Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
28th November to 30th November 1939
Monday the 28th November was a quiet day in terms of the war. The Luftwaffe and the U-boats continued their missions and fighting raged at a few points along the front in France, but there was little in the way of reports or new activity. In a way this was a relief, as the Kanzlei was quite busy with administrative matters. The rumour I had heard about an imminent major statement by the Führer about the future course of the war is certainly true. Senior clerks and typists have been detailed for “secret” duties and have obviously been sworn to silence: even the most garrulous girls from the typing pool are quite subdued after one of Minister Frick’s security advisers has given them the “You have been selected to perform an important task for the Reich” talk. From the information my secretary Gisela has obtained, the statement will appear after the end of the month. This would explain why a number of end of month reports have been brought forward. (I also heard that the Führer’s staff had “requested” up-to-date information from the various departments as part the preparation of the Führer’s statement: this has made early release easier).
As a result, Minister von Neurath has already circulated the Foreign Office’s position paper, which was quite slim. With the Reich at war, diplomacy has taken a bit of a back seat, but there is still some activity. Most of our efforts are still being made to keep the USA neutral, and this has been a complete success. The USA sees the policies of the Allied nations as a presenting a threat to its own interests, and our lobbyists have presented Germany as desiring a close and friendly relationship. This has required a substantial investment in skilled graduates, and von Neurath acknowledges that this investment was never intended to be permanent. There are pressing demands from our research institutes and military colleges for these graduates, and von Neurath has indicated that he believes that the USA will no longer need so many diplomats devoted to keeping it out of the war. While it will no doubt drift back to the Allied camp, this will now take years.
The other major power, the USSR, is still bound by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (I bet von Neurath is still annoyed that he allowed von Ribbentrop the opportunity to sign that!). Every indication is that the Russians intend to keep their side of the agreement, and that the non-aggression pact will be maintained at least until 1941. With our Treasury now quite flush with funds, von Neurath has promised that we will once again start to promote our businessmen and look for deals to import various goods, but particularly certain rare and hard to source goods. The foreign currency is useless to us, but our factories are consuming more and more raw materials.
Some of the other diplomatic news is disappointing. We have made little progress on convincing King Carol of Rumania that his country’s future lies with the Axis. Our diplomats have had discrete discussions with both the Iron Guard and General Antonescu, but although King Carol’s control of the country is shaky, at the moment neither is ready to make a direct challenge. Regrettably, unless there is a sudden shift in the internal politics, it is unlikely that we can convince the Rumanians to join us in the next year. Attempts to acquire oil from the vast Ploesti fields have met with outright refusal.
Yugoslavia, although closer to us than Rumania, is even less likely to become an ally. The Regent, Prince Paul, is believed by von Neurath to lean towards an alliance, but popular feeling is against us. The bulk of the Yugoslavs see us as a serious threat to the continued existence of the country. Unless we are prepared to spend a lot of time and money, or unless Prince Paul is encouraged to seize power, then Yugoslavia must be considered to be a friend of the British.
According to von Neurath, this could be a concern. Our Embassy in Rome has for some time been passing rumours that Mussolini is about to expand his “Empire”. Our major source (it doesn’t take much to deduce it is Count Ciano, the Foreign Minister) has told us that it is extremely likely that in the New Year the Italian Army in Albania will cross the border into Greece. The Wehrmacht has expressed concern about this. The Italians are performing well in the south of France, but poorly in North Africa and disastrously in East Africa. The troops are well equipped and fight well, but there are significant leadership and logistical issues. In particular, there seem to be critical breakdowns in maintaining supply to overseas forces. The Greeks will be a tough foe in the mountainous terrain, and our specialists doubt that the Italians can supply a large army in the field through the port of Tirana alone. We may be called upon to assist and, until we have free access into the Mediterranean, the only way to send troops and supplies will be through Yugoslavia. Permission to cross Yugoslav territory is not likely to be granted, and we will need to consider “other options”.
The performance of the Italian forces in Africa has not made OKH confident that it could quickly conquer Greece. While these motorised troops have modern equipment, they have not been able to hold back the Army of Egypt.
