The 147th Fortress Regiment was the backbone of the 55th Infantry Division and was to occupy the bunker positions on the Meuse. 222, Sd.Kfz. La bataille tourne au désastre, car l'armée prussienne du prince héritier Frédéric de Prusse traverse la Meuse à Donchery, au sud-ouest de Sedan, afin de réaliser la jonction avec les corps armées du prince Albert de Saxe venus de Beaumont après la bataille. [33] Guderian reported that his Corps had only 141 artillery pieces against the French 174. But there were three fundamental choices. Pendant ce temps l'armée du prince royal de Prusse se dirige vers lui[7]. On 14 May, the Allied forces had been wrong-footed and through their failures in deployment forfeited the campaign. By the end of the day, the bridgehead had been consolidated and the objective taken. Beaucoup de soldats vont mourir de faim ou de maladies, tant les conditions sont épouvantables. The missions cost the French five bombers, two from ground fire. [33] However, the artillery regiments lacked ammunition. Napoléon III écrit une lettre au roi de Prusse: « Monsieur mon frère, n’ayant pu mourir au milieu de mes troupes, il ne me reste qu’à remettre mon épée entre vos mains. 505 constituted its most westerly position. 150 Squadron RAF of the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) flew 10 sorties against the targets in the early morning. [10] Military historians agree that the Battle at Sedan sealed the fate of Belgium and France. Pour la bataille qui a eu lieu entre le 13 mai et le 15 mai 1940, voir, Ordre de bataille (L'ensemble des unités citées sont faites prisonnière). Fliegerkorps, nicknamed the Nahkampf-Fliegerkorps (Close Support Air Corps), which contained Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (Dive bomber Wing 77), a powerful concentration of dive-bomber units equipped with the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka precision ground attack aircraft. Butler, James Ramsay Montagu. [50] Throughout the rest of the day, the regiment moved up and into the French defences, the 2nd Battalion's 6th, 7th and 8th Companies gradually knocking out each bunker. L'armée française, commandée par Napoléon III et Patrice de Mac-Mahon, tentait vainement de lever le siège de Metz, mais elle fut interceptée par l'armée prussienne stationnée en Meuse et fut défaite à la bataille de Beaumont. Due to a combination of its being late and the attacks of its sister units, the enemy defences were alerted in advance of the 2nd Panzer's offensive. [50], The ensuing psychological damage contributed to "the panic of Bulson". En sept ou huit endroits, la ville se met à flamber. [63] GB I/34 and II/34 could muster eight aircraft out of 22 Amiot 143s, I/38 seven out of 12, and II/38 six out of 11. Guderian saw things differently, and pointed out that a thrust along the lines of Kleist's plan would put the flank of the advance within range of the fortress artillery at Charleville-Mézières, some 25 kilometres (16 mi) north west of Sedan. German Army Group A crossed the Meuse river with the intention of capturing Sedan and pushing northwards towards the Channel coast, to trap the Allied forces that were advancing east into Belgium, as part of the Allied Dyle Plan. Dans le village se déroulent alors des combats acharnés, maison par maison. [6], Luftflotte 3 and Luftflotte 2 (Albert Kesselring), executed the heaviest air bombardment the world had yet witnessed and the most intense by the Luftwaffe during the war. Its advance through the Ardennes trapped and delayed it in nearly 250 kilometres (160 mi) of traffic. Leggi «La Bataille de Sedan. Ce lieu, baptisé par la suite « camp de la misère », fait l'objet de reportages de journaux et de témoignages de prisonniers[25]. À 10 heures 30 du matin, l'empereur est conduit à Frénois au château de Bellevue qui domine la Meuse et la ville de Sedan. The advance to the Channel trapped 1,700,000 soldiers and expelled the Allies from Western Europe. Moreover, the German soldiers were exhausted after a five-day advance. The Battle of Sedan or Second Battle of Sedan (12–15 May 1940)[10][13][14] took place in the Second World War during the Battle of France in 1940. Guderian had wanted a large, 20-kilometre (12 mi) bridgehead at Sedan and the rapid occupation of Stonne and the high ground surrounding Sedan. La France a certes réalisé la révolution industrielle, mais les stratèges militaires n'ont pas su