Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
Saturday 19th to Monday 21st May 1940
Our Marine-Sturm Divisions will be grateful as some improvements have been made to basic weapons and equipment to make them less likely to become damaged during an amphibious assault. With the cancellation (or at least long term postponement) of Unternehmen Nordlicht there may not be an opportunity to use the new improvements for some time, but there are rumours of Ostsee or Mittelmeer operations in the future. For now, the concentration is on our armoured forces, and further studies on the “Schwerpunkt” philosophy are underway.
OKH concerns about General Müller’s enthusiastic charge into the mountains of La Pobla de Segur back on the 10thMay were justified, but the general’s confidence in his troops has paid off. After nine days of dogged assaults and Spanish counter-attacks, he has finally beaten General Vivancos and his reinforced division. The fighting was heavy, with 20.Infanterie losing 480 men, and 8a División de Infanterie suffering 833 casualties. Let us hope that after such a punishing exercise that Muller gives his men a rest before plunging deeper into the Pyrenees in chase of the Spanish forces.
Even if Müller sensibly decides that a few days’ recovery would be a good idea, he may be ordered to advance by General Rommel, who is clearly unhappy with the progress of the Spanish campaign. Though his generals pointed out that summer storms are predicted, he will not accept any excuses. As a result, no less than 6 battles were begun during the day.
The easiest mission was given to 14.Infanterie (mot), even though they had to cross the Ebro to enter Monzon. General Jodl’s division was opposed by only a few thousand leaderless cavalry, who were soon fleeing in complete disarray. Only four casualties were reported, all Spanish.
General Nehring’s task in Embid was not much harder – the Comandacia de Balea (led by General Mije) with its 6,000 men was no match for the tanks and motorised infantry of 1st Panzer. The Spanish, to their credit, held for some hours, but after Sperrle’s Ju 88s killed more than 150 men in one raid during the afternoon, their morale collapsed and they fled, leaving 176 dead behind. 17 panzertruppen were lost.
The succession of quick and relatively painless victories was maintained by Engelbrecht’s Gebirgsjägers, in their first combat operation in Spain. The province of Cosa was held by Eixea Vilar and 8/4a División Organíca, but that unit was still reeling from its defeat by Petersen’s 2.Infanterie (mot) in Azuara. It was in no condition to deal with any attack, let alone the onslaught of the hardened 4th Gebirgsjager Division. After a bare three hours General Vilar was again in retreat, with 76 fewer men. The win was not without cost: 25 of our mountain troops were killed in the action.
After lunch there was a lull in fresh attacks, but Sud-Frankreich headquarters reported that General Blaskowitz had succeeded in his crossing of the Duero and was now in control of Cuéllar. It was a week ago today that he began the attack, and at the time it was assumed that without infantry support the Autometralladoras would not be able to block his crossing and that 29.Infanterie (mot) would soon force the Spanish armour to pull back. Details are sketchy, but Blaskowitz states that General de Lazama placed his light tanks and armoured cars hull down overlooking the river and made any crossing extremely dangerous. The Luftwaffe’s inability to control the air meant that our assembly areas in Palencia were under continuous bombardment, and losses were heavy. Nevertheless, a crossing was made and then the anti-tank capability of our infantry regiments made short work of the defenders. Casualties were two to one in our favour (140 to 306) but we lost a week, giving the Spanish valuable time to rest other units.
In Lerma, General Keppler had the Duero behind him, and the plains of Cantalejo in front of him. Nearly as helpful, the storms that were plaguing our other generals had missed him, and 1st leichte Panzer had clear weather as it came into contact with 3a Divisíon de Infanterie. Keppler has promised General Rommel that he will attack all night if necessary: tomorrow Cantalejo will be ours.
Not to be outdone, General Keitel has also promised victory tomorrow, but he may have to rely on a little luck to keep his word. He should have no problems, with the 9,927 men of 22.Infanterie against 3,000 Spanish. To help him even more, it seems the leader of 2 Brigada Blindada (apparently killed or captured) has not been replaced. On the other hand, he must climb into the Pont de Suert, high in the Pyrenees, and the mountain tops are lost in the heavy clouds of a severe thunderstorm. But Keitel has already beaten 2 Brigada Blindada before (at the Battle of Boltana) and is sure he can do so again.
