Countdown to D-Day

by Peter Margaritis

  ***

  General Marcks at his headquarters in St. Lô is resigned to spending the rest of the night there. He too would probably have left for Rennes that evening, had he not become so immersed in planning for the next day’s exercise to be held there. And besides, he has a suspicion that his staff wants to give him a small party. After all, he will be 53 on Tuesday. So he decides to delay his departure until the next morning.

  As midnight approaches, he is still studying map after map, analyzing them for the upcoming exercise. He almost always wins these exercise, mostly because of his orthodox attack and defense doctrines, and this time, he is to be the enemy yet again. This exercise will simulate a large-scale airborne landing, followed by a full naval assault.

  The theoretical target will be Normandy. And Marcks is going to play Eisenhower.

  He is correct about one thing: his staff is indeed planning for him a small birthday celebration. Major Hayn, his intelligence officer, and their chief of staff, GeneralOberst! von Criegern, have organized the event, having secured a number of bottles of a fine Chablis.

  This evening has shaped up to be an interesting one. Starting at 10 p.m., reports had starting coming in of huge aircraft formations flying in over the area, even though, despite a full moon, the weather was still overcast, and far from ideal. Did the presence of these aircraft mean anything? Was this the beginning of more raids? Or possibly an airborne assault? Marcks had wondered.

  Major von der Heydte, commanding the 6th Parachute Regiment, had shown up earlier that evening to accompany Marcks to Rennes and get a chance to talk to him. When Marcks had told him that he was going to delay his departure because he was busy planning for the exercise, von der Heydte, expressing some disappointment at not having the opportunity to talk, and not wanting to make the trip alone, had returned to his headquarters just north of Périers to spend the night there.20

  As midnight approaches, Marcks studies map after map for the upcoming exercise. Hayn, von Criegern, and the few other senior staff members check on their modest preparations, while a few more enemy bomber formations fly overhead. They wonder how their stern, no-nonsense commanding officer will react to their seemingly adolescent gesture of celebrating his birthday.

  Finishing up, they are getting ready to surprise him when suddenly a nearby flak battery opens up, rattling the window panes, momentarily distracting them. Briefly startled by the unexpected burst of fire, wine bottles and glasses in hand, they grin sheepishly at each other as the battery outside pounds away up into the night’s sky.

  Running out of their bunker, they catch a glimpse of an enemy airplane going down, smoke and flames billowing behind. The two-engine aircraft had evidently flown over at a low altitude, and the nearby flak battery that they had heard, some 50 meters away from them on the roof of the high school next to the nearby St. Lô cathedral, had opened up on it, apparently successfully. The gun crew yells gleefully, “We got it! We got it!”

  Shaking their heads, the corps staff officers walk back into the bunker to grab their refreshments, the sound of more enemy aircraft continuing some distance away.

  ***

  It is almost midnight. The Guernsey Island Luftwaffe radar crew has been plotting since 11 p.m. on their Freya and Wurzburg radars many incoming slow-moving air contacts approaching the French coast. They are told that a counterpart army signals unit has been picking up several formations as well. What is significant is that several of these formations appear to consist of heavy two- or four-engine aircraft, many of which appear to be closely followed by a small, fuzzy ghost echo, probably just that in this weather. However, the phantom echoes could also possibly be gliders.

  After studying the tracking some more, the Luftwaffe commanding officer decides that it is time to raise some alarm. He gets a hold of the regimental commander at headquarters, Oberst! Oelze, and gives him a full report on the contacts.

  The regimental commander thanks him for the information and in turn immediately calls General Marcks’ headquarters. The duty officer there tells him that none of the senior officers are available at the moment, including Chief of Staff von Criegern, and Operations Officer Hasso Viebig. One is attending an army group conference in Paris, another is at the moment attending a birthday celebration for the corps commander, and another one is on leave…

  The frustrated regimental commander explains to him that some alert must be sounded. Several enemy aircraft are coming in from the north. He adds, “I think a major operation against the mainland is coming.”