intégrer les évolutions du modernisme. Stonne was destroyed. La Bataille de Sedan, laquelle s'est déroulée, lors de la guerre franco-prussienne, le 1er septembre 1870, est racontée par Guillaume Ier (1811-1890), roi de Prusse, dans une lettre du 3 septembre 1870 adressée à son épouse, la reine Augusta de Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Tous les matins jusqu'à l'évacuation de ce camp de détention improvisé, les morts se ramassent par centaines, beaucoup d'hommes tombent malades de dysenterie en buvant l'eau de la Meuse chargée de cadavres en putréfaction. He had no intention of halting the breakout in order to wait for additional artillery units to be moved into place to assault Sedan. Prior to this masses of lorries, armoured cars and other traffic had passed through but not tanks. 211, was still active. Les armées allemandes se retirent progressivement des 21 départements qu'elles occupaient au fur et à mesure des versements. They were also slow in speed, complicating high tempo operations. Cette ville, qui engendra la IIIe République, fut aussi 70 ans plus tard à l'origine de son agonie. Peut-être, en se constituant lui-même prisonnier, obtiendra-t-il un sauf-conduit pour ses troupes en France ou en Belgique après avoir déposé les armes ? Mais celui-ci est blessé dès le début de la bataille sur une colline du village de Balan, alors qu'il observait le déroulement des combats sur Bazeilles. Le 1er septembre 1870 se joue l’avenir du Second Empire. The battle of Stonne took place between 15 and 17 May, and the town changed hands 17 times. Groupement de Bombardement d'Assaut 18 (GBA 18) had only 12 of 25 Breguet 693s left. In an open field engagement, Guderian's armour stood little chance. Luftwaffe bombing and low morale prevented the French defenders from destroying the bridgeheads. 103 Squadron and No. They found the Germans had beaten them there by a few minutes. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French government . There was a rumour that German tanks were approaching the town of Bulson. [50] The Großdeutschland would be attached to the 1st Panzer Division for the remainder of the campaign[53] and it was the first unit to breach the defences on Hill 247, the high ground dominating Gaulier. [74] Delays on the right flank meant the 205th Infantry Regiment and 4th Tank Battalion did not reach their starting line until 10:45, by which time the battle on the left wing had been lost and further attacks on the right would have made little sense. Fliegerkorps 1,770 missions. [5] So heavy was the defensive fire that the Allied bombers could not concentrate over the target. Les troupes de la confédération allemande (200 000 hommes) sont divisées en deux armées : la IIIe armée sous les ordres du prince héritier Frédéric-Guillaume de Prusse et la IVe armée sous les ordres du prince héritier Albert de Saxe. [68] But the initial clash was not in the Germans' favour. The gunners, the backbone of the defences, had abandoned their positions by the time the German ground assault had begun. [49], The Luftwaffe cowed the defenders, breaking them psychologically. GB I/34 and II/34 could muster eight aircraft out of 22 Amiot 143s, I/38 seven out of 12, and II/38 six out of 11. On 20 May, five days after consolidating their bridgeheads, the German Army reached the Channel. [9] This meant 167 aircraft had been lost against one target. [84] The bulk of the British Army escaped from the port of Dunkirk but the Allies left behind large amounts of equipment. [35] Little attempt was made to improve the poor combat quality of the division. Fliegerkorps's total mission count on the Meuse front was 910 compared to II. Vers une heure de l’après-midi, Wimpffen donne ses ordres : contre-attaquer vigoureusement du côté de Bazeilles, en direction de Metz. The 1st Panzer Division prepared to strike at the Gaulier bridgehead, near Floing, in the centre of Sedan's tactical front. Kleist argued that the blow would avoid a double river crossing at the Meuse (at Sedan) and Ardennes canal (to the west of Sedan). Try. Le commandement des troupes françaises dépend d'abord du maréchal Mac-Mahon. La bataille de Sedan: 1870, la chute du Second Empire et l'avènement d'une Allemagne unifiée (Grandes Batailles t. 11) (French Edition) eBook: Christel Lamboley, … At the start of mobilisation, the unit had high morale and very good cohesion. One of these tanks, commanded