Countdown to D-Day
Page 59
6Luftwaffe High Command had decided that in case of an invasion in the West, the alarm code phrase “Dr. Gustav West,” a euphemism for “Dringende Gefahr West” (“Extreme Danger West”)would be sent.
7The field marshal’s dogs were limited to the ground floor. They were kept in his study, and were not allowed in the officers’ dining room.
8For the invasion, the moon actually rose at 6:30 p.m. on June 5.
Tuesday, May 9
Another sunny day at La Roche-Guyon. Having discussed with his staff the results of the senior officers’ conference the night before, Rommel leaves with a few senior staff members on another inspection tour. Prodded by Jodl’s report that the British had found ways of defeating his beach obstacles, and since the Normandy area seems to be the focal point of recent reinforcement activity and personal concern by the Führer himself, Rommel decides that another tour west is in order.
Having notified Marcks three days ago to expect him, his motorcade now leaves at 7 a.m. Rommel’s big, rumbling Horch circles in the courtyard once and then rolls through the main gate. Trailing behind as usual is Ruge’s old Mercury, with Generalmajor Lattman, their artillery advisor, sitting beside the admiral. The motorcade passes the beautiful linden trees on the left side of the drive, and turning left onto the main road, it enters the southwest half of the village.
They travel northwest with the Seine on their left, downstream to the town ofVernon, where they turn to cross over as usual. However, they find that the bridge there has been recently destroyed. So they are again forced to take a ferry across the big river.
Now finally on the western bank, they continue northwest to the small coastal town of Houlgate, just east of Cabourg. There they closely inspect some of the offshore obstacles recently erected. Rommel approves of the work being done. Out inspecting the obstacles, walking along the wet flats, the field marshal forgets how fast the tide comes in here (some three meters an hour), and suddenly they all find themselves scurrying off the beach to avoid the incoming waves.
They continue to the open battery near Hougate and inspect it. They find that it has been the target of a number of bombings, and some of the damage is plain to see. They continue on along the bay, southeast to Dives-sur-Mer, where 84th Corps commander General Marcks meets them. There they find that the recent dry spell has somewhat diminished the local attempts at deliberate flooding of the area. Hopefully, some spring rain will take care of that.
Onward, they turn and travel inland again, southwest towards the city of Caen. As they approach the outskirts, they discover an air raid in progress. They pull over until the bombing ends. While waiting, Rommel consults privately for a bit with Marcks in his Horch, while the staff members in the motorcade stand outside in the warm sunlight. After the two talk a while, they all proceed on into Caen.
Starting off the briefing, Marcks reviews the disposition of his units. The 716th and 352nd Divisions hold the Calvados coast, while the 709th and 243rd defend the northern part of the Cotentin peninsula. The 77 th Infantry is moving from the Caen area southeast to the Sélune Estuary, just south of Avranches. The 21st Panzer Division will be just south of Caen. Good. Rommel nods in approval.
Major von der Heydte’s newly arrived 6th Parachute Regiment of 3,450 men will move near Périers, and the 91st Luftlande division, initially slated for Brittany, will instead move to a position south of Valognes, high in the center of the Cotentin peninsula. The 206th Panzer Battalion, with its almost pathetic combination of French, Czech, and old German PzKw I and II tanks, is up in the northwest. The Seventh Army Shock Battalion and its 1,100 assault troops are on maneuvers out of La Haye-du-Puits.
One problem is the 352nd Infantry, which is defending the western part of the Calvados beaches. The division, still recovering from its losses in Russia, only has four good battalions and four coastal batteries, spread out along the coast around eight major bunkers. Rommel makes a note to have them reinforced by June with a few dozen pillboxes, some mortar pits, rocket-launching sites, and dozens of machine-gun nests.
