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Atlantic pockets

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In World War II, the Atlantic pockets were locations along the coasts of the Netherlands, Belgium and France chosen as strongholds by the occupying German forces, to be defended as long as possible against land attack by the Allies.

The locations are known in German as Atlantikfestungen (lit. "Atlantic strongholds") but are known in English as "Atlantic pockets".

Six of the Atlantic pockets were captured by the Allies between June and October 1944. Others were placed under siege. Three surrendered in April 1945, and the remainder in May 1945.

Designation as fortresses

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On 19 January 1944 Adolf Hitler declared eleven places along the Atlantic Wall to be fortresses (Festungen), to be held until the last man or the last round, calling them Atlantikfestungen (lit. "Atlantic strongholds").[1]

The ports were: IJmuiden, the Hoek van Holland, Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Le Havre, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire and the Gironde estuary.[1]

In February and March 1944 three more coastal areas were declared to be fortresses: the Channel Islands, Calais and La Rochelle.[1]

Other fortresses were added after D-Day on 6 June 1944 in further directives of 17 August and 4 September.[citation needed]

Purpose

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As well as concentrating men and matériel to control the surrounding area, the fortresses' purpose was to deny the use of port facilities to the Allies and to secure their continued use by German submarines in the Battle of the Atlantic. In addition, as long as they remained in German hands, they had propaganda value.

Fate of the pockets

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In France, six pockets were captured by the Allies between the initial invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and October 1944, and others brought under siege. Three were liberated by French forces in April 1945, while the remainder surrendered after the capitulation of Germany in May 1945.

List of Atlantic pockets

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The Atlantic pockets, with the date any Allied assault began and date the defenders surrendered, are shown below.

Pocket Place Garrison Allied assault began Surrendered
Cherbourg pocket Cherbourg 15,000 men 6 June 1944 30 June 1944
Saint-Malo pocket Saint-Malo 12,000 men 3 August 1944 14 August 1944[2]
Le Havre pocket Le Havre 14,000 men 10 September 1944 12 September 1944
Brest pocket Brest 37,000 men 7 August 1944 19 September 1944
Boulogne pocket Boulogne-sur-Mer 10,000 men 17 September 1944 22 September 1944
Calais pocket Calais 7,500 men 25 September 1944 30 September 1944
Royan pocket Royan 5,000 men 12 September 1944 17 April 1945
Pointe de Grave pocket Pointe de Grave 3,500 men 12 September 1944 20 April 1945
Île d'Oléron 2,000 men 12 September 1944 30 April 1945
La Rochelle pocket La Rochelle 11,500 men 12 September 1944 7 May 1945
Dunkirk pocket Dunkirk 10,000 men 15 September 1944 9 May 1945
Occupied Channel Islands Channel Islands 28,500 men No assault 9 May 1945
Lorient pocket Lorient 24,500 men 12 August 1944 10 May 1945
Saint-Nazaire pocket Saint-Nazaire 30,000 men 27 August 1944 11 May 1945

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Wilt 2004, p. 108.
  2. ^ The island of Cézembre held out until 2 September 1944

References

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  • Rémy Desquesnes. Les poches de résistance allemandes sur le littoral français: août 1944 – mai 1945. Rennes: Éd. Ouest-France, 2011. ISBN 978-2-7373-4685-9; (in French).
  • (fr) Stéphane Simonnet (2015), Les poches de l'Atlantique: Les batailles oubliées de la Libération Janvier 1944 - mai 1945, Tallandier, ISBN 979-10-210-0492-4
  • Sortir de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (3/5): La libération des poches de l'Atlantique (in French), France culture - La fabrique de l'histoire, 6 May 2015, retrieved 14 Aug 2015
  • Wilt, Alan (2004). The Atlantic Wall 1941–1944: Hitler's Defenses for D-Day. Enigma Books.