Chapter 4 - The Battle of France
With the fall of Poland on October 6, 1939 Germany’s first ‘proper’ war was bought successfully to a close. Soviet forces entered the eastern half of the country the following day in accordance with the secret clauses laid down in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and took over the administrative running of the territories they had so easily won, at the cost of German blood.
The Western Allies had remained behind the eastern borders of France; the Maginot Line providing a base for only the occasional foray into German territory. Britain had dispatched an expeditionary force under Viscount Gort to bolster French defences to the north of the Maginot Line, but the general assumption was that the main German thrust (if any ever came) would fall on the fearsome line of forts, and be easily repelled by the French alone.
Gort’s command equalled that of a strong Corps, and consisted of the 45th, 48th (South Midlands) and 61st Infantry divisions, to which the 1st Armoured Division (under the command of the promising Major-General B. L. Montgomery) was attached. Following a request from the French High Command, Gort stationed his small force near the town of Sedan, to the north of the Maginot Line, in order to act as a reserve, should the French get into any difficulty.
The rest of October passed relatively quietly, although allied intelligence officers did report a marked build-up of German armoured units taking up positions facing the French line. Some of these units were even identified as having served in the recent Polish Campaign, but the French, with autumn already arrived and winter only a month and a half away, did not believe a German attack would be launched before the spring of 1940.
However, a few hours after midnight on 2 November, 1939 German troops violated the borders of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. Following an emergency meeting of the cabinet, and with full Belgian support, Gort was advised that he would be able to enter Belgium if he saw fit, to aid in the defence of that country, and prevent German forces from attempting to bypass the Maginot Line to the north.
Gort wasted no time in detaching Montgomery and the 1st Armoured to Brussels to bolster the few Belgian divisions covering the capital, and moving himself with his remaining three divisions to the vicinity of Arlon. The cabinet also ordered Lieutenant-General Barber and his 2nd Corps (5th, 15th and 50th (Northumberland) Infantry divisions) to be ready to move to France in support of Gort. In a miracle of logistics, Barber arrived in Lille on the 5th November, although his force needed some days to reorganise themselves enough before being able to march to Sedan, where they arrived on the 7th.
Luxemburg was overrun on the 5th November, and already the Maginot Line was beginning look less and less defensible. Yet only a few French units were being sent northwards to counter the possibility of a German sweep through the lowlands. Brussels was also assaulted on the 5th, and the 1st Armoured, along with the 2nd and 3rd Infantry, 1st Motorised and 1st Jaeger te Poords divisions of the Belgian army were given a sound thrashing at the hands of the advancing German columns. In a battle that raged from midday until 11pm, the 1st Armoured was all but annihilated, Montgomery himself only just escaping capture, although many of his command were not so fortunate.
With large areas around the Dutch towns of Arnhem and Eindhoven falling to German troops as well, France suddenly woke up to the threat on its extreme northern borders and began to transfer the bulk of its forces northwards. With the news of the loss of Brussels, Gort ordered his remaining forces to fall back towards the forts at Chaumont, the better to be supported by Barber’s 2nd Corps. He was unable to persuade the commanders of the Belgian units also stationed in Arlon to fall back from the dangerous salient now forming between what remained of Luxemburg and the area around Brussels, but the Belgians did promise to hold the German advance for as long as possible to enable Gort as much time to prepare defensive positions as possible.
Luxemburg itself was annexed by Germany on the 12th November, and five days after that, their conquest of the Netherlands and Belgium was complete. On the 14th November, and almost unnoticed by the western allies, the USSR declared war on Finland.
In an alarming development for Gort on the 23rd November, German troops entered Lille, and threatened to cut off the British retreat to the channel coast. Despite French protestations, Gort felt compelled to order a further retreat for the next day. 2nd Corps was ordered to retire towards Amiens, whilst Gort would lead the BEF to cover the approaches to Paris, which mollified the French a little.
By the 25th, German troops had taken Metz, as the frantic reshuffling of troops by the French High Command had left the Maginot Line, of which they had been once so proud, virtually undefended. The British troops arrived in Amiens and Paris on the 26th, and once again turned around to face the pursuing German army.
On 28th November, Gort was advised that a large German force was moving towards Rouen, once again attempting to cut off the route of escape for the British, and hopefully sever their supply lines. Under pressure from the French not to leave Paris undefended, at least until some of their own units could reach the capital, Gort decided on an advance towards Rouen himself, hopefully to blunt the headlong advance of the German forces streaming along the Channel coast, and secondly to divert German attention away from the dangerously vulnerable capital.
In the event, the British forces arrived a mere day before those of von Kluge, who skilfully launched a devastating combined arms attack on the 1st December. Despite being reinforced by two French Divisions, Gort was forced to break off the engagement on the 2nd after suffering staggeringly high casualties in the face of air attacks and armoured assaults against his hastily prepared positions. 2nd Corps, which covered the retreat, lost particularly heavily, with the 15th and 50th Divisions encircled and destroyed in the act of providing a rearguard. Barber himself was killed during an air attack late on the 2nd, and was spared from witnessing the evisceration of the Corps of which he had been so proud.