The final battle of the day was in Matabuena. It should be fairly routine, but de Angelis was caught out in Poland, where he confidently claimed a victory only to find himself within hours fighting for survival. He has learnt his lesson and is a more conservative commander, and believes 16.Infanterie (mot), while having a clear edge over Brigada Mixta Montaña and 3/1a Divisíon de Cabelleros, cannot expect an easy win. He points out that Llano de la Encomienda has 2,000 more men than him, and will only say that victory will take a few days: he will not commit to “blitzkrieg” win.
This Sunday I made sure that I kept well away from the Kanzlei: Gisela had told me I was spending too much of my spare time in the office (the underlying meaning of course was that I should spend my spare time with her). So while fighting raged under the storm clouds of the Iberian Peninsula, I enjoyed a sunny day in the city, looking through shop windows at the displays. We ended up strolling down the Unter den Linden, stopping at the corner of Friedrichstraße to have an ice-cream on the sun terrace of the Café Kranzler. If you ignored the reduced stocks in the shops and the number of military uniforms everywhere, you could almost forget there was a war on.
The sun terrace of the Café Kranzler. I bought our ice-creams in the ice-cream parlour inside, then Gisela and I sat in the brilliant May sunshine and watched the young couples promenading down the Unter den Linden. It was very expensive, but worth every pfennig.
Monday morning Gisela was late for work but sometimes one has to be understanding – she could hardly turn up for work in a floral dress and sun hat. Luckily I had plenty to review, what with Sunday’s documents to be processed.
Our technical and electronic experts have been diligent for the past few months, and yesterday they completed their work on vastly improved our “radar” units. The “Wurzburg C” will be used for enemy bomber tracking, searchlight control, flak gun aiming and to help in interceptor targeting. I have the specifications for the new equipment, but I admit I don’t quite understand the mechanics (something to do with “lobe switching” which allows the operator to determine distance more easily). It is enough for me that somehow they can detect enemy planes and ships before the human eye can, and can do it at night and through clouds. That is close enough to magic for me. Not satisfied with this, the scientists now believe they can make a unit so small it will fit into an aircraft! They have been given the funding, the technicians and equipment: if they are successful I for one will be grateful. Such a device could save many of our pilots, including my brother.
The proud research crew in front of their prototype
What we can expect to see: the radar unit and its transport system
Another breakthrough on Sunday was in the decryption of enemy codes. To combat the ever more complex codes and the more complicated encryption devices, we are dedicating more resources to designing equipment to help our decoding sections. A new machine is now available, allowing us to switch the researchers to improving our own encryption machines to a new level.
A British “Typex” cipher machine: these are similar to our “Enigma” machines but have 5 rotors with multiple notches . The ability to decipher British messages may be critical to the defeat of the RAF and the Royal Navy.
Both Keppler and Keitel kept their promises: yesterday we cleared both Cantalejo and Port de Suert of resistance. Keppler’s 1st leichte Panzer lost just 9 men, and 22.Infanterie only 3! Spanish losses were low as well (83 and 23) but the important thing is that the speed of our advance has picked up again.
The headline news on Monday was, however, far removed from the battlefields of Spain. It was a diplomatic and trade coup for Minister von Ribbentrop, who has been working hard on our links with the USSR. We have signed a new oil deal with the USSR, replacing the contracts cancelled after we stopped selling supplies to the Russians. The new deal is enormous: 34,000 tonnes of crude oil per day at a price of RM 20.88 million. As before, this will lead to a huge drain on Treasury, but nobody is concerned. Foreign currency is not an issue, with the reserves of the Polish, Belgian, Dutch, Yugoslav, Danish and most of the French central banks under our control.
Not as well publicised, but no less significant, was the news that at dawn today, the Nordseeflotte had quietly slipped its moorings and left Lorient, heading into the Bay of Biscay. Now we will see if the gamble pays off: can our surface ships drive off the Royal Navy carrier air groups that are proving so distracting in Spain? Or will the Royal Navy demonstrate that Britain still rules the waves?
