La Horgne battle (May 15, 1940)

Not really a tank battle since only the German side used tanks in this one but nevertheless interesting. I will also prepare reports about various other battles (Abbeville, Rethel, Lille and Dunkirk, Montcornet, Saar, Arras etc.).

LA HORGNE (May 15, 1940)

On May 13 1940, Guderian's Panzer Korps was in the process of breaking out from the Sedan bridgehead, heading West, between the French IXth and IInd armies. In front of them remained only scattered units, including the 3e Brigade de Spahis (cavalry), which was ordered to hold the road junction of La Horgne against the panzers for as long as possible in order to delay the German advance. On the day in question, 15th May, the 1.PzD split into two Kampfgruppe, one of which (battalions Richter and Von Stüdnitz + infantry and support elements) headed for La Horgne, where the Spahis had hastily dug themselves in.

The village is a small one, comprising stone houses/farms and a tiny church, lying at the end of a modest rise in ground, which projects about a kilometre from a steep wooded ridge. There are other woods scattered around but the ground is clear for 500-1000 m around the village.

La Horgne :


The 3e Brigade de Spahis was commanded by colonel Marc and composed of :

- 2e Régiment de Spahis Algériens (2e RSA), commanded by colonel Burnol.


- 2e Régiment de Spahis Marocains (2e RSM) commanded by colonel Geoffroy.


From May 10 to May 15 the 3e brigade de Spahis had already fought interrupted in Belgium, in the southern Ardennes after the retreat of the Belgian troops and on the Meuse river. Half of the men were already dead. During the night of May 14/15, less than 2000 Spahis were ordered to defend the town of La Horgne itself and to establish a defensive line at 800m south to the village. All the soldiers realised this was going to be a mission of sacrifice.

Apart from a couple of outposts, one of the Spahis regiments occupied the village and the other the rise between La Horgne and the wooded ridge, on which one MG squadron were posted. The brigade had taken
heavy losses in previous battles and its AT weaponry consisted of only one 37mm mle1916 TR infantry guns and a single Hotchkiss 25mm AT gun. There were no AA weapons at all, no artillery, no mines. Not much to face half a Panzer division ! They positioned the guns in the village. All the horses and transport were kept in relative safety in the woods along and adjacent to the ridge. Everyone dug trenches, each building had been transformed in strongpoint and the HQ was installed in the church with the single AT gun firing from a hole in the wall. This was clearly going to be a last stand job, so even the "escadron hors rang" (HQ staff company) was dug in as part of the main defense line.

"Défense de La Horgne", painting by Henry FAREY (1980) :


Early in the Morning German Luftwaffe's fighters straffed the position.
At 08.00 AM the 1. Schützen Regiment coming from Singly was engaged and at 09.00 AM the Germans started their all-out attack with light and heavy tanks.
The Germans attacked initially the village end of the position, commencing with light elements which were easily beaten off. Over the course of the afternoon they mounted attacks with Stukas and artillery support, and also worked around the flanks so that the Spahis were more or less cut off from the ridge and surrounded.

Bitter fighting took place ; 16 tanks were knocked out, mostly at point blank range whilst breaking into the village. The battle lasted 10 hours and the French troops led several local counter-attacks to repulse the Germans and avoid encirclement. The men literally died on their position instead of retreating, until total use of all ammunitions.

La Horgne after the battle :


Both regimental commanders were killed in action, carbine in hand. At this point, out of ammunition and with all their infantry guns or AT gun knocked out, the survivors tried to break out, i.e. to get to the elements on the ridge and to their horses. The brigade commander, colonel Marc, felt heavily wounded while leading an attack to break the encirclement and is later captured by the German troops. The men who made it formed new squadrons and fought again later on in the campaign until the armistice. Of the rest about half had been KIA, MIA or WIA. The 3e Brigade de Spahis lost about 700 men and officers in La Horgne. The survivors, with no means of resistance now, without ammunitions had no choice but to surrender to the Germans, who presented arms as the Spahis staggered out of the ruins, battered but unbowed.

So, as brave a feat of arms as any in the glorious history of the French cavalry. Less than 2000 men, pitifully armed, had held their ground against half a Panzer division for 10 hours. But they were only able to buy this amount of time because they made the optimum tactical use of the ground and of what weaponry they had, as all good soldiers should.

A plate in commemorating the battle :


Unlike this painting which is the cover page of Gérard Saint-Marin's " l'arme blindée française. Tome 1 : mai-juin 40 : les blindées français dans la tourmente" (Economica) there was most probably no mounted charges at all by French cavalry in the 1940 campaign. A mounted charge against enemies in tanks and halftracks would not only have been suicidal, it would have been a neglect of duty.

Regards,

David

 

Beautiful post David. Very complete. You certainly seem to know a lot about it. Welcome to the forum by the way!
merci bien
PP

 

I agree.
Very exciting post.

 

I agree too. Beats anything I've ever done here right into the ground!

 

Yeah, me, too. And on such an obscure event.

 

and ill add on your post kicks ..... um a word thats not a swear word um chiken poop there

 

I am also surprised I never heard the hole stroy i've herd about but I din't know crap it should go down i history with the Alamo and the battle when the Britsh held off the Zulu in africa i forgot what it was called

 

I tottally agree with TD, whom I know, this battle should be more rcognized. Your people fought galllantly. I have to say I never knew your people hurt the germans that bad. I salute them...