The French Assault part II
Near Dunkerque, France
Retreating from Dunkerque Offensive
December 13th 1946
Colonel Partei was muddy. Muddy, filthy and wet. The attack onto the infested stronghold in Dunkerque was an absolute failure. The 7th Infantry wasn’t able to link up with the 9th as the infected were greater numbered than they appeared and the general morale dropped as they raced towards the soldiers. The creatures the Colonel saw wasn’t normal…they ran…after the 87th. His men bravely held their line, taught to shot the heads but were aiming at the bodies. Now, a couple hours after the start of the offensive, the 87th Brigade was just ¼ of its original strength.
The Colonel lead his troops, all 1,000 of the former 4,000 marched back towards where the fallback position was to be. As they marched, he found a signal personnel and began to say, “Private, doe the Comm. still work?” Not referring back in a formal order, the Private replied, “I dunno, let me check…” The Colonel obviously saw the despair in the young private’s eyes. After a couple times of whacking the unit on the side, the Private was able to get a tone. “Sir!”, said the Private with a hint of hope, “It works!” The Colonel then shouted to the entire Brigade, “HALT!! We have a Comm. working!!” Many of the soldiers looked towards the Colonel’s direction, their faces though muddied creaked of hope.
“Get a message to HQ. Ask for the current situation.” “Understood sir.” Replied the Private. “Command, Command this is the 87th Infantry Brigade, can you hear us?” The private then turned to the Colonel and said, “Someone replied. They want to speak to you.” Handing the phone over to the Colonel, he started, “Yes?” “Colonel, this is Major General Henri of the 15th Infantry Division. We have been ordered onto a general retreat back towards the rivers. I repeat, a general retreat.”
The Colonel was shocked and replied, “But…sir, what happened to the other offensive?” The General replied in a small stuttered voice, “Over 200,000 soilders fought in Reims, with backup being sent from the East…but they never arrived on time. Around 30-40,000 survived…the Marshal has ordered for a general retreat…”
Both offensives taught not only the French, but also the Allies that logistics and training, as well as morale were extremely important in the coming days...