Antiquity Archaeologists believe that Saint-Nazaire is built upon the remnants of
Corbilo, an
Armorican
Gaulish city populated by the
Namnetes tribe, which (according to the Greek navigator
Pytheas) was the second-largest Gaulish city, after
Massilia (now
Marseille). Archeology suggests that the area has been inhabited since at least the
Neolithic period, as evidenced by the presence of monuments like the
tumulus of Dissignac, the
dolmen located in the centre of the present-day city, and ancient bronzes found in the vicinity. According to the 15th-century chronicler
Alain Bouchart,
Brutus of Troy, the mythical ancestor of the Bretons, travelled to Saint-Nazaire to set foot upon the new homeland of his people. Historical accounts note that at the end of the
Roman Empire, some
Britons colonized the Loire estuary and later the peninsula containing
Guérande. The farthest extent of the Breton language in the Loire region is
Donges, to the east of Saint-Nazaire.
Middle Ages According to the late-6th-century writer
Gregory of Tours, the Roman Church sheltered the remains of the martyr
Nazarius in a local basilica. According to legend, the Breton chief
Waroch II sent an emissary to seize these relics. The plot was foiled when the emissary fractured his skull upon the lintel of the church door. Waroch, interpreting this as a miracle, was deterred and the village thenceforth took the name of Sanctus Nazarius de Sinuario. After this point, the history of Saint-Nazaire, like much of Europe during the Dark Ages, is not well documented. Battles occurred, such as in 1380 when
Jehan d'Ust defended the city in the name of
John V, Duke of Brittany (known in France as Jean IV) against the Castilian fleet during the
Hundred Years' War. After this time, Saint-Nazaire became the seat of a parish extending from
Penhoët to
Pornichet, part of the
Viscountcy of Saint-Nazaire. Like the whole of Brittany, Saint-Nazaire formed part of the
Duchy of Brittany until 1532, when it was annexed by France. In 1756, a fort was built on the order of the
governor of Brittany to protect the town, which by then had 600 inhabitants. Until the
French Revolution, Saint-Nazaire belonged to the province of Brittany.
19th century industrialisation At the beginning of the 19th century, the port consisted only of one simple harbour. As the town was so far inland, its main economy was not based on commercial fishing but on its strategic location as the lowest possible navigation point for large ships and on supplying pilots for navigation further up the Loire. In 1800, the parish of Saint-Nazaire had 3,216 inhabitants. The modern Saint-Nazaire was created by the administration of
Napoleon III. The population of 3,216 in 1800 shows its battered history, with a mainly local (Brière), of Lower Brittany (of Morbihan in the Finistère-south), and minor representation from most other areas of France. From this point forward the population of Saint-Nazaire experienced exponential growth, which was reflected in its nickname of "Little Breton California", or "
Liverpool of the West". In 1802, a road was built to develop the port, which extended by 1835 to a
breakwater with a navigational
lighthouse at its end. The development included new basins for ships to unload to barges that carried goods further up the river. This development moved the town into the area of the city which is now called the district of "Little Morocco". This development made the town the base for the passenger steamships of the Nantes–Saint-Nazaire line, as well as making the town the alternative port for ships which could not access
Nantes. In 1856, the first wet dock was dug in "Halluard City", making it possible for ships to moor and turn. This led to the construction of the town's first railway connection. In 1857, the
Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (railroad company of
Orléans) connected Saint-Nazaire to Nantes. In 1862, the first
transatlantic telegraph lines were installed from France to South America, coming ashore at Saint-Nazaire. 1862 also saw the construction of major shipbuilding facilities, including those of
Chantier Scott, which launched the first French metal-hulled ships. In 1868, Saint-Nazaire became a sub-prefecture of the town of
Savenay. A second dock basin was created at
Penhoët in 1881, to allow the handling of larger ships, but a lock gate built to access it cut the town in two, thus creating Old Saint-Nazaire and an artificial island called "Little Morocco". In early 1870, Nantes-born
Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau joined the bar in Saint-Nazaire. In September he became, in spite of his youth, secretary to the municipal commission temporarily appointed to carry on the town's business. He organized the
National Defense at Saint-Nazaire, and marched out with his contingent, though they saw no active service due to lack of ammunition (their private store having been commandeered by the state). In 1873, he moved to the bar of
Rennes, following the establishment of the
Third Republic in 1871. On 30 March 1894, a
strike occurred at the forging mills of Trignac in opposition to a reduction of the work force. What had seemed a small dispute escalated after a shooting in
Fourmies, resulting in the town getting its national nickname of "Red City". Socialists flocked to the town in defense of the striking workers, joining in the declaration of the "Fusillade de Fourmies". In 1900, the commune of
Pornichet was created by separating from the larger commune of Saint-Nazaire.