The only other country in which the Foreign Ministry is directly interested is Turkey, but this a very long term project. Since the death last year of Kemal Atatürk, we have been monitoring the performance of the new President, Ismet Inönü. Our information is that currently he is determined to keep Turkey neutral, but that he may be convinced to join what he sees as the winning side in a war. To have access to the Schwarze Meer would be a huge asset for our attack on the USSR, but for the moment this is just a possibility. Von Neurath has instructed his Turkish desk to keep him informed of any changes and to actively consider what could be done to encourage the Turks to join us, including trade links.
As an interesting footnote, our diplomats in South America report significant interest from several countries, notably Argentina and Brazil. Some countries, such as Colombia and Paraguay, are close to the Allies, while most are strongly neutral, not wishing to upset anyone. Another area we will keep an eye on, if only for the use of overseas bases for the Kriegsmarine. Von Neurath warns, however, that any aggressive diplomacy in South America could lead to problems with the USA: the Monroe Doctrine is alive and well.
An appendix to Minister von Neurath’s report was compiled with the help of some of our agents in the French government. There are an increasing number of supporters for a negotiated peace, but for the moment the government is firm. According to our informants, French national unity is now well below 50%, in fact it is approximately 48.7%. We have seized 42.2% of their important cities and cultural centres, and so there is a high likelihood of a collapse in the near future.
On the 29th the push for Digoin began in earnest. General Bremer has been ordered to move into the province of Moulins and evict the French 50th Infantry Brigade. Once more the major problem is the River Loire, which seems to meander across half of France, just to annoy our commanders. Initial reports are not encouraging, with 18.Infanterie (mot) having a hard time gaining a foothold against General Dronne’s men. Perhaps when Brandt has regained control of 33.Infanterie in Sancergues he can assist in the attack by driving down the south bank of the Loire through Sancoins. Blaskowitz’s 29.Infanterie (mot) is also available in Sancergues, and an extra 10,000 men, including an Aufklärungsabteilung unit with Sdkfz 231 (8Rad) armoured vehicles could make the task easier. (General Jacob and his 2.Infanterie are not available as they have been ordered aboard trains to move west to Cholet, where more troops are urgently required to prevent the Allies cutting off our spearhead to Bordeaux).
Battle of Moulins
A Sdkfz 231 (8 Rad) of 5th Aufklärungsabteilung, 29.Infanterie (mot) races across a French field: can they be on the road again in time to help Bremer in Moulins?
The French immediately realised the significance of Moulins, and made sure that the Luftwaffe’s attempts to aid the ground troops were met with force. A hitherto unknown Groupe de Chasse, the 23ème, led by d’Armand de Vitrolles, joined 21 and 24 Groupes to attack Kitzinger’s 3rd Taktsischeluftflotte over the battlefield. With 300 fighters opposing the two Ju 88 geschwader it is amazing that any bombs were accurately dropped, but our planes did manage to inflict some damage to 50th Brigade, but at some cost. Kitzinger attempted another mission in the afternoon and this time the French were waiting for him. Both geschwader were forced to abort. KG 53 “Legion Condor” lost 15 planes, but it was KG2 “Holzhammer” that was really punished, with 30 aircraft listed as missing. Only 12 fighters were confirmed kills by the defensive gunners. While the four 7.95mm MG 81J machine guns of a Ju 88 are normally sufficient deterrent, especially if a 13mm MG 131 is substituted for one of them, against the swarms of French fighters that 3rd Taktsischeluftflotte faced over Moulins only heavy fighter escorts would have saved the day.
First Air Battle of Moulins
An MG 131 ready for maintenance after the Air Battle of Moulins: even at 900 rounds per minute it could not hold off the French fighters
There was an attempt to help General Bremers in Moulins, but it was a half-hearted effort and appears to have been made without much preliminary planning or reconnaissance. General Ott tried to cross the Loire further north, in Sancoins, but he was never going to get across the river. His single motorised division (3.Infanterie) was opposed by no less than three full strength divisions, with a fourth weaker division in reserve. The river crossing was abandoned after only an hour or so, with 38 soldiers lost by Ott, and only 8 casualties to the Allies. 18th Infanterie (mot) is still on its own.
Back in Berlin, Ministers Frick and Goebbels had delivered their normal joint report on the internal and external intelligence forces. Only 9 spies were caught this month, but that was more a reflection on the effectiveness of our counter-intelligence in the past few months. As far as we can tell, there are only three enemy agents (or cells) still operating in the Reich. Two of them (one French, one Belgian) are devoted to military intelligence, while the other group, from the USSR, is involved in low level sabotage in our factories. All spies have been ruthlessly eliminated from our research groups and universities.
