Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
Wednesday 15th to Saturday 18th August 1940
Minister Goebbels started the day with an announcement that we had broken a British spy cell. Not a huge thing you would think, and normally you would be correct. In this case though, most of the important people in Berlin (and quite a few of the unimportant people, including myself) know that for the past few months our research efficiency has been reduced by up to 5%. This has been identified as the result of the activities of English agents, so Goebbels thought he was about to win some important points with the Führer. Unfortunately the British must have been operating two cells in the Reich, as the disruption to our research programmes continued even after the Gestapo raids. Goebbels is fuming – and Minister Göring has let it be known that he is highly amused. There is no love lost between those two.
Unternehmen Stierkampf is drawing to a close, though the British are determined to assist their Spanish allies to the end. Dowding’s bombers hit 1st leichte Panzer Division as it moved from Lora del Río into battle in Alcalá, and Sholto-Douglas tried desperately to prevent 1st Kampffliegerkorps from supporting General Keppler’s attack. It was all in vain, as shortly after daylight Keppler reported that his tanks had broken through the enemy lines and the Anglo-Spanish defending force was fleeing southwards. The fighting must have been brief as total casualties were only 23, 10 of them Keppler’s. It seems that more airmen than infantry were lost on both sides, partly because we continued to harass the retreating troops and the RAF maintained their fighter cover over the battlefield. Sperrle reported six Me 109E fighters and seven Ju 88 bombers did not return, and that he was sure the British lost at least fourteen aircraft.
Air Battle of Alcalá: 10AM 15th August: even with the enemy in headlong retreat and under attack by the RAF, 1st Kampffliegerkorps kept up its bombing missions.
At sea things were not going our way. Another cargo vessel did not make it back to Lorient after carrying supplies to La Coruña, and this time an escorting Schnell-boot is also missing. The lack of information regarding these losses is proving quite disturbing to the Kriegsmarine, but Großadmiral Raider has promised that the convoys will continue, at least for now.
A couple of S-boats based at Lorient, similar to the one that is believed to have been sunk by either the RAF or the RN.
To further confirm that while we are dominant on land, Britain still rules the waves, Air Vice-marshal Portal and more than 200 fighters ambushed Geisler and his Dorniers over the Western English Channel. Losses were high before our naval bombers could break free and return to base. Within the hour all naval bombing missions had been cancelled: that brief clash cost 2nd Seefliegerkorps 33 aircraft. While the RAF patrols the Channel, our bombers will keep well away.
Despite its impressive armament, the Dornier is very vulnerable to concerted attacks by large fighter formations
Portal must have had orders to ensure that our naval bombers were destroyed as a threat, as he chased them back to Nantes, probably hoping to destroy more aircraft as they reduced speed to land. OKL had prepared for just such an eventuality, and Christiansen fought off the fighters while the bombers were at their most vulnerable. Portal saw another twenty of his fighters shot down before lack of fuel forced him to return to England.
Late in the day another turn of the screw in Spain. Heinemann’s 50.Infanterie marched due south from Valverde del Camino into Lebrija, held tenuously by Rojo Luch. We have 10,000 fresh troops attacking less than 6,000 demoralised, hungry and tired Spanish soldiers, and an easy victory is expected. Several military analysts I heard discussing the situation asked what I thought was a very pertinent question: why did Heinemann strike south, rather than south-west into the undefended province of Huelva? Our political experts predict that the fall of Huelva would signify the end for Spain, yet Rommel has ignored it. (We later found out that Rommel had neglected to alter his orders to his generals: after the fall of Seville the only objective not achieved was Gibraltar and that became the focus for Sud-Frankreich Army. Needless to say, after Heinemann missed his opportunity fresh orders were prepared, emphasising the importance of capturing the Spanish seat of government.)
Battle of Lebrija: we have also received our first reliable information on the garrison of Gibraltar
On the 16th, Minister von Ribbentrop revealed that talks with high ranking Turkish officials have found that our policies are almost identical, and our objectives are very similar. While this led to early hopes that Turkey might join the Axis, after further research our diplomats realised that Turkey’s determination to remain neutral made any overtures pointless. The Foreign Ministry has ordered our Embassy in Ankara to keep Berlin informed.
General Petersen is moving towards the important naval base of Cádiz, but first he must clear Eixea Vilar and 8/4a Divisíon Orgánica from Jerez de la Frontera. This should not take long: the battle-hardened veterans of 22.Infanterie (mot) will have no difficulty routing the 4,400 Spanish.
