The Breaking Point

by Robert A Doughty

  Should the lieutenant venture forward with his tiny group to force his way through [the enemy's position]? Quickly he glances back at his companions who would go through thick and thin with him.

  We must go forward over the road using the cover of a railway embankment. A quick summons is sufficient and a small streambed brings us welcome cover. Using the railway embankment we slip forward. Suddenly the lieutenant discovers a large bunker on the opposite side of the road. We are not very far from it…. Cautiously we all crawl along the edge of the road. Then some rifle rounds land in our area. Luckily, no one is hit. Soon we discover the dangerous sharpshooter who is well hidden in a tree. Despite the fact that he is well hidden, a sergeant shoots him down from his high position with a well-aimed shot.

  Meanwhile, under our protective fire, our lieutenant moves closer to the bunker. The occupants fire with all their weapons. The sweltering heat is so bad that the French have left open the rear door to the bunker. Our heavy weapons [from across the river] also take the bunker under fire. During a short pause in the firing, our lieutenant prepares himself by reconnoitering toward the bunker. The German weapons begin to shoot again but stop suddenly. This is the moment our lieutenant was waiting for. With a powerful leap, he springs over the road, raises his pistol high, and shouts his first French words in this campaign: “A bas les armes!”

  As if bitten by a spider, the Frenchmen in the bunker turn around. They stare at the lieutenant as if they can not believe what is happening. With flashing eyes, the lieutenant looks into the eyes of the French, who lift their hands. Seeing the lieutenant makes them lose their self-control. One after another they come out and pass the lieutenant. At this moment, one of the French jumps onto the back of the lieutenant. He grabs him at the throat and, pushing him down, tries to grab his pistol. A fight starts. Sometimes the lieutenant is down and sometimes the Frenchman. When the other French see what is happening, they try to help their comrade. At that moment, there is the sound of several shots, and the Frenchmen fall down, mortally wounded.

  This moment is a moment of destiny for the Frenchman who is fighting the lieutenant. He stops fighting for a second when he hears the shots, and the lieutenant is able to grab the pistol and fire a few times. Hit by these shots, the last Frenchman dies. Because of their negligence, the occupants [of the bunker] lost their lives.

  It is not far to Wadelincourt. Still, the rest of the company cannot be seen. Let's go! We are near the village already. Again we hear the barking of machine guns. The sound comes from the bend of the river. Is not everything done yet? What is happening there? Three men go back with the lieutenant.

  At the railway embankment, they find an [enemy] field position that is firing. The lieutenant sneaks up to it, holding his pistol again. He charges it. The bolt goes forward. A click! The magazine is empty. Damnit! Those in the bunker have already heard the click. They turn around, are astonished, realize quickly what is happening, and start shooting. The lieutenant runs for cover. A hand grenade explodes just in front of the bunker. Another man had recognized the situation immediately and wisely had thrown a grenade. Almost miraculously, our lieutenant was not hurt. He is lying three meters away and in the meantime has loaded his pistol. The rest of the uninjured Frenchmen surrender. There are three men, and they are taken to the entrance of Wadelincourt.

  The village [of Wadelincourt] seems to be occupied by the enemy. Some gunfire again whistles over us. Everyone seeks cover behind a road barrier. Before us is a park. We must move further forward. One man stays with the captured Frenchmen. Another is sent back to the company by the lieutenant to request assistance. One after another, [the soldiers] move through a small opening into the park.

  Suddenly, our own artillery starts to fire. The explosions are not far ahead of us. Should we move farther? We are running directly into our own fire. We also do not have a flare pistol with us. Our sole machine gun has already fired almost all its ammunition. There are only 50 rounds. How can we get into contact with our own weapons? Don't we have any alternatives?

  Security is carefully set up on all sides. We are moving forward toward the church of Wadelincourt. Everywhere there are trenches and foxholes. Again some salvos from our artillery land close to our front. If those rounds could only be used [by us]! However, we move on. We cross the park and approach the cemetery wall, which is not very far from the church. Behind a large knoll, we take cover.

