Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
Saturday 21st to Wednesday 25th July 1940
Getting out of Berlin was definitely the right decision. A few days in the countryside can work wonders. Gisela and I had a wonderful weekend in the Spreewald, south east of Berlin. I must admit I abused my position twice over the weekend, the first time to obtain an official Ministry of the Interior vehicle (and essential petrol permits!). The second was a little more delicate, but despite the need to show official identity papers, Herr and Frau Müller were booked into the Pension “Am Mühlberg” in Lübbenau. The weather was glorious, and we strolled through the alder woods, drove through the countryside (over the dozens of little bridges crossing the “Fließes” used for irrigation) and had a picnic after a boating trip on the Spree. Not to forget the candle lit dinners: and of course, we had to try the famous Spreewald gherkins: Senzgurke, Gewürzgurke and Salzgurke. For two days we were simply holidaymakers, and the war was in another universe.
Peasants working in the fields in the Spreewald : there are more women now that so many men have been called up. It would appear, though, that there is plenty of opportunity for improvements in efficiency
Every perfect weekend must end, and we were back to work on Monday, “Herr and Frau Müller” just a memory. Somehow the Filing Section survived without us, but there was a lot of work and catching up to be done.
I tried to persuade Gisela to try on the traditional Sorbian costume, but she dislikes being photographed.
We had a few victories in Spain, only one of which was of real interest. Keppler gave Waber a hiding in Piedrabuen, with final casualties 60 to 633 in our favour, and Petersen’s 22.Infanterie (mot) continued its drive through southern Spain by disposing of 6th Army HQ for no loss (if you don’t count the 27 Spanish). There was one large battle on Saturday, when General Curtze attacked Alfa. The British General Dempsey had assembled more than 40,000 men, but with 6th Gebirgsjäger attacking from Talavera de la Reina and 20.Infanterie from Candelada, it was all over in a day. Our losses (119) were for once more than the enemy’s (109) but considering that Curtze had only 19,000 soldiers, it was quite an impressive result.
The only other activity on Saturday was Keitel’s “capture” of Guadiana, achieved at a loss of 4 men. The retreating cavalry and headquarters troops left 53 of their men behind as dead or prisoners. (I noticed that on Sunday Keitel had to admit that Guadiana was not secure, that his men were occupied in “clearance” operations against another Spanish unit).
First Battle of Guadiana
Second Battle of Guadiana
Two documents summed up the problems in northern Spain. The first was a direction to Kampfgruppe Galicia: it was to ensure that the provinces of Foz and A Gudiña were secured. The second, only hours later, was a message to all units to advise that communications to A Gudiña had been lost: presumably as it had been occupied by the Spanish. There seems to be a lack of appreciation of the situation by OKH.
Kampfgruppe Galicia receives its orders
Loss of A Gudiña
How our researchers and factories complete things on Sunday I don’t know, but they seem to do it a lot. The hardworking engineers at Bremen Germaniawerft have developed an improved hull for our next generation of submarines. With our current U-boats performing so well there is little enthusiasm for more research (we won’t be building more for the foreseeable future), so the research funds have been given to the WaffenAmt. With so many garrison units being created, there is a possibility that some may see combat, and their current support weapons are a disgrace: pre-1936 antiques rescued from the scrap yard.
Possibly some thought could be given to improving our cavalry, as another division has been sent to Poland to join Polen Sicherungskorp Keitel. (Why is this unit called 1st Kossaken-Kavellerie? These are good German riders, not horsemen from the steppes! Field units must be screaming for upgrades: no funding for new units was mentioned anywhere.
Rail transport is in short supply, but we do not make the cavalry ride to their destinations. These horses are on their way east to Polen.
Monday saw another cavalry division set off to its first posting. 22nd SS-Kavellerie Divsiion “Maria Theresia” has been sent to Orléans, under the command of General von Wiktorin. This has led to an army restructure in Frankreich: General von Epp has been appointed to lead 2nd Frankreich Sicherungskorps. As a result, 23.Infanterie Division has been relieved of security duties and is transferring east, to Königsberg.
Also incorporated into the Wehmacht was our latest tactical bomber geschwader: KG 51 “Edelweisß”. Now part of 7th Kampffliegerkorps, it is on its way to Nantes to complete its fit-out.