  The duty officer sighs and promises to see what he can do.

  The regimental commander hangs up, unconvinced that the man will do much.

  1Each sub carried an 18-foot navigational beacon that would hitting the shores of Normandyshine a green beam out to sea (but not visible from the shore). In addition, they would use a short-distance radio beacon and an underwater echo sounder for the minesweepers.

  2Surprisingly, there has been some confusion as to which capital ships participated in the Normandy invasion, despite readily available information. The seven battleships listed here took part in Overlord and Neptune. The battleships HMS Rodney and HMS Nelson would not take part in the initial bombardments of the beaches that early June 6, but would instead be held in reserve roles. One account describes HMS Rodney shelling the 15-inch guns of the Le Havre battery later that fateful morning. After D-Day, the 16-inch firepower of both these battleships would be added to the fleet, and they would take part in many naval gunfire support activities for the beachhead; but not directly at the beginning of the invasion.

  3Exact figures again vary, and greatly. Theodore A. Wilson in breaks the 1,500 landing craft figure down into the following: 229 LSTs, 241 LCIs, over 900 LCT, and about 60 US Coast Guard 83-foot cutters, used to rescue troops and crewmen in the water. These figures did not include all of the extra landing craft—real, damaged, or dummy—that were put into the Dover area to simulate preparations for the “other” invasion at Calais with Patton’s fictitious First Army. John Mann puts the figure at 4,126 landing ships and craft.

  4That was 1:15 a.m., German Central Time.

  5Again, the Allies were lucky. If Eisenhower had decided to postpone to the next low-tide period, June 19, he would have found himself delayed yet again, because on the 19th, one of the most violent three-day storms in years smashed into the English Channel. Eisenhower would have had to postpone until July. He later wrote Captain Staggs, “I thank the gods of war we went when we did!”

  6Major Dr. Hermann Mueller. The nickname “Heeres” (army) is a play on words “Hier ist” (Here is) and comes from the fact that he was not a civilian. Earlier in the war, all of the meteorologists assigned to the various high-level commands in Western Europe had been civilians, working directly for and on permanent loan to the Air Ministry. They were eventually pressed into service as Luftwaffe officers, including Stöbe, who was given the highest rank of Oberst!. When Mueller, an army major, was posted to OB West as Stöbe’s liaison, he of course was the odd man out, and nicknamed “Heeres.”

  7Hundreds of such acts would be committed over the next few days. Unfortunately, the Resistance and Maquis would pay dearly for them. In Northern France alone, nearly a thousand suspected members would be shot or rounded up and executed. Another four thousand would be exported to labor or concentration camps.

  8Reile could not know that, for some reason, Rommel’s intelligence officer, Oberst! Staubwasser, was never initially told about these two-part trigger messages and what they meant.

  9The second verse would be broadcast a total of fifteen times that day.

  10The 16th Flak Division, a part of Luftflotte 3, was located in Belgium. It consisted of three Flak Regiments (the 37th, the 129th, the 132nd, and the 531st) and a Luftnachtrichen (Signals) battalion. It would later see heavy action in Operation Market Garden.

  11“The Peace.” Jünger had started the document last year. It would not be published in its entirety until 1947.

&n
bsp; 12Wargame. This particular wargame conference was to be held in Rennes, starting mid-morning on June 6, chaired by General der Fallschirmjäger Eugen Meindl, commanding the 2nd Parachute Corps. Ironically, the wargame was to be an exercise centered around an enemy airborne assault, followed by a few amphibious landings.

  13Most sources agree that Dollmann had not left for the wargames, but had turned in for the night.

  14Other senior officers missing include: 21st Panzer commander Edgar Feuchtinger, somewhere in Paris; SS General Sepp Dietrich in Brussels; Admiral Krancke, down in Bordeaux, and von Rundstedt’s intelligence officer, Col Meyer-Detring who was on leave in Paris. Even GroßAdmiral Karl Dönitz was with his family in their home in the Black Forest.

