Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
Tuesday 8th to Thursday 10th May
The next morning there was nothing in the news about the meeting on Monday evening. That is a sure indication that something important is planned: Goebbels has shut down any reporting and everyone who was present at the meeting is aware of the need for secrecy. When there is not even a rumour around the capital, something critical is in the works.
Politically, however, there is plenty for the newspapers. Headlines report that Romania has refused our offer to replace our cancelled Russian oil imports with oil from the Ploesti fields near Bucharest. In fact, if the press is to be believed, the government of Georghe Tatarescu would not even acknowledge our representatives, simply relying that the deal was impossible. Von Ribbentrop advised the Cabinet that King Carol and Prime Minister Tatarescu were focussed on keeping Romania neutral, and would not risk upsetting either Russia or the United Kingdom. (That wasn’t in the daily newspapers – I happened to glance at a copy of the Foreign Ministry memo that passed through the Kanzlei).
An oil refinery (Creditul Minier) in Ploesti: we need the output and we will obtain it
Every newspaper has used its editorials to heap abuse on the Romanian government, accusing it of criminal behaviour. I think that soon we will see an ultimatum, followed by war.
I just hope the Fortele Aeriene Romane does not put up much of fight: the Luftwaffe has its hands full. Fisser’s 7th Jagdfliegerkorps, reduced to 120 aircraft, patrolling the Channel Approaches, met with four carrier air groups, led by Marshall Harris. A fleet with two escort carriers, two light cruisers and two destroyer squadrons was in the area, threatening our U-boats.
Air Battle of the Channel Approaches: 6AM 8th May
As has been the case with so many of the battles over the Channel, it raged all day, ending up with a dogfight over Portsmouth. By this time Fisser was down to 110 fighters, and his pilots were facing not just the four CAGs, but also three fighter groups. Admittedly one of the fighter groups was down to 37 planes, but the odds were still stacked against 7th Jagdfliegerkorps.
Air Battle of Portsmouth: 6PM 8th May
The Luftwaffe still had the problem of Spain. The day started well as Jodl and 14.Infanterie (mot) completed their destruction of 7th Regimiento in Huesca. Despite having no leader, the cavalry held on for three days in the rolling hills, and Jodl lost 28 men. But the delay came at a price: the lack of organisation and skill meant that the Spanish lost 397 of their 2997 men. Jodl said that he did not expect to see 7th Regimiento for some time.
In Tardajos, however,Blaskowitz was having a harder time, and was being attacked by both Spanish and British bombers. What was a shock was the confirmed sighting of an RAF Fighter Group over Spanish soil. No British fighter could have the range to fly from the United Kingdom to Tardajos, which means that the RAF has now based fighters somewhere in Iberia: either at Gibraltar or at a Spanish airbase. To make things worse, the first attack of the day was a coordinated affair, with the fighter group providing cover for long range bombers of Coastal Command and bombers from a carrier group.
8AM 8th May: the RAF appears over Spain, supporting a British bombing mission in Tardajos. General Blaskowitz was understandably concerned and requested fighter cover for 29.Infanterie (mot). He had enough problems with carrying out his attack on Palencia in pouring rain and the threat of thunderstorms.
The response was quick, and by 11AM Christiansen had his Messerschmitts engaged, though 4th Jagdfliegerkorps could put less than 150 aircraft into the battle.
Help arrives: a depleted 4th Jagdfliegerkorps takes on the RAF and RN Air Arm over Tardajos: 11AM 8th May
This battle also went on all day, as Commander Peirse must have had orders to ensure that he disrupted the attack on Delgado’s division in Palencia. Our pilots performed well, destroying one Albacore, 11 Spitfires and 6 Short Singapore flying boats, while losing five Messerschmitts. On the other hand, they could not stop the bombers getting through, and 29.Infanterie (mot) had 137 men killed, though the bad weather no doubt kept the casualties lower than would normally have been expected.
Still trying to protect the ground troops: Tardajos 5PM 8th May
Rumours of powerful Russian tanks abound, even though nobody in the Wehrmacht has any firm information. We know that the Communists have been researching tank technology, but have no idea what they have discovered. Our experience so far has been the T-26 used by the Spanish Republicans – not a real threat. But there is still talk of vast numbers of new vehicles pouring out of Russian factories. Whether this is true or not, the Waffenamt has signed off on a new anti-tank gun barrel and sight. This will allow the introduction of a new weapon: the 7.5cm Pak 40 L/46, a vast improvement on the 5cm Pak 38 L/60 with which our anti-tank brigades are currently armed.
