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Les Poches de l'Atlantique - Les batailles oubliées de la libération: Janvier 1944 - mai 1945 (L'HISTOIRE)
6 juin 1944 : les Alliés débarquent en Normandie. Après 80 jours de combat, ils libèrent Paris. À la fin mars 1945, la bataille est terminée dans l’est de la France. Il n’en est pas de même à l’Ouest, où 75 000 soldats de la Wehrmacht et de la Kriegsmarine résistent sans faillir aux assauts des troupes alliées et françaises dans six forteresses édifiées sur le littoral de France : Dunkerque, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire, La Rochelle, Royan et la pointe de Grave.
Grâce à de monumentales batteries d’artillerie, des fossés antichar et une défense aérienne redoutable, les soldats allemands ont reçu l’ordre de Hitler de tenir jusqu’au bout. Le 14 avril 1945, sous la conduite du général de Larminat, la campagne de l’Atlantique est déclenchée. Après des semaines de combats acharnés où près de 60 000 civils sont pris en otage, les troupes françaises – pourtant peu expérimentées et faiblement armées –, formées pour l’essentiel de combattants FTP et FFI, obtiennent la reddition de l’ennemi. En moins d’un mois, les poches sont réduites les unes après les autres : Royan (18 avril), l’île d’Oléron (1er mai), l’île de Ré et la Rochelle (7 mai), Dunkerque (9 mai) Lorient (10 mai) et Saint-Nazaire (11 mai).
Au final, des villes entièrement dévastées où les « empochés » ont enduré des conditions de vie épouvantables alors que le reste du pays fêtait la Libération. Stéphane Simonnet lève ici le voile sur les batailles oubliées de la libération de la France.
Grâce à de monumentales batteries d’artillerie, des fossés antichar et une défense aérienne redoutable, les soldats allemands ont reçu l’ordre de Hitler de tenir jusqu’au bout. Le 14 avril 1945, sous la conduite du général de Larminat, la campagne de l’Atlantique est déclenchée. Après des semaines de combats acharnés où près de 60 000 civils sont pris en otage, les troupes françaises – pourtant peu expérimentées et faiblement armées –, formées pour l’essentiel de combattants FTP et FFI, obtiennent la reddition de l’ennemi. En moins d’un mois, les poches sont réduites les unes après les autres : Royan (18 avril), l’île d’Oléron (1er mai), l’île de Ré et la Rochelle (7 mai), Dunkerque (9 mai) Lorient (10 mai) et Saint-Nazaire (11 mai).
Au final, des villes entièrement dévastées où les « empochés » ont enduré des conditions de vie épouvantables alors que le reste du pays fêtait la Libération. Stéphane Simonnet lève ici le voile sur les batailles oubliées de la libération de la France.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 7, 2015
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August 9, 2026
This book is quite comprehensive. Covering everything from the prelude of the formation of the pockets, to a detailed exploration of each of the pockets and their subsequent sieges. The Atlantic Fortresses form a series of set piece battles that unfold from August 1944 to May 1945, the sieges of these Atlantic fortress is little known in the English speaking world, and there is very little detailed historiography on it. I’ve been interested in it for a while. Mostly the why and what was life like inside the pockets.
The why is probably most interesting from a military perspective, why was de Gaulle so committed to the liberation of the largely and increasingly useless Atlantic pockets, especially those in the south? You could ask why was Hitler so determined to retain them, but unlike Courland, there was also no opportunity for these troops to be extricated from France anyway, they had long since been cut off after the allied invasions of southern France.
One can’t help but agree with General Leclerc that French forces would’ve been better suited to continuing the invasion of Germany than the liberation of these stranded German outposts. It’s clear that most of the German commanders of these fortresses expected this too. Especially as French troops were launching active assaults on German positions as late as the end of April 1945.
“Perhaps this is how we must now understand this battle of the Atlantic pockets, as a final battle of the Resistance rather than a liberation operation on an isolated front considered secondary by many. From this perspective, perhaps the French memory of the battle of the Atlantic pockets could escape a little more from the oblivion that threatens it.”
Life inside the pockets is most interesting from a psychological view. How did the Germans feel about such an action? On this Admiral Frisius’ diary has hitherto been my only real source, Simonnet samples it especially for his section on Dunkirk. The answer a mixture of boredom and despair for the German soldiers, and for the French civilians that remained mostly resignation and struggle.
Though it is amusing to see that contrary to popular wisdom, to maintain the morale of the German troops it was common to conduct small military operations to give the troops a sense of purpose and to stave off the disappointment inherent to being on a forgotten front. The French troops had no such need of motivation, even poorly equipped, most were strongly motivated to reclaim every inch of French territory from German control.
The book is probably the most comprehensive overview of the Atlantic pockets that I've seen, and for this it has my thanks.
The why is probably most interesting from a military perspective, why was de Gaulle so committed to the liberation of the largely and increasingly useless Atlantic pockets, especially those in the south? You could ask why was Hitler so determined to retain them, but unlike Courland, there was also no opportunity for these troops to be extricated from France anyway, they had long since been cut off after the allied invasions of southern France.
One can’t help but agree with General Leclerc that French forces would’ve been better suited to continuing the invasion of Germany than the liberation of these stranded German outposts. It’s clear that most of the German commanders of these fortresses expected this too. Especially as French troops were launching active assaults on German positions as late as the end of April 1945.
“Perhaps this is how we must now understand this battle of the Atlantic pockets, as a final battle of the Resistance rather than a liberation operation on an isolated front considered secondary by many. From this perspective, perhaps the French memory of the battle of the Atlantic pockets could escape a little more from the oblivion that threatens it.”
Life inside the pockets is most interesting from a psychological view. How did the Germans feel about such an action? On this Admiral Frisius’ diary has hitherto been my only real source, Simonnet samples it especially for his section on Dunkirk. The answer a mixture of boredom and despair for the German soldiers, and for the French civilians that remained mostly resignation and struggle.
Though it is amusing to see that contrary to popular wisdom, to maintain the morale of the German troops it was common to conduct small military operations to give the troops a sense of purpose and to stave off the disappointment inherent to being on a forgotten front. The French troops had no such need of motivation, even poorly equipped, most were strongly motivated to reclaim every inch of French territory from German control.
The book is probably the most comprehensive overview of the Atlantic pockets that I've seen, and for this it has my thanks.
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