Overseas we have 125 spies, mostly in sleeper mode. The exceptions are those in the United Kingdom and the USSR, which are actively spreading rumours about the aggressive intentions of those governments, and our agents in France, who are involved in lowering civilian morale. The two Ministers apologise for the brevity of their report, pointing out that much of their time has been consumed in providing information for the Führer’s planning document.
Minister Frick also issued a separate memo to cover the Ministry of Interior. He noted that the cash reserves of the Reich are now at an all time high: 2,858 million RM. Unfortunately, as he pointed out, this is not primarily because of a surge in efficiency or profitability. It is mainly because we cannot find countries to sell us the goods that we require to maintain our stockpiles. Our manpower reserves are holding well, despite the heavier than expected losses in France. We have 1,106,000 men available for the armed forces, and we estimate only 11,200 of those are needed to reinforce existing units. 35,100 men reach military age each month, so our pool is growing appreciably. Minister Frick expects to be able to meet the Wehrmacht’s demands for some time, unless we suffer some disastrous defeats: we do not have the industrial capacity to equip more than a fraction of the reserve in any given month. Another restriction on sudden growth of the armed forces is the number of new officers leaving our military colleges. At the moment we have about 117% of the minimum requirements for the Wehrmacht. 70 new officers graduate every day, which more than covers losses and is sufficient to meet our current growth. If, however, there is a marked increase in the Heer, then we will need to give serious consideration to increasing the officer intake, which will necessitate hard decisions regarding the number of graduates wishing to become diplomats, spies and researchers.
That was last report delivered on the 29th, though more papers were due to be completed tomorrow. No-one will dare to be late this month, not with the Führer’s intentions to be announced in early December.
On the last day of the month, General Guderian overcame the British in Montaigu, his two leichte Panzer divisions overrunning 71st Infantry, killing or capturing 449 men, while losing 118. Even Panzer IIDs were too much for the motorised infantry, who lacked sufficient anti-tank weaponry to hold off so many armoured vehicles. With General Jacob now busy unloading 2.Infanterie in railway sidings across Cholet, and General Obstfelder and 32.Infanterie marching through Chenillé on their way to join Curtze in the south, the situation on the Atlantic Coast seems more secure than a few days ago.
Over Moulins, the Luftwaffe had more problems from the Armée de l’Air. Kitzinger’s 3rd Taktsischeluftflotte was not asked to fly that day, but Major General Sperrle took 1st Taktischeluftflotte and 2nd Stukakorps there in the morning. The Stukas were badly hit, with KG 1 “Schwertz” down to just over half its operational strength. Returning in the afternoon, with Grauert’s 4th Taktsicheluftflotte added to his bomber force, Sperrle lost even more Stukas to the French fighters. 2nd Stukakorps’ end of month report showed that more than a third of its aircraft were out of commission.
Second Air Battle of Moulins
The efforts of the Luftwaffe were acknowledged, however, by General Bremer. Against all expectations, he threw bridges across the Loire and, with Sperrle’s bombers annihilating all opposition, drove deep into General Dronne’s defences. With his rear areas under threat from columns of motorised infantry Dronne had no choice but to order a retreat. Although the French lost only 53 men to our 95, it was a tremendous result for 18.Infanterie (mot), and their commander was most generous in his tribute to the dozens of Luftwaffe pilots lost while ensuring his men made it across the Loire.
Using whatever came to hand, Bremer threw bridges across the Loire before the French could recover from the bombing
As if that were not enough, General Herzog headquarters sent a message that 36.Infanterie (mot) and 6th Gebirgsjägers had also prevailed in their battle in Saulieu. Of the 34,547 men holding the province, 966 were dead or marching into captivity. 340 of our men had been lost, now we are only kilometres from the Italians. The French are being squeezed, and have nowhere to run.
To increase the pressure, General Biess ordered an assault on Dijon, held by General Garchery with nearly 21,000 men. Only two of the units available to Garchery are combat units, the balance being a hodge-podge of headquarters troops, some of which have been badly affected by fighting. The two combat units, however, comprise 75 Infantry Brigade, an élite parachute unit, and 60ème Division. Another tough battle is looming, and 10.Infanterie (mot) is outnumbered two to one. Despite that, the feedback we received was similar to that from every front-line unit: now is the time to move forward – the French are beginning to break.
