The Allied siege of La Rochelle occurred during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in 1944–45, when Allied troops invaded France.

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

was an important German naval base on the Atlantic for surface ships and submarines, from which

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

campaigns were launched. La Rochelle and other harbours such as Royan and

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocea ...

, became "

Atlantic pockets 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 lo ...

" still occupied by the Germans, which were bypassed by the main thrust of the Allied invasion, as was

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

on the North Sea. The city was liberated only at the very end of the war, nine months after the

Liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris (french: Libération de Paris) was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Ger ...

, after the general German capitulation on 8 May 1945.

Siege

The Allied siege of the pocket of La Rochelle lasted from September 1944 to May 1945, without heavy bombardment. La Rochelle remained in German hands until the end of the war, like other

such as

and Lorient. Just surrounding the city was considered wiser than conducting a frontal attack, as the city would ultimately fall anyway with the end of the war. The

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

fortified the ports in order to deny their logistical capacity to the Allies and maintain the

threat to Allied shipping in the Atlantic. In total 39,500 French civilians were under the rule of Vice-Admiral Schirlitz, who served as the Naval Commander Atlantic Coast, from 1943 in La Rochelle until the end of the war. The German garrison numbered 22,000 men. During the siege the Allies still allowed for electricity, wood and some supplies to be delivered in order to alleviate the ordeal of the civilian population inside the walls of the city. Agreements were made between the French and the German occupation force in La Rochelle, to the effect that the French would not attack and that in exchange the Germans would not destroy the port installations of La Rochelle- La Pallice. In effect, La Rochelle was surrounded efficiently enough, and suffered enough from the siege, with harbour facilities being damaged by Allied air attacks, that the Germans were unable to launch major U-boat attacks on Allied shipping for the duration of the siege. However, every week a

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

plane was able to break through the blockade and supply the garrison. In order to raise the morale of German troops in La Rochelle, the propaganda movie '' Kolberg'', celebrating resistance against the French in 1806, was sent in by Göring and premiered simultaneously in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

and La Rochelle on 30 January 1945. From spring 1945, General Edgard de Larminat was put in charge of French forces in the region, with the objective of capturing La Rochelle. The United States was to give logistical support as well as strategic air support. The first pocket to be attacked was the nearby

Royan pocket The Royan pocket (french: Poche de Royan) was one of the Atlantic pockets towards the end of World War II, an isolated position held by German troops left behind as the German army retreated from occupied France. It became important to the G ...

. The city suffered heavy bombardment by 1,000 planes, with the result that the city was razed and 1,500 civilians killed. La Rochelle escaped this fate only because Royan was at the time considered a higher priority, due to its commanding position on the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,6 ...

River. ''Opération Mousquetaire'', the planned assault on La Rochelle, was cancelled with the capitulation of Germany. La Rochelle was one of the last French cities to be liberated in 1945. It was surrendered to the Allies only on 7 May 1945, with the surrender ceremony occurring on 8 May 1945, at 23:45. The Germans surrendered in Dunkirk on 9 May and Saint-Nazaire on 11 May. The ''4e régiment de Zouaves'' especially participated in the liberation of La Rochelle.

Legacy

US troops would remain in the area around La Rochelle, within the dispositions of the

Atlantic Alliance The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two Nor ...

, at the bases of

Croix-Chapeau Croix-Chapeau () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. History From 1953 to 1966 there was a 500-bed U.S. Army hospital in Croix-Chapeau, run by the 28th General Hospital unit,Labrude Pierre (2008) "Les hôpit ...

, Bussac-Forêt, and

Saint-Jean-d'Angély Saint-Jean-d'Angély (; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Jhan-d'Anjhéli'') is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. The commune has its historical origins in the Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Royal abbey Founded in the ...

(Fontenet) until 1966, when

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

withdrew France from the military wing of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

, and ordered the closure of NATO bases in France. On 7 September 1996, a monument was established near the boundary of the La Rochelle pocket, near Saint-Sauveur-d'Aunis, the "Mémorial de la poche de la Rochelle", in memory of the soldiers who died in the operation.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Rochelle, Siege of (allied) Western European Campaign (1944–1945) Conflicts in 1945 1945 in France Sieges involving France Sieges involving Germany Sieges involving the United States Sieges involving the United Kingdom

History of Charente-Maritime

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

Siege

Legacy

See also

Notes