Founded in 1666 by Colbert, the Sun King’s Prime Minister, as an extension of the Port-Louis base of the French East Indies Company, the port of Lorient became the operative base for the entire French Company of the Indies in the 18th century. Unfortunately in WWII, for its strategic location, the Germans built 3 massive submarine bases for a total of 20 U-boats. This forced the Allies to bomb the area so much that it resulted in the destruction of most of the town. The German garrison though surrendered here only 2 days after V-E Day !