Saint-Nazaire 1939-1940

What is happening in the region of Saint-Nazaire from September 1939 to December 1940? How is the reception of the evacuees after the declaration of war? What is the defense system put in place by the French army in the region, both on our coasts and inland? How is the landing of British Expeditionary Force troops and equipment organized? What safety procedures must transport and fishing boats respect? What measures are being taken to protect construction sites and factories in the region working for National Defense. How are the communes organized in the face of the influx of refugees from May 1940? What is the solution envisaged to defend the region more effectively in June 1940? Will it be a link in the "Breton reduction"? How does the French General Staff in Saint-Nazaire react to the first enemy actions? Under what conditions is the British re-embarkation and especially the terrible sinking of the Lancastria troop transport? What initiatives will they allow the battleship Jean-Bart to leave Saint-Nazaire just in time? Will the warships being built in the construction sites and the dozens of commercial buildings that have come to unload their cargo escape the Germans? Will the land battle for Saint-Nazaire take place? Where do many thousands of Polish soldiers come to the port after the departure of the British and what will be their fate? How is the arrival of the Germans in the region? How long does the port of Saint-Nazaire become operational for the German navy and which boats come there? What is the first unit of the German Army to occupy the area and where does it come from? How is the French administration put on German time? What restrictions will French civilians face? Can shipyard workers continue to work? Where did the delegation of submariners inspect the port in September 1940? What is the balance sheet of the 7th flotilla U-Boote since the entry into the war? How do the British react to the installation of the German navy in Saint-Nazaire? It is to all these questions that this book, illustrated by more than 300 photos and maps and containing mainly unpublished information including many testimonies, will try to answer ... Foreword of General Corps Alain Bizard, born in Saint-Nazaire in 1925. Aspiring on the front of the Pocket in 1944. Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and the National Order of Merit. Wounded 3 times, 18 quotations including seven to the order of the Army.