Hello to all
; more..............................
Sicherungs-Brigade 74.
The struggles of Mont Mouchet.
On June 02, 1944, coming from Mende, a German battalion moves on Saint-Chély-d'Apcher, Malzieu and Paulhac. The 2nd Company of Mont-Mouchet withstood for three hours the Germans trying to win the position. It is then when the 3rd Company and the truanes Corps-Franc intervene. Then a counterattack is launched on the enemy's flank by the 12th company that came from Chamblard. The German battalion must retreat after suffering great losses. The Maquisards only have three light wounded.
On June 07, a group of Maquisards from the Puy region and staying in Rossignol, commune of Saint-Jean-Lachalm, is surrounded by a German column from Le Puy. It breaks the siege at the cost of some losses, crosses the Allier in Alleyras and is in Venteuges at night with some wounded. On the eve of the German attack, the defenses of the Venteuges sector are in place, and the roads leading to la Canje are all controlled. Mont-Mouchet is covered on its eastern flank.
On June 10, 2,800 to 3,000 men lined up on the German side: the 2,000 soldiers sent are reinforced by companies from Saint-Flour, Brioude and Puy. Among these reinforcements are the 6 companies of Tartars of the Volga: 3 Azeri companies of Saint Flour and 3 companies of Ukrainian Tartars of du Puy, or 900 men. During the day of June 10, violent clashes occur. In Clavières, where the Germans are stopped by the 3rd, 4th and 9th companies. Their tanks, light armored and auto-machine guns, progress slowly, but the infantry can not follow them. Some vehicles are destroyed by bazookas and automatic weapons. At the Pinols junction, the attack is stopped by the Hoodlums Corps-Franc and the 10th, 11th and 14th companies, destroying several trucks loaded with enemy soldiers. At La Vachellerie (Saugues sector), a hundred vehicles are stopped by the section of gendarmes, the sections of the 33rd and 34th companies, reinforced by elements of the 12th Company. The battle lasted all day, and a night attack with two sections of the 31st Company is needed against the enemy's flank, to repel it on the right bank of the Allier River. Several enemy vehicles are destroyed, including an armored vehicle. Two cannons fall into the hands of the F.F.I. as well as several prisoners. At dusk, the German troops withdraw. The staff of the F.F.I. expect another attack even more violent for the next day; That is why the evacuation of the material begins along the still free road of Paulhac and Le Malzieu, until the "Reduct of La Truyère".
The German attack was resumed on June 11 around 09:00 hours, on the same axis as the previous day. The fight is fierce. The artillery crushes the companies involved and, at the end of the afternoon, the forest house, CP of the Staff. Everywhere, in Clavières, Pinols and Saugues, the Maquisards fight with courage, but they can not avoid the penetration of the enemy. The ammunition is exhausted, and the reserve units provide the necessary supplies. The 26th Company, mainly in the canton of Laroquebrou, suffered great losses: one third of its strength. The companies have orders to stay until the night. Those of Mont-Mouchet retreat towards the "Reduct of La Truyère". Those from Saugues were reduced, the 31st and 32nd companies retired to the forests of the Berbezit region (La Chaise-Dieu) and to the Mercoire forest region (High Lozère) for the 33rd, 34th, 35th companies and the company of passage. When the Germans arrive at the Forestry House very late, they find nothing, neither men nor equipment. During the fierce fighting, the Germans burned and looted the villages of Clavières, Lorcières, Paulhac, part of the small town of Ruynes in Margeride, and all isolated farms on the road, within 10 km around Mont-Mouchet. In some parts, people were shot in the region, including 26 in Ruynes, 13 in Clavières, 11 in Pinols. When they left, their excesses continued, where 25 hostages were shot on June 14 at the Soubizergues bridge in Saint-Flour, while in Murat, on June 12 and 24, 120 people were deported.
The balance of these two days is burdensome. The French losses amount to 160 dead and 80 injured. The Wehrmacht one hundred killed and sixty wounded.
Source:
http://www.laveissiere.fr/userfile/monu ... jesser.pdf
hhttp://sudwall.superforum.fr/t307-automitrailleuses-panhard-allemandes
Il y a 70 ans, la bataille du Mont-Mouchet
Le maquis du Mont Mouchet _ Chemins de Mémoire - Ministère de la Défense.
Cheers. Raúl M
.