Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
Friday 8th to Monday 11th June 1940
It is always good to begin the day on a positive note, and General Guderian gave us a healthy start with news that Haase and 26.Infanterie have driven Schwab and Divizie 18 Infanterie from Savârsin. Considering the number of troops involved (more than 25,000 in total) casualties were low: 30 of Haase’s men and 69 Romanians. Luftwaffe officers attached to the Balkan Army mentioned that Udet’s Stukas had met with Romanian fighters over Savârsin and that enemy bombers had been sighted. Later in the day I heard that, while some of our bombers were lost, Udet informed Guderian that his pilots managed to destroy several Romanian fighters.
Air Battle of Savârsin: 3PM 8th June
Not to be outdone, Sud-Frankreich headquarters reported success in the north-west of Spain. This was a completely different battle to that in Savârsin. General Hell needed the weight of Model’s armour to help 6th Gebirgsjäger Division to drive the Spanish from Bermillo de Sayago, and even with 1st Panzer Division attacking from their northern flank the Spanish fought doggedly. We lost 260 men before General Durranti Dumange gave the order to retreat. Spanish losses were at least 1,065. It took a week of fighting, but we are now close to the Portuguese border and have the opportunity to cut off the Spanish forces blocking our way to La Coruña.
Only hours after winning a week long battle, the Gebirgers were back in action. As General Ott moved 3.Infanterie (mot) from Villardefrades into Zamora, General Hell committed his men to assist by launching a pincer movement from Bermillo de Sayago. General Roig had 12,000 men with which to hold the Zamora, but Ott made an immediate breakthrough and within two hours claimed victory, as the Spanish pulled out with 54 casualties. We lost just 11 men, all in the initial assault.
Other than a string of elated reports from U-boat commanders, there was nothing else on Friday but routine progress reports and the normal mountain of administrative forms.
On Saturday the Balkans Army was at last able to implement OKH’s orders: General Guderian is now to blitzkrieg wherever possible. It is hoped that the drive on Bucuresti will now accelerate, but I saw several groups of military shaking their heads and muttering about “missed opportunities”. I suppose we will just have to wait and see.
In other high level Heer information, General Rommel is to receive two more divisions from 1st Küste und Grenze Army. 17.Infanterie (von Amann) has been transferred from VII Armeekorps to X Armeekorps and 19.Infanterie (Hartmann) has been taken from XI Armeekorps and attached to 2nd Gebirgsjägerkorps. Rommel has been informed that this is it: he can expect no more troops. He must increase the tempo in Spain as he is failing behind the time schedule, but he must do it with his existing units. OKH stressed that it is imperative that he capture a frontline air base to allow the Luftwaffe to apply its full force to the conflict.
Also early on Saturday came an urgent message from Paris: Spanish bombers were making a dawn attack. Generalmajor Felmy responded immediately, but he also sent a pointed telegraph to the Luftfahrtministerium: how could he contest the Channel with the RAF while simultaneously defending the manufacturing, mining and infrastructure assets of the Frankreich? I have to concede that when pressed Reichsmarschall Göring can respond quickly. Within the hour Fisser’s 7th Jagdfliegerkorps was on its way to its new base on the outskirts of Paris, and when Díaz Sandino and 1er and 2o Grupo Estratégico tried to make a second attack at 10AM they received a severe mauling.
Air Battle of Paris: 10AM 12th June
A Spanish Whitley: part of the nearly 200 strong strategic bombing raid
While Fisser’s Messerschmitt’s were busy destroying Spanish strategic bombers, General Eppich won the battle of Fabero, forcing the enemy to withdraw into Villafranca del Bierzo. This ended up as a much tougher assignment than had been originally thought. When 5th Gebrigsjägers first attacked back on the 5th June, there was just one enemy unit, Líster Forján’s 1a Divisíon. Over the past week another 10,000 men had joined the Spanish, and as a result the victory cost Eppich 175 men. On the other hand, it was a clear win, as the Spanish lost 531 of their soldiers. Eppich’s report, however, contained a disturbing footnote: he has received no supplies recently and until his food and ammunition is replenished he is unable to move forward.
Back over Pairs, by 2PM, Sandino had had enough and his bombers turned south. The Luftwaffe, however, had tasted blood. Fisser’s fighters chased the Spanish Whitleys to Mirabeau, harassing the fleeing bombers and destroying stragglers.