Less welcome was the overnight news that Newall and 2nd, 3rd and 4th RAF Strategic Bombing Groups have resumed bombing the long-suffering Dortmund. The city’s flak, still under repair, downed 4 aircraft before it was knocked out of action, but Bogatsch and Ost 1 and 2 were in action quickly, shooting down a further 14 bombers. Even so they could not prevent significant damage. Newall returned in the morning and the daylight gave our Messerschmitts an opportunity they did not give up: at least five more planes were destroyed. The result, however, was still depressing. All five of Dortmund’s industrial complexes are out of action, and the flak will be useless for weeks.
Air Battle of Dortmund: 11AM 21-5
Rommel’s insistence that his men increase the tempo in Spain was prescient: perhaps he has contacts high in OKW? An innocuous transfer document revealed that he cannot expect first priority for long. Generalmajor Udet’s 3rd Schlachtfliegerkorps has been removed from the Sud-Frankreich Army and is to immediately rebase to Beograd, joining Guderian’s Balkan Army. While “Speer” and “Streitkolben” have not flown many mission recently (based at Bordeaux they are too far from the front) the imminent capture of airbases at Madrid and Tarragona would have given them an opportunity to contribute in Spain. OKH has obviously other duties in mind for Udet’s Stukas.
Although de Angelis had been reluctant to predict a date for victory in Matabuena, he must have been very confident. The combined force of mountain troops and cavalry overwhelmed by his attack, and lost 412 men in a day and half’s fighting. Initial casualties for 16.Infanterie (mot) were high, but after the Junkers 88s had paid a few visits, resistance was minimal. Total losses were 62 men.
Soon after we heard that 20.Infanterie was on the move again: Müller is really pushing his men, perhaps in response to Rommel’s orders, perhaps because he is an aggressive commander. I am sure that the Spanish 8a División would appreciate a break, but Müller is relentless in his pursuit, now following them into Isona. General Guarner de Vivancos has seen his command dwindle from 11,561 men on 10th May to 7,439 men today. The constant attacks by 20.Infanterie and the Luftwaffe, as well as losses due to the inhospitable terrain have cost him one third of his men, and more will be lost in the days to come. He has no chance of holding out in the mountains – his troops lack supply and are demoralised by weeks of fighting and defeats, and there is no prospect of reinforcement. He cannot even expect assistance from the British: Isona is too far from the Bay of Biscay for carrier based aircraft.
And the Bay of Biscay is the scene of another naval engagement. Our fleet had been at sea barely 12 hours and was patrolling the Southern Celtic Shelf when contact was made with a Royal Navy carrier group. Unfortunately they found us, but Großadmiral Raeder was not concerned. His first radio message (in code of course, using a specially modified Enigma machine) told us he had identified the heavy cruisers “London” and “Suffolk”, supported by the light cruiser “Cairo” and a destroyer squadron. He suspected that a carrier (the elderly “Argus”) was beyond the horizon, and intended to close with the enemy and, after sinking or otherwise nullifying the cruisers, locate and destroy the carrier.
One of the naval “Enigma” machines (model M3) with which the Kriegsmarine ships and U-boats are equipped. All messages are encoded using the “Heimische Gewässer” cipher, and communications from the flagship were further protected by the “Offizier” key, before being encoded again using the “Allgemein” key. A lengthy procedure at both ends, but necessary: what would happen if the British ever broke the “Enigma” codes?
The Battle of the Southern Celtic Shelf began well enough, with “Bismark” and “Scharnhorst” targeting the “London” and achieving several hits at a range of over 13 kilometres. Not to be outdone, “Deutschland” and “Admiral Scheer” opened up on the “Suffolk”, which was much closer, but they only inflicted minor damage. The only British ship to fire was the “Suffolk”, which completely missed the “Stuttgart”.
The beginning of the Battle of the Southern Celtic Shelf: 7PM 21-5. As dusk falls, the Nordseeflotte engages the British fleet.
