The route of the SS Der Führer............

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The route of the SS Der Fuhrer - From Prague to the Western front.

West Front - France 1940. The Battle of Aire. German Flank Guard Actions During the 1940 French Campaign.
by B. H. Friesen.

By dawn, the enemy probes had become a full-scale infantry attack with armor support. French forces had already penetrated the regiment’s security positions in the darkness and had bypassed Aire, leaving the 2d and 7th Companies isolated there. French tanks and infantry poured into Blessy, where command posts of the 2d Bn/DF and the artillery battalion were co-located, along with an artillery battery. This surprised the Germans, but they managed to defend the command posts with the help of direct fire from the artillery battery. The 2d Bn/DF command post had meanwhile alerted the rest of the battalion and issued orders for a counterattack. The counterattack occurred almost immediately, pushing the French out of Blessy.

The 3d Battalion was having a difficult time also. The entire unit stretched thinly along the Canal d’Aire, guarding three crossings in a very wide sector. The 9th Company, under Hauptsturmfuhrer [Captain] Heinz Harmel, guarded the most important crossing near Isbergues. A force of 50 French tanks and one battalion of infantry smashed through the 9th Company and pushed towards St. Hilaire in two separate columns. This heavy blow also isolated the 10th and 11th Companies in the 3d Battalion’s sector. Fortunately, Harmel’s company did not disintegrate, but established isolated pockets of resistance. More important, it sent accurate reports to the regimental command post and apprised the commander of the situation. The 10th and 11th Companies were still combat effective. They began attacking the rear of the enemy units that had bypassed them.

The situation was now extremely critical. Two battalions of French tanks supportted by two battalions of infantry had crossed the Canal d’Aire, penetrating deep into the regimental sector. Unknown to the division, another French armor and infantry force approached Lillers from the northeast (see Map 3). The Regiment “Der Führer” was in danger of annihilation. More important, the vulnerable support elements of the XLI Corps were in danger of destruction should the French tanks penetrate the corps’ flank as well. This would temporarily halt the German advance to the English Channel and give the Allies a chance to evacuate or establish a stronger defensive line.

Source: Armor Magazine. Jan – Feb 1994.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows...................

The route of the SS Der Fuhrer - From Prague to the Western front.

West Front - France 1940. The Battle of Aire. German Flank Guard Actions During the 1940 French Campaign.
by B. H. Friesen.

Oberführer Georg Keppler, commander of the Regiment “Der Fuhrer,” formulated the following plan. The 1st Bn/DF(-) would deploy out of Rely and attack through Witternesse towards Aire. The elements of the 2d Bn/DF that had withdrawn would simultaneously attack out of Blessy towards Aire. Both battalions had the mission of pushing the enemy back across the Canal d’Aire in the Aire sector. The remainder of the 3d Bn/DF was to advance east through St. Hilaire, towards Lillers, to force the enemy back across the canal there (see Map 4).

The 1st Bn/DF(-) captured Witternesse by 1100 hours and pushed the enemy back to Aire. The unit also captured a sizable number of prisoners. The 2d Bn/DF(-) reached the western edge of Aire at 1200 hours. It immediately attacked the weak enemy defensive positions there. Barely one hour later, the 1st Bn/DF(-) entered Aire from the south almost unopposed. The French had shifted the bulk of their defenders to the west against the 2d Battalion. The 1st Battalion made contact with the isolated 2d and 7th Companies. These two units had begun fighting their way south when they heard the sounds of battle in western Aire. The 1st Bn/DF then secured the canal crossings at Aire, thereby sealing off one of the prongs of the French attack.

Gruppenführer [Major General] Hausser had meanwhile judged the main point of effort to be in the Regiment “Der Fuhrer’s” sector. He directed the Regiment “Germania” to send a company to St. Hilaire to assist the 3d Bn/DF halt the enemy advance. The remainder of “Germania” would remain south of the Regiment “Der Fuhrer” to provide depth to the guard operation. The Regiment “Germania” sent its most mobile unit, the 15th (Motorcycle Infantry) Company, north to St. Hilaire to link up with the 3d Bn/DF(-). The company had supporting antitank guns. At 0700 hours, the 15th Company’s lead elements entered St. Hilaire from the south, exactly the same time that a French tank unit entered the town from the east.

The two units became hopelessly intermingled and vicious fighting broke out in the town. The commander of the 15th Company reported his predicament to the Regiment “Germania’s” command post, requesting additional antitank support. The company assumed defensive positions in basements, barnyards, and side streets. It positioned antitank guns at critical avenues throughout the town. The antitank guns quickly knocked out three French tanks and several fuel trucks on the main road, creating a bottleneck for the French armored column. Observers from the 15th Company spotted a long column of tanks halted along the St. Hilaire-Lillers road and relayed this information to the regimental command post.

Source: Armor Magazine. Jan – Feb 1994.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows...................

The route of the SS Der Fuhrer - From Prague to the Western front.

