Title:BRITISH TROOPS BRING LE HAVRE'S FOUR YEAR PERIOD OF GERMAN OCCUPATION TO AN END [Allocated Title]
Film Number:A70 158-7
Other titles:
Summary: Together with its commander, the German garrison of Le Havre surrenders to 1st Corps.
Description: Taken prisoner earlier in the day by the 7th Royal Tank Regiment, Colonel Eberhardt Wildermuth leaves Major-General Barker's command caravan after formally surrendering Le Havre's German garrison to Lieutenant-General Crocker, 1st Corps' commander, and is helped into an ambulance. A French 'spiv' cashes in on the liberation by making a quick sale of English- French phrase books. A large crowd gathers in the Place Monuments aux Mortes to honour the civilian casualties of Operation "Astonia". Some of the 11,000 Wehrmacht, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe troops captured in Le Havre march out of their barracks and into captivity. In those parts of the city devastated by the massive British aerial, naval and land bombardment, the ruins still smoulder.
Production Details: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office (Production sponsor)
Army Film and Photographic Unit (Production company)
Stiggins (Sergeant) (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations: Wildermuth, Eberhardt (person)
British Army, Corps 1 (regiment/service)
Forces Francaises de l'Interieur (regiment/service)
Canadian Army, Army 1 (regiment/service)
British Army, Bde, Tank, 34 (regiment/service)
Keywords: prisoners of war, German - custody (object name)
casualties, German wounded (object name)
destruction, French military - area (object name)
ceremonies, French - event-related: commemoration of civilian casualties (object name)
Operation Astonia, Le Havre 1944, North West Europe, Second World War (event)
Place Monument aux Mortes, Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France (geography)
