Countdown to D-Day

by Peter Margaritis

  And the routine will continue.

  1“Czech hedgehog.”

  2Named after roll support, which is a piece of railway equipment used to move rail components.

  3The term comes from the appearance of the mine itself. Around 30cm in diameter and 7–10cm in height, with a charge of some 5kg., they resembled large dinner plates—“teller,” in German.

  4Known by the G.I.s as “Bouncing Betties” because when triggered, the mines popped up about a meter in the air before exploding their deadly steel balls.

  5They never did.

  Thursday, February 17

  Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt is still on leave at the spas in Bad Tölz.

  ***

  Generalfeldmarschall Rommel and GeneralOberst! Heinz Guderian are in Paris for a scheduled wargame—a Kriegspiel. Naturally, it centers around a theoretical invasion of the Continent. The command staffs will go through various scenarios and analyze the ability of the German forces to swiftly react to and defeat the enemy attempts, and to test their alarm setup.

  The entire exercise is being held at PanzerGruppe West in Paris, sponsored by General der Panzertruppen Baron Geyr von Schweppenberg. Although von Rundstedt is still on leave, he is represented at the wargame by his staff. Also attending are Rommel’s two army commanders, Dollmann and von Salmuth, as well as all of their corps commanders and various senior staff members.

  The Kriegspiel goes off rather well in Geyr’s opinion. Many considerations were factored in, including political and economic factors. Enemy elements included their operational traits or habits, possible points of contention between them, and pre-invasion operations.

  Rommel though, is disturbed by what he sees. For one thing, he believes that the invasion target areas picked are unlikely to actually be selected by the enemy. And the set rules of the exercise did not allow nearly enough for the influence and power of the (in his opinion) overwhelming Allied air forces. Granted, no one present that day denies their superiority over the Luftwaffe. Still, the rules forbade the enemy Jabos1 to wreak much damage on the advancing German panzer units, which is something that would very likely occur each day all over the front.

  This last point really sticks with him. He painfully remembers countless times that he himself had been forced to hit the ground at El Alamein to dodge strafing runs by enemy tactical aircraft as they pounded the dust around him; seeing men sometimes standing or lying right next to him get hit or killed by bullets or bomb fragments. And now, with Allied aircraft predicted in much greater numbers, it will be far worse. Whole columns will become paralyzed as the enemy slams them from above.

  Unfortunately, few in the exercise seem to understand the power of the enemy air forces, despite his efforts to explain to them the gravity and implications of this overlooked critical factor. And unfortunately, the widely varying opinions presented during the discussions by the navy, the air force, and the army do not help.

  In the simulation, Geyr as expected held back the panzer reserves inland for several days after the landing, and then picked a killing ground of his own choosing. He then aligned his formations, attacked the enemy line, and annihilated them. Take that ploy, Rommel thinks to himself, and you can kiss Germany’s chances goodbye. The enemy Jabos will tear you to pieces. He tones down his response though. Fortunately, other generals had shared Rommel’s objections.

  General Marcks, commanding the 84th Corps in the Normandy area, is one. Marcks had been designated the “enemy” commander in the exercise since he was experienced in such wargames. When his turn to speak comes, he stands with a determined look on his face, and awkwardly stumps over to the huge map that is before them. Using his cane, he whacks the section of the mapboard at the Seine Bay. Normandy, he declares firmly, is where the invasion will probably come. Despite a few frowns and head-shakes, he goes on. From Normandy, he concludes, the Allies can pivot around Caen, a small key industrial town just west of and a couple kilometers inland from the Orne estuary. There will probably be a second landing in Brittany. If that happens, the enemy’s objective naturally has to be the huge port of Cherbourg. Capture of this strategic port alone will provide supplies for some three or four armies—more than enough to sustain and break out from a sizeable bridgehead.

  Rommel firmly replies that the naval experts have concluded Normandy will not be the target. There are simply too many underwater reefs in the seaward approaches.

