Riding to the Rescue

On May 22, German tanks reached Boulogne and split the Allied armies at the Somme River. The British 1st Armoured Division, in France for less than four days, was ordered to retake three river crossings with the support of lorry-borne Territorials from the Border Regiment. But when Lt. …

1940-05-24

J161

On May 22, German tanks reached Boulogne and split the Allied armies at the Somme River. The British 1st Armoured Division, in France for less than four days, was ordered to retake three river crossings with the support of lorry-borne Territorials from the Border Regiment. But when Lt. Gavin of the Queen’s Bays topped the last hill before the bridge, smoke from the woods below told his troop that the infantry had arrived before them – and blundered into an ambush. The Dragoons advanced to the rescue.

Picquigny, France

The Battle of Boulogne in 1940 was the defence of the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer by French, British and Belgian troops in the Battle of France during the Second World War. The battle was fought at the same time as the Siege of Calais, just before Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from Dunkirk. After the Franco-British counter-attack at the Battle of Arras on 21 May, German units were held ready to resist a resumption of the attack on 22 May. General der Panzertruppe (Lieutenant-General) Heinz Guderian, the commander of XIX Corps, protested that he wanted to rush north up the Channel coast to capture Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk. An attack by part of XIX Corps was not ordered until 12:40 p.m. on 22 May, by which time the Allied troops at Boulogne had been reinforced from England by most of the 20th Guards Brigade. The Guards had time to dig in around the port before the 2nd Panzer Division, which had been delayed by French troops at Samer, attacked the perimeter held by the Irish Guards at around 5:00 p.m. and were driven off after an hour of fighting. The Welsh Guards front was attacked at 8:00 p.m. and again at dusk, cutting off a party of the Irish at 10:00 p.m. At dawn on 23 May, the German attacks resumed, eventually pushing the defenders back into the town. About eighty light bombers of the Royal Air Force (RAF) flew sorties in support of the defenders of the port.

German

British

Scenario Type = Standard