Operation Chastity - Quiberon bay

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PMN1
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Operation Chastity - Quiberon bay

#1

Post by PMN1 » 27 Jan 2014, 21:49

How useful would Quiberon Bay have been if it had been available sooner and given the actual speed of advance when is the earliest it could have been brought into operation

steverodgers801
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Re: Operation Chastity - Quiberon bay

#2

Post by steverodgers801 » 27 Jan 2014, 22:01

The problem was not loading the supplies, it was getting them to the troops once the break out happened. Once the Seine was crossed the trucks hauling fuel used up more then they could deliver


Michael Kenny
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Re: Operation Chastity - Quiberon bay

#3

Post by Michael Kenny » 28 Jan 2014, 00:04

Chastity planned to make use of the intact rail network south of the bomb line for Normandy



http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/BigL/BigL-7.html


Roland G. Ruppenthal, 14. The original plan, Operation Chastity, called for the development of Quiberon Bay on the south coast of Brittany as the major port of supply for the American armies. The wisdom of the decision to abandon Chastity has been the subject of much debate. If Quiberon Bay had been established on time, it would have provided an excellent base of operations with direct rail lines to the east. However, the degree of difference it would have made is speculative. The loss of its potential port capacity was a serious blow, but its full development would have depended on the time afforded by a measured pace of advance and the pause at the Seine--events that did not occur. Even if the Brittany base had been developed, transporting the supplies forward would still be the dominant factor in the theater logistics

Carl Schwamberger
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Re: Operation Chastity - Quiberon bay

#4

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 28 Jan 2014, 00:30

PMN1 wrote:... given the actual speed of advance when is the earliest it could have been brought into operation
Latter half of August given the actual rate of advance. The Bereton Peninsula was overrun in the first half of August & assuming the construction units were standing by with complete material a small initial intake would have been possible in August. Certainly not the full intended capacity tho.

PMN1 wrote:How useful would Quiberon Bay have been if it had been available sooner ...
Strictly fro a supply standpoint - important. Opening Quiberon Bay in July as planned would have alleviated some of the short term supply problems.
steverodgers801 wrote:The problem was not loading the supplies, it was getting them to the troops once the break out happened. Once the Seine was crossed
Clever Germans, retreating faster than Monty & Ike expected! At that point in September & October the main contribution of Quiberon Bay would have been to reduce the transportation needed to supply the US corps investing St Malo, Brest, ect... The supply of the US Army units in Brittany was still coming from the Normandy Mulberrys & Cherbourg. Drawing from Quiberon Bay leaves a few more trucks for delivering east of the Seine. Another minor effect would be the establishment of the Rennes area supply depot as planned. That makes the suprise move of Lee's ComZ establishment from Normandy to Paris less likely in late August, which reduces the transport problem somewhat as well.

None of that will solve the problem of rebuilding the French railways system any faster. Even with the entire Brest/Quiberon Bay port group in full operation and doubling the automotive transport the fundamental problem of long distance supply is still there.
Michael Kenny wrote:Chastity planned to make use of the intact rail network south of the bomb line for Normandy
Assuming that worked out... In early October Ike paid a visit to 6th AG HQ. Devers made a sales pitch for giving 6th AG priority of supply, and the reinforcements scheduled to arrive in France in Oct-November. With that Devers thought he could cross the Rhine south of Stutgart by mid November. Ike said he'd think about it and moved on. So, were a rail system from the Bereton supply depot to the Epinal & Toul rail junctions in the rear of US 3rd Army operable in late September might Ike have tried a right hand punch then?

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