Battle of Dompaire
Battle of Dompaire | |||||||
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Part of World War II | |||||||
Panther tank knocked out in the village of Madonne-et-Lamerey during the battle | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France United States | Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Paul de Langlade |
Horst von Usedom Hans von Luck | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Groupement Langlade
406th Fighter-Bomber Group |
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
44 killed 7 tanks destroyed 1 fighter bomber[3] |
350 killed 1,000 wounded 69 tanks destroyed[3] |
The Battle of Dompaire was fought between French and German armoured forces near the town of
The inexperienced 112 Panzer Brigade suffered from a series of ambushes by French armoured units with American air support. The French tank crews and US fighter bombers combined destroyed much of the German brigade with few casualties in return. The Germans were forced to fall back which delayed a planned counter-offensive in Lorraine.[5]
Background
The French 2nd Armoured Division under the command of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque entered combat during the final stages of the
Leclerc had managed to persuade
On 8 September 1944, the 106th Panzer-brigade attempted a counter attack between
French and German advances
'Groupement Langlade' probed forward towards Vittel splitting the German defences, and seized the town on 11 September capturing many prisoners. Around the same time, the Germans under Generals Johannes Blaskowitz and Hasso von Manteuffel had moved their armoured forces to try to block the allied advance.[12] The latter hearing of the French advance decided to ignore Hitler's order – he instead ordered Colonel Horst von Usedom's 112th Panzer brigade from the 12th Panzer Division to divide into two groups with the intention to recapture Vittel. On the evening of 12 September, from their base at Epinal, the 1st battalion Panzer-Regiment 29 which consisted of around 45 Panzer V Panther tanks had entered the town of Dompaire west of Epinal. The other group, Panzer Battalion 2112, consisting of 45 Panzer IV tanks, had advanced westwards towards the town of Darney.[13]
Leclerc had set up his command post east of Vittel soon after its liberation.[14] 'Groupement Langlade' continued east and laagered that night just short of Dompaire and Damas-aux-Bois – the latter a village about two miles southeast of Dompaire. There French civilians had warned about a German advance towards the area. The Germans meanwhile had moved westward but had failed to reconnoiter.[15] The other group of the 2nd Armoured were to the north and south, where the reconnaissance unit of Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas Roumiantsoff were covering the right flank.[16]
Despite the powerful armour the German armoured brigade were inexperienced. The Panzer crews had been formed of very young but highly enthusiastic recruits. In addition compared to allied forces, the Germans lacked air support and adequate artillery units.[17]
Battle
Langlade intended to send 'Groupe Massu' commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Massu, to attack the Germans concentrated in Dompaire which lay in a narrow valley. 'Groupe Minjonnet', led by Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Minjonnet, on the right intended to strike from Ville-sur-Illon to Damas which held the main road between Dompaire and Epinal. They would also occupy the partly wooded hills, around Dompaire and with these dominant positions Langlade could use his artillery against targets further downstream.[18]
Dompaire
On the evening of 12 September, the German tanks had reached Dompaire – Von Usedom sent the Panther tank battalion to move on and around the positions between the town and the villages of Madonne-et-Lamerey where unknowingly they were exposed from the west. He only had with him six anti-tank guns and five howitzers at his disposal. Much further to the southeast the Panzer IV tank battalion remained stationary inside Darney; the tank crews were sheltering from the rain that fell during the night. This meant that the two battalions were not in contact with each other. Von Usedom hoped that this weather would ground Allied aircraft.[19]
The French, having taken up positions without any difficulty, intended to take the Germans by surprise. 'Groupe Massu', had advanced to the hills south and south-west of Dompaire to take control of the town. The crews of forty Shermans and seven M10s spent the hours in the darkness refuelling and rearming.[19] In the dark on the southwestern outskirts, a French reconnaissance group from the Fourth Tank Squadron led by Lieutenant Jean Bailaud first came into contact with the Germans. In a short engagement, one Panther, which happened to be the command tank, was knocked out along with two anti-tank guns. In return one Sherman was knocked out and another damaged. The French withdrew, which allowed the Germans to continue making their way to the South West of Dompaire.[20] Both sides traded shots as darkness fell, while French artillery fired on all entrances to the village to block all possible movement. At the same time Langlade had arranged to receive Allied air support.[21]
Meanwhile 'Groupe Minjonnet' at Ville-sur-Illon sent out a reconnaissance in force towards Damas. A contingent of the Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins, manned by French navy personnel led by Lieutenant Durville in three tank destroyers named Siroco, Mistral and Simoun, advanced towards the village but found no resistance. When they entered the suburbs they faced a group of Panther tanks.[22] In the exchange of fire, two Panzers were hit and knocked out forcing the Germans to retreat, while the French had lost two jeeps and a half-track. The French then withdrew to Ville-sur-Illon placing artillery batteries along the partly wooded hills South of Dompaire.[18]
