page_title: Battle of Saumur (1940)
section_title: Conclusion
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Saumur (1940) / Battle / Conclusion
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: École de cavalerie de Saumur&#160;: la caserne.
context_page_description: The Battle of Saumur occurred during the last stages of the Battle of France during World War II, when officer cadets from the Cavalry School at Saumur, led by superintendent Colonel Charles Michon, made a defensive stand along the Loire River at Saumur, Gennes, and Montsoreau. For two days the Cavalry School, and other assorted units which had fallen back before the German Wehrmacht advance, held off a German attack. Since the battle occurred after the message by Marshal Pétain which called for an end to fighting, the event is often considered one of the first acts of the French Resistance.
context_section_description: A national armistice had been agreed on 19 June; however, it was on the afternoon of the 20th when Germany gave instructions about where and when the armistice would be signed: the French delegation would cross into German territory at Tours at 5 pm on 20 June. Meanwhile, at 9:00 pm on 20 June, with Tours to the east and Angers to the west in German hands and with orders to pull back, Colonel Michon decided the cadets could no longer hold Saumur and withdrew them south. The defenders were exhausted, but those that could made their way south, many by bicycle, to a rendezvous south of Fontevraud Abbey where the bodies of two English kings and a queen are buried: Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart.
  The Battle of Saumur was fought on the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and acquired a special name, La Haie Sainte (The Sacred Line) after the farm La Haye Sainte in the centre of the Belgian battlefield.
  There was evidence that German officers, posing as Belgian civilian refugees, had shot two cadets on the 20th at Gennes; one of the Germans died later that day and was found with army dog tags under his shirt. A similar problem of spies was encountered at Montsoreau, where an empty house was discovered with a map marking where the defenders were dug in and two men in civilian clothing were found carrying signalling equipment on the south bank.
  Why the battle took place is a bit of a mystery. The students provided the moral backbone to the defence; their decision to fight was probably because they would not accept the dishonour of simply retreating. The students were backed by other units and there were many instances of outstanding personal bravery, even though they knew it was only hours before the war would end and they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. Many Wehrmacht officers commented on the bravery of the French students. To the French public, the cadets' resistance formed a seed for the rebuilding of French honour. Charles de Gaulle had made his appeal of 18 June and considered the action by the cadets to be the first act of resistance.
  Max Hastings in All Hell Let Loose describes the battle in great detail and focuses on Colonel Michon, whom he calls "an old war horse" somewhat affectionately.
caption: Saumur - École de Cavalerie - Caserne grille
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