Festung Brest

Brest, FR

The French naval base designated a German **Festung** (fortress) and defended by approximately 40,000 troops under General Hermann Ramcke after the Allied breakout from Normandy. The American **VIII Corps** required six weeks of grinding urban warfare to reduce the port, which finally fell on September 18, 1944. German engineers systematically destroyed all port facilities before surrendering, delaying Allied logistics by months.