by Pierre Billotte, proved invulnerable to German anti-tank fire and took 140 hits, and knocked out 13 German tanks (two PzKpfw IV and eleven PzKpfw III) and a number of anti-tank guns. [31], Guderian's plan for 13 May was straightforward. [80] Guderian ordered the 10th Panzer Division and Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland to hold the Sedan bridgehead, while the 1st and 2nd Panzer Divisions struck north west, towards the Channel. [25], As the French constructed further fortifications, Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft picked up the activity and reported it. Les obus allemands tombent, éclatent et font des vides. [70], During 14 May, General Lafontaine had moved the 55th Infantry Division's command post from its position on the Marfee heights to Bulson, 10–11 kilometres (6–7 mi) south of Sedan. Découvrez enfin tout ce qu’il faut savoir sur la bataille de Sedan en moins d’une heure ! [67] On 14 May, the Allies flew 250 sorties, the French losing 30 (another source states 21)[46] and the RAF losing 20 fighter aircraft. La défaite de Sedan a été un révélateur. French reports spoke of German tanks crossing the bridges. The town would fall to each side over the next 48 hours, as offensive followed counter-attack. It was part of the German Wehrmacht's operational plan codenamed Fall Gelb (Case Yellow) for an offensive through the hilly and forested Ardennes, to encircle the Allied armies in Belgium and north-eastern France. [32], The German forces consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 10th Panzer Divisions. The German 1st Panzer Company was wiped out by French artillery, and pulled back with just one battleworthy tank. Some of the French 102nd Infantry division's batteries also joined in from the north west, at Charleville. [81], The Sedan bridgeheads were still not safe. [52], The central ground assault was to be conducted by the 1st Panzer Division and supported by the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland and the Sturmpionier-Battalion 43 (43rd Assault Engineer Battalion) as the 1st Panzer only had a single rifle regiment. [11], The French defeat at Sedan left the Allies in Belgium with sparse flank protection. [12] Moreover, the batteries were short of ammunition. Les soldats sont déguenillés, couverts de boue, ils errent par bandes à la recherche de nourriture, se disputant avec forces la moindre pitance qui leur parvient. Le 3 août 1875, la place forte de Sedan est déclassée par les députés au vu du rapport du maire de Sedan. The attacks isolated the forward defence lines. S'opposèrent à l'issue de cette dernière l'armée française (l'Armée de Châlons), forte de 120 000 hommes et de 560 canons commandée par l'empereur Napoléon III, et l'armée prussienne sous le commandement du futur Kaiser (Guillaume I de Prusse), forte de 200 000 hommes et de 780 canons. Le 31 août 1870, une avant-garde du quatrième bataillon de chasseur bavarois (IIIe armée) réussit à occuper le pont de chemin de fer de Remilly-Aillicourt avant que les troupes françaises n'aient le temps de le faire sauter. The Second Army built 52,000 cubic metres (1,800,000 cu ft) of concrete fortifications along its front, but very little in the Sedan sector. [18], For the offensive, the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German High Command) gave Army Group A the most powerful concentration of German armour and motorised forces. Aujourd'hui, dans de nombreuses villes allemandes, des rues de Sedan (Sedan Strasse) rappellent cette victoire. Finalement commandant en chef en place de Mac-Mahon, De Wimpffen réfute la stratégie de la retraite et ordonne de réoccuper Bazeilles. [57], The 10th Panzer Division, like the 2nd Panzer Division, had detached its heavy artillery batteries to support neighbouring units. It was not until 22:20, in darkness, that regular ferrying missions enabled the reinforcement of the German bridgehead. [41], By nightfall on 12 May, Guderian's XIX. Trop sûrs d'eux, les officiers se reposaient sur les succès passés : Conquête de l'Algérie (guerre coloniale), Sébastopol, Solférino, Magenta. Ils manquent de munitions, plient sous les obus percutants et la chaleur des incendies. Reinforcements were minimal, and those units were equipped with obsolete weapons. [67] This force was built around the 102nd FlaK Regiment with its 88 mm, 37 mm, and rapid fire 20 mm weapons. The German