  Marcks answers that this might be the case on the Cotentin peninsula, but not along the Calvados coast. Rommel scowls, irritated to be corrected. Dollmann tells Marcks that there are some reefs along the Calvados coast too, not to mention a few towering bluffs manned by batteries. Marcks sits down, a stony look on his face.

  One point that does come up at today’s meetings is Rommel’s recent inspection trip to southern France. They discuss at length the lack of preparation along the southern coasts. Coupled to this, they reflect on the enemy’s amphibious capabilities in the Mediterranean (evidenced by the landings at Sicily, Salerno, and just last month, Anzio). They analyze possible landing sites.

  An important administrative point is announced to all the Western senior commanders. The upcoming conference with the Führer, scheduled to occur in one week at the Wolf ’s Lair, has been put off for a few weeks until the Führer moves back to the Berghof from East Prussia.

  ***

  Today, the Kriegsmarine releases a half-dozen batteries of 88mm and 150mm naval guns for use on the coast.

  It is, in the Army’s opinion, not nearly enough.

  1Short for Jagdbomber, the German term for a tactical fighter-bomber.

  Friday, February 18

  Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt is going to be returning to Paris in a few days. When he does, Rommel will take ten well-deserved days off himself.

  ***

  After a quick breakfast, Rommel is on the road again at 7 a.m., this time to the western coast of Brittany. OKW has indicated that the Führer has become concerned over reports from Fremde Heeres West of enemy units concentrating in southwestern England. The invasion might be launched against Brittany and the port of Brest.

  Besides Meise and Vizeadmiral Ruge, accompanying him on this trip will be von Rundstedt’s chief of staff, General Blumentritt. So the entourage drives first southeast along the Seine to the Hôtel Georges V in Paris to pick him up. Then they leave the city, heading west towards the Atlantic coast.

  After driving some 450km to the base of the large Brittany peninsula, they begin their inspections at the major U-boat base of St.-Nazaire. By now, the city and port have been all but destroyed by the Allied bombings over the last three years. Buildings are in ruins, businesses have been closed down, churches gutted, and the residential areas have been devastated. But the submarine base, though seriously damaged, is still functional, despite the fact that the U-boat pens provide barely adequate protection from enemy raids. And the small security force located at the base is still quite active.

  The inevitable conference begins. First comes a report by General Fahrmbacker, 1 commanding the unit assigned to this section, the XXV Infantry Corps. His southernmost division, the 275th, shows the worst status. It consists of little more than a headquarters, a regimental staff, a unit of artillery, and a couple battalions of old geezers. Rommel orders another regimental staff and another battalion from the 343rd to supplement the division, as well as two remaining battalions from the now-departed 243rd Infantry.

  The officers discuss the area units covering all three critical seaports in this area—St.-Nazaire, Lorient, and Brest. Each of the three major ports, despite their strong defensive posture against any seaward attack, only has one actual battalion of regular infantry to guard them from the landward side. So the inspection group goes over all the units for each port—auxiliary troops, dock force, security, balloon crews, smoke-laying units, miscellaneous workers, and the artillery batteries. For each of the three ports, this includes one medium and two heavy army batteries, a couple naval batte
ries, and five or six naval anti-aircraft batteries. The ground order of battle also, unfortunately to some, includes a couple contingents of those crazy Russians.

  After the conference, Rommel’s group drives northwest up the coast to inspect a few positions. They travel along the underside of the Brittany peninsula, and about 135km up, they reach the summer port of Quiberon for the night. The town, about 65km southeast of Lorient, is at the end of a smaller peninsula that juts out into the ocean, providing a beautiful view of the sea.

  Their quarters, located at the extreme end of this narrow strip of land, are at the site of a famous naval battle. There, in November of 1759, an English fleet of some two dozen vessels under the famed Admiral Hawke had chased a similar-sized unit of French ships through a fierce storm and had defeated them in a decisive battle that had ended at sunset.