Battle of Jerez de la Frontera
The irrepressible General von Boehm-Bezing is at it again. Apparently unable to sit still and prevent access to La Coruña through Villalba, he has ordered 3.Infanterie to attack the Spanish in Melide. According to his memo to Sud-Frankreich Army headquarters, he believed General Ascaso Abadía was about to launch an assault on 2nd Fallschirmjäger. Nobody takes this seriously: Abadía had less than 9,000 soldiers, and these were in no state to attack anyone. The impetuous general just cannot sit still. Regardless of the motivation, within a few hours the Spanish were pulling back to Sarria, having lost 57 men. Von Boehm-Bezing’s aggressiveness cost 3.Infanterie 23 soldiers.
Behind the scenes a lot of work is being done to assist our interceptor pilots. It is not just the quality of the aircraft that can tip the balance in air combat, it is also the support on the ground. The Luftwaffe has now developed an improved training program for fighter ground crew. Early reports indicate a substantial increase in morale in our interceptor and fighter formations, as the pilots realise that that the ground crews are making sure that not only are our aircraft in peak condition, but that turn-around times for refuelling, re-arming and repair have been reduced. Despite Minister Göring’s efforts to retain the research funding for more Luftwaffe projects, Minister von Blomberg has triumphed. With a new front due to open next year, priority is being given to ensuring the Heer is ready. Modifications are to be carried out on our “Spearhead Doctrine” to bring it up to the most modern standards before next spring.
It seems that General Heinemann may be free to swing west into Huelva sooner than expected. 50.Infanterie has been mercilessly efficient in hammering the Spanish into submission. In less than a day it killed 264 enemy while losing only 3 of its own soldiers. Unfortunately for Heinemann, he may be outdone by either Hartmann’s 19.Infanterie or Blaskowitz’s 29.Infanterie (mot), both of which are moving swiftly through Valverde del Camino heading to Huelva.
While the Heinemann’s footsloggers fight their way forward, others are luckier and have motor transport. Some even get to ride in luxury (on the few occasions in Spain when it is not raining) in one of the Daimler Sdkfz 8 halftracks that have been issued to a few fortunate motorised units. There is talk that one day we will have complete divisions equipped in this way.
Not to be outdone, 22.Infanterie (mot) has also inflicted heavy losses on the Spanish in Jerez de la Frontera. 411 men of 8/4a Divisíon Orgánica were killed in the fighting, while Petersen lost 50 soldiers. The increasingly high death toll in recent fighting indicates that the Spanish are near breaking point, unable to even defend themselves. Surely the Spanish government must accept the inevitable and stop the slaughter.
There was a moment of alarm when another message was received from General von Boehm-Bezing, but it was not to notify that he was marching further south. A detachment of Spanish cavalry got caught up in his advance, but was soon driven off. One of our men was shot, but the Cabelleros lost 15 men.
Saturday brought more good news for our fighter pilots as a new manual setting out interception tactics was issued to all units. This publication represents the distillation of thousands of debriefings and both technical and theoretical studies. This time Göring was successful, with the go-ahead given for an increase of funding for our rocket research site at Peenemünde. Our engineers are to design and construct a completely new rocket engine: our spies tell us we are falling behind researchers in the rest of the world.
Could this be why Göring is pushing so hard for more rocket research: a photograph of a prototype Heinkel rocket aircraft at Peenemünde. Tentatively called the He 176, its rocket engine shows great promise, producing speeds up to 750 kmph.
In a test frame, a rocket engine built by Werner von Braun is put through its paces, using a He 176 fuselage.
The Spanish must be on the verge of collapse, as even the redoubtable Lister Forjan has admitted defeat against the part-time soldiers of Heinrici’s X Armeekorps headquarters in Dom Benito. I don’t doubt the courage of our administrative officers and men, but they should not have been able to defeat the regular troops of 1a Divisíon de Infanterie. The Spanish were either out of ammunition or their morale had completely dissipated. As it was we lost 168 men in defence of the headquarters, while the Spanish lost less than half that, 77 men.
There were a few skirmishes between our interceptors over the Channel, but losses were minimal – just a couple of our aircraft. Needless to say, Gore-Sutherland-Mitchell’s carrier based aircraft suffered not a scratch.