  Suddenly [there are] more explosions. Were they ours or French shells? It is difficult to determine. Two comrades are badly wounded. We carefully place them in a trench. Suddenly a group of Frenchmen appear behind the rear of the cemetery wall. Some well-aimed shots quickly hit around them. Without firing any rounds, the Frenchmen pull back quickly.

  A few minutes pass. We recognize we cannot remain there any longer. Reinforcements have not yet arrived. After a quick decision, our lieutenant ascends a small hill with a companion and places a signal panel to enable our comrades to see us. But that does not work either. There remains nothing else [for him to do] but to go back [to the river] with two companions. He leaves the remaining men under the experienced hands of a sergeant, and he returns on the quickest route to the river's bank.

  When he tries to pass the house of the railroad signalman, he hears French sounds. Ah ha! The house has been converted into a bunker. Quickly the lieutenant approaches it from the side, his pistol ready to fire. He puts the pistol into one of the apertures and fires. One of his companions throws a hand grenade into it.

  They quickly climb on the railway again with the signaling panels. Far behind the Meuse, they see the [German] companies lying in a field. But no one comes forward. That means [they must go all the way] back to the crossing site. What does it look like there now? Halfway there, Sergeant G. meets him with 20 [soldiers]. The lieutenant immediately turns around, places himself at the head of the group, and leads them toward the cemetery. On the way they meet the soldier with the French prisoners. Three Frenchmen try to flee, and to prevent this, the sergeant shoots them. Soon we reach the soldiers who had been left behind at the church.

  Now, nothing will stop the lieutenant. A machine gun provides security while the lieutenant with his men moves farther ahead. No one is shooting…. Cautiously he moves forward step by step. At an intersection in the road sits a cannon. Some rifle fire drives off the entire crew. One of them lies dead before it. Sergeant G. rushes forward and takes 40 prisoners.

  At the same time, the lieutenant with the largest part of his group has chosen the middle path, seizing a machine gun position, passing alongside a water pumping station, moving ahead more and more. To the right is a large bunker which is put out of action by an engineer sergeant. Everywhere the effects of our Stukas can be seen—crater after crater. We pass through a small clump of trees. Another group goes right. On the other side 30 prisoners are taken. They are led away.

  It is now not much further to the top of the hill, which we absolutely must reach and clear of enemy. Everywhere small groups of French appear. They are disarmed and led back to the rear. Thus was trench after trench rolled up, machine gun nest after machine gun nest taken.

  Just before the last few meters, a short rest is taken, and then we move forward with renewed energy and courage toward the top of the hill. Foxhole after foxhole appears before our eyes. Bewildered Frenchmen are crouched everywhere, pleased to be away from the terrible noise [of the fighting]. They all enter into captivity happily. They will no longer have to be part of the war. More and more prisoners are taken. They are collected in a large bomb crater….

  Only seven of us find ourselves on the hill, all sides of which are now defended to ward off a French counterattack.57

  The heights immediately above Wadelincourt were thus under German control. Despite some initial rough going, the small group of soldiers on the western bank never lost sight of the importance of moving forward toward the heights to their front.

  According to the after-action report of the 10th Infantry Brigad
e, the 1/86th Infantry captured the French fighting position known as Etadan that was around Hill 246.58 Their exact objective, however, is not clear, for the after-action report from the 2nd Company just quoted concludes with the statement that Hill 326 had been seized. Since there is no Hill 326 in the Sedan area, the company may have been moving west toward Hill 247 or south toward Hill 246. By using the Ruisseau du Moulin, one group of German soldiers with Lieutenant Hanbauer may have moved to the rear and flank of Hill 246 and another group may have moved toward Hill 247, thereby assisting Lieutenant de Courbière's company in forcing the French to withdraw.

  French reports support the idea of the Germans moving along the Ruisseau du Moulin to capture Hill 246 and to put pressure on Hill 247. According to them, one group of Germans moved southwest under cover along the streambed of the Ruisseau du Moulin and then turned west toward Hill 247, while another pushed directly ahead from Wadelincourt toward Hill 246 to the south. In any case, the French abandoned Hill 246 around 1800 hours, and the Germans overran Hill 247 around 1900 hours.