  ***

  Today at Fontainebleau, Alfred Gause talks by phone to OKW deputy operations chief Walther Warlimont. He fails once more to persuade him to see Rommel’s position on the usage of the panzer divisions close to the coast. Finally Warlimont tells him, “OKW does not want them moved from their present areas.”

  ***

  General Guderian travels to an area between Nancy and Luneville to attend a training exercise conducted by the newly created Panzer Lehr division;2 Fritz Bayerlein, the good-natured, feisty, stocky commanding officer, oversees the exercise.3 He took command of this powerful panzer division on January 10, but his senior officers think that they are ready. They have only received copies of Guderian’s Die Tigerfibel4 at 11:30 p.m. the night before. Having intensely pored over it, they then practiced a good part of the night. So they hope today goes well.

  After a couple basic demonstrations, Guderian divides the men up into three groups to test them individually: first the panzer commanders, then the tank gunners, and lastly, the non-commissioned officers. The test results are mixed, some of them doing well, some failing. Guderian then gives them all a class on gunnery before he leaves, letting them breathe easy once again. Tomorrow, they will have to practice what they have learned in the cold.

  ***

  Tonight, another Steinbock air raid: 175 aircraft fly into England, and this time, London is hit hard. It is one of the most damaging raids to the capital in nearly three years. Only nine bombers are lost.

  1Fifty-five-year-old General der Artillerie Wilhelm Fahrmbacker.

  2“Tank training” Division. See Glossary.

  3Forty-five-year-old Generalleutnant Fritz Hermann Bayerlein had been a private in World War I, rising to the rank of feldwebel before the war’s end. He received a commission in the 21st Cavalry Regiment in 1922. At the start of World War II, he was General Guderian’s Ia during their headlong advances through Poland, France, and then on towards Moscow in 1941. That September, he had been transferred to Rommel’s newly named PanzerGruppe Afrika in North Africa, where he quickly distinguished himself as chief of staff of the Afrika Korps component. Rommel took to him at once, and the two got along well. On June 1, 1942, Gause was wounded in an artillery barrage. Rommel assigned Oberst! Bayerlein to be temporary chief of staff of the PanzerGruppe, until Gause recuperated. When Gause returned to duty on June 23, Bayerlein returned to his position of chief of staff of the Afrika Korps. However, a month later, he had to again temporarily replace Gause, who had suffered a concussion from a nearby shell burst. On August 31, Afrika Korps commander General Nehring was wounded in an air raid, so Bayerlein temporarily took over as its commander and did so again in November. Bayerlein later took Gause’s place again for the PanzerGruppe, and eventually Armeegruppe Afrika. He did a good job with Rommel until his tearful departure on March 7, 1943. Two days later, Rommel left Africa to fly to the Führer’s Rastenburg headquarters to plead for assistance. He did not get it, and was ordered not to return to Africa. Bayerlein would later see him there a number of times over the summer.

  4Guderian’s The Tiger Primer. See footnote for February 12.

  Saturday, February 19

  Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt is still on leave at the spas in Bad Tölz. In St-Germain-en-Laye, expansion of his headquarters and villa is finishing up. This includes the air raid shelter being built next to his prized garden. Blumentritt expects to see a firestorm erupt over it when von Rundstedt returns.

  ***

  After breakfast, Generalfeldmarschall Rommel begins his day with a conference in the enlisted mess hall in the small port of Quiberon. He and his staff go over their inspection points taken at St.-Nazaire and write down their recommendations. Also discussed are possible tactics that can be used against an enemy landing force launched against such a port. Bogus navigational aids are suggested, as are periodic sessions of making smoke.

  They talk about tactics and devices that they might incorporate, first as the enemy nears their landing area, and second, as they actually begin landing their troops. Of course, that is assuming one knows when and where the enemy is coming.

  The conference moves on to the concept of using extra U-boat crews, dock helpers, and other base personnel against such a landing force. The last topic covered is about how to render such a port useless to enemy shipping if it looks like being captured.