World War I During
World War I, the city became an important debarkment port of
Allied troops, particularly in the latter stages for the
United States Army. When they entered the war in 1917, they developed the town and port infrastructure, by adding additional
drinking water storage ponds for the town's
water treatment plants, and a
refrigeration terminal to the docks for shipment and storage of meat and dairy products to supply their troops. However, the presence of
legal brothels (Maisons Tolérées) resulted in a diplomatic incident. As a result of strict reformist public health concerns at home, the
American Expeditionary Force placed the
Maisons Tolérées off limits, resulting in a dispute between the town's brothel owners backed by the mayor, versus the US Army forces. With the dispute escalating, Prime Minister
Georges Clemenceau sent a memo to General
John Pershing offering a compromise: American medical authorities would control designated brothels operated solely for American soldiers. Pershing passed the proposal to
Raymond Fosdick, who on giving it to
Secretary of War Newton D. Baker promptly responded: "For God's sake, Raymond, don't show this to the president or he'll stop the war." Only after the signing of the
Armistice in November 1918, when the United States Army could no longer plead military necessity as grounds for curtailing leave, did
venereal disease rates among United States Army troops rise quickly.
Inter-war period The post-war period brought about a period of economic depression for the shipbuilders, who consequently diversified into building
seaplanes from 1922. In 1926 the district of
Paimbœuf was merged with the district of Saint-Nazaire, thus reinforcing the influence of the city on the south bank of the Loire River. Although having built , between 1913 and 1921, and between 1925 and 1926, as a result of the 1930s
Great Depression the French government commissioned a series of state programs to aid national economic activity. The state-owned shipping company
Compagnie Générale Transatlantique commissioned the ship builders of Saint-Nazaire to construct a new large passenger ship, which as a result between 1928 and 1934 created the
Albert Caquot–engineered the
Louis Joubert dry dock – at , the largest of its kind in the world at the time – necessary to be able to accommodate the construction of . In 1932, the Saint-Nazaire casino went bankrupt and was resold to the town of Nantes: the site was redeveloped in 1935 as the first home of the current Saint-Louis school. As a result of the national general strike of June 1936, to ensure completion of the nationally prestigious project SS
Normandie, the government nationalised the various private shipyards into one state-owned entity, the 1861-founded
Chantiers de l'Atlantique.
World War II After the invasion of
Poland by
Nazi Germany's
Wehrmacht army at the start of
World War II, the combined forces of the
French Army and the
British Expeditionary Force failed to hold the oncoming onslaught. As part of
Operation Aerial, Saint-Nazaire, like
Dunkirk, became an evacuation point to England for the British, with those embarking including the writer
John Renshaw Starr.
Sinking of the Lancastria On 17 June 1940 an estimated 9,000 British Army soldiers were embarked aboard the
Clyde-built cruise liner, later converted to troopship, , which was attacked and sunk by German
Junkers Ju 88 bombers, mainly from
Kampfgeschwader 30, taking with her around 4,000 victims. This is the worst disaster in British maritime history and the worst loss of life for British forces in the whole of World War II.
Winston Churchill banned all news coverage of the disaster on learning of it and it remains largely forgotten by history. A
Lancastria memorial is located near the
U-boat pens in Saint-Nazaire.
Miracle of Saint-Nazaire The
ball turret gunner of an American
B-17F bomber fell onto the glass roof of the railway station, even though his parachute had been destroyed by German flak while still in his plane. The US airman,
Alan Magee, survived the fall. A German military surgeon was able to save his nearly severed arm. The airman credited his survival to a prayer to God as he recovered consciousness during his fall.