Reluctant to take on the superior guns of our fleet, the British maintained distance, and at 8PM the reason for their decision was made clear. Scores of Fairey Fulmars and Albacores, as well as Sutherland Singapore flying boats, descended on our fleet. The bombers were escorted by land based Hurricanes and Spitfires, but there was no need: our fleet had no air cover and was forced to rely on its massed anti-air guns for defence. With the fleet in good order and while the light was still good, the air attack was successfully held off, although the “Stuttgart” lost 10% of its effectiveness, and one of the ships in 5th Zerstörergeschwader was crippled.
Air Battle of Southern Celtic Shelf: 8PM 21-5
At this point I went back to what had been the “Wasserfloh” room. Somehow the Kriegsmarine has claimed this room as their own, and the maps of the English Channel had been replaced by a huge table covered with a map of the Bay of Biscay. Here I heard some disturbing news: while the air attack was on, we became aware of another British fleet in the area, this one comprising the battleships “Ramillies”, “Barham” and “Valiant” and the light cruiser “Calypso”.
Großadmiral Raeder was not concerned, even though the “Bismark” itself had been hit by a bomb, which knocked out a secondary gun turret. He ordered the fleet to concentrate on the enemy cruisers, and reported that both the “London” and “Suffolk” were effectively out of action. Although still afloat and able to fire some guns, their crews were either dead or engaged in fire-fighting or repair work. Not one shell was fired at our fleet.
Battle of the Southern Celtic Shelf: 11PM 21-5
Our aggressiveness, while crippling the two British heavy cruisers, may have also invited the enemy response. We (and, I suppose, Flottenchef Raeder) had assumed that the British planes would not be able to mount an effective attack at night. We were proved wrong. Although storms and rain clouds covered mainland Spain, far out in the Bay of Biscay conditions were clear that night, and the enemy aircraft were led to our ships by the bright gun-flashes that provided a beacon visible for kilometres. The bombers must have been under orders to halt our ships whatever the cost, and aircraft losses were high. Our flak gunners accounted for at least 26 fighters, 10 carrier based aircraft and 11 of the flying boats, but could not prevent the torpedoes and bombs doing their deadly work. Raeder’s last message of the day was less confident as he admitted every ship bar the “Scharnhorst” and the “Deutschland” had been hit, and that “Emden” and “Stuttgart” had considerable damage. The worst affected, however, were the Zerstörergeschwader, which, always placing themselves on the outside of the fleet, had taken the onslaught. A quarter of the destroyers were either sinking or so badly burning that they would have to be abandoned.
Air attack on the Nordseeflotte: midnight on 21-5
I could not listen any more, and left for home. Has my good friend Korvettenkäpitan Behrens escaped harm? Or is he struggling in the dark, trying to save his ship from destruction? There is nothing I can do, so I may as well try to sleep and wait for the morning, when things will no doubt be clearer.
Bombing Summary
FARE
Villarda: Bayo Giraud with 1o Grupo de Bombardeo and Grupo Táctico n.1 FARE (2 x TAC):
81, 104, 104, 80, 110, 147, 207, 250
Villarda: Díaz Sandino with 1er Grupo Bombardeo, Grupo Táctico n.1 FARE, 1er and 2o Grupo Estratégico (2 x TAC, 2 x STRAT):
87
Luftwaffe
Embid: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
157
Matabuena: Dörstling with 6th Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
147, 207, 250
Even though the naval action in the Bay of Biscay has tied up the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, the FARE is still able to not only bomb our troops, but also to attack our aircraft
Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report
Coast of Porto:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Tobruk: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Southern Azores Fracture Zone:
1 transport (Spanish): Cádiz – Boston: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Southern Azores Fracture Zone:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Trincomalee: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
South East Porcupine Plain:
1 transport (UK): Plymouth – Fiji: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
North Bay of Biscay:
1 transport and 1 escort: Portsmouth – Mombasa: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Eastern Biscay Plain:
1 transport (UK): Plymouth – South Georgia: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Cape St Vincent:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Kuala Belait: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Coast of Carveiro:
1 transport and 1 escort: Dover – Port Sudan: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Spain at the end of 21st May: things are speeding up as General Rommel puts his generals under pressure
