Countdown to D-Day

by Peter Margaritis

  2Admiral Ruge records him as saying, “but open fire immediately.”

  3See entry for February 16.

  4As it turns out, it was sunk by the Free French destroyer La Combattante, which had initially started construction as a British Type II Hunt Class destroyer escort in mid-January 1941. Damage from an air raid postponed its launch until late April 1942, at which time it was christened HMS Haldon.

  On December 16, it was turned over to the Free French Navy, whereupon it was recommissioned as La Combattante, before being launched on December 30, 1942.

  5Of the S-141’s crew of 24, the Allies fished six Germans from the Channel and took them prisoner. Klaus’ body eventually washed up on the French coast. He was buried in Amiens. The admiral now only had one surviving child, his daughter Ursula.

  6Forty-nine-year-old Ernst Jünger had been for years a forthright opponent of the Hitler regime, one of the few authors left in the Reich that could speak out in this way. The Nazis had wanted for a long time to incarcerate or remove him, but they could not do so, because he was an accomplished author and had strong ties to the conservative industrialists and to the military. Jünger was also a popular, decorated veteran of World War I, having been wounded several times, and in 1918 was awarded Germany’s highest honor, the Pour le Mérite, an award Rommel had also earned. Jünger was one of the youngest soldiers ever to receive the award.

  As war loomed on the horizon, Jünger had continued to protest against the government in a low key. He had written in 1939 a controversial short novel called Auf den Marmorklippen (On the Marble Cliffs), an intense, although understandably veiled, critical allegory of a totalitarian government. The novel depicted folks living in a peaceful, coastal region that was threatened by a mindless group of hillfolk led by a jolly but ruthless leader (closely parallel to Herman Göring and Hitler), a leader who would establish a dictatorship based on brutality.

  Sunday, May 14

  After staying overnight at the soldiers’ quarters in Le Touquet, Rommel this morning prepares to continue inspecting the Somme area, even though it is Sunday. They begin at 6:45 a.m. There is a light rain as they leave, but the field marshal enjoys the bad weather—it is now his ally. Every rainy day means another day without having to worry about the enemy invasion.

  They start out by viewing the nearby positions of the 326th Infantry Division1 near Montreuil. The 326th is another bodenständige2 unit, part of the coastal secondary line of defense. Rommel is satisfied with the progress the officers have made. To help them better understand though, he takes time out once again to explain how he wants certain barrier details constructed. But he does approve of the dummy coastal batteries that have been erected, and praises them for the nearly 100,000 wooden stakes that even the local folks have helped to put up. On behalf of their efforts, he suggests that they hold a sort of builders’ folk party, like a Richtfest. He smiles when a senior officer tells him that they are ready to “counterattack” any enemy landing. He goes on to explain about more barrier ideas that are being used in other areas, while stressing to them the need to keep in mind the agricultural concerns of the local farmers.

  The inspection group moves on to Montreuil. There they inspect 82nd Corps’ 191st Reserve Infantry Division. The commanding officer briefs Rommel and shows him on a map all the points where the Allied bombers have hit so far. They leave mid-morning and drive back towards Le Touquet, and then up the coast to Hardelot Plage, where they inspect some areas hit by air raids.

  At noontime, they dine at a Vergeltungswaffen arsenal near Le Chatel, sharing some “one-pot stew” with the soldiers and local workers in a nearby underground warehouse bunker. There they confer with army commander von Salmuth himself. He warms up to Rommel, and the meeting starts off nicely. Von Salmuth congratulates the field marshal on his efforts, and in turn, Rommel hands out to the men a few concertinas. Various recipients gratefully accept them and then proceed to show their talent (or lack of it, as is more often the case) playing them. One bragging combat engineer boasts that there is nothing the combat engineers cannot do. But playing a concertina he has never tried, and he declines the generous offers to try one in front of the field marshal. After all, he isn’t stupid.

  Then they are off again, now to inspect Furbach’s3 331st Infantry Division. A few hours later, they move on to Generalleutnant Baltzer’s4 182nd Training Infantry Division—a light unit made up of seven badly equipped battalions lacking a great deal of ammunition and weapons. Rommel’s staff notes that most of the battalions are to be transferred to other units.

