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 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

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 Hook of 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.

Purpose

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, so long as they remained in German hands, they had propaganda value.

Fate of the pockets

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

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

PocketPlaceGarrisonAllied assault beganSurrendered
Cherbourg pocketCherbourg15,000 men6 June 194430 June 1944
Saint-Malo pocketSaint-Malo12,000 men3 August 194414 August 1944[2]
Le Havre pocketLe Havre14,000 men10 September 194412 September 1944
Brest pocketBrest37,000 men7 August 194419 September 1944
Boulogne pocketBoulogne-sur-Mer10,000 men17 September 194422 September 1944
Calais pocketCalais7,500 men25 September 194430 September 1944
Royan pocketRoyan5,000 men12 September 194417 April 1945
Pointe de Grave pocketPointe de Grave3,500 men12 September 194420 April 1945
Île d'Oléron2,000 men12 September 194430 April 1945
La Rochelle pocketLa Rochelle11,500 men12 September 19447 May 1945
Dunkirk pocketDunkirk10,000 men15 September 19449 May 1945
Occupied Channel IslandsChannel Islands28,500 menNo assault9 May 1945
Lorient pocketLorient24,500 men12 August 194410 May 1945
Saint-Nazaire pocketSaint-Nazaire30,000 men27 August 194411 May 1945

See also

Notes
  1. Wilt 2004, p. 108.
  2. The island of Cézembre held out until 2 September 1944

References
  • 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.
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