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The Crux of Calais

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Title
The Crux of Calais
Description
Calais, and all the troops in it, was doomed to fall – it was only a question of time. The 2nd KRR was given the task of holding the three bridges over the Marck Canal. It had a handful of light tanks and scout cars for support. …
Publisher
Date
1940-05-25
Scenario#
96
A022
Scenario Description
Calais, and all the troops in it, was doomed to fall – it was only a question of time. The 2nd KRR was given the task of holding the three bridges over the Marck Canal. It had a handful of light tanks and scout cars for support. Throughout the 25th of May, the British were subjected to a terrific barrage, setting fire to a number of buildings until the whole of the battalion’s front was obscured by smoke. Then, at 1900 hours, the barrage lifted and enemy infantry, led by tanks, stormed toward the three bridges simultaneously.
Location
Calais, France
Battle Narrative
The Siege of Calais (1940) was a battle for the port of Calais during the Battle of France. The siege was fought at the same time as the Battle of Boulogne, just before Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) through Dunkirk. After the Franco-British counter-attack at the Battle of Arras (21 May), German units were held back to be ready to resist a resumption of the counter-attack on 22 May, despite the protests of General Heinz Guderian, the commander of the XIX Armee Korps, who wanted to rush north up the Channel coast to capture Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk. An attack by part of the XIX Armee Korps was not authorised until 12:40 a.m. on the night of 21/22 May. By the time that the 10th Panzer Division was ready to attack Calais, the British 30th Infantry Brigade and 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (3rd RTR) had reinforced the French and British troops in the port. On 22 May, the British troops had established roadblocks outside the town and French rearguards skirmished with German armoured units, as they advanced towards Calais. British tanks and infantry had been ordered south to reinforce Boulogne but were too late. They then received orders to escort a food convoy to Dunkirk but found the road blocked by German troops. On 23 May, the British began to retire to the old Calais walls (built in the 1670s) and on 24 May, the siege began. The attacks by the 10th Panzer Division were mostly costly failures and by evening, the Germans reported that about half their tanks had been knocked out and a third of the infantry were casualties. The German attacks were supported by the Luftwaffe, while the Allied defenders were supported by their navies delivering supplies, evacuating wounded and bombarding German targets around the port.
Narrative Source
Combatants
German
British
Additional Information
Scenario Type = Standard
Collection:

Geolocation