The following morning French infantry with support from five Shermans forced the Germans out of the nearby village of
US air support
The US
The French mechanized groups attempted to encircle the Germans inside Dompaire by occupying the main roads. A column of M4 Sherman tanks from Lavieville advanced to the western outskirts of Dompaire. By now other armoured vehicles and a platoon of M10s had climbed the hills towards Bouzemont behind the Germans. Durville's tank destroyers destroyed two more Panthers, while the rest of 'Groupe Minjonnet' blocked the road to Epinal.[26]
At 11 am, 13 September, P-47 fighter-bombers launched the second of what would be four attacks.[27] The French used flares to identify the targets and, despite some problems distinguishing them from the French armoured vehicles on the outskirts of Dompaire, the attacks further disorganized the German forces which ended up in panic. Many young tankers tried to escape by abandoning their vehicles.[25]
Ville-sur-Illon
The situation of the Panther battalion was now critical. The Panzer IV tank battalion, along with the Panzer Grenadiers which were stationed in Darney, was called to help, advancing from the south towards Dompaire.[1]
As they advanced the Germans soon put the French in difficulty; 'Groupe Minjonnet' was in danger of being attacked from two sides, and in addition Colonel Langlade's command post was in the village of Ville-sur-Illon, on the heights south of the town right in the path of the Germans. A German bombardment hit the headquarters of Langlade causing some confusion. The French spotted the Germans around 13:30, but the Panzer Grenadiers decided to plunder a supply depot they encountered along the road, losing contact with the Panzers as a result.[18] Langlade reacted quickly and organized an improvised artillery barrage along the main road assisted by a small number of M4 Shermans of the 12e Régiment Chasseurs d'Afrique, M10 tank destroyers and anti-tank guns.[17] The leading Panzer IV tanks ran into the barrage first of machine gun fire, then of armour-piercing rounds and immediately suffered losses: the Shermans shot at the tracks of the armoured vehicles, firstly to immobilize them and then hit them on the sides. Two German tanks were destroyed at close range, and three more were knocked out in an ambush by M10s. Meanwhile the German infantry had arrived on the field but were pinned down by French machine-gun fire from two French jeeps.[28] Langlade decided to evacuate his command post first to Gelvecourt before rejoining with the bulk of 'Groupe Minjonnet' who were deployed near Dompaire. Leclerc meanwhile received news about the ongoing battle and was concerned. Nevertheless 'Groupement Billotte' under seasoned armoured veteran Pierre Billotte (in 1940 at the village of Stonne he led Char B1 heavy tanks which destroyed thirteen Panzers) was brought in from the north in support; he agreed with Langlade and Massu not to fall back, and to continue to engage the Germans.[3]
German retreat
Meanwhile, the Panther tank battalion blocked in Dompaire had suffered two more air attacks by P-47's in the afternoon which inflicted further damage. The German Panzers with small groups of tanks to the south and east made a series of weak attacks to try to break through the circle established by the French on the high ground. These attempts turned out to be costly – the German tanks were surprised and hit on the flanks at close range by the French armoured vehicles of 'Groupe Massu' and 'Groupe Minjonnet'. They had carefully positioned themselves on the slopes of the hills, and hidden well amongst the pines and apple trees for a well aimed killing ground.[20]
By the end of the day the German armoured brigade had lost most of its armour – the blockaded Panther tank battalion at Dompaire still only had four tanks available, while the Panzer IV battalion that had attacked Ville-sur-Illon had lost most of their tanks, and the accompanying Panzer grenadiers had been pushed back. They were left in action with only seventeen tanks.[29]
The German survivors had abandoned Dompaire having left by the north. Massu then entered Dompaire, which had been heavily damaged in the fighting; and the French found the remains of thirty-three German tanks destroyed, thirteen of which were hit by armoured vehicles. Sixteen Panthers were made inactive in some way by air attacks, as well as four abandoned intact.[29] Langlade now reinforced by 'Groupe Putz' then retook Ville-sur-Illon later that evening finding it abandoned.[30]
Von Luck's counterattack
The German command managed to organise a relief column to von Usedom's armoured brigade at Dompaire. On 14 September, Colonel
Aftermath
The French consolidated their gains and examined the destruction. Much to their surprise they found a number of abandoned intact tanks two of which were Panthers. The French inspected the tanks and discovered that they were of very recent production; having emerged from the
For the Germans Dompaire saw the near destruction of a valuable Panzer brigade. At the end of the two days of fighting the 112 Panzer brigade went down from 96 operational tanks to 21 armoured vehicles capable of fighting.[2] German High Command admitted the loss of 34 Panthers and 26 Panzer IVs and upwards of 350 dead, 1,000 wounded and several guns. Army Group G wrote in its daily report on 13 September of "unbelievably high losses".[12] In terms of tanks – they took the heaviest losses of any single day of fighting on the Western Front. 112 Panzer Brigade never recovered and what was left was absorbed into the 12th Panzer Division.[33]
At SHAEF the German attack demonstrated that for the first time since D-Day, German withdrawal operations were being bolstered by new and unknown units.
