Re: Dunkirk in German hands until the end of the war.

On Feb 20, 9:56 am, "Dave Gower" wrote:
"Spokes" <spokesman...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

Were there any other places along the French coast that the Germans
held until the end of the war?

Yes, several but I forget exactly which. If they weren't vital to the war
effort the decision was made to simply cordon them off. As I recall the
French Army took over the lines.

The U.S. 66th Division, which arrived in Europe at
the end of 1944, held the lines around St. Nazaire
and Lorient from 1/1/1945 till the end of the war.

They relieved the U.S. 94th Division, which had been
holding those positions since September 1944.

Dunkirk was first encircled by Canadian troops in
August 1944. At the beginning of October 1944, the
Canadians were relieved by the 1st Czechoslovakian
Armoured Brigade, which maintained the siege until
V-E Day. The Czechoslovakians were reinforced by
several battalions of French ex-Resistance fighters,
and assisted at times by British and Canadian units.

In at least some I think there was an
understanding made with the German occupiers that if they stayed quiet,
didn't harm the civilians under their control or damage the town they would
be left in peace and even allowed to buy food.

This was definitely not true at Dunkirk: at
least, according to Wikipedia:

1st Brigade spent the remainder of the war at
Dunkirk, alternately attacking and being attacked
by the energetic German garrison.

Nor was it true at St. Nazaire and Lorient; per the U.S.
Army Combat Chronicles:

The 94th [Division] inflicted over 2,700 casualties
on the enemy and took 566 prisoners before being
relieved...

and

[The 66th Division]'s mission of containing the enemy
in the St. Nazaire and Lorient pockets was carried
out by daily reconnaissance patrols, limited objective
attacks, and the maintenance of harassing and interdictory
fires on enemy installations. A heavy German attack
near La Croix was repulsed, 16 April 1945, and several
strongly emplaced enemy positions were taken, 19-29 April 1945.

The French were responsible for containing the
Bordeaux-area pockets; they may have been less
aggressive - though unlike the other pockets,
these were all taken before V-E Day.
--
| He had a shorter, more scraggly, and even less |
| flattering beard than Yassir Arafat, and Escalante |
| never conceived that such a thing was possible. |
| -- William Goldman, _Heat_ |

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