Footsteps of WWII · Paris, Champagne & Alsace
Sedan: the Meuse crossing, May 1940
Battlefield · 12–15 May 1940
The story
Guderian's XIX Panzer Corps reached the Meuse at Sedan on 12 May 1940 after crossing the Ardennes. On 13 May, after hours of Luftwaffe bombing that cut French communications, the 1st Panzer Division crossed near Gaulier and Floing with the Großdeutschland regiment, the 10th Panzer near Wadelincourt and the 2nd Panzer at Donchery. At Wadelincourt Feldwebel Walter Rubarth's small engineer team knocked out seven bunkers. That evening the French 55th Infantry Division collapsed in the 'panic of Bulson'. On 14 May Allied bombers attacked the Meuse bridges and suffered heavy losses, and the panzers broke out towards the Channel.
What to look for
The river Meuse below the town, with the heights of La Marfée rising to the south where the French bunkers stood. Walk or drive the riverbank at Gaulier, Floing and Wadelincourt to see how narrow the river is and how the high ground overlooks it.
Plan your visit
Open battlefield, free. There is no dedicated 1940 visitor centre confirmed for this stop; bunker remains on the heights may be on private land, so view them from public roads.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Bastogne Barracks (McAuliffe's HQ) · 65 km
- Mardasson Memorial, Bastogne · 67 km
- Bastogne War Museum · 67 km
- Bois Jacques foxholes, Foy · 69 km
- Recogne German war cemetery · 69 km
- Houffalize and its Panther tank · 77 km
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