There has been an increase in sabotage and small raids in the Brittany area in the spring, and a good deal of their supplies are coming from Allied air drops. Enemy activity has increased remarkably, with very heavy aerial reconnaissance of the coastal areas, especially over the Cotentin peninsula and the Orne estuary. Coastal batteries are getting bombed heavily. Fortunately this includes the dummy positions they have set up to fool the Allied bombers. Also targeted are supply bottlenecks, such as bridges, major intersections, and depots. Rommel seems a bit skeptical at Marcks’ concern. The enemy air activity in this area is still less than it has recently been further north, in the Fifteenth Army area.
Marcks then covers his future plans. For one thing, he intends to further strengthen the Cotentin peninsula. He is heartened by the fact that since the peninsula is so narrow, 1 any unit stationed in the interior could move to just about any trouble spot along the coast of the peninsula, or to the beaches east of the Vire River. Still, he points out, the Channel Islands are vulnerable, although a landing on Guernsey is not likely, due to the heavy fortifications there. Jersey though, could be taken in a surprise air drop.
Rommel asks him where he would position another panzer division if they could get one released. Marcks points to the map, near the base of the Cotentin peninsula. “Near Carentan,” he tells Rommel.
The field marshal nods in agreement.
Marcks goes over other problems. Obstacle construction will continue, despite material shortages. Cement is in critically low supply, and he has not received any for a week now. Scrap metal is hard to get too, so many of the obstacles are being made out of wood. Marcks’ men have done some 80km of coastline, and some 170,000 stakes of “Rommel’s asparagus.”
Next up is Oberst! Hans von Rohr, the Cherbourg fortress commander. His report on the readiness of the port details extensive progress, and Rommel is pleased. Next up is Generalmajor Edgar Feuchtinger, commanding the reconstituted 21st Panzer Division. Positioning his stout frame before a map, he rattles off a precise, updated order of battle—his Schlachtordnung. He reports on the increased deliveries of the new PzKw IV panzers. And his division is making its own efforts to create some ad hoc tank destroyers by continuing to install and secure German anti-tank guns on some old captured French armored chassis. Becker is hard at work.
Rommel tells Feuchtinger that he wants him to obtain an accurate layout of the road networks in the area to scope out the best routes for rapid mechanized movement. He also orders him to identify all possible open staging areas in the Cotentin peninsula that could be used to organize a mobile combat group for mounting a counterattack.
The field marshal, knowing Feuchtinger’s lack of armored fighting experience (as well as that of a number of his division officers), goes into details. Every river crossing is to be utilized, he warns. They must move at night whenever possible, or else in bad weather. Long, strung-out columns, easy prey for enemy Jabos, are to be avoided at all costs. Feuchtinger estimates that his trucks and armored cars can reach Cherbourg in four uninterrupted hours, and the mechanized units in a day or so.
Rommel stresses upon him the critical importance of having contingency plans. They may have to move through areas blocked by paratroopers, debris and ruins; or fight in totally unsuitable terrain. “Cover all possibilities,” he tells him.
They break for lunch and go over to a nearby restaurant in Caen. Afterwards, Rommel is off again with his staff, accompanied by Marcks and his own corps staff. They travel to the 1716th Artillery Regiment. Starting with the Riva Bella battery next to the Orne estuary and less than a kilometer north of Ouistreham, they inspect its gun positions. Then it’s westward along the coast to look over the 150mm guns at the Longues-sur-Mer naval battery. At this time, Admiral Hennecke, the Cherbourg peninsula naval commander, joins them. Looking out over the bay, he tells the gathered officers, “If they come, they’ll come here.” It is not so important that he believes it—he just wants them to b
elieve it.
From there, they continue westward along the coast, inspecting the beaches near Vierville.2 After making some more comments and his staff taking notes, they move on to Grandcamp, next to the Vire estuary.
It is supposedly on this portion of the tour that Rommel stands overlooking a deserted beach, facing the Channel. There he once again tells those officers present one of his cardinal points—that the first twenty-four hours of the invasion will be decisive. And that, “Für die Allierten, und auch für die Deutschen, der längste Tag wird.” (“For the Allies, as well as for the Germans, it will be the longest day.”)3
They continue on across the Vire and pass the battery at Pointe du Hoc. Rommel is told that fierce bombing in mid-April destroyed one of the battery’s six 155mm French guns. Because of this, the other five were covertly moved inland. They will be brought back to the bunkers when the invasion begins.
