Hitler's U-boat Fortresses

by Randolph Bradham

• ISBN13: 9781592286805
• ISBN10: 1592286801
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2005-06-01
• Publisher: The Lyons Press

Summary

The story of what was perhaps the longest ongoing battle in Europe during World War II, seen through the eyes of an American soldier. The French naval bases at St. Nazaire and Lorient, occupied by the Germans in June 1940, quickly became the homes of massive U-boat fortresses - nearly indestructible submarine pens, built mostly by slave labour. From these bases, the U-boats struck merchant shipping at will from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. Thousands of vessels were lost, along with vital war materiel from the U.S. destined for Britain and the Soviet Union. The Royal Air Force began an all-out bombardment of the two ports. Despite their extensive efforts - and those of the Americans who joined them in 1942 - the fortresses would survive, surrounded by decimated French towns and countryside. The desperate battle was waged on land, air, and sea.

Author Biography

Randolph Bradham is an independent scholar and a retired thoracic and cardiovascular
surgeon who practiced in Charleston, South Carolina, for forty years. Formerly a staff sergeant and squad leader in Company E, 262nd Regiment, 66th Infantry Division, he fought in Brittany against the Germans contained in St. Nazaire and Lorient.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xiii
1. 1940	1	(18)
The Beginning	1	(4)
Aerial Bombardment	5	(4)
U-Boat Menace	9	(6)
Those Who Would Resist	15	(4)
2. 1941	19	(10)
Expansion of the U-Boat Bases	19	(5)
Bombardment Continues	24	(1)
The Resistance	25	(4)
3. 1942	29	(18)
U-Boat Destruction	29	(2)
Operation Chariot	31	(14)
Evacuation, Bombardments, and U-Boats	45	(2)
4. 1943	47	(14)
Bombardment Intensifies-The Apocalypse	47	(6)
February 28, 1943-The Apocalypse	53	(2)
The U-Boats Meet Resistance	55	(2)
French Forces of the Interior-Origin	57	(4)
5. 1944	61	(24)
Germans on the Defensive	61	(12)
The Resistance Mobilizes for War	73	(1)
The Resistance Movement in Morbihan and in the Loire Atlantic	74	(3)
La Nouette, 6 to 18 June, 1944	77	(2)
The Battle	79	(6)
6. 1944-July, August, September	85	(26)
Breakout and Engagement	85	(5)
General Fahrmbacher's Report Post-War on Preparation of the Defense of Lorient	90	(5)
Hennebont	95	(7)
French Forces Mobilize for War	102	(5)
83rd Infantry Division Captures 20,000 Germans	107	(4)
7. 1944-October, November, December	111	(34)
Ground War-94th Infantry Division Takes Over	111	(1)
Record of 94th Infantry Division	111	(9)
French Battle Germans South of the Loire River	120	(7)
Sinking of the Leopoldville	127	(18)
8. 1945	145	(32)
Enter the 66th Infantry (Black Panther) Division	145	(22)
French Forces Reorganize and Strongly Hold the Line	167	(2)
Official Record of the 66th Infantry Division	169	(1)
History of the Pockets	170	(1)
Campaign of the Pockets	171	(4)
Evacuations	175	(2)
9. Surrender	177	(6)
Monuments	179	(4)
Bibliography	183	(4)
Index	187

Excerpts

At 2:00 P.M., the Germans launched their third attack on a front covering 2,500 meters, using reinforcements including German parachutists, Georgians, and a tactical deployment group from the 275th Infantry Division. The Georgians gained the chateau through the breach. Automatic weapons then stopped them. In the center, the Germans launched a fierce attack and captured the farm, driving the French forces back 300 meters.
Jacques Jacir, a parachutist, described the fighting:

The Fritz (Germans) came in great numbers this time but, believing that they were facing a small group of mazuis soldiers, their first patrols were isolated, one behind the other. They were systematically destroyed. Two companies occupy the village of St. Marcel, and from there they approach toward Marienne's position. He stands his guard well.

The Germans seem confused and are being killed at an incredible rate. They come forward, standing in the middle of fields, without understanding what is going on. After a while, they react and form a front, a line of battle that gives them a chance to have a good understanding of the opposing forces. They install machine guns and organize firing zones. The farm Bois-Joli is taken by the Germans. They also try to take Chateau of Sainte-Benevieve, as they believe it to be the maquis headquarters, which it isn't. It is still occupied by Madame Bouvard and her children. Her son, Loic, age 15, is fighting with the maquis and has an American rifle.

Allied aviation intervened at about 3:30 P.M., after Commandant Bourgoin had requested assistance fo the general of the Special Air Service (S.A.S.). Planes were airborne 70 minutes after the request was transmitted. For almost one hour, fighter bombers struck and bombed enemy positions and columns of reinforcements. Once the planes had left, the battle raged again.

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Excerpted from Hitler's U-Boat Fortresses by Randolph Bradham
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.