  A little after five that afternoon, they have another conference at the General Sinnhuber’s 82nd Corps headquarters at Aire-sur-la-Lys.5 There, Rommel commends everyone for the work that they have done in their area, including putting in scores of thousands of anti-airborne stakes. He also thanks them for the sacrifices that they have made so far for the Reich.

  They finally head home, traveling south to Beauvais, and from there southwest back to La Roche-Guyon. When they arrive at the château at 8:30p.m., they are met in the courtyard by their headquarters band (such as it is), which has been augmented by more concertinas that he has supplied for them. The turnout puts Rommel in a good mood.

  ***

  Today at noon, after a few morning hours of reading reports and some discussion with Blumentritt, Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt decides to go for a stroll. Blumentritt continues to worry about his safety whenever he goes out in public. Von Rundstedt reassures him, telling him that, although the residence is not closed off from the rest of the city, he has never been bothered.

  To the chief of staff though, the problem is more serious than that. It is bad enough that the villa has little security, but the field marshal often likes to take one- to two-hour walks around the area, thus physically exposing himself to possible violence. Sometimes he just walks around town, the city park or up the hill to the girls’ school. Or he might stop in a restaurant for a drink. He seldom lets anyone go with him, except sometimes his adjutant, and of course, he never carries any weapons. The only items he ever takes include an occasional walking stick and handfuls of chocolates and other sweets for children that he might encounter, Naturally, these chance meetings have increased in number over time, as word has spread from one child to another.

  His officers worry about him as well; that every time he leaves for a promenade, he might get mugged or assassinated. They once tried to remedy the situation by assigning two guards to trail him at a distance6 whenever he went on one of his walks. That idea though, did not work for long. His sharp eyes had soon noticed his followers, and after that, he began cracking jokes about his two “hangers-on.” Still, they continued to show up whenever he went for a stroll, so he began to get devious. Sneaking out the back gate, he would begin his walk by going to a nearby park, or through the school grounds up on the hill. Then he would stroll along certain pathways and then suddenly duck into the woods or a building to elude his pursuers. And he was so smug whenever he successfully shook off his trackers.

  Whenever he went on one of these excursions he enjoyed meeting the general public. Always civil, this field marshal, easily the most powerful man in Western Europe, often greeted them with a smile or a nod, and as he did, he would politely step aside, often into the street, to let oncoming pedestrians pass. Over time, there had been many such chance meetings with a number of important people, including St. Germain’s mayor, and once in a while, the abbé from the nearby monastery. Sometimes it was another German or French officer in “mufti.” These encounters amused his adjutant, because if von Rundstedt chanced upon some important official, they would often react to him in the same way as he did to them. The two would each courteously greet one another, and then each would step aside into the road to allow the other clear passage. Then each would acknowledge the courtesy offered by the other, and step out of the road, thus meeting once again in a sort of comical dance. Flustered, each would smile, then perhaps they would inadvertently do the wh
ole thing again.

  No matter where he was, the old man really enjoyed a good meal. At the villa, he always ate alone, and one of his favorite entrées was a beef dish called tournado avec moelle de boeuf7—with the bone on top, naturally. Of course, he ate much better whenever he went out, especially to an elegant restaurant. He would frequently sneak out a half-hour before noon with one or two staff members and walk up the Rue AlexAndré Dumas to the restaurant in the Hôtel Pavillion Henri IV, 8 where he had initially set up his headquarters after the blitzkrieg campaign of 1940. There in that lovely 17th-century building, he would enjoy a couple of drinks and enjoy the ambiance, before dining or returning to his villa for lunch. Then later in the afternoon, he might come back to the Hôtel for a few more drinks before dinner…

  1Fifty-four-year-old Generalleutnant Viktor von Drabich-Waechter, commanding. A World War I veteran, he served the first part of World War II as a department head in the German Army Personnel Office (Heerespersonalamt) until 1942. After a time in the Führer Reserve, he was given command of the 326th Infantry Division at Narbonne, France on June 1, 1943. The division would be destroyed in Normandy in two months, and von Drabich-Waechter was killed at Le Mesnil on August 2.