Air Battle of Western English Channel: 5PM 18th August
The Warterzimmer in the Reichskanzlei: usually on a Saturday night this is how it appears, but on the night of 16th August 1940 is was standing room only.
I am not sure why, but I lingered very late on Saturday night: I didn’t feel like joining the Wehrmacht officers in their rowdy drinking games and Gisela had a family event that I had no desire to attend. So I was working by myself when I felt something was unusual. I took me a few minutes to realise what it was: instead of footsteps heading towards the street exit, I kept hearing people entering the building and heading to the executive areas near the Reichskanzler’s office. Picking up a bundle of files I strode purposefully towards the centre of activity, looking as though I was on my way to a ministerial office. As soon as I was safely in the waiting area near the Kanzler’s office I slowed to eavesdrop on the conversation. I had barely done so when there was a commotion and I heard several people mention that Minister von Ribbentrop had arrived. He disappeared into the Kanzler’s office, but by then I had worked out what was happening. Unternehemn Stierkampf was over: the Spanish government has not only accepted defeat but has ceased to exist! Our diplomats have insisted on complete unconditional surrender, and we have annexed the whole country! The Reich now stretches to Gibraltar: the last vestige of Allied resistance in the West. How long can that fortress hold out against the might of Rommel’s Army?
Fortress Gibraltar: the next challenge for the Sud-Frankreich Army. This captured British diagram shows the strategic importance and the magnificent defensive position of the “The Rock”.
Bombing Summary
RAF/RN Fleet Air Arm
Lora del Río: Dowding with No.1 RAF Dive Bomber, No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Bomber Groups:
115, 194, 146
Alcalá: Dowding with No.1 and 5 Tactical Bomber Groups:
110, 47, 39
Valverde del Camino: Leigh-Mallory with No 1 RAF Dive Bomber Group:
66, 85
Valverde del Camino: Leigh-Mallory with No 1 RAF Dive Bomber and Middle East Group:
37, 31
Valverde del Camino: Dowding with No.1 RAF Dive Bomber, No.5 and 1 RAF Tactical Bomber Groups:
124, 61, 4
Seville: Baldwin with Middle East Group:
14, Nil, 65
Luftwaffe
Alcalá: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
112
Lebrija: Hoffmann von Waldau with 4th Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B):
49, 146, 120
Jerez de la Frontera: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
132, 244, 267
Jerez de la Frontera: Hoffmann von Waldau with 4th Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B):
49, 13, 31
Lebrija: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88):
162, 66, 152
Lebrija: Sperrle with 1st Kampffliegerkorps (1 x Bf 109E, 2 x Ju 88) and 4th Schlachtfliegerkorps (2 x Ju 87B):
25
Unterseebootsflotte Activity Report
North Bay of Biscay:
1 transport (New Zealand): Auckland – Dover: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Coast of Cádiz:
1 transport and 1 escort (UK): Bobay – Dover: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
East Biscay Plain:
1 transport (UK): Singapore – Dover: Dönitz with 2nd U-flotte
Western Charcot Seamount:
1 transport and 1 escort (UK): Singapore – Dover: Fricke with 3rd U-flotte
Coast of Cádiz: 2 transports (Greek): Athina – Boston: Wolf with 4th U-flotte
Axis Military Position Maps
Greece: Italian tanks have lunged towards Athina, but while front-line units have sufficient supply to exploit the breakthrough there is evidence of supply problems in the rear.
Libia: the enormous numbers of troops in Libia (as shown by General La Ferta’s force in Surt ) have consumed much of the stockpile of supplies that had been built up.
China: the IJA has finally crossed the Yellow River, taking the province of Dongying on the coast. Our military liaison in Tokyo hopes this is the start of a push along the coast to seize new ports. Logisitics are not a problem at the moment, but more prots will be need if a serious effort is made to crush Chinese resistance.
IndoChina: increasing numbers of Guangxi troops are arriving, leading to a halt to the IJA expansion. Supply is plentiful, and a resumption of the IJA drive north is expected soon.
Unternehmen Stierkampf: Success!
Spain has been incorporated into the Reich, and only a few provinces held by the British are not under our control. Several Spanish units have joined the British army, but these are no threat. Only Gibraltar remains defiant.
A captured map of Gibraltar showing the airfield and anti-aircraft and gun emplacements. Even with this level of information available, to take the vital port will probably be a long and bloody affair.