The Technical Specifications of a new anti-tank gun: the Waffenamt is sufficiently impressed of the need for a more powerful gun to give approval for mass production and the replacement of the Pak 38.
With the current emphasis on our oil production, the panel allocating research funding and manpower had little hesitation in awarding all available resources to a project dedicated to improving our coal to oil conversion.
While Christiansen would have been pleased with the performance of his pilots on Tuesday, it must have taken too much out of his overstrained units. Their efforts used a large amount of fuel and ammunition stored at Bayonne airbase, as well necessitating many repairs. Combined with the struggle to keep supplies flowing through the basic rail and road systems in the southwest of Frankreich, it meant that 4th Jagdfliegerkorps was not able to mount a single sortie all Wednesday. Both 29.Infanterie (mot) in Tardajos and Curtze’s 20.Infanterie (mot) in Abejar had to endure the British carrier based bombers operating unimpeded all day.
Infrastructure map of Spain and southwest France: work is being carried out in Bayonne, St Jean-Pied-de-Port, Pamplona, Irún, Hecho and Othez, but it will not be finished for months.
The bombing did not prevent the two bombed units from both defeating their opponents on the ground. Blaskowitz had a convincing win over Castro Delgado. The Spanish never really recovered from the shock they experienced in the initial attack, and lost 515 of their 5579 men. They did, however, rally sufficiently to inflict 92 casualties on 29.Infanterie (mot). Curtze had a similar win in Berlanga, though the support of 16.infanterie (mot) meant that his casualties were kept to 50 men, while the 23,000 Spaniards lost 539 soldiers.
As the rail wagons bearing von Mackensen’s 2nd Panzerkorps rolled into Yugoslavia, control of the unit was passed to General Guderians’s Balkan Army. To keep the unit at a manageable size, III Armeekorps was transferred to Dennerlein’s Österreich Army. Of course the railway system in Yugoslavia is nowhere near as modern and efficient as in the Reich (though much work is underway), and progress slowed considerably.
Infrastructure map of Yugoslavia: work is being carried out in Maribor, Ptuj, Ormoz, Zagreb, Cakovic, Virovitica, Slatina, Valpovo, Osikek, Backa Palacka, Sabac, Novi Sad, Ada, Zrenjamic, Beograd, Vrsac, Beli Monstir, Bajnok, Subotica, Kanjiza, Senta, Kikinda, Jasa Tomic, Kucevo, Petrovac and Zajecar. In addition, some areas of the former Österreich are being improved: Innsbruck, Lienz, Matrei in Osttirol, Wolfsburg and Sölden.
There was some air activity during the day, but mercifully for the Luftwaffe it was fairly minimal. Waber and 6th Jagdfliegerkorps tangled with four carrier air groups over the Eastern English Channel and over Portsmouth, but only one or two aircraft were lost on either side.
Air Battle of Portsmouth: 10PM 9th May
Just before midnight (no, I was long gone from the Kanzlei but I heard about it the next day), General Keitel surprised 2 Brigada Blindada by moving into Boltaña. Why the Spanish High Command placed one of their few armour units in the mountains nobody knows, but 22.Infanterie aims to get to grips with the light tanks before daylight: the 5cm Pak 38 with which the infantry regiments are armed is more than enough to take care of the T-26 tanks which are the best armour the Spanish seem to have.
Still no news of any naval operations, but I had further confirmation that something was in the air: my friend Kapitän Karl Behrens dropped in to say hello very early Thursday morning. He said he had been called to Berlin for a meeting held the previous day and was catching a train back to Kiel where his ships is based (with 5th Zerstörerergeschwader, part of the Nordseeflotte). He was very circumspect about the reason for the meeting, but did mention that every flag officer available had been present. And then he was off, his final words “You’ll find out soon”.