Rommel notes the lower air activity here than that over Dunkirk—further evidence to him that the blow will fall elsewhere. Still, his beach defenses in Normandy are progressing steadily, although they are much less advanced than those at Calais.
They move inland to Isigny-sur-Mer and inspect some flooded areas. They finally reach Marcks’ headquarters at St. Lô around 8 p.m. that night, once again tired from the day’s activities. Marcks puts on a decent meal for them. Afterwards, he and the field marshal have a long, interesting talk, while several officers take walks around the area before retiring to the guest quarters.
More reports come in of coastal batteries and bridges being bombed. Calais, Sangatte, Frethune, Marcouf… Morsaline…
That night, Rommel’s official diary reflects his activity:
Have left on an inspection tour of the Cotentin Peninsula, since this seems to be the area where the Schwerpunkt of an enemy landing might take place. On the way I was impressed by the remarkable work and achievements of the 711th Division. It was certainly worth my spending so much time and energy on the construction of our defenses. Without these I would have looked with great anxiety upon the possibilities of enemy landings over here.
Today, Hitler’s doctor, 57-year-old Theo Morell, examines his only patient (who he identifies as mysterious “Patient A”) and notes his high level of stress. He also observes advanced neurological problems. The nearly uncontrollable tremor in the Führer’s hand is now present in one of his legs as well, a byproduct no doubt of the stress and a certain degree of psychological hysteria. A physical reason for this is, in the physician’s mind, unlikely. The doctor notes in his diary:
Leg tremor, caused by agitation [invasion imminent, where?]4
Today, British Admiral Ramsay orders the Allied naval forces in Great Britain to freeze all invasion plans by May 12, so that the deluge of changes, alterations, and augmentations do not overwhelm his planners.
Critical in their timetable will be a well-planned air offensive. Huge air fleets of fighters and bombers will have to hit preliminary targets all over Europe. Between April 1 and D-Day, the Allies will have flown over two hundred thousand bombing sorties over northern France, averaging one ton of bombs dropped for every sortie. They will lose nearly two thousand aircraft in doing so.
1The average width is 35km, and the distance across the lower part between Lessay and Carentan is only 25km.
2This will be Omaha beach.
3Rommel had, according to one source, told this to his aide Lang earlier in the year, on April 22.
However, Rommel was nowhere near this area on that day, and Ruge’s detailed book gives no indication that Rommel was on the road that day. A quiet day, he wrote. Another source writes that the quote was made to Lang on April 2. Some sources even claim that the famous comment was actually never made, but rather conjured up as a dramatic vehicle when Cornelius Ryan was writing The Longest Day and later focused on during the filming of the movie. Still, Ryan himself, a reliable journalist, believed these words to have been spoken. Anyway, why else would he have so named the book?
According to Ryan (who gave no date to the quote, either in his book or in his notes): “They had stood on a deserted beach, and Rommel, a short, stocky figure in a heavy greatcoat with an old muffler around his throat, had stalked up and down waving his ‘informal’ marshal’s baton, a two-foot-long silver-topped black stick with a red, black and white tassel. He had pointed to the sands with his baton and said, ‘The war will be won or lost on the beaches. We’ll have only one chance to stop the enemy and that’s while he’s in the water… struggling to get ashore. Reserves will never get up to the point of attack and it’s foolish even to consider them. The Hauptkampflinie [main line of resistance] will be here… everything we have must be on the coast. Believe me, Lang, the first twenty-four hours of the invasion will be decisive… For the Allies, as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day.’”
4Advanced modern theories suggest that Hitler’s tremors were most likely due to some form of Parkinson’s disease or as a result of the high levels of toxicity in his body from all the amphetamines he was being given.
