Saint-Nazaire pocket

Saint-Nazaire Pocket
Part of the Liberation of France

Monument to the surrender, Bouvron
Date27 August 1944 - 11 May 1945
Location47°16′50″N 2°12′31″W / 47.2806°N 2.2086°W / 47.2806; -2.2086
Result Eventual Allied victory
Belligerents
 Germany  United States
 France
Commanders and leaders
Hans Junck
Hans Mirow
Harry J. Malony, then Herman Frederick Kramer
Colonel Raymond Chomel
Units involved

4th AD then 6th AD then 94th Infantry Division then 66th Infantry Division

FFI and FTP becoming 25th Infantry Division (France)
Strength
28,000 men 9,000 men
16,500 men/18,000 men
Casualties and losses
Unknown

United States:
Unknown
Free French:

  • circa 500 killed, injured or taken prisoner

The Saint-Nazaire Pocket (German: Festung St. Nazaire, French: Poche de Saint-Nazaire) was an Atlantic pocket that existed from August 1944 until 11 May 1945 and was formed by the withdrawal of German troops from Loire-Inférieure (now Loire-Atlantique) during the liberation of the department by the allied forces. It was centred around the port and the submarine base of Saint-Nazaire and extended to the east as far as Saint-Omer-de-Blain and from La Roche-Bernard in the north to Pornic in the south.