Preparations in the east are going well, with airbase expansions completed at Memel, Innsbruck, Suwalki, Warszawa, Przemysl and Kraków. More work is to be carried out at Przemysl and Kraków: there are not many airbases in that area. As we have come to expect, the excess capacity is being pushed to factories involved in producing parts and equipment for repair work. Work on the roads and railways that will be integral to a major offensive in the east is still proceeding as fast as possible.
Infrastructure map of Polen and the east: work is being carried out in Memel, Silute, Grajewo, Lomza, Ostrow Mazowiecka, Gorlice, Ozwenna, Tyrawa Woloska, Namyslów, Wieruszów, Wielun, Zdunska Wola, Suwalki, Ausgustów Bialystok, Sokolów, Bielsk Podloski, Biala Podlaska, Wlodowa, Chelm, Lódz, Warta, Miedzyra Podlaki, Warszawa, Preszków, Poznan, Slupca, Konin, Wlocawek, Plock, Kutno, Swietlowice and Zory
In Spain the FARE swung back into action, attacking Sperrle’s 1st Kampffliegerkorps as it carried out a mission in support of Keitel’s men as they advanced up the mountain roads of Boltaña. Twice during the day Hidalgo de Cisneros sent his four fighter groups against our Junkers 88s and their escorting Messerschmitts, and weight of numbers were again critical. Seven Spanish aircraft were shot down, but we lost four fighters and twelve bombers. Few pilots survived: the harsh conditions high in the mountains meant that unless an injured airman was found rapidly his chances were slim, and the rocky terrain made locating downed aircraft or parachutes difficult. Keitel’s men not only had to suffer their air support being disrupted, at the same time the FARE was bombing the assembly points of 22.Infanterie in Argelès-Argost. Nevertheless, Keitel drove his men forward, and was rewarded by seeing the Spanish abandon their positions and begin a headlong retreat east. Several tanks were knocked out during the fighting, and Keitel informed Sud-Frankreich Army HQ that they were Soviet BT-5s – a model we have not struck before. With a 45mm gun, these could have been a significant threat to our armour. Only 3 men were lost to enemy ground fire, and though the Spanish lost only 25 soldiers, the fact they could not hold the perfect defensive terrain of Boltaña must have damaged their morale. The FARE had no need to worry about morale: at dusk a lone fighter group was still harassing Sperrle’s bombers, shooting down another 11 bombers at a cost of three more fighters.
Final Air Battle of Boltaña: 6PM 10th May
Two Soviet built BT-5 tanks knocked out during the night attack on Boltaña
General Müller must feel he has the hang of this mountain fighting: after allowing only a day or so for his men to rest he is taking 20.Infanterie back into the high country, chasing Guarner Vivancos into La Pobla de Segur. The Spanish are obviously nowhere near beaten, as General Vivancos has received an extra regiment for his 8a División de Infanterie, taking him to 11,651 men. A couple of Wehrmacht officers here are a little concerned that Müller may be a bit overconfident: with the FARE successfully contesting the air, an assault in tough terrain against a numerically superior enemy may lead to disaster. I think that Müller has the confidence of his men and should win, but I also worry about his potential casualty list.
Battle of Pobla de Segur
And that was it for Thursday. I left the Kanzlei a little early, saying that I would be in by 8AM the next day. Tomorrow I think we may see what the Kriegsmarine has in mind.
Bombing Summary
Luftwaffe
Berlanga: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
149, 245, 216, 170, 252, 95
RAF (RN Air Arm) + FARE
Tardajos: Peirse with 3rd CAG, 14th RAF Fighter Group, 15th Royal Navy Coastal Command:
59, 56, 22
Tardajos: Cunningham with 6th and 7th CAG:
55
Abejar: Denny with 7th CAG:
22
Aranda de Duero: Cunninghamwith 6th CAG:
NIL
Argelès-Argost: Bayo Giraud with 14th and 15th CAG, 1er Grupo de Bombardeo, Grupo Táctico n.1 FARE:
114, 123
Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report
North Bay of Biscay:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Kuala Belait: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Eastern Charcot Seamount:
2 transports (UK): Plymouth – Kingston: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
South-East Azores Fracture Zone:
1 transport (Spanish): Cádiz – Boston: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Coast of Cádiz:
1 transport (UK): Cádiz – Tanger: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Unternehmen Stierkampf at end of 10th May 1940