  Four hours after the beginning of the river crossing, the Germans had broken through the toughest part of the French defenses immediately adjacent to the river. The commander of the infantry in the 10th Panzer Division reported at 1730 hours that the western bank of the Meuse southwest of Sedan was firmly in the hands of the attacking infantry. Reacting swiftly to the successful penetration of the French defenses, the division pushed infantry from the 69th and 86th regiments forward, but the rate of advance on the southern bank of the Meuse remained extremely slow. French defenders at Noyers and the French military cemetery could not be silenced or dislodged easily from their positions.

  As its infantry advanced slowly, the 10th Panzer Division also began constructing a bridge west of Wadelincourt, about 100 meters south of the destroyed bridge known as Pont de la Gare. The division completed building the bridge at 0545 hours on the 14th.59 Eventually the Germans completed a footbridge, as well as a bridge capable of carrying tanks.60

  THE 2ND PANZER DIVISION AT DONCHERY

  Of the three divisions in the XIXth Panzer Corps, the 2nd Panzer Division encountered the greatest difficulty in its efforts to cross the Meuse River and in fact failed to make a successful crossing on its own. After the 1st Panzer Division cleared out the bunkers on the southern bank across from Donchery, Guderian's old division finally made it across the river around 2200 hours on the 13th.

  From the beginning of the campaign, the 2nd Division had operated at a disadvantage. During the rush through Luxembourg, when it had to pass through some of the most difficult terrain in western Europe, its Armor Brigade had become entangled with other German units and had moved forward very slowly. With its tanks far to the rear, the division had advanced with its infantry leading. Consequently, the division had reached the Semois River later than the other two divisions. At the Semois, the bridges at Membre and Vresse had been destroyed by the French, and the bridge at Mouzaive was being used by the 1st Panzer Division. So, before it could cross the river, it had to construct a bridge at Vresse. Leading elements of the division's infantry brigade, which was supposed to make a two-pronged attack across the Meuse, did not reach the Semois until 12 May at 0930 hours. With the 2nd Motorcycle Battalion leading, the infantry brigade passed through Sugny and reached Bosseval (six kilometers north of Donchery) at 2145 hours that day. Because of the darkness, the 3rd Panzer Regiment did not cross the bridge over the Semois River at Vresse until dawn on the 13th.61

  On the morning of 13 May at 0645 hours, the infantry brigade of the 2nd Division received a telephonic message informing it of its mission. The brigade was to seize the northern bank of the Meuse on both sides of Donchery and was then to attack across the river. The brigade organized itself into two attack groups. In the west were the 1st and 3rd battalions of the 2nd Infantry Regiment and the 2/74th Artillery; in the east were the 2/2nd Infantry, the 2nd Motorcycle Battalion, and the 1/74th Artillery. Throughout the morning, elements of these battalions continued closing into the area of Bosseval.62

  To accomplish its mission, the infantry brigade prepared to move forward in three phases. First, with two attack groups moving forward side-by-side, it would seize the high ground east of Vrigne-aux-Bois (west of the buckle in the Meuse), then it would capture the east bank of the Meuse around Donchery, and finally it would cross the river. The phases were used simply to facilitate the forward move of the division, and the operation was envisaged as one continuous move. Unlike the French method, the phases were not separate and distinct moves.

  At 1100 hours, two hours before the attack toward Vrigne-aux-Bois, the brigade received the formal plan for the attack, which indicated the 1/3rd Panzers, the 38th Antitank Company, the 38th Armored Engineer Battalion, and the 70th Engineer Battalion would support its attack. The plan also indicated that aerial attacks would support the river crossing.63

  The attack began as planned, but did not advance quickly because of heavy French fire. At 1300 hours small elements from the 3/2nd Infantry moved into Donchery. As they moved forward across the open and flat field that bordered the river, the two attacking groups from the infantry brigade came under small-arms fire from the east, and after reaching the railway line received heavy artillery fire. Throughout the afternoon, the 2nd Division apparently received more French artillery fire than did either of the other two divisions. Consequently, the main part of the eastern attack group did not reach the outskirts of Donchery until 1630 hours. A short time later, the western attack group also reached Donchery. Both groups were led by tanks, which moved into defilade positions along the railway line. The after-action report of the 2nd Infantry Brigade noted that the attack seemed “impossible” given the strong French position on the heights overlooking the river.64