  15The Coq Hardi (“Dauntless Rooster”) had been for many years a world-famous five-star restaurant. It was about 5.5km away on the Quai Rennequin Sualem, along the southern bank of the Seine River. Decades later, it was sold, renovated, and reopened as “Chez Clément.”

  16Equated to tympanites, which is a flatulent distention of the stomach; the presence of gas in the stomach intestines.

  17The recollections made here were made by Zimmermann in June of 1958. How much of it is true and how much of it the memories of a “Monday morning quarterback” can only be speculated.

  18Fifteenth Army log records the warning being received at 10:33 p.m.

  19The exact time General Falley left is questionable.

  20One biographer wrote that von der Heydte had an ulterior motive, wanting to discuss with Marcks a possible anti-government resistance movement. For instance, was the general aware of an existing plot to assassinate the Führer? Or did he know that his cousin von Stauffenberg was involved? This suggests that the major was somehow involved in the plot. Indeed, his name was later found written on a document seized by the SS. Fortunately it was misspelled, and, in a wryly amusing twist, according to the laconic story, some unsuspecting officer named Von der Heide, an officer who was then serving on the Eastern Front, was subsequently arrested and had to spent the rest of the war in prison.

  Tuesday, June 6—Part One

  According to German clocks, it is midnight. Thousands of Allied aircraft swarm over the northwestern coast of France, following the routes the pathfinders took an hour ago.

  From the northwest come planes carrying the advance elements of the American 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions. As they pass between the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, searchlights stab at the murky night, occasionally accompanied by blasts of multi-colored anti-aircraft fire—vain attempts by the enemy units on those islands to find the source of the many engine noises in the dark skies near them. As the aircraft pass over the mainland, other German anti-aircraft units begin firing.

  From the northeast, flying slowly over the coastline, come more aircraft carrying paratroops of the British 6th Airborne.

  At 12:15 a.m. over an hour after the pathfinders and the dummies have arrived, the airborne troops begin jumping into France. The gray-black skies fill with thousands of silk chutes as paratroopers leave their aircraft into the dark of night.

  On the ground, thousands of French Resistance fighters start leaving their homes and shops to begin to make their contribution to the operation. Cities all over northern France begin experiencing communications problems and other small acts of sabotage. Major cities like Paris, Le Mans, Lille, Orléans, Cherbourg, and Bordeaux, as well as many smaller cities in the Normandy area such as St Lô, Caen, and Avranches, begin to suffer radio problems. Wireless sets start to experience high electronic shrieking, as Allied jammers dropped to Resistance groups begin operation.

  Ground communications lines between many German headquarters go dead, and many conventional telephone lines suffer similar fates. Several units, physically cut offsomewhat by the recently bombed river bridges, are now having problems reaching each other as well.

  General Erich Marcks is in the map room at his headquarters in St. Lô. As the cathedral’s bells start to chime midnight, his staff officers enter the room apprehensively to accost the corps general with their birthday surprise. After a moment, Marcks becomes aware of their presence and gazes up at them in calm surprise through his wire frame spectacles. He slowly rises to greet them, his wooden leg creaking as he does. They nervously wish him happy birthday, and he smiles and waves his hand. They crowd in, now at ease and grinning.

  They open another bottle and fill their glasses before coming to attention and raising them to formally toast their commanding officer. They drink to his health and wish him good fortune for the forthcoming year. He thanks all of them sincerely. They get him to slice the ornate, richly flavored birthday cake they have procured. Decorated on the top is his name, the town, and the date: June 6, 1944.

  The quick, modest birthday celebration soon ends, and Marcks goes back to his long table, a glass of chablis still in his hand, to study the maps again and wrap up his plans for tomorrow’s Kriegspiel. He will leave at dawn. However, he is a bit concerned that the air activity overhead is continuing this late in the night. Heavy engines, probably bombers. But they seem slow moving…

  At 1 a.m., General Marcks is still at that table, finishing up his plans on the maps of the exercise area. He will probably be one of the last to arrive at the Kriegspiel exercise tomorrow, even though Dollmann had scheduled it some nine days ago. No matter. Marcks’ theatrically late arrival notwithstanding, he is particularly looking forward to the exercise. Most of the divisional commanders have agreed that it will be a fascinating one. And of course, Marcks has prepared for this role as if it is the real thing.

