The Battle of Montcornet, on 17 May 1940 took place during the Battle of France. The French 4e Division cuirassée (Colonel Charles de Gaulle), attacked the German-held village of Montcornet with over 200 tanks. The French drove off the Germans but later had to retreat due to lack of support and the intervention of the Luftwaffe.[1]
On 10 May 1940, the Third Reich had launched a vast offensive against the Netherlands, Belgium and France. After the German breakthrough in the Battle of Sedan on 13 May, the Germans had driven the French troops to a hasty retreat.
Preludeedit
De Gaulle during World War II, wearing the two stars of a général de brigade on his sleeve
De Gaulle had just taken command of the new 4e Division cuirassée (4e DCr) on 12 May as the Germans were fighting to break through. That day, with three tank battalions assembled, less than a third of his paper strength, he was summoned to headquarters and told to attack to gain time for the Sixth Army (General Robert Touchon) to redeploy from the Maginot Line to the Aisne; it was his chance to implement his ideas of tank warfare.
The next day, De Gaulle was appointed commander of the 4e DCr, comprising 5,000 men and 85 tanks, with which he led a counter-attack on the village of Montcornet on 17 May. Montcornet had strategic importance because it cut the roads to Reims, Laon and Saint-Quentin, and was a point of transit for the supply echelons of the 1st Panzer Division.
Battleedit
As De Gaulle advanced, he commandeered some retreating cavalry and artillery units and also received an extra half-brigade, one of whose battalions included some heavy B1 bis tanks. On 17 May, at 4:14 a.m., elements of the 4e DCr advanced on Montcornet. After surrounding the village, around noon, the French B1 bis tanks came under fire from 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank guns and from German tanks. Though outnumbered and without air support, he attacked and destroyed a German convoy south of the village. De Gaulle lost 23 of his 90 vehicles to mines, anti-tank weapons and to air attacks by Stukas. On 18 May he was reinforced by two fresh regiments of armoured cavalry, bringing his strength up to 150 armoured vehicles.
De Gaulle ordered infantry to neutralise German defence pockets in Chivres and D2 tanks to secure Clermont-les-Fermes. Around 4:00 p.m., De Gaulle ordered a new attack on Montcornet but because the tank crews had not received detailed maps of the sector and came under fire from 88mm Flak guns, the attack failed. Around 6:00 p.m., German aircraft intervened and the 4e DCr retreated to its original positions. De Gaulle attacked again on 19 May and his forces were once again devastated by German Stukas and artillery. He ignored orders to withdraw and in the early afternoon demanded two more divisions from Touchon but was refused. Although de Gaulle's tanks forced the German infantry to retreat to Caumont, the action brought only temporary relief and did little to slow the spearhead of the German advance. It was one of the few successes the French enjoyed while suffering defeats elsewhere across the country. A number of the B1 bis tanks had to be abandoned when they ran out of petrol, and others when they sank into swamps.
Aftermathedit
The French lost 23 tanks in the attack, while taking around 130 German prisoners. De Gaulle fought another engagement at the Battle of Abbeville.
Forczyk, Robert (2017). Case Red: The Collapse of France, 1940. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN978-1-4728-2442-4.
November 26, 2023
battle, montcornet, part, battle, france, second, world, warmap, date17, 1940locationmontcornet, france49, 69639, 01806, 69639, 01806resultminor, german, victorybelligerents, france, germanycommanders, leaderscharles, gaulleheinz, guderian, wolfram, freiherr, . Battle of MontcornetPart of the Battle of France of the Second World WarMap of the Battle of MontcornetDate17 May 1940LocationMontcornet France49 41 47 N 04 01 05 E 49 69639 N 4 01806 E 49 69639 4 01806ResultMinor German victoryBelligerents France GermanyCommanders and leadersCharles de GaulleHeinz Guderian Wolfram Freiherr von RichthofenStrength4e Division cuirassee1st Panzer DivisionCasualties and losses gt 103 tanks AFVs disabled destroyed or abandoned 1 140 captured 1 Montcornetclass notpageimage Montcornet a commune in the Aisne department of Picardy in northern France The Battle of Montcornet on 17 May 1940 took place during the Battle of France The French 4e Division cuirassee Colonel Charles de Gaulle attacked the German held village of Montcornet with over 200 tanks The French drove off the Germans but later had to retreat due to lack of support and the intervention of the Luftwaffe 1 Contents 1 Background 2 Prelude 3 Battle 4 Aftermath 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 ReferencesBackground editMain article Battle of France On 10 May 1940 the Third Reich had launched a vast offensive against the Netherlands Belgium and France After the German breakthrough in the Battle of Sedan on 13 May the Germans had driven the French troops to a hasty retreat Prelude edit nbsp De Gaulle during World War II wearing the two stars of a general de brigade on his sleeveDe Gaulle had just taken command of the new 4e Division cuirassee 4e DCr on 12 May as the Germans were fighting to break through That day with three tank battalions assembled less than a third of his paper strength he was summoned to headquarters and told to attack to gain time for the Sixth Army General Robert Touchon to redeploy from the Maginot Line to the Aisne it was his chance to implement his ideas of tank warfare The next day De Gaulle was appointed commander of the 4e DCr comprising 5 000 men and 85 tanks with which he led a counter attack on the village of Montcornet on 17 May Montcornet had strategic importance because it cut the roads to Reims Laon and Saint Quentin and was a point of transit for the supply echelons of the 1st Panzer Division Battle editAs De Gaulle advanced he commandeered some retreating cavalry and artillery units and also received an extra half brigade one of whose battalions included some heavy B1 bis tanks On 17 May at 4 14 a m elements of the 4e DCr advanced on Montcornet After surrounding the village around noon the French B1 bis tanks came under fire from 3 7 cm Pak 36 anti tank guns and from German tanks Though outnumbered and without air support he attacked and destroyed a German convoy south of the village De Gaulle lost 23 of his 90 vehicles to mines anti tank weapons and to air attacks by Stukas On 18 May he was reinforced by two fresh regiments of armoured cavalry bringing his strength up to 150 armoured vehicles De Gaulle ordered infantry to neutralise German defence pockets in Chivres and D2 tanks to secure Clermont les Fermes Around 4 00 p m De Gaulle ordered a new attack on Montcornet but because the tank crews had not received detailed maps of the sector and came under fire from 88mm Flak guns the attack failed Around 6 00 p m German aircraft intervened and the 4e DCr retreated to its original positions De Gaulle attacked again on 19 May and his forces were once again devastated by German Stukas and artillery He ignored orders to withdraw and in the early afternoon demanded two more divisions from Touchon but was refused Although de Gaulle s tanks forced the German infantry to retreat to Caumont the action brought only temporary relief and did little to slow the spearhead of the German advance It was one of the few successes the French enjoyed while suffering defeats elsewhere across the country A number of the B1 bis tanks had to be abandoned when they ran out of petrol and others when they sank into swamps Aftermath editThe French lost 23 tanks in the attack while taking around 130 German prisoners De Gaulle fought another engagement at the Battle of Abbeville See also editList of French military equipment of World War II List of German military equipment of World War IIFootnotes edit a b c Forczyk 2017 pp 195 200 References editForczyk Robert 2017 Case Red The Collapse of France 1940 Oxford Osprey ISBN 978 1 4728 2442 4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Montcornet amp oldid 1186076862, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