Air Battle of Mirabeau: 3PM 9th June
In Romania, General Herzog also has another success. Assisted by heavy bombing from Schwartzkopff’s 2nd Kampffliegerkorps, he has crushed all opposition in Oreada. Dragalina and his two infantry divisions have suffered badly, losing 918 men to the ground combat alone. He has tried to move his men east, to block our route towards Bucuresti, but his demoralised men are heading straight into the path of von Bock’s 16.Infanterie which is planning to attack north into Alesd. General Guderian believes that few if any of Dragalina’s men will successfully cross Alesd and impede our progress eastwards.
If the Spanish pilots thought that when Fisser’s Messerschmitts finally peeled off and headed north that they were safe then they were mistaken. Over Sore they were met by Christiansen and 4th Jagdfliegerkorps. By this time the Spanish bomber formation had been shattered, and the pilots of Westwall 1 and 2 had the freedom to hunt individual aircraft, rather than trying to break a barrier of interlocking machine gun fire. The only chance the Spanish had was to try to cling together and reform their protective structure.
Air Battle of Sore: 8PM 9th June
While possibly a popular decision, the necessity to slow down to accommodate damaged aircraft meant that our fighters had more time to continue the slaughter. Christiansen allowed his fighters to pursue the Spanish to Jaca, and several of his pilots now qualify as “aces”. Darkness finally ended the agony of the Spanish “Estratégicos” as the “Emils” reluctantly headed home to Bayonne. It took some time, but a compilation of the debriefing reports showed the Spanish lost nearly a hundred aircraft: half the original force. They will think twice before attempting such a dangerous mission again. Damage to Paris was restricted to one factory complex and a knocked out anti-air tower.
Air Battle of Jaca: Midnight 9th June
Local ground troops surround a downed Whitley in Jaca
If only Dortmund could say the same. As the last of the Spanish aircraft gratefully landed at Tarragona (Göring is still outraged that Rommel allowed the Spanish to recapture this critical airfield), Newall’s bombers were on a familiar path towards their favourite target. The Luftwaffe was able to put 350 fighters into the air to meet them, but the RAF maintained their positions and soon Dortmund was again in flames. The British paid a price, but Dortmund’s air defences were either destroyed or rendered useless through lack of power or loss of target acquisition equipment.
First Air Battle of Dortmund: 3AM 10th June
Of course I was not at work when all this occurred: Gisela is most emphatic about my having time off (with her of course). So while Dortmund burned I was asleep at home, and I found out about Sunday’s activities on Monday morning. At 9AM as I was enjoying breakfast, the RAF was back over Dortmund. Bogatsch met them again, but although he had only lost 4 aircraft during the night, he could not prevent the British bombers adding to the chaos below. As with the Spanish, after a while the bomber formations were eventually broken and they fled home individually, and we believe that Newall lost 82 aircraft. That would be little consolation to the citizens of Dortmund, as they battled to extinguish the fires and clear the rubble. 80% of the city’s industry is out of action, and barely 50% of the anti-air installations are operable. Vast amounts of stockpiled coal, steel, rubber and other valuable raw materials were destroyed. Sitting safe in Berlin, I hope that such destruction never reaches this city.
Second Air Battle of Dortmund
A destroyed factory in Dortmund: it will be months before all damage is repaired
There was some good news on Sunday. A reorganisation of the Tactical Command Structure has given our mobile troops (motorised and cavalry) a welcome boost to their morale, and it has been accepted by the Cabinet that this is an area worthy of further study. And in Romania, General von Briesen has intercepted an enemy force moving at full speed towards Bucuresti. With assistance from Köstring’s 13.Infanterie (mot) from Strehaia, he has used 5.Infanterie to block the movement through Novaci of Divizie 1 Blindade and Divizie 1 Cavallerie. General Manafu was apparently trying to evade the cordon we are setting up by racing his fastest units east, but von Briesen’s prompt response has put an end to this plan. There is still just one unit between us and the Romanian capital.
Battle of Novaci
A Romanian R-1 reconnaissance tank, part of Divizie 1 Cavallerie
To ensure that the Romanian armour did not break out, the Luftwaffe committed hundreds of bombers to Novaci, and the FARR responded as well as they could. 84 fighters turned up to contest the control of the air, and although we lost a few bombers, the presence of Bf 109E escorts ensured that our bombing was not disrupted.
As Köstring sent his men north, General Ruoff and 2.Infanterie (mot) “Vorwärts”, also in Strehaia, started east, engaging Divizie 7 infanterie, the only unit known to be between the Balkan Army and the Romanian capital. Saceni is flat terrain and General Loveanu has little hope of holding off the veterans of so many battles in Poland and France. Could we be on the verge of crushing the Romanian spirit by capturing their industrial and cultural centre?
