Battle for Brittany: Difference between revisions
Undo Reverted |
Undo Reverted |
||
Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
}} <!-- this line was missing, no wonder it didn't work. --> |
}} <!-- this line was missing, no wonder it didn't work. --> |
||
'''The Battle for Brittany''' took place between August and October 1944. After the Allies [[Normandy landings|broke out of Normandy]] in June 1944, Brittany became targeted for its well developed ports which the Allies intended to use, whilst also stopping their continued use by German [[U-boat|U-boats.]] |
|||
==Campaign rationale== |
==Campaign rationale== |
Revision as of 07:43, 6 May 2022
Battle for Brittany | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Western Front of World War II | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Axis Germany | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
The Battle for Brittany took place between August and October 1944. After the Allies broke out of Normandy in June 1944, Brittany became targeted for its well developed ports which the Allies intended to use, whilst also stopping their continued use by German U-boats.
Campaign rationale
Main objective: Secure Breton ports which could prove useful to the Allies to land more supplies.
Secondary objective: Cease continued use of Breton ports for U-boat operations.
Allied campaign strength
- The US Army's 8th Corps, was tasked to move east to west across the north of Brittany with Brest as their first target.
- At the same time, the US Army's 20th Corps, moved south to the city of Nantes, with both intending to meet up at Lorient.
Once liberated, the Allies planned to build an additional harbour at Quiberon.[1]
One of the first targets in Brittany, was a bridge at Pontaubault across the River Sélune. The Americans apparently quickly started experiencing communication issues with their rear command HQs, due to their rapid advance into northern Brittany, leading to other issues such as supplying the units on the move.[2]
Resistance involvement
The advance of the 8th Corps also brought an additional problem relating to the local resistance. The campaign in Brittany intended the French Resistance to openly fight the Germans. A French Forces of the Interior (FFI) officer based in London, Albert Eon, was flown in to lead an estimated 20,000 local fighters. Equipment was para-dropped in, but due to the rapid American advance, these weapons frequently landed in areas already captured forcing it to be moved up to them. The FFI did have some initial success:
- Attacking and capturing the Vannes airfield using armoured jeeps brought in by gliders.
- Taking rail bridges near Morlaix.
Groups of FFI openly accompanied the Americans, where their local knowledge was used.
Pockets attacked
One assumed reason for the rapid advance of the Americans was that the Germans, had moved most of their forces back to the heavily defended ports, resulting in fewer troops in the interior than expected. These ports had been designated as fortresses to allow for their continued use by the Germans, to deny use by the Allies and finally if necessary to destroy and prevent them from ever being useful to the Allies.[3]
By the time the 20th Corps arrived in Nantes on August 6, its port facilities was in ruins. Also on the 6th, the Americans arrived at the outskirts of Brest, where fighting began and the city finally falling on September 18.
Similar problems were experienced at the pocket of
The Americans with the FFI faced a similar doggedness at the Brest pocket. Over 75 strong points in the city were attacked, but this proved to be slow-going and time-consuming. By the time of Germany's surrender on September 18, the Americans had lost 10,000 killed and wounded, whilst Brest was destroyed including its port, rendering it useless for Allies purposes.
Stalemate
Rather than risk the same at the
Post-campaign analysis
This decision to use two
See also
References
- ^ Rémy Desquesnes. Les poches de résistance allemandes sur le littoral français: août 1944 – mai 1945. Rennes: Éd. Ouest-France, 2011. ISBN 978-2-7373-4685-9; (in French)
- ^ Stéphane Simonnet (2015), Les poches de l'Atlantique: Les batailles oubliées de la Libération Janvier 1944 - mai 1945, Tallandier, ISBN 979-10-210-0492-4
- ^ Bradham, R. To the Last Man: The Battle for Normandy's Cotentin Peninsula and Brittany, Frontline Books, 2008