By the 3rd, the first British units began to arrive at Caen, but Gort, brooking no arguments from his French allies, ordered a continuation of the retreat to Cherbourg, which was reached on the 5th. Also on that day, the Germans finally wrested Sedan from the French after an epic five day struggle that saw the virtual destruction of two French Corps, but provided the High Command with the time needed to garrison Paris.
On the 7th December, the shattered 5th Infantry Division (only 10 percent of its establishment strength) was lifted from Cherbourg by units of the Royal Navy. Four days later, the fresh 44th Infantry replaced it, but the die was already cast. Amiens fell to the Germans on the 13th, and by the 15th, all of the Maginot Line was in German hands, as the defence of Paris took priority.
19th December saw a major German offensive launched towards Troyes and Dijon, to the South of Paris, and despite Gort’s vehement protestations that Paris would be encircled within the month, the British cabinet ordered him to send the newly arrived 44th Division to aid in the defence of Paris on the 21st.
Reims, Troyes and Dijon were all taken on the 23rd, as the relentless German panzers sliced through the soft Brie of the French Army’s morale. With the writing now on the wall for even the slowest politician to see, Gort demanded the return of the 44th Division, but he was overruled and that unfortunate unit arrived in Paris late on the 24th.
With Paris almost encircled and Gort suffering from depression, the 18th and 54th (East Anglia) Infantry Divisions arrived in Cherbourg on 27th December to replace the 45th and 61st Divisions, and also their commander. Gort was recalled to Britain, and replaced by Lieutenant-General C. Auchinleck, who was given instructions to hold the port for as long as possible.
Auchinleck’s arrival coincided with the loss of Auxerre, and any hope he may have had of regaining direct control of the 44th Division was lost when the French advised him on the 29th that the division had been all but annihilated by a determined German attack that they only repulsed at the expense of horrendously heavy casualties.
Vichy fell the next day (30th) and although a French counter attack on the 1st, re-took Troyes, it was lost again on the 3rd, and the last organised resistance outside of the capital began to melt away. All that the Troyes counter-attack had served to do was make the Germans stop for breath, and allow their heavy guns to catch up with the units at the front.
Bourge was captured on the 12th, and the next day, despite fierce fighting, Paris itself fell into German hands, and the remnants of the 44th Division were marched into captivity. France officially capitulated three days later, and on the 17th Auchinleck ordered the evacuation of Cherbourg, as unhindered panzers rolled up the peninsula.
The last free British soldier stepped off French soil and on to a Royal Navy transport at 03:00 on the 19th January 1940.
[Edited for spelling and a date inconsistency]
With the fall of Poland on October 6, 1939 Germany’s first ‘proper’ war was bought successfully to a close. Soviet forces entered the eastern half of the country the following day in accordance with the secret clauses laid down in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and took over the administrative running of the territories they had so easily won, at the cost of German blood.
The Western Allies had remained behind the eastern borders of France; the Maginot Line providing a base for only the occasional foray into German territory. Britain had dispatched an expeditionary force under Viscount Gort to bolster French defences to the north of the Maginot Line, but the general assumption was that the main German thrust (if any ever came) would fall on the fearsome line of forts, and be easily repelled by the French alone.
Gort’s command equalled that of a strong Corps, and consisted of the 45th, 48th (South Midlands) and 61st Infantry divisions, to which the 1st Armoured Division (under the command of the promising Major-General B. L. Montgomery) was attached. Following a request from the French High Command, Gort stationed his small force near the town of Sedan, to the north of the Maginot Line, in order to act as a reserve, should the French get into any difficulty.
The rest of October passed relatively quietly, although allied intelligence officers did report a marked build-up of German armoured units taking up positions facing the French line. Some of these units were even identified as having served in the recent Polish Campaign, but the French, with autumn already arrived and winter only a month and a half away, did not believe a German attack would be launched before the spring of 1940.
However, a few hours after midnight on 2 November, 1939 German troops violated the borders of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. Following an emergency meeting of the cabinet, and with full Belgian support, Gort was advised that he would be able to enter Belgium if he saw fit, to aid in the defence of that country, and prevent German forces from attempting to bypass the Maginot Line to the north.
Gort wasted no time in detaching Montgomery and the 1st Armoured to Brussels to bolster the few Belgian divisions covering the capital, and moving himself with his remaining three divisions to the vicinity of Arlon. The cabinet also ordered Lieutenant-General Barber and his 2nd Corps (5th, 15th and 50th (Northumberland) Infantry divisions) to be ready to move to France in support of Gort. In a miracle of logistics, Barber arrived in Lille on the 5th November, although his force needed some days to reorganise themselves enough before being able to march to Sedan, where they arrived on the 7th.
Luxemburg was overrun on the 5th November, and already the Maginot Line was beginning look less and less defensible. Yet only a few French units were being sent northwards to counter the possibility of a German sweep through the lowlands. Brussels was also assaulted on the 5th, and the 1st Armoured, along with the 2nd and 3rd Infantry, 1st Motorised and 1st Jaeger te Poords divisions of the Belgian army were given a sound thrashing at the hands of the advancing German columns. In a battle that raged from midday until 11pm, the 1st Armoured was all but annihilated, Montgomery himself only just escaping capture, although many of his command were not so fortunate.
