Embarqued at Brest and then went to Liverpool and then on to Greenock to coal up aboard the Providence. Later they transboarded on to the, Monarch of Bermuda
Source : F.S.A.L.E. : histoire : l'épopée de Narvik (part one)
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History: the epic of Narvik (part 1)
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FSALE Info Published: August 30, 2019Views: 1,283
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History. May-June 1940: the epic of Narvik (1 st part)
April 1940: The Germans control almost the entire Norwegian territory but the Allies supported by the Legion will cut the "iron route" by which the Swedish ore is routed to Germany. Six thousand Germans hold the port and the city of Narvik.
May 1940: The only victorious campaign in this month's shipment of Narvik in Norway, with the main architect 13 e Half Mountain Brigade of the Foreign Legion, the 13 th DBMLE under the command of Colonel Raoul Charles Magrin-Vernerey.
· Embedded in Brest on April 23, the 13 th DBMLE arrives in Liverpool on 25 in the port of Greenock. The
Providence needs char but the weekend is sacred. Great Britain goes to war with the slowness of
God Save the King determined to change nothing in the
British way of life. The 13 th DBMLE leaves
Providence to be transhipped on the English liner
Monarch of Bermuda. She leaves on the 29th.
· The English have control of the sea but the Germans have control of the air.
Walking Journal Page
·
On May 5, the 13 th DBMLE arrived in Ballangen, on the Haafjeldet peninsula, forward base for operations on Narvik, on May 5, at midnight, in the light of polar day while
Colombia, the
Chenonceaux and
Mexico are heading further north; after transhipment to British destroyers, May 6, and an attack by
the Messerschmitt, the
art legionaries landed on the Norwegian shore Skannland.
·
On May 7, General Béthouart and Colonel Magrin-Verneret took passage aboard the Polish torpedo boat
Burza to explore the Narvik fjord. General Bethouart forces his hand to the British: a landing by force will be attempted at the end of the Herjangsfjord peninsula, at Bjervik, where the Germans have entrenched themselves. The objective is to take back the enemy forces which, 20 kilometers to the north, block the advance of the half-brigade of Alpine hunters and several Norwegian battalions on a peninsula in Gretangen.
· A majority of the British and French expeditionary forces had to rush back on board, which led to the fall of Neville
Chamberlain and his replacement by Winston
Churchill on
10may1940 .
· General Bethouard has the 13 th DBMLE two battalions, a Polish brigade with four battalions and a tank company.
·
On May 12, around 10 p.m., the small armada set off and appeared in the Bjervik and Méby fjord, in the twilight twilight.
·
At midnight, the guns of warships open fire and the darkness explodes in a roar of apocalypse. The roar and thunder of all the guns of warships fill the fjord. The Germans settled around Bjervik and even in Bjernik. But Bjervik is not a German camp. It is a borough, a locality, with houses full of civilians, men, women and children. The smoke from the fires stands out against the high mountains covered with snow. Wooden houses blaze like torches.
· The British admiral Cork, commander of the British naval forces, and General Béthouart took place aboard the cruiser
Effingham. Colonel Magrin-Verneret is on the bridge of the
Vindictive cruiser
.
"Vindictive" cruiser
· The armored barges rush towards the strike. On board, I / 13 e of Commander Boyer-Resses and some H35 infantry support tanks.
·
On May 13, at dawn, the 13 th DBMLE landed on Norwegian soil in eight armored barges and several fishing boats, under the protection of the British fleet. Simultaneously, the 6 th and 14 th BCA attack to the North. Of the five light tanks planned, transported by the Cuirassier
Resolution, only H39 by Lieutenant Coloby managed to land as soon as the assault began.
· After an hour, the cannonade was silent and it was the legionaries' turn to attack in the five barges. Despite the bombardment, the Germans defended the shore with fierce resolution and their machine guns immediately hampered the landing craft. Commander Boyer-Resses, drawn up in a boat, without regard for the bullets that sweep the sea, gives his orders to the megaphone, as at the parade. He directed his barges towards hill 46, the screen of which seemed to him to offer relative protection although it was exposed to machine gun fire. But he has no choice. At his signal, the hundred and fifty legionaries of the 1stBattalion leap over the curbs, jump into the sea and quickly reach the shore. Then they advance, folded in half under the bullets. They overthrow the enemy and reform under fire in the direction of Bjervik, their initial objective. Behind them, three tanks finally reach the beach and are engaged in battle.
· Houses in ruins and in flames, come out of the bloody men, women and children screaming in terror; a hundred corpses and more civilians already roasting in the flames. Unfortunate little community, surprised in its sleep by the War monster. The provisional survivors fled distraught on all sides, while the assault of the legionaries progressed slowly. The Germans fall back defending street after street.
· When the first bridgehead is well established, the rest of the 1st Battalion in turn embarks in armored canoes and rushes towards the beach under a fire vault.
· The Germans are entrenched in the village. Bjervik must therefore be removed house by house. After five hours of fierce street fighting to progress melee in the ruins and in flames, in that it houses be removed after each other, with the 1 st company Gelat captain head, 1 er Battalion of commander Boyer-Resses seizes Bjervik and can continue the action towards the north.
· When the 1 st Battalion finally master of the field, 2 e Battalion was brought down facing east. He finds a terribly uneven relief, with more abrupt faults than the map suggested. However, the legionaries of Commander Guéninchault also manage to overcome all resistance. The 2 e Bataillon should continue to grow in the mountains. He took hill 98 and then, during his advance, removed the camp from Elvegaard. The fight is hot because each house is conquered by a merciless fight. Finally the Battalion holds Elvegaard where it frees 80 Norwegian prisoners, captures nearly 500 Germans, seizes a hundred machine guns and important equipment.
· His next goal is to score 220, which stands right in front of
'' black, sharp as a ship's prow '' . The legionaries are nailed to the ground before an obstinate resistance. Not for long because the orders are formal: you have to pass.
·