divisions could then advance across the open and undefended French countryside to the English Channel. The town remained a base situated on high ground overlooking Sedan. En septembre 1873, les Allemands évacuent complètement le territoire après versement du solde de la dette. By this time the Großdeutschland had lost 570 men and were in need of rest and the Panzerjägerkompanie 14 (14th Panzer Anti-tank Company) had lost six of its 12 guns. 232 and Sd.Kfz. It had also lost 12 dead and 65 wounded. [71], Lafontaine had hesitated over the 24 hours since the afternoon of 13 May. Mai 1940 by Général Général Yves Lafontaine and Publisher Editions de Fallois. Moreover, its main armament, one 47 mm and one 75 mm gun, outmatched all the German tanks. The Germans' advance intended to strike at Connage to the south of the town of Chéhéry, to outflank the French. Although Army Group B was allocated 808 tanks, over ​1⁄4 of the total German tanks, they were largely light tanks such as the Panzer I and Panzer II, as opposed to the Panzer III and Panzer IV. The attacks were made in Gruppe (group) strength and against the line of maximum resistance along the enemy gun line. The breakout was so fast that there was little fighting. For the first few days the German air arm would be used mostly in support of Army Group B. The 1st Panzer Division, reinforced by the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland, a battalion of assault engineers, and divisional artillery of the 2nd and 10th Panzer Divisions, was to make the main attack by crossing the Meuse just north of Sedan and seizing the Heights of la Marfee overlooking the city. Guillaume est proclamé Empereur du deuxième Reich allemand. Guderian complained. Leurs soldats, exténués, ne sont plus en état de résister. Une somme de cinq milliards de francs or est demandée à titre de dommages de guerre. La bataille de Bazeilles a coûté à la France la vie de 2 655 marsouins et bigors et à l'Allemagne celle de près de 5 000 Bavarois[12],[13]. La bataille de Sedan. Ce fut une victoire décisive des forces prussiennes, l'Empereur ayant lui-même été fait prisonnier, mettant fin à la guerre en faveur de la Prusse et de ses alliés (la Bavière notamment), bien que le combat continuât sous la nouvelle République. Assault Engineers and 1st Panzer Division neutralised the guns at Bellevue Castle, and cleared the bunker positions along the Meuse River from the rear. [16] The Germans noted the particular weakness between the chassis and turret of the French tanks, which were vulnerable to their fire. To restrict enemy movements and communications, German fighters swept the area to cut land-lines and strafe fortifications, with some shooting of radio antennae off command posts. from Olivier L. Brunet Plus . [81], The French offensive at Stonne was of vital importance. Son récit met principalement en avant la dimension humaine et individuelle de la bataille de Sedan, décrivant le comportement des combattants, du côté français comme du côté allemand. [16] Often, the Panzer IIIs and IVs could speed into the rear of French formations, closing quickly and knocking out the French armour from the rear. The encirclement destroyed the best units of the French Army, including a prisoner of war total of 40,000 but 139,732 British and 139,037 French troops escaped. Kleist ignored him. The 10th Panzer sent its 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment to support the hard-pressed Großdeutschland. This was the reason a significant number of French generals insisted on strengthening this sector, while ignoring Sedan. Mais sur le soir, le premier, le deuxième et le quatrième corps bavarois passent le pont. Only 93 fighter sorties, (60 by the French) were flown. [60] One of the premier German fighter units responsible for the heavy loss rate was Jagdgeschwader 53 (Fighter Wing 53), who later engaged French bombers who tried to succeed where the AASF failed. [8] The 2nd Panzer Division, under the command of Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) Rudolf Veiel, had to hand 45 Panzer I, 115 Panzer II, 59 Panzer III and 32 Panzer IVs. [56] The bulk of the 174 artillery pieces available to the French at Sedan were concentrated on the 2nd Panzer Division's front. Et il est peut-être le seul à pouvoir jouer une dernière carte : rencontrer en tête-à-tête le roi Guillaume de Prusse – qu’il a reçu trois ans auparavant aux