Aircraft for “Edelweiß” under construction at the Junkers factory in Dessau
Over the demands for more factories devoted to upgrades, Reichsmarschall Göring has insisted that Messerschmitt be contracted to supply another geschwader of Bf 109F interceptors. It is now being freely admitted by senior Luftwaffe officers that the decision to restrict Jagdfliegerkorps to just two geschwader was a mistake, and the long-term (ie next year) plan is to increase all existing interceptor units to three geschwader each.
The huge amount of paperwork that is generated by every research project, unit commissioning or transfer and equipment order kept me busy most of the morning, but there was one brief interruption when I heard that Model’s 5th Panzer had encountered some opposition in Truillo. It was all over quickly though, with Model reporting he had taken 30 prisoners (or deserters) from Harding’s 2nd Indian Division. The same informant also told me that we had lost control of Alcanices, but loss of province after province is getting tedious.
Battle of Truillo
Loss of Alcanices
Two more battles in the afternoon (four if you count air battles). General Jodl is back in the front line, and has been given the job of taking the mountain province of Vicar. It wasn’t very difficult as it was held by 4 or 5 thousand clerks and non-combat troops. Another bloodless victory (for us: the Spanish lost 21 men). The tough assignment went to General Neuling and 71.Infanterie. They must cross the Guadiana River and take Ciudad Real from Eixea Vilar. Not an easy task, particularly with bad weather predicted.
Battle of Vicar
Battle of Ciudad Real
The Luftwaffe’s battles were just as important, as JG 12 “Donner” fought No.211 RAF Fighter Squadron for control of Gaudiana and Klepke’s 1st Jagdfliegerkorps tangled with 12th Carrier Air Group. Sperrle’s escorts protected his bombers well, and all his missions were successfully completed, and “Freki” and “Geri” held their own over the Channel.
Air Battle of Guadiana: 10AM 23-7
For some reason I was quite tired on Monday and did not feel like working late, so when news came in that 2 Brigada Blindada had entered La Robla, I took that as a sign that it was time to leave. I noticed Gisela yawning as I left: perhaps the summer heat is having an effect on everyone.
Feeling much better after a good night’s sleep, I was ready for a day of activity. Things started well, with 1st Panzer Division disregarding the torrential rain and lightning to keep up the pressure on the retreating Spanish. Miaja Menart is incapable of solidifying a defence with his soldiers reeling from one defeat after another: despite his two to one advantage our tanks and trucks are too fast to allow the time he so desperately needs.
Battle of Moral de Calatrava
The other battle that started that day caused some raised eyebrows in the Heer waiting room. Cut off and reliant on stockpiled supplies in La Coruña, General von Boehm-Bezig has ordered 2.Infanterie to attack Cordón García in Lugo, south of the port. He is venturig some distance from his vbase, and there are many Spanish units in the area. An aggressive attitude is desirable in an officer of the Heer, but there is a fine line between being aggressive and being foolhardy. Von Boehm-Bezing may have crossed that line. Should the Spanish beat him in a race to the warehouses of La Coruña, it could be disastrous.
Wednesday saw von Kayser taking the fight to the Spanish. He now has a vastly greater force than that opposing him and is able to send troops wide on both flanks. General Böttcher has been told to slow Guarner Vivancos, who seems to be trying to get 8a División de Infanterie back to the coast. With his own 1st Marine-Sturm-Division and 21.Infanterie (mot), Böttcher trapped Vivancos in Cariñena, but the wily Spaniard was able to extricate his men, though at the cost of 191 dead. 8a División has been forced, however, to retreat east rather than south, and Jahn’s 2nd Marine-Sturm-Division is moving to ensure it will never make it back to Barcelona.
General Curtze also had a quick win: the Spanish are crumbling as soon as we hit them. Our mobility is now paying dividends as the fleeing troops are being overrun before they can regain a semblance of organisation. In Logrosán, more than 15,000 Spanish collapsed when 20.Infanterie moved into contact. Curtze did lose 55 men (while inflicting 122) but I am sure he considers that a cheap price to pay to defeat such a large force in such a short time.