  The effective French fire continued to disrupt the offensive efforts of the 2nd Division. To the east of Donchery, the 2/2nd Infantry, supported by engineers, sent six to eight rubber boats across the Meuse, but almost all of them were destroyed by French fire. Only one boat managed to reach the southern bank. To the west of Donchery, intense French fire also disrupted German attempts to cross the river. Only one officer and one man managed to get across the river, but they soon swam back. The first attack across the Meuse had failed.65

  For the next several hours, the 2nd Panzer Division used tanks, 88mm guns, and 37mm guns to fire at the French bunkers. Though some damage occurred, the division still could not cross the Meuse. Not until leading elements of the 1st Panzer Division moved around to the rear of the bunkers could the 2nd Panzer Division get significant forces across the river. After elements of the 1st Infantry Regiment destroyed the bunkers by placing fire on the river near Donchery, the 2/2nd Infantry brought rubber boats forward and successfully crossed the Meuse east of Donchery around 2200 hours. Other forces followed, and the division immediately moved against the second line of French defenses.66 Without the assistance of the 1st Panzer Division, crossing at Donchery may indeed have been “impossible.”

  At 0900 hours on 14 May, the 2nd Panzer Division began constructing a bridge across the Meuse southeast of Donchery. Continued French artillery fire, however, prevented the division from completing a bridge until 0400 hours on 15 May,67 about thirty hours after the division had moved significant elements across the river.

  THE CROSSING

  The three divisions of the XIXth Panzer Corps thus encountered varying degrees of resistance and achieved different levels of success. Of the six major crossings attempted by the XIXth Panzer Corps, only three initially succeeded, two by the 1st Panzer Division (1st Infantry Regiment and Gross Deutschland Regiment) and one by the 10th Panzer (which succeeded only because of the remarkable achievements of two small groups of men). This does not include the successful crossing by the motorcycle battalion of the 1st Panzer Division. The three failures, two by the 2nd Panzer and one by the 10th Panzer Division, were repulsed handily by French defenders who suffered few casualties.

  Placed within the
context of three of the six main crossings having failed, the successful crossing of the Meuse by the Germans clearly was not as easily accomplished as it may have appeared to the French High Command. If the defenders had repulsed another of the attempted crossings (other than that of the motorcycle battalion in the 1st Panzer Division), the Germans may have lost many more lives before the XIXth Panzer Corps successfully carved out a sufficiently large bridgehead.

  CHAPTER 6

  The French Fight Along the Meuse

  The decisive action in the crossing of the Meuse occurred along a small portion of the front that was manned primarily by the 147th Fortress Infantry Regiment. Including the 3/147th (which was part of the 331st Infantry Regiment) on the left of the 147th, the three divisions in the XIXth Panzer Corps concentrated their attack against a front defended by four battalions. Though some of the companies in these four battalions panicked and ran, others fought fiercely. Fortunately for the Germans, many of those who chose to run rather than fight were located along the axis of advance for Balck's 1st Infantry Regiment.

  THE FIRST DAYS OF THE BATTLE

  During the first two days of the war, it was relatively quiet around Sedan. Around 0400 hours on 10 May, German aircraft flew over Sedan and headed southwest. Between 0700 and 0800 hours, the battalions in the 55th Division received the code words indicating changes in alert status and quickly moved into their defensive positions. For protection against air strikes, the soldiers marched forward in small groups in daylight; vehicles did not move forward until after darkness. A few enemy air strikes hit the Sedan area, but nothing suggested the approach of the main German attack.1

  On the 10th and 11th, soldiers assisted with the evacuation of the civilian populace from the Sedan area. Some of the inhabitants refused to leave their homes, but after the arrival of the gendarmerie, most departed quietly.2 Units in forward positions spent the first two days of the war working on their positions and ensuring all their supplies were complete. The work of improving trenches and strengthening defensive positions evidently did not appear as burdensome as it had for the previous seven months.