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One-Eyed Jacques

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Title
One-Eyed Jacques
Description
By the fourth week of May, the Germans had all but swept Allied forces from Flanders and northeastern France, leaving the Channel ports of Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkerque as their sole foothold on this corner of the continent. For its part, Boulogne was to be defended by the British 20th …
Publisher
Date
1940-05-24
Scenario#
WO33
Scenario Description
By the fourth week of May, the Germans had all but swept Allied forces from Flanders and northeastern France, leaving the Channel ports of Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkerque as their sole foothold on this corner of the continent. For its part, Boulogne was to be defended by the British 20th Guards Brigade and the French 2lst Infantry Division. The latter's commander, General Pierre Lanquetot, raced to Boulogne in advance of his columns to coordinate matters but learned to his horror that the Somme bridges had fallen to the Germans before the bulk of his division had been able to cross them. By the morning of 23 May, the Germans occupied most of the town; yet to fall were the waterfront Gare Maritime and the ancient citadel Haute Ville-Lanquetot's headquarters and its environs. Attacks that day by Panzer Division 2 severely pressured French positions along the Boulevard Ste. Beuve and also the casino, where a force of 200 marines barely held on 6til the end of the day. Then, shockingly, that night the British withdrew via Royal Navy destroyers without informing Lanquetot. Thus handicapped, Lanquetot was compelled to gamble on a last-ditch defense around the casino with but a handful of guns from the 2lst and a mixed bag of French soldiers, marines, and sailors. French destroyers, contacted by semaphore, could provide gunfire support from the harbor. At 1300 hours on 24 May the Germans attacked again, with Panzer Division 2's commander General!eutnant Rudolf Veiel in personal command.
Location
Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
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.
Narrative Source
Combatants
German
French
Additional Information
Scenario Type = Standard

Geolocation