With large areas around the Dutch towns of Arnhem and Eindhoven falling to German troops as well, France suddenly woke up to the threat on its extreme northern borders and began to transfer the bulk of its forces northwards. With the news of the loss of Brussels, Gort ordered his remaining forces to fall back towards the forts at Chaumont, the better to be supported by Barber’s 2nd Corps. He was unable to persuade the commanders of the Belgian units also stationed in Arlon to fall back from the dangerous salient now forming between what remained of Luxemburg and the area around Brussels, but the Belgians did promise to hold the German advance for as long as possible to enable Gort as much time to prepare defensive positions as possible.
Luxemburg itself was annexed by Germany on the 12th November, and five days after that, their conquest of the Netherlands and Belgium was complete. On the 14th November, and almost unnoticed by the western allies, the USSR declared war on Finland.
In an alarming development for Gort on the 23rd November, German troops entered Lille, and threatened to cut off the British retreat to the channel coast. Despite French protestations, Gort felt compelled to order a further retreat for the next day. 2nd Corps was ordered to retire towards Amiens, whilst Gort would lead the BEF to cover the approaches to Paris, which mollified the French a little.
By the 25th, German troops had taken Metz, as the frantic reshuffling of troops by the French High Command had left the Maginot Line, of which they had been once so proud, virtually undefended. The British troops arrived in Amiens and Paris on the 26th, and once again turned around to face the pursuing German army.
On 28th November, Gort was advised that a large German force was moving towards Rouen, once again attempting to cut off the route of escape for the British, and hopefully sever their supply lines. Under pressure from the French not to leave Paris undefended, at least until some of their own units could reach the capital, Gort decided on an advance towards Rouen himself, hopefully to blunt the headlong advance of the German forces streaming along the Channel coast, and secondly to divert German attention away from the dangerously vulnerable capital.
In the event, the British forces arrived a mere day before those of von Kluge, who skilfully launched a devastating combined arms attack on the 1st December. Despite being reinforced by two French Divisions, Gort was forced to break off the engagement on the 2nd after suffering staggeringly high casualties in the face of air attacks and armoured assaults against his hastily prepared positions. 2nd Corps, which covered the retreat, lost particularly heavily, with the 15th and 50th Divisions encircled and destroyed in the act of providing a rearguard. Barber himself was killed during an air attack late on the 2nd, and was spared from witnessing the evisceration of the Corps of which he had been so proud.
By the 3rd, the first British units began to arrive at Caen, but Gort, brooking no arguments from his French allies, ordered a continuation of the retreat to Cherbourg, which was reached on the 5th. Also on that day, the Germans finally wrested Sedan from the French after an epic five day struggle that saw the virtual destruction of two French Corps, but provided the High Command with the time needed to garrison Paris.
On the 7th December, the shattered 5th Infantry Division (only 10 percent of its establishment strength) was lifted from Cherbourg by units of the Royal Navy. Four days later, the fresh 44th Infantry replaced it, but the die was already cast. Amiens fell to the Germans on the 13th, and by the 15th, all of the Maginot Line was in German hands, as the defence of Paris took priority.
19th December saw a major German offensive launched towards Troyes and Dijon, to the South of Paris, and despite Gort’s vehement protestations that Paris would be encircled within the month, the British cabinet ordered him to send the newly arrived 44th Division to aid in the defence of Paris on the 21st.
Reims, Troyes and Dijon were all taken on the 23rd, as the relentless German panzers sliced through the soft Brie of the French Army’s morale. With the writing now on the wall for even the slowest politician to see, Gort demanded the return of the 44th Division, but he was overruled and that unfortunate unit arrived in Paris late on the 24th.
With Paris almost encircled and Gort suffering from depression, the 18th and 54th (East Anglia) Infantry Divisions arrived in Cherbourg on 27th December to replace the 45th and 61st Divisions, and also their commander. Gort was recalled to Britain, and replaced by Lieutenant-General C. Auchinleck, who was given instructions to hold the port for as long as possible.
Auchinleck’s arrival coincided with the loss of Auxerre, and any hope he may have had of regaining direct control of the 44th Division was lost when the French advised him on the 29th that the division had been all but annihilated by a determined German attack that they only repulsed at the expense of horrendously heavy casualties.
Vichy fell the next day (30th) and although a French counter attack on the 1st, re-took Troyes, it was lost again on the 3rd, and the last organised resistance outside of the capital began to melt away. All that the Troyes counter-attack had served to do was make the Germans stop for breath, and allow their heavy guns to catch up with the units at the front.
Bourge was captured on the 12th, and the next day, despite fierce fighting, Paris itself fell into German hands, and the remnants of the 44th Division were marched into captivity. France officially capitulated three days later, and on the 17th Auchinleck ordered the evacuation of Cherbourg, as unhindered panzers rolled up the peninsula.
The last free British soldier stepped off French soil and on to a Royal Navy transport at 03:00 on the 19th January 1940.
[Edited for spelling and a date inconsistency]
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