne Division.[10] Their positions also isolated the 9th Parachute Battalion, which was almost cut off from the rest of the division.[11] The next day a patrol from the 9th Parachute Battalion reconnoitred the Château Saint Come. They found it abandoned, but the presence of clothing, equipment, a half-eaten meal and a payroll containing 50,000 French francs betrayed the recent German occupancy.[11]
Units of the 857th Grenadier Regiment, part of the 346th Infantry Division, attacked the battalion's position at midday. It appeared to be only a probing attack, easily fought off by 'A' Company. Later the same day the Germans attacked 'A' and 'C' Companies. This time they were repelled by
9 June
The next German attack was at dawn on 9 June, when a heavy mortar bombardment landed on the 9th Parachute Battalion positions.[nb 1] Then 'A' and 'C' Companies were attacked simultaneously.[11] After suffering many casualties, the Germans retreated into the woods surrounding the Château, where they reformed and made another abortive attack an hour later.[9]
Brigade Headquarters was attacked by a force of Germans that had infiltrated through the woods and
At 17:30 a flight of
10 June
A reconnaissance patrol from the
At 09:00 one battalion of the 857th Grenadier Regiment had crossed the drop zone and approached the
Early on 10 June another group of thirty-one men arrived at the 9th Parachute Battalion position. These and other stragglers, who had arrived through the night, brought the battalion strength to around 270 men.
The next German attack was in force, using the 2nd Battalion, 857th Grenadier Regiment, the 1st and 2nd Battalions 858th Grenadier Regiment and several companies of the 744th Grenadier Regiment with tank and
Two infantry companies attacked 'B' Company 9th Parachute Battalion's position. This assault was more determined, even naval gunfire support from the 6-inch (150 mm) guns of HMS Arethusa did not stop the attack. When they reached the British position a hand-to-hand fight ensued, during which most of the Germans were killed.[18] One of the prisoners taken was the commander of the 2nd Battalion 857th Grenadier Regiment, who informed his captors that "his regiment had been destroyed in the fighting against the airborne division".[18] The rest of the German assault came up against the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, and was stopped by an artillery bombardment; two later attacks on them suffered the same fate.[17] Later at 23:00 'C' Company 9th Parachute Battalion fought their way to and occupied the Château, and fought off several small attacks throughout the night.[18]
With his two parachute brigades and the commando brigade heavily engaged
The German attacks convinced
11 June
The Black Watch would attack Bréville from the south-west, but before the attack sent a company to take over the defence of the Château. At 04:30 supported by the guns and mortars of the airborne and highland divisions the attack began. To reach Bréville the battalion had to cross 250 yards (230 m) of open ground, and when they neared the village the British artillery ceased fire. The Germans then opened fire with their artillery, mortars and machine-guns.[22] One company was completely wiped out by the German machine-gun fire as it advanced over the open ground.[23] Met with such a heavy concentrated fire, the battalion suffered 200 casualties and the attack was repulsed.[4] The survivors retreated to the Château,[22][nb 2] but were immediately counter-attacked by the 3rd Battalion, 858th Infantry Regiment, who themselves suffered heavy casualties.[4][25]
That afternoon three troops of tanks from the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, were sent to reinforce the Black Watch, but they had only just started to move towards the Château when three tanks were destroyed by hidden German self-propelled guns. The other tanks were withdrawn being unable to deploy in the wooded ground around the Château. The rest of the day and night passed without another attack, but the Germans sent out reconnaissance patrols to establish the exact location of the British positions and German armoured vehicles could be heard moving up to the front during the night.[26]
12 June
At midday on 12 June the entire 3rd Parachute Brigade position came under artillery and mortar fire prior to a major attack scheduled to start at 15:00. A German battalion attacked the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, another supported by six tanks and self-propelled guns attacked the 9th Parachute Battalion and the 5th Black Watch.