Bombing Summary
Luftwaffe
Saulieu: Udet with 3rd Stukakorps (2 x Ju 87B):
106, 150
Montaigu: Dörstling with 6th Taktischeluftflotte (1 x BF 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
103, 224, 164, 145
Saulieu: Grauert with 4th Taktischeluftflotte, 2nd and 3rd Stukakorps (2 x Ju 88, 4 x Ju 87B):
258, 257, 193
Selongey: Kesselring with 1st Stukakorps (2 x Ju 87B):
47
Saulieu: Grauert with 4th Taktischeluftflotte, 2nd Stukakorps (2 x Ju 88, 2 x Ju 87B):
99
Selongey: Kesselring with 1st Stukakorps, 1st Taktischeluftflotte (2 x Ju 87B, 1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
118, 153
Moulins: Kitzinger with 3rd Taktischeluftflotte (2 x Ju 88):
89, Abort
Montaigu: Dörstling with 5th and 6th Taktischeluftflotte (1 x BF 109E, 4 x Ju 88):
313
Selongey: Udet with 3rd Stukakorps (2 x Ju 87B):
90, 100, 231
Saulieu: Kesselring with 1st Stukakorps, 5th Taktsicheluftflotte (2 x Ju 87B, 2 x Ju 88):
117, 220
Moulins: Grauert with 4th Taktischeluftflotte, 2nd Stukakorps (2 x Ju 88, 2 x Ju 87B):
112
Moulins: Sperrle with1st Taktsischeluftflotte (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
89
Moulins: Sperrle with 1st and 4th Taktsischeluftflotte, 2nd Stukakorps (1 x Bf 109E, 4 x Ju 88, 2 x Ju 87B):
224
Saulieu: Kesselring with 1st Stukakorps, 2nd and 5th Taktsicheluftflotte (2 x Ju 87B, 1 x Bf 109E, 4 x Ju 88):
271
Armée de l’Air
St-Hermine: Jauneaud with 2 x TAC:
49, 95, 48, 115, 54, 145
Unterseebootsflotte activity report
Breton Coast:
2 transports (UK): Plymouth – Hong Kong: von Nordeck
Western Channel Approaches:
2 transports, 1 escort (UK): Colombo-Plymouth: von Nordeck
France: situation at end of November 1939
Libya: situation at end of November 1939 – Benghazi has fallen but substantial Italian forces remain
Before leaving I had a look at the remaining reports for the Cabinet meeting. The Chief of Staff, Fritz Bayerlein, contributed very little, barely a sheet of paper. He noted that we are upgrading infrastructure in 35 provinces, mainly in the East, that three new industrial complexes are nearly ready to start production, that six radar stations are being assembled and that several fixed anti-aircraft installations are under construction. While costly, this is well within the capacity of our nation. What is important, he stresses, is that the skills we acquire from all this construction be used and maintained. In the coming years we will have tens of thousands of kilometres of roads and railways to repair and/or construct, and we will have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and airmen at the end of those roads and railways, dependent on those fragile arteries to pump them vital supplies. We must improve the speed with which we build those routes, as well as reducing the cost. Our success in the years to come will come not just from force of arms, but from our ability to feed and fuel the Wehrmacht.
Our fixed anti-air defence systems require trained operators to track the enemy aircraft over the Reich.
The final report was the most voluminous, as befits a summary of the Reich’s economic position prepared by the Ministry for Armaments. (It was the final report as the positions of the three Wehrmacht Ministries would be covered in the Führer’s statement, now definitely to be released tomorrow).
According to the Ministry, we currently have 222 industrial complexes, all operating at full capacity. Technology adds 15% efficiency, and the talents of Rudolph Hess and Minister Schacht add another 15% to production. A massive 50% increase in productivity has been gained by the total economic mobilisation of the Reich. The combined effect of all these increases is that we have an industrial base equivalent to 399 industrial complexes (399 IC). At the moment about 24 of these are dedicated to the manufacture of consumer goods, 16 are upgrading existing equipment to new models, 18 are replacing damaged or destroyed equipment and 42 are providing military supplies (food, ammunition and consumables) for the Wehrmacht. The rest (299 IC) are devoted to the production of aircraft, ships and weaponry for new units.