As predicted, von Bock has struck north into Alesd. Also as predicted, General Dragalina and Corp 3 Armata have retreated from Oreada straight into von Bock’s path. The two divisions that Dragalina commanded against General Herzog are still marching out of Oreada, but he has Divizie 2 Infanterie with which to hold off 16.Infanterie. Even if he manages to stall von Bock’s attack until the other two divisions survive, it is doubtful if the additional troops will be sufficient to allow him to repulse our assault: the reinforcements may be impressive in numbers, but they have been bombed for days and were badly beaten by 36.infanterie Division.
After the excitement and unaccustomed ease of their encounter with the Spanish heavy bombers, it was a return to the battle of the English Channel for Fisser’s 7th Fliegerkorps. Gore-Sutherland-Mitchell had four full-strength carrier air groups and the bitter war of attrition continued, though the weather conditions kept losses on both sides to a minimum.
Air Battle of Eastern English Channel: 4PM June
Sunday finished with two wins for the Heer. The interception of the Romanian mobile units in Novaci was a complete success. Only 139 of the 17,000 men were killed or captured, but Divizie 1 Blindade was driven north into Polovragi and Divizie 1 Cavallerie was forced north-west to Râmnicu Vâlcea. 5.Infanterie is continuing into Novaci while Köstring has altered his line of advance to take Ionesti. Our losses in this blocking action totalled 36 dead and missing. While any success is welcome, of far more significance was the battle of Saceni where “Vorwärts” has smashed through Divizie 7 Infanterie, the remnants of which are scrambling to get back to Bucuresti. We will soon be on the outskirts of the capital, while the bulk of the enemy forces are far to the west.
An R-35 of Divizie 1 Blindade heads into Polovragi
Noting the recent success of night operations in Spain, General Petersen set 1AM as the start time for his attack on Segerbe. As lighting flashes lit the low rolling hills north of Valencia, forward units of 2.Infanterie (mot) moved into contact with the elite troops of 1 Brigada Montaña. Even if Matallana Gómez has some of the Republican Army’s best soldiers, he is outnumbered, and Petersen has now a reputation for bold and aggressive action. (As well as being known for his careful management of supplies, particularly on the offensive).
General Gómez was given assistance from the FARE, but the Luftwaffe was able to intercept the enemy aircraft. Although the first mission was completed (with low casualties due to inaccurate bombing in the dark and overcast conditions) at the second attempt the efforts of Christiansen’s fighters was enough to drive off Bayo Giraud’s aircraft, destroying more than 20 for the loss of just 3 Messerschmitts. It seem as though the sight of the Spanish bombers abandoning them was too much for the Spanish mountain troops. As the last aircraft disappeared over the horizon, 1 Brigada Montaña began to retreat, having lost 70 men to Petersen’s 17 casualties.
Air Battle of Lucena del Cid
Unfortunately the good news was followed shortly by reports from Lleida, north of Tarragona. Frantic messages were received by General Müller’s 20.Infanterie headquarters in Isona that Republican forces had retaken Lleida and were rounding up collaborators and ex-Franco supporters. Most have fled to the mountains. Even though the fleeing Spanish report that the forces in Lleida constitute barely a regiment, Müller has no orders to advance and must therefore look on as the Spanish walk in unopposed.
It seems as though the Romanian High Command is in no doubt as to the desperate situation in which they have been placed. Our front line commanders report that every unit identified has been struggling to move east and south. General Friedrich-Willich has taken the opportunity to strike the flank of three divisions in Huedin. His 2nd Gebrigsjägers have halted the Romanian 14th and 18th Divisions, together with 2 Divizie Alpinisti. Despite being caught off-guard, the Romanian General Schwab has 21,500 men under his command, and the Alpinisti are among the best troops in the Romanian Army. Even though Freidrich-Willich only needs to pin his opposition and prevent them breaking east, his task will be difficult as his Gebirgers are outnumbered more than two to one. To make it worse, his rear areas in Beius are under attack by Romanian bombers.
All day skirmishes had been taking place over the Channel, but late in the evening, at 10PM, a full-scale air battle took place. Generalmajor Felmy assembled every fighter he could from northern France and Belgium. His foe, Gore-Sutherland-Mitchell, was able to send 400 carrier borne aircraft into the Western English Channel. For once the Luftwaffe had the advantage numerically, but neither side had sufficient night training to deliver more than the occasional lucky shot to down an opponent. The Luftwaffe was not unhappy with the result, however, and sees this as a turning point in the Battle for the Channel. With our new aircraft being issued to interceptor geschwader at an increasing rate, and additional units being formed, a feeling of optimism has returned to our air-men. And Ernst tells me his return to “Schlageter” is now only weeks away. In his mind that will be the real turning point. What is it about fighter pilots that they have this sense of invincibility and self importance? I never felt that way as a lowly Schütze! I always thought my greatest contribution was to stay alive.