Night Attack
Gale concluded that to relieve the pressure on the division, he had to take Bréville. The only units available for the attack were the division reserve, which consisted of the
Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Johnson of the 12th Parachute Battalion was in command of the assault. He decided his own 'C' Company would secure the first crossroads; then the Devonshire company would then the north of the village. At the same time 'A' Company would advance through 'C' Company and secure the south-east. At the rear would be 'B' Company, the battalion reserve.[17] The attack had to cross 400 yards (370 m) of open ground to reach the village. To support the assault and destroy a German position 200 yards (180 m) from the start line, a troop of Sherman tanks would accompany them.[17]
At 21:50 the British artillery opened fire, and the Germans responded with their own artillery and mortars which forced most of the British to take cover, for the next fifteen minutes, until a lull in the German fire allowed them to continue. In the lead 'C' Company had crossed the start line at 22:00,[17] however all its officers and the company sergeant major (CSM) became casualties, and senior non-commissioned officer Edmund (Eddie) Warren took command of the company.[29] They continued to advance through the artillery and mortar bombardment, guided towards their objective by tracer rounds from the Hussar tanks. Repeatedly hit by the artillery and tanks, Bréville was in flames by the time the company's fifteen survivors reached the village.[29]
The battalion's 'A' Company suffered a similar fate: the officer commanding was wounded crossing the start line, and at the same time every member of the 2nd Platoon was killed or wounded. The CSM assumed command of the company but was killed when they reached Bréville. The company second in command, who had been bringing up the rear, reached the village and found the 3rd Platoon only had nine men left, but they had managed to clear the village Château and the 1st Platoon had cleared its grounds.[29]
The Devonshire company was moving towards Amfreville when an artillery round landed amongst them wounding several men. As they crossed the start line another shell landed nearby killing Johnson and their company commander Major Bampfylde, and wounding brigadiers Lord Lovat of the commando brigade and Hugh Kindersley of 6th Airlanding Brigade, who were observing the attack.[32] Colonel Reginald Parker, deputy commander of 6th Airlanding Brigade and a former commanding officer of the 12th Parachute Battalion, had been wounded by the same shell but went forward to take over command of the attack.[33]
By 22:45 the crossroads had been secured by what remained of 'C' Company, the eighteen survivors of 'A' Company were in among the south-eastern buildings of Bréville. In the north-east of the village the twenty survivors of the Devonshire company had captured their objective.[33] The shelling had stopped when 'B' Company reached the village unopposed and occupied abandoned German trenches beside the church.[34] Fearing a German counter-attack on his weakened battalion, Parker ordered a defensive artillery bombardment. However, there was a misunderstanding when the order reached the artillery and a heavy bombardment landed on the British positions in the village, causing several casualties including three of the surviving officers.[33]
At 02:00 on 13 June the 13th/18th Royal Hussars squadron arrived at 'C' Company's position at the crossroads, later followed by fifty-one men from the 22nd Independent Parachute Company.[35] Bréville was now in British control again for the third time since the landings on 6 June. But there were too few to defend against a German counter-attack, so the 1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, part of the 6th Airlanding Brigade, was moved into the village to take over from the survivors of the attack.[36]
Aftermath
The final attack had cost the 12th Parachute Battalion 126 killed, and left its three rifle companies with only thirty-five men between them. The 12th Devonshire company had another thirty-six killed. Amongst the casualties, was every officer or warrant officer, who had either been killed or wounded.[4][36] The German defenders from the 3rd Battalion 858th Grenadier Regiment, had numbered 564 men before the British assault, by the time the village had been captured there were only 146 of them left.[4]
However the left flank of the invasion zone was now secure.
The battle of Breville has since been claimed to have been "one of the most important battles of the invasion".
Notes
Footnotes
Citations
- ^ If Chaos Reigns: The Near-Disaster and Ultimate Triumph of the Allied Airborne Forces on D-Day, 6 June 1944
- ^ Cole, pp.79–80
- ^ a b "The British Airborne Assault". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). 30 January 2006. Archived from the original on 30 January 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Hastings, p.154
- ^ a b c Harclerode, p.327
- ^ Harclerode, pp.338–339
- ^ Ferguson, p.19
- ^ a b c Crookenden, p.247
- ^ a b c Harclerode, p.328
- ^ a b Crookenden, p.248
- ^ a b c Crookenden, p.249
- ^ Lucas and Barker, p.31
- ^ Harclerode, pp.328–329
- ^ a b c Harclerode, p.329
- ^ a b Crookenden, p.253
- ^ a b Crookenden, p.255
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harclerode, p.334
- ^ a b c d e Harclerode, p.330
- ^ Harclerode, p.336
- ^ Crookenden, p.250
- ^ Harclerode, p.337
- ^ a b Harclerode, p.331
- ^ Barber, p.181
- ^ Royal, 1st, 5th and 7th Battalions France and North-West Europe Chapter (no page numbers)
- ^ Salmond, p.142
- ^ Crookenden, p.265
- ^ Harclerode, pp.334–335
- ^ Crookenden, p.267
- ^ a b c d Harclerode, p.335
- ^ a b c Crookenden, p.268
- ^ Harclerode, pp. 343–344
- ^ Harclerode, pp.345–346
- ^ a b c Harclerode, p.346
- ^ Crookenden, p.275
- ^ Crookenden, pp.279 and 279
- ^ a b Harclerode, p.347
- ^ Ferguson, p.20
- ^ a b "D-Day — The Normandy Landings". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 1 November 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
- ^ Gale, p.101
- ^ Griffin, p.187
References
- Barber, Neil (2002). The Day The Devils Dropped In: The 9th Parachute Battalion in Normandy. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1-84415-045-3.
- Cole, Howard N (1963). On wings of healing: the story of the Airborne Medical Services 1940–1960. Edinburgh, United Kingdom: William Blackwood. OCLC 29847628.
- ISBN 978-0-7110-0660-7.
- Ferguson, Gregory (1984). The Paras 1940–84, Volume 1 of Elite series. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-573-1.
- OCLC 464063862.
- Griffin, P.D (2006). Encyclopaedia of Modern British Army Regiments. Stroud, United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3929-4.
- Harclerode, Peter (2005). Wings Of War – Airborne Warfare 1918–1945. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-304-36730-3.
- ISBN 978-0-330-51362-3.
- Lucas, James Sidney; Barker, James (1978). The killing ground: the battle of the Falaise Gap, August 1944. London: B.T Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-0433-3.
- ISBN 0-901627-57-7.
- Royle, Trevor (2011). The Black Watch: A Concise History. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-78057-254-3.
- Salmond, James Bell (1953). The History of the 51st Highland Division, 1939–1945. London: W. Blackwood. OCLC 59929274.
- ISBN 0-450-01006-6.