  Then the inspection party is off. They first go to a couple bases south of the U-boat port of Lorient before heading up to the famous base itself. Lorient, as expected, has a strong defensive line, surrounded by fortifications and strengthened by a number of batteries. The port has been busy making hedgehogs and other offshore obstacles, and Rommel is satisfied with the progress made.

  The motorcade finally leaves the main port area and heads out to Douarnenez Bay. The group notes only a few obstacles up here, and the wide, sandy beaches are defended by only a few companies of Russians. They travel on towards Brest, and the shoreline scenery is beautiful. They stop to inspect a battery in Camaret near the outskirts of the large port, and then move on towards the third U-boat base. They stop for the evening at a soldiers’ home in Morgat, on the Crozon peninsula. A few conferences, dinner, some after-dinner talk, and then they retire to bed.

  ***

  Today GeneralOberst! Guderian attends the second day of a training exercise being conducted by Bayerlein’s newly created Panzer Lehr division in an area between Nancy and Luneville. The men drill with their armored vehicles outside in the icy snow, and General Guderian a few times gets distressed over their results. At one point, he growls at them, “This is the worst nonsense I have seen in my entire military career!”

  Dissatisfied, he finally leaves the unit. Chastened, they (as one officer later puts it) “console themselves with a first-class dinner.”

  Sunday, February 20

  Although it is the Sabbath, Rommel still has a good deal of work to do. So before dawn he is up, fed, and out the door of the soldiers’ home where he stayed overnight. Despite the wet haze and steady rain, his group reaches the key port of Brest early and begins. They find that the seaward approaches to the base are strong, and those facing inland, though fewer, are also well-built.

  It looks as though it will rain steadily throughout the day as the group moves on to the northwest tip of Brittany, taking notes as they go: This area is unsatisfactory for a major landing; defenses in that sector seem good. They travel eastward to the well-defended Goolven Bay, 1 and then onward.

  Rommel is amused to see that despite the bad weather, the Bretons are out today en masse. Dressed in their Sunday outfits and carrying their umbrellas, they casually stroll up and down town streets. The men typically wear broad-brimmed black hats, and the ladies show off various types of white head covers, displaying distinct designs that vary in style from one locale to the next.

  Usually the civilians recognize him—it is hard not to, riding in his beautiful dark shiny Horch, a field marshal flag in front, his entourage in their cars behind him. Typically, people first slow down and stare at him as his car drives up. Then they whisper, often wide-eyed, as he emerges in his elegant black leather topcoat, his marshal’
s baton in hand. It takes only a few moments for them to realize who he is, and you sometimes hear in a low voice “C’est Rommel!”

  Noontime. They travel inland to the Monts d’Arrée hills, some three dozen kilometers east-northeast of Brest. There they inspect the still-forming 353rd Infantry Division, 2 normally commanded by Generalmajor Mahlmann.3 In his absence, the executive officer and the divisional staff make their report. They detail how, in the event of an invasion, their initial objectives would be to secure the small road networks into their area. Rommel comments that he is not quite sure what the enemy would be doing in this area, far from the main roads.

  The weather has not let up much, and so they all sit inside a chilly tent to have dinner. Someone comments dryly that their stew is not much warmer than the tent, and Rommel, usually either affable or gently reproachful to members of his staff when they make such remarks, is strangely quiet and even distant. Even Blumentritt notices the difference in his demeanor.

  Later on, someone in their group, talking to a divisional staff member who has been with the core elements that had made up the 353rd for years, discovers the probable reason for the field marshal’s icy demeanor. Years before, Mahlmann as a colonel had written a scathing review of the field marshal’s book, Infanterie grief an.4

  Rommel has a memory like an elephant.

  On the drive home, they stop in Rennes, then head towards in Le Mans to see General Dollmann. They are delayed though, because Rommel’s Horch sputters and stalls several times. Corporal Daniel determines that the petrol in the tank is contaminated or low grade. They eventually arrive at Seventh Army headquarters, Rommel discusses his findings with Dollmann and his senior officers. Dollmann, as it turns out, heartily agrees with Rommel’s suggestions. The meeting goes well.