0527_01: 1st Armoured Division Attacks (Prucha) - PzC 12 France '40

The Battle of Abbeville, 27 May 1940: With the evacuations at Dunkerque underway, it was only a matter of time before the Germans would be free to attack southwards into the heart of France. Future defensive operations were seriously jeopardized by the presence of German bridgeheads on the south bank of the Somme. Général Weygand ordered that these bridgeheads should be reduced immediately. The bridgeheads at Abbeville and Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, only held by a few battalions of the 2. Infanterie-Division (mot.), seemed particularly vulnerable, but the only force immediately available to attack these tenuous German positions was General Evan's 1st Armoured Division. Shipped to Dieppe in late May and now subordinated to Altmayer's 10e armée, Evans' division was hardly a formidable force. Its infantry and one of its tank battalions had been detached to Calais and the division was short on artillery and engineers. The tank crews had no training in their fresh-from-the-factory Cruiser tanks. The Cruisers, while fast, were lightly armored and highly vulnerable to fire from the 3.7cm PaK 36. Making matters worse, they had not been issued HE shells - only AT. Despite Evan's protests that his division was not yet battleworthy and that his tanks were not suited for the task at hand, Altmayer ordered him to attack on the morning of the 27th, promising support from 2e DLC and 5e DLC. Both of these divisions were dangerously understrength and neither would be ready in time for the operation. The lightly-armored British tanks would attack through the morning fog alone...[Size: Small]