I see on your map in the background that there are several pockets of Germans still in France on the Bay of Biscay, can you give us some information about these pockets?
Enjoying your channel very much, Thank you!
David Thomas
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These are the “Atlantic Pokets”. Grossely a series of fortress (festugen) that where designated to prevent the allie use of port infrastructures and immobilizing allies soldier that could fight elsewhere.
St Nazaire and its uBoat base or the channel Island are probably the biggest and most know of them.
After the liberation of Brest and St Malot the allies decide that the cost to liberate them was too high for the gain (the damage to the infrastructures where big) and decide to let them be. Most of the allies oldiers assigned to these where french (from the FFI).
The pocket capitulate with the rest of Germany in may 45 (sometime a day or two after the mainland).
To have a quick overview of it here is the wikipedia article.
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Thank you! I appreciate it.
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Jersey has a really impressive museum on the horrors of its occupation and finding out that instead of being liberated on the 6th June they were cut off and still under a vicious occupation. They could see liberated Normandy!
Well worth a visit:
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I always wondered why they took so long, but in the end, the cost being far too high made it easier to just let them be. Also, Saint Nazaire and Lorient being still “active” a day after the end of the war was interesting to see.
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