16 Jun 1944

France
  • Before dawn, 300 Lancaster bombers attacked Boulogne, France, sinking the minesweeper tenders Von der Gröben, Brommy, and Von der Lippe. Seven motor minesweepers and two patrol boats were sunk with others badly damaged. Combined with the raid on Le Havre on the previous night, the two raids caused much damage to the harbour facilities including fuel storage and loading equipment. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 1 | Boulogne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais | HM]
17 Sep 1944

France
  • The siege of Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France began. With 1 Corps grounded from lack of transport, the only available formation was 3rd Canadian Division, less one brigade, but reinforced with some armour and medium regiments of artillery. Despite being smaller than Le Havre, Boulogne proved to be a hard nut to crack, with deep underground fortifications, as well as surrounding forts, minefields and anti-tank ditches. Heavy bombing on the opening day failed to destroy the many German gun batteries, making the siege more difficult than expected. ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 2 | Boulogne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais | AC]
22 Sep 1944

France
23 Sep 1944

France
  • After a six-day siege, Canadian troops forced the German troops at Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais, France to surrender. The Canadians suffered 634 casualties and captured 9,500 prisoners (many driven from their bunkers by driving flame down the ventilation shafts). ww2dbase [Normandy Campaign, Phase 2 | Boulogne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais | AC]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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