I often see angry memos from field commanders complaining about lack of air cover, but sometimes they are unaware of the facts. For most of Wednesday, Generalleutnant Christiansen and his pilots were far out in the Bay of Biscay, making sure that carrier-based bombers that have been so effective recently cannot make the situation in the north any worse. We lost several aircraft, but in return our ground troops were for once safe from the attentions of Maltby’s bombers.
Air Battle of Southern Bay of Biscay
There is now another threat from Galicia: Republican infantry have taken Fermoselle and are marching south. Could they be trying to link up with the main Spanish forces? It seems unlikely to happen: the Spanish in the south are retreating too fast.
Loss of Fermoselle: note 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division heading to the airbase at Bayonne
The final news of the day showed that OKH is now very concerned about von Boehm-Bezing’s rash decision to move two provinces away from his base. There are no ground troops that can possibly make it time, and all our troopships are in German harbours, safe from air attack. There is only one solution, and 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division has been odered to march at full speed to the airbase at Bayonne. Already Generalleutnant Abernetty has received his instructions and 1st Truppentransporterluftflotte has left Nantes and is flying to Bayonne, ready to transport the 9,000 men to La Coruña. Let us hope they will be in time.
Bombing Summary
RAF/RN Fleet Air Arm
Daimiel: Baldwin with Middle East Group:
69, 22, 66, 116
Belvís de Jara: : Dowding with 5th and 1st RAF Tactical Groups:
55, 109
Candelada: Harris with 11th and 13th CAG:
26
Jaraicejo: Gore-Sutherland-Mitchell with 16th and 17th CAG:
4
Cáceres: Baldwin with MEG:
93
Belvís de Jara: Gore-Sutherland-Mitchell with 16th and 17th CAG:
116
Cáceres: Harris with 11th and 13th CAG:
46
Belvís de Jara: : Dowding with 5th and 1st RAF Tactical Groups, 16th and 17th CAG:
218
Cáceres: Harris with 11th and 13th CAG and MEG:
58
Daimiel: Dowding with 5th and 1st RAF Tactical and Middle East Groups:
308, 283
La Solara: Dowding with 5th and 1st RAF Tactical and Middle East Groups:
118, 45, 186
Daimiel: Ludlow-Hewitt with 4th CAG:
24, 22
Luftwaffe
Alfa: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
259
Guadiana: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x BF 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
112, 215
Ciudad Real: Hoffmann von Waldau with 4th Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B):
51
Ciudad Real: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x BF 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
191, 239, 213
Moral de Calatrava: Kesselring with 1st Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B):
29
Moral de Calatrava: Hoffmann von Waldau with 4th Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B):
77, 36, 110, 9
Lugo: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x BF 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
196, 282, 174
Unterseebottsflotte Activity Report
Cape St Vincent:
1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Mauritius: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Iberian Plain:
1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Mombasa: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Cape Oregal:
1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Barbados: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Gibraltar Approaches:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Dubai: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Horseshoe Seamount:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Trincomalee: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Coast of Porto:
2 transports (UK): Plymouth – Falkland Islands: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Goban Spur:
1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Seychelles: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
South East Azores:
1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Dar es Salaam: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
South Azores Biscay Rise:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Diego Garcia: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Horseshoe Seamount:
1 transport (Greek): Athina – Halifax: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Cape Peñas:
1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Trinidad: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Western Biscay Plain:
1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Fongafale: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Western Biscay Plain:
1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Falkland Islands: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Axis Military Situation Maps
East Africa: If nothing else, Mussolini’s Ethiopian allies are tying up large Commonwealth forces
Greece: the Greek counter-attack is over and the Italians are remorselessly pushing towards Athina.
Italians attack with artillery support: the Greeks are fighting hard to protect their country, but they are outnumbered and alone.
Libia: nobody can understand what the Italians are doing. With plenty of troops and supplies, they took As Sultan from the British, but now we hear they are pulling back to Surt. Surely they could not have been defeated by the handful of British tanks backed up by Iraqi infantry? There are strong rumours that leadership is the problem.
China: Supply for the IJA is plentiful nearly everywhere, but the Kuomintang has deployed a large number of units to hold the southern bank of the Yellow River
IndoChina: the Guangxi have responded to the IJA reinforcements by sending more of their own troops. This “sideshow” is rapidly becoming a major theatre, with more than a dozen divisions on each side.
Unternehmen Stierkampf