Tuileries à l’occasion de l’Exposition universelle -, tenter de le fléchir, d’arrêter l’effusion de sang et d’épargner l’honneur de ses généraux. Au contraire Bazaine se laisse couper la route de retraite de Verdun et de Châlons préférant reconstituer ses forces en vivres et munitions sur le flanc ouest de la citadelle de Metz[4]. Le 27 avril 1877, le conseil municipal adopte le plan d'agrandissement et le chantier d'extension démarre. [59] No. It practically decided the war in favor of Prussia and its allies. [79] In the two pitched battles the 7th Tank Battalion fought that day they lost 10 from 13. [29][30] Kleist pressed for the main point to come at Flize, further west than Sedan. Les corps d'armée français se positionnent adossés à la citadelle : le 7e du général Félix Douay entre Floing et Givonne, le 1er du général Ducrot entre Givonne et la Moncelle, le 5e du général De Failly éprouvé par la bataille de Beaumont près de la citadelle de Sedan au fond de Fond-de-Givonne, enfin le 12e sur La Moncelle, Bazeilles et Balan[11]. En effet, l'armée de Chalons commence par être harcelée par les avant-gardes de la IIIe armée prussienne à Buzancy le 27, à Nouart et Belval-Bois-des-Dames ainsi que Stonne le 29, qui à chaque fois retarde la progression de l'armée de Châlons[5]. GBA 18 was escorted by 15 Bloch 152s of GC I/8. The Luftwaffe prevented them from doing so. La défaite va précipiter le déclassement de la place forte. Instead of making sure the medium Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks had priority in crossing the Meuse, the Germans had sent few across, and the van of the advance contained mostly lightly armed and lightly armoured although faster Panzer Is and Panzer IIs. Mai 1940» di Général Général Yves Lafontaine disponibile su Rakuten Kobo. Mac-Mahon a le choix entre la retraite sur Mézières, située à 20 km de Sedan, ou l'offensive en forçant le passage vers Carignan où se trouve la IVe armée du prince de Saxe pour se diriger vers Metz. [59], French Air Forces under the command of Commandant des Forces (Commander of Forces) Marcel Têtu Aeriennes de Cooperation du Front Nord-Est (Ardennes Cooperation Front North East, or FACNE)[61] rarely supported the British efforts despite substantial reinforcements. In the next attacks, they held their positions and fought. The results were much the same. Tous lui disent que la lutte est devenue sans espoir. The two assault engineer battalions under Korthals achieved the most important success. Se doutant que l'empereur veut tenter d'adoucir les conditions de la capitulation, le ministre du roi de Prusse refuse que Napoléon III rencontre Guillaume à Vendresse. [20] The French concluded that at best, a German assault through the Ardennes towards Sedan would not reach the Meuse until two weeks after the start of any German offensive, taking between five and nine days to penetrate the Ardennes alone. [8] It also had 16 Sd.Kfz. They eased the 2nd Panzer's passage by knocking out several bunkers on their eastern flank and succeeded in cutting the Donchery-Sedan road. General Franz Halder had dropped this from Fall Gelb, but Guderian resurrected it and ordered the 10th Panzer Division and Großdeutschland Infantry Regiment to attack across the Stonne plateau. [19] Army Group A contained 1,753 tanks of the heavier types. [57] With the threat of artillery fire on its right flank removed, the units on the 2nd Panzer's left flank crossed the river and infiltrated the French positions opposite Donchery at 20:00. [12], The 10th Panzer Division's assaults failed all along the Meuse front. The French forces in the area were also hindered by mistaken intelligence-reports of which suggested that German tanks had already crossed the Meuse river, several hours before when the first German tank actually crossed the Meuse river. Le migliori offerte per GRAVURE 1872. Remembering the Chief of Operations, 1st Panzer Division, Walther Wenck's saying, "Hit with your fists, don't feel with your fingers! The contribution of the specialists tilted the Sedan attack plan into Guderian's favour. Around 33 French tanks and 24 German Panzers were knocked out. The idea of a single massed strike was abandoned, and the German air units were to attack in small formations but constantly, through the day. Ce traité engendrera un désir de revanche chez les Français, qui n'auront de cesse de vouloir récupérer les territoires perdus.