Germany 1941
A cold May morning at the battered Wilhelmshaven docks; Spitfires and Hurricanes buzz above as another wave of German Junkers stream towards the piers, moles and loading cranes. In and around the city sit thousands of British armoured vehicles and fewer than 200,000 men. The British Second Army has been defeated and General Headquarters has ordered a cease to Operation Anvil and has launched Operation Ariel; the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force from Germany!
Conceived in early October 1940, six months of planning went into Operation Anvil. 400,000 men, in 26 infantry and 10 armoured divisions, of the British Expeditionary Force, supported by 3,000 tanks and 1,400 tank destroyers, would land in northern Germany near the major port of Wilhelmshaven. Second Army would lead the assault, comprised of I, VIII, XII, and XXX Corps, capturing the port as well as advancing on Hamburg; gaining enough ground to allow the landing of First Army, made up of II, III, IV, and V Corps. Six months would allow the final build up of forces to take place, considering substantial garrisons are needed to be kept in Africa, Gibraltar, Iceland and Greenland. The operation’s main aim was to draw in as many German forces as possible away from the French border to allow for the French to launch ‘Operation Hammer’; a general offensive into Germany. Our force would then advance on Berlin and into Denmark. The Secret Intelligence Service had established that there was at least 150 German divisions operational, the number fluctuating around this figure for some time before the landings were made; although it was estimated the actual figure could be higher.
Red: The planned initial beachead; I Corps would land to the east, XXX Corps to the west.
Blue: The planned extent of the BEF advace. Second Army would take up position in the east and First Army in the west; the four divisions of the two armies reserve corps would be placed on the Danish border
The six months would also allow the naval forces to inflict further damage to the Kriegsmarine, ensuring safe passage for our forces. In the two years preceding the operation 127 vessels had been sunk, along with six Danish and a further seven of the Swedish navy. Huge numbers of destroyers and submarines are included in these figures but most importantly practically all enemy capital ships. Our own losses to the German submarine war has amounted to 62 merchant ships and 10 escort vessels. In combat with the Kriegsmarine and Royal Swedish Navy we have lost 13 ships – none of which were capital ships.
The time also allowed for a test of the Royal Air Force, so far unblooded and lacking combat experience; it was pitted in combat over the Maginot Line against the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitts. In several fighter sweeps we learnt of the huge number of German fighters present, although losses were negligible, and of their high organisation, morale and response. After a few operations with no results, other than our men losing morale and cohesion, the force was withdrawn in readiness for the main operation.
5 March 1941: The Home Fleet slipped anchor from Scapa Flow and took position off the northern coast of Denmark – blocking the way from the German main naval bases to the North Sea. Several destroyer squadrons, comprising of six destroyers, a light cruiser, and a heavy cruiser each, positioned themselves off Wilhelmshaven, while other squadrons took up positions along the Dutch and German coasts, as well as in the Channel. 0600 hours, 7 March, the seas are calm as thousands of assault troops climb into their assault craft off the north German coastline. The run into the beach is quiet, no resistance is met; the transporters move forward landing further troops directly onto the beaches as well as hundreds of tanks, armoured and motorised vehicles. By day’s end 70,000 men have landed – all of I Corps and half of XXX Corps. An immediate advance on Hamburg is ordered however I Corp’s infantry are halted and become embroiled in fighting Danish lines of communication troops (HQ’s).
The next day sees continued fighting and urgent supply problems, due to our men being supplied over the beach; the rest of XXX Corps are ordered to seize Wilhelmshaven in a direct assault, rather than land on the beaches, to alleviate the supply situation. Elements of the follow-up force, XII Corps, are likewise ordered to assault the port. However neither force will be able to do so until the 10th, when their ships arrive off northern Germany. The only naval reaction to the invasion comes from the Royal Swedish Navy; they engage the Home Fleet, headed by four KGV class battleships and three carriers, the final ancient battleship of the Swedish Sverige class is sent to the bottom of the North Sea, along with a submarine, in the engagement for no losses - the Swedes had not fired a shot before the Duke of York fired several salvos at them. In the meantime the Danish troops had fled and the first full blooded German responce hit I Corps; the limited attack towards Hamburg continued resulting in a mobile infantry battle north of the city.
Over the next 48 hours more German troops poured into the fight and the drive south was halted. XXX Corps units held fast in their initial beachhead, to the west of I Corps; unmolasted they awaited the remainder of the Corps. While XXX Corps had not moved, the German garrison of Wilhelmshaven had. What was expected as a bloody protracted battle against shore defences became a coup de main operation, as the lead elements of XII Corps swooped through Wilhelmshaven. The German ships in port were able to put to sea before capture yet they ran into the Royal Navy’s blockade; in the following duck shoot, four destroyers and a submarine were sank. The remaining elements of XXX Corps followed up the XII Corps landing and the whole force was ordered south to expand the beachhead.
