The July Offensives
The news of the German attack on Paris reached General Delestraint at the same time as new orders not to enter Berlin itself but to capture the towns surrounding it in order to ensure that the city could be occupied at leisure, prompting Delestraint to head north to take Frankfut an der Oder while, to the west, the 1st Light Cavalry Division launched a drive towards undefended Hannover which is considered the first of the July Offensives which, conducted in the last few days of the month, would radically change the strategic situation in Europe.
However, by this point the French forces were stretched so thin that the Reichsheer launched a series of counterattacks to retake French-occupied territory with Delestraint’s force coming under attack from Rostock while a German offensive towards Magdeburg was stopped only by the timely arrival of the Second Army under de Hautecloque.
The arrival of the Second Army allowed the territory occupied by Delestraint to finally be secured as well as allowing for an advance to complete the encirclement of Berlin at the same time as a specially chosen and briefed infantry division was sent into the city itself.
The French 24th Infantry entered Berlin, still the legal capital of Germany, on the 25th of July, encountering horrors on the same pattern as had been found in Essen and Stuttgart and which would yet be found in Kiel and Koenigsburg.
However, Berlin was arguably in a better state than the other bombed cities. Its symbolic importance had seen extensive rescue efforts undertaken at the orders of the German military government and far more of the survivors of the bombing received medical treatment, saving tens of thousands of lives. Furthermore, the sheer size of Berlin meant that, despite the devastation, a significant portion of the city remained intact, which had allowed for the majority of the injured and those made homeless to be accommodated in rudimentary conditions within the city despite the restrictions imposed by the military which prevented the evacuation of the city.
Additionally, by the time that the French arrived, the fallout from the bomb had dissipated and majority of those who were going to die as a direct consequence of the bombing had already died, allowing the return to some sort of normality in the remaining portions of the city, despite the mass trauma which had been suffered.
One example of the remarkable achievements of the surviving civil authorities in Berlin, under the circumstances, is shown in this photo where a woman is gathering intact bricks from rubble to be used in repairs to less damaged buildings.
Therefore, the 24th Infantry were able to quickly leave the city having entered it and planting the French flag, leaving only a token garrison behind to oversee the continued operation of the civil authorities in the city who were assured that food, water and medical supplies would be provided to the population by the French army provided there were no active acts of resistance.
This arrangement ensured that Berlin would continue under the control of French supervised civilian authorities for the remainder of the war and throughout the period of occupation, experiencing a far lighter touch from the French than many other areas despite tight restrictions on who was permitted to enter and exit the city.
At the same time that Berlin came under French occupation, the fighting in the West against German pockets continued with attacks on Eupen and the naval port of Wilhelmshaven being launched.
The latter would prove a rapid success but was coupled with the escape of a large portion of the German defenders who would move south and retake Hannover which had been left undefended by the French.
Even further to the west, a significant victory against Flemish forces was won with the capture of the major port of Bruges by a joint offensive by French, Spanish and Bohemian troops which, in turn, allowed more force to be brought to bear against Brussels where the battle between French and Flemms for control of the city still raged.
The capture of Bruges therefore led directly to the grand offensive launched in Flanders by League forces towards the end of July which were aimed at crushing the valiant defenders of Flanders-Wallonia once and for all.
This grand offensive was mirrored in the east where several offensives in all directions were launched, including one against the city of Leipzig where the German military government had relocated.
Both sets of offensives would prove a success with Brussels finally falling on the 29th of July while General Delestraint in particular drove deep through undefended West Prussia to reach the border with Poland.
And with the fall of Brussels, the Flemish army effectively collapsed, allowing the French capture of Antwerp on the 3rd of August and forcing the surrender of Flanders-Wallonia which is generally considered as marking the end of the July Offensives.
This victory in turn allowed the troops which had been fighting in Flanders to be sent east, in particular the tanks of General Dentz whose arrival in Stettin would mark the beginning of the final end of the German Empire in Europe.