Lorient is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.
In 1941, the Germans, then occupying France, chose to establish one of their U-boat headquarters in Keroman. But the submarines quickly became targets of constant bombing from Allied air forces. It was decided to build the largest World War II U-boat base in Keroman, which would house the 2nd and the 10th U-boat flotillas for the bulk of the Battle of the Atlantic. Karl Dönitz, then supreme commander of the U-boat Arm, moved his staff in the Kernevel villa, just across the water from Keroman, in Larmor-Plage.
In 1943-1944, Lorient was nearly razed to the ground by Allied bombing, which failed in their objective of destroying the submarine pens, despite 4,000 tons of bombs dropped.
On May 10, 1945, the German garrison surrendered. In 1949, the city of Lorient was awarded the Legion of Honour and the Croix de guerre 1939-1945.
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