  Sitting beside his map table with various charts spread out before him, tired, he wipes his brow. It is a warm, humid late spring night. He glances at his intelligence officer, the only one with him in the room.

  “Hand me the map of the Pointe du Hoc area please, Hayn.” The major dutifully hands it to him. Marcks’ theoretical target is Normandy.

  Marcks had been the enemy before. Last February, his Allied forces had landed along the Calvados coastline. He established a firm beachhead and moved his landed units west and southwest, to occupy all of Normandy and Brittany. Now he will play Eisenhower again, only this time, he will have three airborne divisions to initially drop into the Normandy countryside. Marcks has no doubt that he will win the exercise, and in doing so, show the generals how easily they could lose if it were the real thing.

  Von Criegern comes back into the room, and Marcks talks to him informally, their conversation casual and relaxed. Marcks is only half-listening to what his chief of staff is saying. He is ready. All he will have to do tomorrow morning is to grab his charts and papers and leave. It will not take him long to get to Rennes. Besides, he is too tired to travel now. It is late, and the wine has not helped. As if all that is not enough, his leg is bothering him again. Still, he hesitates to retire for the evening. Judging from the air activity, something seems to be happening.

  At 1:11 a.m., the ringing of the field telephone on his desk interrupts their discussion. Calmly, Marcks picks it up and answers. The call is from Karl Bachus, the 716th Division Ia1 from their headquarters in Caen. As Marcks listens, his eyes widen. The fatigue seems to magically vanish from his face. His whole body begins to stiffen as he stands up, almost as though he is bracing himself, his other hand clenching the edge of the table tightly.

  He looks at von Criegern and nods to him, motioning him to come listen in. The general is told that enemy airborne landings have taken place northeast of Caen, east of the Orne estuary, somewhere around Ranville.

  The receiver crackles with static as they hear the report. “The area seems to be along a line between Bréville-sur-Mer and Ranville… more reports of paratroopers along the northern fringe of the Bavent forest.”2 Marcks looks at von Criegern who is scribbling notes, trying to get everything down. The objectives for the second set of reports appear to be the Dives River bridges and the crossings over the Orne. Countermeasures, Marcks is told, are in progress. Marcks te
rsely tells Bachus to keep them advised and then quietly hangs up the field phone.

  The call has hit them like a ton of bricks. No one says a word as the senior staff members are quickly called in. Marcks analyzes the report with interest. Surely, this is not a massive raid. No, it has to be tied to some amphibious landing. Yes, this is probably the prelude to the invasion, but where will the enemy land?

  One staff member suggests in an unsure voice, “Perhaps these paratroopers are only exceptionally strong groups who have come to establish contact with the Resistance.” After all, it had been only yesterday that several leaflets had been dropped on the Brittany port of St. Malo, carrying the cryptic proclamation that La carotte rouge est quittée.3 And 84th Corps had noted a recent dramatic increase in coded radio traffic.

  After a moment of silence, Hayn slowly shakes his head. “No,” he responds thoughtfully. “The drop is too near to the main line of resistance. The Resistance wouldn’t dare do that.” He continues. “These jumps have been made much too near our main combat line to be of any use for stirring the FFI4 in our sector into action.” He pauses. “If your opinion were right, it would mean that a fundamental change in the attitude of the civilians in our corps area had taken place. Up until now, the peasants of Normandy—slow, but jovial, pleasure-loving fellows—have refused to take part in any act of sabotage.” Unlike the more active groups operating to the West in Brittany.5

  Marcks orders 84th Corps on alert. His staff meanwhile has put away most of their work. One thing is for sure—the wargames will now be canceled.

  Marcks suddenly realizes that his staff is looking at him intently. He says gently, “We’ve called out the alert. Now, let’s wait and see.”