  2Static division.

  3Forty-eight-year-old Generalmajor Heinz Furbach. His division, originally the 70th Shadow Division Wahn, was re-designated the 331st (static) Infantry in mid-March.

  4Fifty-seven-year-old Generalleutnant Richard Baltzer.

  5About 16km east of Boulogne.

  6His gardener recalled after the war that his two tails were usually “Gestapo men.”

  7A special fillet of beef and oxtail, with its delicious bone marrow.

  8The Hôtel Pavillon Henri IV, located at 21 Rue Thiers, was about half a kilometer from the field marshal’s villa.

  Monday, May 15

  This morning, Generalfeldmarschall Rommel sends for Admiral Ruge. Sitting in his study, the field marshal queries him about the damage the Allied bombings is inflicting upon their coastal batteries. It would be nice to move the guns around to frustrate Allied bombers. However, the large naval batteries are unfortunately set in permanent casements and thus, immobile. However, those batteries exposed near the shoreline will stand little chance of surviving a naval bombardment. Further inland, yet still well within range of the coast, they might survive long enough to inflict some heavy damage to any incoming amphibious landing. So Rommel discusses the idea of reducing the risk of damage from air attacks by moving some of the relatively more mobile army batteries back, especially those sitting out in the open. Relocate them a bit away from the shoreline. Ruge agrees.

  They change subjects and Ruge talks about the weather. The meteorological conditions have been uncannily stable over the last six weeks (even though it is lightly drizzling right now), with no major storms to mention. So, despite a number of false alarms, where is the invasion? Every day of good weather now brings Rommel apprehension. If the main show is about to start, he should probably stay close to his headquarters.

  They discuss other invasion points, including preventing the planned sabotage and demolition of the many small ports in the Seventh Army sector. Smashing the smaller harbors would not slow down the Allies much, and the mistrust, hate, and general annoyance that this would cause among the local population would not be worth it. On the other hand, it is vital that the larger seaports like Brest and Cherbourg be rendered useless…

  Their conversation ends, and Ruge goes down the hall to talk over these points with Speidel. In the meantime, General Meise brings into Rommel’s study a Dr. Brug. The inventor of an effective chemical fuse, he has been experimenting with artificial fog. Rommel is heartened to hear that he will be able to supply fog generators to hide positions on the Cotentin peninsula. Brug also reports that he now has an additional 1.2 million grenades available for the army. Rommel suggests that some be used as makeshift mines.

  They are still talking around noontime when they are interrupted by Ruge. He tells Rommel that the Führer is on the phone, wanting to speak to him.1 Speidel gets on the other line. Rommel usually gets Speidel to listen in on such calls. He does this for two reasons: first, to make sure that Rommel covers all points and does not miss anything; second, Speidel will witness what is said, and be able to corroborate anything that Rommel hears—just in case someone might want to dispute it.

  Rommel picks up the phone and begins talking to the Führer. He makes sure that he reflects his positive attitude in his tone and in the upbeat report he gives. He describes the new multiple rocket launcher unit being developed by Major Becker in the 21st Panzer Division. Rommel claims, “I can well imagine that these could be fired from bunkers in broadsides of four dozen at a time. They travel 4,000 meters.” He added that the division commander, the ever-resourceful and affable General Feuchtinger, has promised to make a number of them, with ammunition as well. Hitler sanctions the project and enthusiastically tells him to proceed.

  Speidel, eavesdropping on the other line, after a while lets Ruge listen in too. For each of them, it is an eerie feeling to hear the Führer’s hoarse voice in the receiver.

  Speidel maintains a deadpan look as he listens to the leader he has secretly sworn to overthrow and, if possible, help assassinate. Ruge though is almost captivated, and his face carries a look of awe. He is fascinated just to hear the Führer’s voice. Speidel continues to masks his scowl of disapproval at the optimistic tone. He is not happy at all, either to hear the voice of that asshole, or to see the field marshal so buoyant in talking to him. This will make it all the harder to win Rommel over and betray the man he is at present glowing to over the phone. Speidel did not like this task when it was conceived, and it seems that it will be even harder now. Keeping his composure, he listens to the conversation. Ruge does not realize the chill behind his expressionless look.

