Battle for Brest

Battle for Brest
Part of Operation Overlord, Battle of Normandy

A US M18 Hellcat of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion in the streets of Brest in September 1944
Date7 August – 20 September 1944
Location48°23′27″N 4°29′08″E / 48.39083°N 4.48556°E / 48.39083; 4.48556
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Germany
Commanders and leaders
United States Troy H. Middleton
United States Walter M. Robertson
United States William H. Simpson
United States Charles H. Gerhardt
Nazi Germany Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke Surrendered
Nazi Germany Hans Kroh Surrendered
Nazi Germany Erwin Rauch Surrendered
Units involved

VIII Corps

2nd Fallschirmjäger-Division
266. Infanterie-Division
343. Infanterie-Division
Strength
75,000 men 45,000 men
Casualties and losses
9,831 killed or wounded[1] 38,000 captured[1]

The Battle for Brest was fought in August and September 1944 on the Western Front during World War II. Part of the overall Battle for Brittany and the Allied plan for the invasion of mainland Europe called for the capture of port facilities, in order to ensure the timely delivery of the enormous amount of war materiel required to supply the invading Allied forces. It was estimated that the 37 Allied divisions to be on the continent by September 1944 would need 26,000 tons of supplies each day.[2] The main port the Allied forces hoped to seize and put into their service was Brest, in northwestern France.

  1. ^ a b Bllumenson 1961, p. 653.
  2. ^ Kirkpatrick, Charles (1993). D-Day: Operation Overlord: From the Landings at Normandy to the Liberation of Paris. Smithmark. ISBN 0-8317-2188-X.