The Need for Organisational Resilience - Chapter 3

when German artillery opened up, and Flak (22mm, 37mm and the dreaded 88mm) guns

targeted the French positions at close range.

The engineers bring up their assault boats, but they cannot reach the river. Despite

our covering fire the enemy can watch all movements out of his bunkers and hits

back at us. Assault guns roll up, but even their shells can do nothing against the

concrete and iron. Valuable time is lost, until finally a heavy 88mm Flak silences

the enemy. (Horne, 1990, p. 352)

One by one, French bunkers were knocked out or blinded by the massive smoke screen

generated by the ongoing bombardment. French forward artillery observers found it very

difficult to relay targets to their artillery, not least because communications had been

smashed.

At around 15:00, the bombardment of the west-bank defences was shifted towards the

rear, to allow assault engineers to embark on a 60-yard crossing with rubber dinghies. The

first waves had relatively few casualties crossing the river, but as soon as they stepped on

the west bank of the Meuse, they were pinned down by machine-gun and sporadic but well

registered artillery fire. Some individual detachment leaders – such as Feldwebel Rubarth or

Lieutenant-Colonel Balck – took the initiative to take out those fighting positions that had

prevented establishing a cable-ferry or pontoon-bridge. Equipped with explosive charges,

they rushed from one strongpoint to the next, pushing inwards.

Anxious times followed. No heavy equipment – anti-tank guns, artillery or tanks – had

made it across yet. While the west bank of the Meuse was being cleared, the Germans

rushed forward bridge-building material.

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