Air Battle of the Western English Channel
We have heard from our Hungarian allies that more Romanian units are leaving the border areas and heading east. (Although the government of Regent Miklós Horthy was unhappy to be denied a role in the invasion of Romania, the Hungarians have accepted that the Reich must control as much of the border with the USSR as possible). To try to forestall any attempts to swing around our blocking units, Guderian has ordered von Roques to push north along the Hungarian border. 46.Infanterie moved quickly in response and is already fighting Antonescu’s Divizie 15 in Valea lui Mihai.
Battle of Valea lui Mihai
To make it even harder for Romanian leaders to move their units east, Bieß is striking north-east into Polovragi. Divizie 1 Blindade, which seems to have recovered from the bombing it endured in Novaci , as well as the losses suffered in its retreat from von Biesen’s two-pronged attack, has joined two infantry divisions and a headquarters unit. The Bitburgers of 10.Infanterie (mot) could find the coming fight in Southern Carpathian Mountains their most gruelling battle yet, even worse than holding off the cream of the French Army a year ago.
We have had another update from Rome, setting out the position of the Italian armed forces, but no news from Tokyo. This is not a cause for concern, as it is likely the information is on its way.
Libia: the British have been halted and the Italian build up at the front continues, preparing for the our requested push to Egypt
Greece: supply problems in the west have allowed the isolated Greek division to escape from Ioannina to Kastoria, but the Italians are in hot pursuit. Salonika is surrounded and many Greek units are retreating.
East Africa: the forgotten war. The Ethiopians are still holding off large numbers of British troops, and seem in no danger of collapse.
Bombing Summary
FARE
Murias Paredes: Comacho Benítez with 1er and 20 Grupo Táctico (2 x TAC):
58, 97, 128, 107
Villardefrades: Bayo Giraud with 1er Grupo de Bombardement, Grupo Táctico n.1 FARE:
123
Lucena del Cid: Bayo Giraud with 1er Grupo de Bombardement, Grupo Táctico n.1 FARE:
86, NIL
Luftwaffe
Savârsin: Udet with 3rd Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B):
37
Oradea: Schwartzkopff with 2nd Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
187
Oradea: Grauert with 4th Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
290, 154
Oradea: Schwartzkopff with 2nd and 4th Kampffliegerkorps (2 x Bf 109E, 4 x Ju 88):
302, 313, 330, 275
Novaci: Schwartzkopff with 2nd Kampffliegerkorps: (1 x Bd 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
200
Huedin: Grauert with 4th Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
243, 257
Novaci: Müller-Michels with 5th Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
228
Saceni: Kitzinger with 3rd Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
245, 116
Novraci: Schwartzkopff with 2nd and 5th Kampffliegerkorps (2 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
69
Alesd: Muller-Michels with 5th and 3rd Kampffliegerkorps (2 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
222, 326, 260, 173
FARR
Chisineu-Cris: Vasiliu with Grup 1 Tactic Bombardier:
50, 23, 88, 62, 43
Petrila: Vasiliu with Grup 1 Tactic Bombardier:
93, 79, 30
Salenta: Vasiliu with Grup 1 Tactic Bombardier:
79, 66
Beius: Vasiliu with Grup 1 Tactic Bombardier:
86
Combined Anglo-Spanish Missions
Murias de Parades: Ludlow-Hewitt with 4th, 14th and 15th CAG, 1er Grupo de Bombardement, Grupo Táctico n.1 FARE, 1er and 20 Grupo Táctico:
79, 119
Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report
Eastern Charcot Seamount:
2 transports (UK): Plymouth – Accra: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Eastern Biscay Plain:
1 transport (UK): Dover – El Iskandarîya: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Cape Peñas:
1 escort (UK): Plymouth – Ascension Island: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Western English Channel:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Nauru: von Nordeck with II U-flotte
Horseshoe Seamount:
1 transport (Greek): Athina – Boston: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Goban Spur:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Hong Kong: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Cape St Vincent:
2 transports (Spanish): Cádiz – Boston: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Western English Channel:
1 transport (UK): Dover – Socotra: von Nordeck with II U-flotte
Gulf of Cádiz:
1 transport (Spanish): Cádiz – Tanger: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Western English Channel:
1 transport (UK): Portsmouth – Mauritius: von Nordeck with II U-flotte
Iberian Plain:
2 transports (UK): Singapore – Dover: Aßmann with 1st U-flotte
Unternehmen Stierkampf at end of 11th June: there are no current battles
Unternehmen Bohrturm at end of 11th June