U-boat pens ''
Saint-Nazaire submarine base Following the surrender of France to German forces later in June 1940, the port immediately became a base of operations for the
Kriegsmarine and was as such the target of
Allied operations. A heavily fortified U-boat
Saint-Nazaire submarine base was built by
Organisation Todt shortly after occupation, with a concrete ceiling capable of withstanding almost any bomb in use at the time. The base provided a home during the war to many of the best-known U-boat staff, including: •
Commander Georg-Wilhelm Schulz – transferred the
6th U-boat Flotilla from
Danzig to the port in February 1942, where it became a combat flotilla. •
Carl Emmermann – took command of 6th U-boat Flotilla over from Schulz in November 1942, until it left Saint-Nazaire for
Norway in August 1944. •
Lieutenant Commander Herbert Schultze – second in command of
7th U-boat Flotilla from September 1940. The base stands today as its extremely sturdy construction makes demolition uneconomical. The base is now used by cafes, a bar and on the roof is an exhibition about Saint-Nazaire.
St Nazaire Raid The huge Joubert drydock built for SS
Normandie was the only port on the Atlantic capable of servicing the German
battleships and . This made the port strategically important to both the
Axis powers and the Allies during World War II. After
Operation Rheinübung on 18–27 May 1941, which resulted in the sinking of and the
sinking of Bismarck, the need for the Allies to take the Joubert dry dock out of operation was increased. On 28 March 1942, a force of 611
British Commandos and the
Royal Navy launched the
St Nazaire Raid against the shipyards of Saint-Nazaire, codenamed
Operation Chariot. An obsolete American-built
destroyer was used as a ram-ship loaded with explosives. It and the Commandos succeeded in destroying the gates and machinery of the Joubert drydock, preventing its further use by the Germans during the war. Of the 600+ navy and commando personnel, 220 returned, half were wounded. Five
Victoria Crosses and 69 other decorations were awarded. The Joubert dry dock was not brought back into operation until 1948.
After Operation Chariot The U-boat threat to supply convoys across the Atlantic made Saint-Nazaire a constant target of Allied air forces, in the face of determined
Luftwaffe fighter opposition to raids by
United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force bombers. On 3 January 1943 Colonel
Curtis LeMay led 85
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 1st Bombardment Wing against the U-boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, on the Eighth Air Force's sixth raid against the facility. LeMay also introduced the
combat box defensive formation, echeloning three-plane elements within a
squadron, and squadrons within a group, to concentrate defensive firepower against fighter opposition. Only 76 aircraft found and hit the target, and during the mission seven bombers were shot down and 47 damaged. As a result of the raid, on 14 January 1943 under directive (S.46239/?? A.C.A.S. Ops), the Allies implemented
incendiary bomb tactics against U-boat pens, under the
Area bombing directive. To minimize civilian casualties during air attacks, the Allies devised a plan to force an evacuation of the town. For three days in 1943, British
Royal Air Force and American aircraft dropped scores of leaflets warning the population of a planned
fire-bombing raid. At the end of the third day, the raid came and burned the entire city to the ground. Casualties were light as most of the civilians had heeded the warning and fled to the safety of the countryside but after that point, except for the self-contained U-boat base, Saint-Nazaire remained abandoned until the end of the war. After
D-day and the
liberation of most of France in 1944, German troops in Saint-Nazaire's submarine base refused to surrender, and they holed up (as did their counterparts in the
La Rochelle and
Lorient bases). Since the Germans could no longer conduct major submarine operations from the bases without a supply line, the
SHAEF commander, U.S. General
Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to simply bypass these ports, and the Allied armies focused their resources on the invasion of Germany. Saint-Nazaire and the other two German "pockets" remained under German control until after the last day of the war in Europe, 8 May 1945.
After World War II The town of St. Nazaire was rebuilt in the late 1940s and 1950s in a minimalist functional style. One of the last of these buildings to be completed was the
Hôtel de Ville which was completed in February 1960. The submarine base was used by the French Navy from 1945 to 1948. It then came under the control of various chemical companies and shipbuilders. , the French diesel submarine
Espadon is moored within the U-boat pens. Tours of the submarine are available to the public. After the construction of in 1961, the last Compagnie Générale Transatlantique liner and the subsequent closure of the
Suez Canal, Chantiers de l'Atlantique began building large oil tankers, including , , and . A new dry dock (Basin C) was planned for the construction of tankers over 1,000,000 tonnes but this fell through with the reopening of the Suez Canal. was constructed at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in 2003. ==Geography==