21st Panzer Division counterattack, D-Day. This was the most serious threat to the landing on June 6th. Although one regiment actually made it to the beach, it could not hold, and had to be withdrawn. (Author)
Wednesday, May 10
After breakfast, Rommel’s small convoy leaves St. Lô at 7 a.m. in a light fog to inspect the Cotentin peninsula. Admirals Ruge and Hennecke go with him. Featured in today’s inspection tour will be several strongpoints along the coast.
Driving through Carentan, they stop at a coastal fortification identified as Strongpoint WN-5.1 Rommel is not too happy with the design of this position, including the exposed open pits for the four 50mm guns, and the uncovered 37mm Panzerstellung R67 Renault tank turret. Plus, it is not fortified enough. Ramming blocks are too few. The anti-airborne “asparagus” behind is too scant. There are not enough Czech hedgehogs along the beach in front, and he sees no Belgian gates at all. Rommel vents his displeasure upon the 709th’s divisional commander, von Schlieben, regimental commander Keil, and the company commander, Hauptmann Matz.
In response, one junior officer dares report to him about the difficulties getting his men to construct effective barbed-wire obstacles. Rommel is still upset at this point, and at the sudden interruption, he impulsively looks at the junior officer. Glaring at the young man, he snaps, “Let me see your hands for a minute, lieutenant.” He obviously wants to show him that it is hard to assess the capabilities of your men if you are not there alongside them.
Leutnant Jahnke seems shaken by this command, but he dutifully complies. He removes his smooth, gray suede gloves and holds his hands out. The field marshal looks down and notes that they are scratched with small tears and have some calluses. This boy has obviously learned somewhere (probably in Russia) that good officers pitch in right next to their men to prepare defensive obstacles.
Rommel’s anger subsides. He nods his head. “Well done, lieutenant. The blood on an officer’s hands from fortification work is worth every bit as much as that shed in battle.”
Jahnke, only 23, is a seasoned veteran of the Eastern Front and a Knight’s Cross recipient. He wants to reply that he has had to work hard because his men are not trained in building modern fortifications, and are actually drawing on their experiences from the World War I. Instead though, the second lieutenant holds his frustration and merely replies “Jawohl, Herr Feldmarschall. “
Rommel departs and continues up the coast, stopping to inspect the St. Marcouf battery. The position was hit hard in late April, and evidence of the damage is clear.
Further up the peninsula, the motorcade stops at the main battery near Morsalines. It sits on a hill overlooking a stretch of beach that runs northeast of the Vire Estuary.2 The battery, located not far south of St. Vaast-la-Houge and installed back in 1941, now has vegetation growing along the sides of the bunkers. The position consists of six 155mm captured French K416 guns, mounted in semi-open concrete positions.
Rommel takes a tour of the area and sees bomb craters everywhere. Several of the six exposed main guns, as well as the secondary 75mm and 20mm flak positions, have suffered quite a bit from aerial attacks. A number of them have been partially buried by bomb debris, and several of the guns have been tipped over, the wheels on one side now sticking up into the air. The netting is therefore not fooling the bombers. No, concrete barbettes are needed to protect the guns from above.
The battery commander arrives and confirms what Rommel has seen. He reports that a low-level enemy air raid the night before destroyed two of the guns. The other four are damaged, having been hit hard by the RAF. The battery at Pointe du Hoc, as Rommel has already been told, had been hit too.
Rommel marvels that the enemy bombing patterns are so accurate. He is told, “They used special flares that turned the night sky into day, Feldmarschall..”
Rommel nods knowingly. He has seen nighttime flares used effectively in North Africa. He orders that the four damaged guns be moved back to an open but sheltered area some three kilometers inland, closer to Videcosville, and remain there, even after they are fixed. They can still be moved up in time.
When the battery commander expresses some indecision, Rommel shakes his head. “Don’t worry,” he replies consolingly. “The enemy cannot get a huge invasion fleet across the Channel without us having some sort of warning time from our recon sources. It won’t take you long to move the guns back up into their bunker positions. In the meantime, I have a feeling that this not the last you’ve heard from the enemy bombers.”3 It makes sense, and the relieved battery commander replies that it will be done. It should not take long to move the guns back up into their bunker positions.4