This huge amount of activity consumes vast amounts of raw materials, and not all are available from the resources of the Reich. Our coal reserves are more than sufficient, and all available storage facilities are full. We produce 119,050 tonnes of prime manufacturing grade coal per day, and industry only uses 798,000. Our coal-to-oil program uses a fair amount, but even so we have no risk of ever running out of coal. Steel production is another matter. We currently produce 31,200 tonnes of steel a day, and import another 3,500. This is still not enough, as we have a shortfall of about 5,000 tonnes per day. At current production rates, our stockpile (8,432,000 tonnes) would last about 4 years, even if imports were stopped completely. Of course, production is bound to increase, but so should efficiency, so Minister Schacht is not too concerned about steel supplies, though he would prefer to obtain more imports if possible.
Rare materials are another matter. The Ministry for Armaments bundles several vital goods under this heading: rubber, tungsten, silk, aluminium etc. The exact proportions are not important, as it is the overall requirements and supply that are critical. At present our domestic production of these items is about 13,000 tonnes per day, and we import 2,600 tonnes. The manufacture of supplies, consumer goods and military equipment requires 20,000 tonnes per day. Over the past few years we have built a reserve of 4,053,700 tonnes, but a quick calculation shows that without imports, we will exhaust that reserve in less than 2 years. This is an urgent problem that must be addressed, or we risk our factories grinding to a halt.
Some synthetic rubber can be manufactured in facilities such as the Kölnische Gummifäden Fabrik in Deutz
Fuel for our vehicles and ships is always going to be an issue, but Minister Schacht believes that our prudent policies over the past few years have provided a firm basis for the future. We have 3,657,400 tonnes of crude oil in storage, and we can only extract 400 tonnes per day from deposits (mainly shale oil) within the Reich. Imports are only 900 tonnes per day, since the Royal Navy forced us to cancel all trade deals with the USA. Our synthetic oil processes deliver about 2,000 tonnes per day. It is not crude oil that is important however, it is refined fuel. Here the situation is better. Our underground tanks hold 8,091,200 tonnes and all projections of use indicate that this will last for years. The refining of the crude oil stocks will extend these reserves even further. If possible, more oil should be imported, but it is not critical. There is a slight question mark, however, as it may be necessary for us to provide fuel to our allies (Italy and Hungary especially).
Overall, Minister Schacht is confident that the economy can continue on a war footing for about two years, even in a worst case scenario. If we can increase our imports of rare materials and oil, even if only temporarily, then he can guarantee at least three years. Of course, should we capture foreign stockpiles or obtain access to new resource locations, we can extend those predictions considerably.
The Appendix to the Armaments Ministry report listed current production contracts, and cross-referenced these to the units that were expected to be formed or commissioned. The list comprised the following:
Luftwaffe
3 geschwader of Me 109E interceptors: JG52, JG70, JG 71
3 geschwader of Me 109E fighter escorts: JG21, JG72, JG77 “Herz As”
1 geschwader of Ju 87B dive bombers: SG 51
1 geschwader of Ju 88 tactical bombers: KG 25
1 geschwader of Ju 89 strategic bombers: KG 27 “Boelcke”
1 geschwader of Ju 52 transport aircraft: KG zbV1
Already Junkers has a production line dedicated to new Ju 88 tactical bombers
Kriegsmarine
Aircraft Carrier: “Graf Zeppelin”
Battle-cruiser: “von Moltke”
2 light cruisers: “Dresden”, “Stettin”
2 destroyer flotillas (1936A): 7, 9 Zerstörergeschwader
3 U-boat flotillas (Type VIIC): 12, 14, 23 Unterseebootsflottille
1 flotilla convoy escorts
Construction of the “Graf Zeppelin” is well under way
Heer
2 Panzer Divisions: 4th and 10th
2 Gebirgsjäger Divisions: 6 SS Freiwilligen-Gebirgsjäger “Nord”, 7
2 Infanterie Division (mot): 2, 25
2 Sicherungs Division: 281, 285
1 Kavellerie Division: 22 SS “Maria Theresia”
1 Anti-air Brigade: 9
SS Cavalry: one can see why these crack troops will be assigned to garrison duties in the occupied areas