Five days later, after back and forth transport missions, all 200,000 men of Second Army had been landed on German soil. The full contingent of RAF fighters had also deployed. From their first day in Germany till the end of the campaign they fought daily with the Luftwaffe, over the beachhead, suffering terrible losses. Bomber Command also arrived and within days had knocked out the Kiel and Hamburg airfields; attempts to push the Luftwaffe back further however became futile as did further raids on Kiel and Hamburg. German counterattacks by this point had also developed against the XXX Corps landing zone and most of the newly arrived formations of Second Army were pushed into this battle, leaving only a few divisions to advance south.
After a fortnight of fighting I Corps was finally defeated and forced into retreat, with elements heading north instead of west, II Corps was ordered to make a landing in the Heide area however their landing was too late; on the 21st 21,000 British infantry of I Corps were captured.
Men of the 2nd Infantry Division after their hard battle
Richard O’Connor’s II Corps force now found themselves cut off, isolated from the British beachhead and unable to be withdrawn; their only option was to fight their way overland and seize Kiel due to the sizeable force that was between them and XXX Corps battleground made an advance west impossible. Nearly a week past before the Kiel garrison was forced to retire, as II Corps entered the city the Home Fleet and destroyer squadrons were sent to secure the Baltic while the transporters sailed to pull them out. The Corps headquarters and AA brigade ended up fighting a rearguard action to halt a German advance on the city, losses were heavy and a further 3,600 men were captured but luckily O'Connor was able to make it into the city and avoid capture. In the meantime a determined assault was made against the city and four tense days past before the Corps was withdrawn without further loss.
One of the few woman soldiers in the British Army, laying down cover fire during the urban fighting at Kiel.
On the main battlefield the German attacks against Bremerhaven had been relentless and none stop while elements of XXX and XII Corps had advanced nearly 100 miles into Germany. On 6 April the battle for Bremerhaven ended; nearly 12,000 German casualties had been inflicted attacking our positions. They may have failed to dislodge the army but they had seriously disorganised the British formations. A reorganisation of the frontline was then ordered; XII Corps took over the southern tip of the beachhead, XXX Corps the flank, while VIII Corps held Bremerhaven. Second Army reserve of the Guards infantry and armoured division were transferred to I Corps to bring it roughly back up to strength, with the whole Corps placed in reserve. The strategic plan was to hold this beachhead for at least a week or so to allow the men time to reorganise before striking out again utilizing I Corps. It was determined that there was no point in landing First Army as Second Army was now effectively blocked in.
The British beachhead, April 1941
The Germans however were un-cooperative with this plan of action and launched renewed strikes against Bremerhaven, by 21 April they had retaken the city. With Operation Hammer not being launched and the sole supply centre now endangered, the operation was deemed a failure; the order to retreat was given. The frontline was ordered to be pulled in, with HQ and AA units being the first to move.
Some French troops standing around getting their photo taken and generally doing Sweet F.A. while we fight in Germany
As the men started to fall back the Germans renewed their offensive, with their combat power on our eastern flank sapped fighting VIII Corps – they attacked XII Corps. The infantry were able to hold off the attacks allowing the slower headquarters and AA brigade to withdraw before the order was given to fall back.
At sea the Royal Navy were still blockading the routes to the North Sea but in the space of four days, early in May, seven cargo ships and an escort were sunk. German troops now attempted to outflank our main line of resistance, south of Wilhelmshaven, by attacking Emden. Troops were rushed to the scene and eventually the assault was halted. With the AA brigades and headquarter units now safely within the port city; the armoured divisions, as the most valued units within the army, were ordered to pull back next as the infantry again fought to hold the Germans back.
With Fighter Command duelling with the Luftwaffe to keep the skies clear of German bombers and fighters, the transporters arrived in Wilhelmshaven on the cold morning of 12 May and started to load the thousands of tanks and other armoured vehicles; the evacuation had finally begun.
The final British position
Over the next few days the German infantry left our own alone, after receiving a bloody nose attacking the rearguard units. More and more of our forces were whisked away, with only a small rearguard holding the port awaiting the final transport lift left, the aircraft departed. The squadrons had received horrendous losses in attempting to keep the Luftwaffe at bay; despite their best efforts hundreds, if not thousands, had been wounded and killed at the hands of Luftwaffe sorties. The Germans chose this time to strike, the men gave as good as they got but heavily outnumbered and under constant air attack had no chance in defeating the attacking force ala Kiel. Men dropping everywhere and isolated groups being surrounded and captured it was a lost cause; the mix bag of infantry retreated straight onto the ships and sailed home to safety. 25 May, nearly a month in retreat, Second Army finally returned home.
The desperate retreat of the rearguard
Prior to the campaign GHQ estimated British forces would recieve 100,000 casualties in a six month long war of attrition in static positions per our envisioned frontline. However in under just two months the British Army received 67,490 casualties – 32,000 of whom were prisoners. Intel noted that at least 28,696 casualties had been inflicted on the German Army. In the air war heavy losses had been suffered by both sides but the RAF came off the worse, according to our knowledge, with several wings needing complete refitting and reinforcement. Only the naval war had provided any dividends.
.