From an operational point of view, the German defeat and subsequent retreat also had important strategic consequences: Haislip's XV Army Corps was able to reach the Moselle river by 17 September. As result a German infantry division was surrounded by a converging French and American columns, while the remnants of the German LXIV Army Corps were forced to withdraw. Two days later Haislip and his forces crossed the Moselle and advanced south of Lunéville, aligning with the other two US corps of Patton's 3rd Army which were already east of the river. Despite the defeat at Dompaire, Hitler did not modify his plans and ordered Blaskowitz and von Manteuffel to counter-attack Patton's army north of Lunéville. From 19 to 22 September, another armoured clash took place at the battle of Arracourt which ended with another German defeat, this time against the American armoured units.[34] The French 2nd Armoured would continue its fight with the US XXI Corps ending at Berchtesgaden in Southeastern Germany by wars end.[35]
Legacy
The Panther (Panzerkampfwagen V Ausführung G) 'AUS F 332' survived the war and was placed outside Les Invalides until it was restored in the 1970s. It now resides today in the Musée des Blindés in Saumur.
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Panther tank 'AUS F 332' captured at Dompaire by the French, now on display at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur
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Monument to the battle at Madonne-et-Lamerey
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Sherman tank "Champagne", preserved at Ville-sur-Illon, near Dompaire. It was knocked out during the battle - notice hole on right
References
- citations
- ^ a b Ludewig & Zabecki 2012, p. 56.
- ^ a b c d Jarymowycz 2001, p. 224.
- ^ a b c d e Zaloga 2013, p. 62.
- ^ Bauer, Eddy (1962). La guerre des blindés: L'écrasement du IIIe Reich (in French). Payot. p. 489.
- ^ Cole, Hugh M (1993). United States Army of World War II. The European Theater of Operations – The Lorraine Campaign. Washington: Historical Division United States Army. pp. 199–202. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009.
- ^ "Au total, à l'automne de 1944, la France finira par disposer d'une armée effective de 250 000 hommes composée pour moitié d'éléments indigènes, Maghrébins, Africains et pour moitié d'Européens d'Afrique du Nord", Philippe Masson, L'homme en guerre, 1901–2001: de la Marne à Sarajevo, Editions du Rocher, 1997, p.23
- ^ Zaloga 2013, p. 6.
- OCLC 256470218
- ^ a b Zaloga 2013, p. 55.
- ^ Robinson & Seignon 2018, p. 43.
- ^ Moore 2011, p. 242.
- ^ a b c Cole 1993, p. 200.
- ^ Ludewig & Zabecki 2012, p. 56,60.
- ^ Cole 1993, pp. 199–202.
- ^ Robinson & Seignon 2018, p. 35.
- ^ Moore 2011, p. 328.
- ^ a b Zaloga 2013, p. 56.
- ^ a b c d Moore 2011, p. 330.
- ^ a b Robinson & Seignon 2018, p. 36.
- ^ a b Cole 1993, p. 201.
- ^ Zaloga 2013, p. 57.
- ^ Salbaing 1997, p. 83.
- ^ Moore 2011, pp. 329–31.
- ^ Bauer 1962, p. 489.
- ^ a b Sullivan 2003, p. 132.
- ^ Cole 1993, p. 199.
- ^ Robinson & Seignon 2018, p. 37.
- ^ Salbaing 1997, p. 98.
- ^ a b c Moore 2011, p. 331.
- ^ Salbaing 1997, p. 110.
- ^ Salbaing 1997, p. 111.
- ^ Robinson & Seignon 2018, p. 40.
- ^ Salbaing 1997, p. 114.
- ^ Ludewig, Zabecki & 2012, pp. 56–57.
- ^ Robinson & Seignon 2018, p. 56.
Bibliography
- Ludewig, Joachim; Zabecki, David T (2012). Rückzug The German Retreat from France, 1944. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813140803.
- Giziowski, Richard John (1997). The Enigma of General Blaskowitz. Leo Cooper. ISBN 9780850525540.
- Jarymowycz, Johann (2001). Tank Tactics From Normandy to Lorraine Roman. L. Rienner. ISBN 9781555879501.
- Moore, William Mortimer (2011). Free France's Lion The Life of Philippe Leclerc, de Gaulle's Greatest General. Casemate Publishers (Ignition). ISBN 9781612000800.
- Salbaing, Jacques (1997). La victoire de Leclerc à Dompaire (in French). Muller. ISBN 9782904255267.
- Robinson, Merlin; Seignon, Thomas (2018). Division Leclerc The Leclerc Column and Free French 2nd Armored Division, 1940–1946. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472830067.
- Steidl, Franz (2008). Lost Battalions - Going for Broke in the Vosges, Autumn 1944. Random House. ISBN 9780307537904.
- Sullivan, John J (2003). Air Support for Patton's Third Army. McFarland Incorporated. ISBN 9780786414659.
- Zaloga, Steven J (2013). Lorraine 1944 Patton Versus Manteuffel. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472802095.