West Front - France 1940. The Battle of Aire. German Flank Guard Actions During the 1940 French Campaign.
by B. H. Friesen.

At 0800 hours, the 3d Bn/DF(-), under the command of Sturmbannführer [Major] Otto Kumm, entered St. Hilaire from the west and made contact with the 15th Company ”Germania.” The only units Kumm had at his disposal were elements of his 9th and 12th Companies and a platoon from the battalion’s antitank company. This was his unit’s first encounter with tanks and the soldiers were very apprehensive.

Kumm personally led attacks against individual tanks, destroying them by placing satchel charges under their turrets or throwing grenades into their hatches. His dynamic leadership dispelled the myth among his troops that tanks were invincible. In the next hour, 13 French tanks went up in flames to his infantrymen and antitank gunners. The 3d Bn/DF(-) turned the St. Hilaire bottleneck into a road block for the French armored column.

Gruppenführer [Major General] Hausser immediately dispatched the division’s antitank battalion to the area south of the St. Hilaire-Lillers road. By noon, the entire French armored column was nothing but buming hulks.

The Germans captured a total of 500 French prisoners in St. Hilaire. The 3d Bn/DF(-) then advanced to Lillers, capturing the town at 1130 hours. The 10th and 11th Companies joined it there, having fought their way south from the Canal d’Aire. The 15th Company “Germania” remained behind in St. Hilaire and reconnoitered north to maintain contact with the enemy forces there.

By the afternoon of 23 May, the Regiment “Der Fuhrer” had sealed the first French penetration at Aire and pushed the second one back to the high ground around Isbergues. Mopping up operations began in the recaptured territory, but the battle was not over yet.

Source: Armor Magazine. Jan – Feb 1994.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows...................

The route of the SS Der Fuhrer - From Prague to the Western front.

West Front - France 1940. The Battle of Aire. German Flank Guard Actions During the 1940 French Campaign.
by B. H. Friesen.

The division reconnaissance battalion had recalled all its patrols north of the Canal d‘Aire that morning. Some had not been able to make it back Untersturmführer [Second Lieutenant] Fritz Vogt commanded just such a patrol of motorcycle infantry and armored cars. While moving south towards Mazinghem, he observed a French column crossing the main road in an easterly direction. Vogt frowned, his boyish face concealing combat experience and tactical ability far beyond his years. He estimated its strength to be that of a motorized infantry battalion. He was no longer aware of the overall situation facing his division. He knew, however, that an enemy movement this size threatened the flank of both his division and the corps it guarded. Thoroughly outmatched in terms of firepower and mass, Vogt knew he would have to rely exclusively on maneuverability and surprise.

He positioned his two antitank guns in a concealed position overlooking the column. He then assembled his motorcycle squad and two armored cars. Ordering his antitank guns to open fire on the rear of the column, he jumped onto a motorcycle and sped off. He led his small force around numerous hedges and through depressions until he had outflanked the French column. He waited less than a minute for the head of the column to appear and opened fire at point-blank range. His force adjusted its fire from the front of the column to the rear while the antitank guns he left behind did the opposite. The French column was in complete confusion. The soldiers believed that they were under attack along their entire flank.

Several minutes later, white handkerchiefs flapped in the breeze along the entire column. Vogt moved his small group in and quickly disarmed them. By the time the French realized that his force consisted of only 30 men, it was too late. The French commander shook with rage and embarrassment as it dawned upon him that Vogt had tricked him. Vogt grinned so hard he thought his jaw would break. Several weeks later, Untersturmführer Fritz Vogt received the Knight’s Cross for this daring ruse.

Source: Armor Magazine. Jan – Feb 1994.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; last part...................

The route of the SS Der Fuhrer - From Prague to the Western front.

West Front - France 1940. The Battle of Aire. German Flank Guard Actions During the 1940 French Campaign.
by B. H. Friesen.

Prisoner interrogations strongly indicated that another French armor force was moving west from Bethune. Reconnaissance patrols confirmed this. Hausser believed that this was the time to commit the entire Regiment “Germania.” He directed the regiment to deploy north and south of Auchy and prepare to conduct a movement to contact to the east (see Map 5).

The regiment began moving at 1400 hours and met the enemy tanks at the heights of St. Hilaire. This was the last of the French armor and the force was too small to overpower a motorized regiment supported by the division’s antitank battalion. The tanks quickly lost their momentum and began to withdraw. The Regiment “Germania” pursued them, pushing the enemy back along the entire front in a great sweeping action. The antitank units destroyed many French tanks. The regiment pushed all enemy forces it did not capture or destroy back to the canal by nightfall.

The enemy tried to force penetrations into the division and corps flank in three separate areas. The SS V Division halted and repulsed him on each occasion. The Germans destroyed over 60 armored vehicles and captured close to 4,000 enemy soldiers.

Source: Armor Magazine. Jan – Feb 1994.

It's all folks. Cheers. Raúl M .