  Rommel goes on telling the Führer about the positive mood in the area. “The morale here of commanders and troops alike is magnificent,” he says confidently. “One corps has already planted nine hundred thousand stakes against airborne landings, and it’s gotten hold of a million grenades to arm them with explosives over the next weeks.”

  Rommel’s effect upon Hitler is noticeable in the Führer’s encouraging vocal responses, and heartened by this, the field marshal makes a mental note to write to Lucie about the call.

  One point the Führer makes is that the enemy might very well go for an invasion further west, because Cherbourg and Le Havre would serve as adequate ports for supply. Thus, “an attempt to form a bridgehead on the Cotentin peninsula in the first phase would seem quite natural.”

  The phone call finally ends, and the day continues. A report comes in from Dollmann at Seventh Army that its defense preparations along the coast are, for the most part, completed. Beach obstacles and paratroop obstacles have been set up, and dispositions of the troops have been made.

  The army group naturally looks upon the report with skepticism.2 Rommel will have to have a word with Dollmann about it.

  That afternoon, work temporarily caught up, Ruge leaves for Paris to see Admiral Krancke to impress upon him the need to move any vulnerable mobile naval guns on the coast inland or into sheltered areas. Rommel and Speidel leave for the christening of a colonel’s daughter just outside Paris. Rommel usually hates to attend these social affairs, but Speidel has coaxed him into making an exception this one time.

  They arrive and the field marshal relents, softening up when he sees the baby. He lets himself be photographed with the child.

  It turns out to be not too bad an affair. Rommel’s old friend Fritz Bayerlein is present, having recently been promoted to Generalleutnant on May 1. Also attending is the military governor, General Karl von Stülpnagel. Speidel happily brings him over to meet the field marshal. These three “godfathers” converse for a while under a broad expanse of chestnut trees, again allowing themselves to be photographed.

  The two leave the christening, Speidel headed for another meetin
g elsewhere, one much more clandestine. It is a perfect time. The weather is for once rainy, and the field marshal is on his way back to the château. Besides, he is already in the Paris area.

  Speidel drives to the Hôtel Raphael where he meets his brother-in-law, Dr. Max Horst, the military governor, and another plotter. In private, they discuss further developments of the upcoming coup.3 Max briefs his brother-in-law on the importance of keeping Rommel in on the plot. Perhaps it will be best if Speidel goes about it gently. Speidel agrees to do that.

  ***

  Today, von Rundstedt in his weekly estimate to OKW continues to express his concern about the possible enemy landing area. He writes that the Allies “Need to win large and capacious harbors,” and that the “danger zone” for the invasion includes an area that stretches almost 300 kilometers, from Caen northeast to the Scheldt estuary in Belgium. However, he stressed that “Le Havre and Cherbourg are primarily to be considered for this purpose; Boulogne and Brest secondarily. The attempt to form a bridgehead rapidly on the Cotentin peninsula in the first phase would therefore seem very natural.”

  Then he gets on the telephone and calls Keitel directly to formally lodge a protest. He has been told that, in light of the heavy enemy air attacks against their lines of communication, Rommel has renewed a request to have the OKW reserve panzers released to him, To put them in Rommel’s control, so that he could place them near the coast, would be like throwing in their reserves before the battle has even begun. Keitel agrees, and promises that Rommel’s request will go nowhere.

  ***

  Today at the Obersalzberg, Hitler, Göring, and General Korten discuss a moral problem. The British and American air forces have near-total mastery of the skies now over Western Europe and going along with their strategic bombing campaign, their Jabos, involved in destroying the Reich’s supply lines, are significantly increasing their attacks on trains, and sometimes even machine-gunning farmers and civilians. The public has responded angrily against downed enemy airmen, sometimes hanging them or just shooting them.