Counterattack at Stonne

Soon after the French withdrawal, elements of Infanten'e-Regiment Grossdeutschland. cautiously infiltrated the village, taking positions in the previously held French buildings by placing numerous guns and support weapons. Not deterred, the French were determined to retake the village and a …

1940-05-15

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Soon after the French withdrawal, elements of Infanten'e-Regiment Grossdeutschland. cautiously infiltrated the village, taking positions in the previously held French buildings by placing numerous guns and support weapons. Not deterred, the French were determined to retake the village and a force of Char B1-bis from 49e BCC, supported by H-39s from 45e BCC, soon marched towards Stonne. A heavy fight ensued when the French tanks appeared in the outskirts of the village. The 14th PzJg Company, commanded by Lt. Beck-Broichsitter, fired relentlessly with their 37mm guns, but the shells repeatedly bounced harmlessly off the B1s. The French made the most of their heavy tanks and, although they suffered losses due point-blank fire against the left-side intake shutter (a weak point of the otherwise formidable armor), they managed to recapture most of the village. The Germans were forced out of Stonne, and only thanks to the support of the newly arrived STuGs, losses were not severe. enabling Grossdeutschland to launch a new counterattack against the now ruined village.

Stonne, France

The Battle of Sedan or Second Battle of Sedan took place in the Second World War during the Battle of France in 1940. It was part of the German Wehrmacht's operational plan codenamed Fall Gelb for an offensive through the hilly and forested Ardennes, to encircle the Allied armies in Belgium and north-eastern France. 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.

Wikipedia: Battle of Sedan (1940)

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