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Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile.

Unofficially the Germans are reported to have pushed twelve miles south of Sedan.

Not only is that true, but it was one of the most intense battles on the invasion of France. 10 miles south of Sedan lies the little town of Stonne. The battle report of the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland says this of the town:

Stonne! That word has become a concept for us. The name of the mountain village was written in blood in our regimental history

The battle for the town began two days ago on the 15th, and by today the town has changed hands for the 17th and last time. The fight for Stonne really began when a disagreement on the depth of the bridgehead in the Sedan region. von Kleist felt that a bridgehead of 6 to 8 kilometers would be sufficient while Guderian insisted that it needed to be around 20 kilometers including the massif of Stonne. von Kleist was not moved and ordered his boundaries be used. Guderian was not satisfied with this though and on the 14th of May when he was being visited by Rundstedt, he asked for resolution of the matter. Rundstedt ruled that von Keist's order was binding.

Guderian decided that he was not going to head that order and on the 14th, he broke out in 2 directions. The 1st and 2nd Panzer Divisions broke west while the 10th Panzer Division moved south. In the process he pushed right into the French X Corps counterattack. This sent forces fleeing south into the position where Flavigny's XXI Corps was reading for an attack of their own. The fleeing troops caused him to decide to switch to the defensive in the region near Stonne. The Stonne massif was an ideal position as a jump off point for a northern push by Flavigny, but by the time he made the decision to position his forces there the Germans had already occupied the town. A fierce fight for the town commenced in which it exchanged hands as follows:

15 May 0800 - Germans occupy Stonne
15 May 0900 - French take town from Germans
15 May 0930 - German retakes town
15 May 1030 - French retakes town
15 May 1045 - Germany
15 May 1200 - France
15 May 1700 - Germany
16 May 0730 - France
16 May 1700 - Germany
16 May Evening - Germans pull back leaving town unoccupied overnight.
17 May 0900 - Germans reenter town
17 May 1100 - France
17 May 1430 - Germany
17 May 1500 - France
17 May 1630 - Germany
17 May 1700 - France
17 May 1745 - Germany finally take the town

Here is an incidents in this battle that really shows how much better the French equipment was. If they have had the leadership and tactics to go with it, things would have been quite different.

First the taking of the town at 0700 on the 16th of May was actually done with a single French tank. Captain Billotte, commander of the 1st Company, 41st Battalion broke through the German defensive positions in a single Char-B Eure tank. The Panzers from the 8th Panzer Regiment, charged with the defense opened up on the lone tank. The Char-B proceeded to drive directly through the column taking out all 13 of the Panzers in the town as well as two anti-tank guns. The Char-B at been hit 140 times, but not one penetrated its thick armor.

Summarized from The Blitzkrieg Legend by Karl-Heinz Frieser pp. 206-213.