Rank and File
A Clerk’s War
20th October to 22nd October 1939
Smiling faces in the corridors told me that Thursday had started well. General Hell had simply crushed the Belgians in Romilly and once more Dorman-Smith’s 21 Mountain Brigade was in retreat. 6th Gebirgsjäger Division lost a mere 29 men; the Belgians 57. Several Heer military analysts commented to me that the enemy appears to be getting more brittle: battles are getting shorter. (I have begun to develop a few friendships with the analysts: they are not really accepted by the regular soldiers and they have a wealth of information).
Unfortunately not all the news was good. The Royal Air Force continues to harass our men, and casualties are mounting. Joubert de la Forte has rejoined the air campaign, adding his Far East and Indian Groups to Portal’s deadly 1st and 5th RAF Tactical Groups, which together with 15th RAF Fighter Group have caused so much devastation. Where are our fighters?
The Handley Page Hereford: we had believed that this plane had been removed from active service, but obviously they are being used to replace lost bombers in the Far East and Indian Groups.
Mid-morning another victory was announced. Finally Guderian’s Panzers have crossed the Seine in force and Dickinson’s Marines grudgingly conceded the province of Évreux after suffering 303 casualties. It took 5 days to seize a bridgehead and secure it, and the British withdrawal came not a minute too soon. Our weather observation aircraft report a storm sweeping up the Channel, and while it will hopefully miss the majority of France, it is likely to hit the coastal areas. Guderian lost 130 men crossing the Seine: his losses would have been much higher if the storm shattered his pontoon bridges and he had men and tanks trapped on the far side of the river. His reputation as a lucky commander has been enhanced.
After a few late nights I decided to leave a little early, so I missed the news at 6PM that de Lattre de Tassigny had abandoned his attempt to retake Troyes. His 4th Mountain Brigade fought well and although outnumbered and up against one of our best generals (List), it was a close battle. Only the arrival of von Arnim’s 75.Infanterie forced the French to pull back, leaving 328 out of their 8,995 behind. List’s 18.Infanterie lost only 181.
I actually missed more action, as I found when I arrived early on Friday. At 10PM, von Arnim, not satisfied with merely forcing de Tassigny to withdraw from Troyes, followed him into Chaumont. He has co-ordinated an attack with General Eicke whose 28.Infanterie occupies Vitry-le-Francois, and together they have launched a pincer attack to deliver a second defeat on the French general. It will not be easy. De Lattre has additional troops in the form of the Belgian 1ère Division de Cavellerie, and while this unit took heavy losses in a previous battle, it has recovered well and has taken the opportunity while resting to prepare a good defensive position. While its two cavalry units may not be two effective (though there are apparently a few armoured vehicles attached to these), it also has a motorised infantry regiment and an armoured car brigade. Von Arnim’s own 4th Mountain Brigade is of high quality, and while it has been fighting hard, it did not suffer much in the way of morale or loss of organisation. It pulled back in good order from Troyes and is capable of fighting well. The 28.Infanterie must force a crossing of the Seine which will make their task even harder. This could be a very tough battle.
Battle of Chaumont
Luckily there are very few of these Auto Mitrailleuse de Combat Renault type ACG 1 Modèle 1935 among the Belgian cavalry: the 47mm gun has been quite effective against our light tanks and armoured vehicles, and the coaxial machinegun is always useful.
Our submariners must sleep all day, as all activity seems to occur at night. I suppose it makes sense that they track their prey during daylight, but stay concealed. At night they can surface and use the faster surface speed to get closer while still staying undetected. Von Nordeck once again leads in sinkings: two Norwegian freighters torpedoed in the Channel Approaches. He reported that from the speed with which they sank, they must have been loaded with either with metal or iron ore, probably intended for the USA, to help pay for Norway’s oil imports. Wolf’s U-boats, operating in constant rain and under overcast skies, found only one French ship. It was seized and scuttled, its cargo once again Corsican timber bound for Lorient. Perhaps the loss of the timber will not impact the French war effort, but the loss of the sailors will no doubt affect the national self confidence.
The success of the southern U-boat fleets and the complete failure of the northern fleets to locate a single convoy have at last led to a change of orders. Fricke’s 3rd Unterseebootsflotte has been ordered to move to the Eastern King’s Trough, while Assman’s 1st Unterseebootsflotte has been assigned to the Southern Rockall Bank. Both commanders have been instructed to operate cautiously: we cannot afford more U-boat losses.
Not at lot of fanfare for the deployment of another Sicherungs Division. It seems a bit unfair, but that is life. Nobody appreciates the work that security and garrison units carry out. There was just a very short note from OB West to Heeresgruppe West to the effect that 221st Sicherungs under General FW Brandt has been sent to Nijmegen where our intelligence reports some local unrest. As it is a source of some valuable resources and manufacturing facilities, as well as having a college of higher education, it is important for us to maintain order in the city. At the moment the 221st is not attached to any army, but as more garrison units are posted in the occupied countries it is intended a chain of command will be set up.
Wearing uniforms that I think were manufactured in the early 1930’s, a garrison regiment has its final parade before deployment to Nijmegen. By using older equipment and weaponry, we manage to keep costs down for the Sicherungs divisions. Many of the men are not 100% fit, and their assignment to less arduous duties frees up many thousands of soldiers for combat units.
Just to prove me wrong about our U-boats preferring to attack at night, von Nordeck has signalled another success in the Channel Approaches, this time at 8AM. (A Kriegsmarine advisor who is an ex-U-boatman did explain to me that in the early morning, if the U-boat is positioned correctly, a ship on the horizon with the sun behind it is a perfect target, while the submarine is virtually invisible). While rescuing survivors, it was found that this freighter was on a voyage from Freetown, Sierra Leone, carrying mineral products to Plymouth.
With overcast skies reducing the chance of being spotted from the air, crewmen from Wolf’s Unterseeboots take the opportunity to breathe some fresh air.
At noon, General Feige, who has been quiet until now, has a chance to demonstrate his skill and the ability of his 8.Infanterie. He has been ordered to clear the 4th Motor Brigade (commanded by General Revers) from St Dizier, to allow the rest of the Österreich Army to move south. This will be a true test of the mettle of this relatively inexperienced General. Revers is no fool, and his men are at full strength and are well dug-in. Although he has a slight advantage in numbers, General Feige has been told he cannot expect any reinforcements in the near future, as the Army’s reserves are needed elsewhere.
For the rest of the day all we heard was bombing reports, with cheers when a Luftwaffe message was received and groans when another Allied bombing casualty list was released. If Goering doesn’t speak to his fighter commanders soon we could have fist-fights between the Luftwaffe and Heer officers assigned to duties in Berlin. Things are tense at the Kanzlei, but they are all aware of the consequences of unprofessional behaviour where a Minister (or heaven forbid, the Führer) should be a witness. In the evenings, however, after a few schnapps in a bar, things could get rowdy.
This evening I did work late, and so I was still in the office when von Nordeck called in yet another sinking. Two supply ships bound for the British naval facilities at Al-Kawayt will never arrive. Von Nordeck must be running low on torpedoes, but now that we have several Channel ports perhaps he can rebase somewhere closer than Kiel.
Saturday morning the weather in Berlin was still clear and fine, though our meteorologists are getting concerned about the forecasts for France. As winter approached, the Wehrmacht suddenly starts to show a great interest in the weathermen, who must feel neglected the rest of the time. During the summer there is an assumption it will always be fine, but as soon as autumn approaches, the reality of a European winter hits the planners of the all the branches of the armed forces.
Very early in the morning, General Nehring swept unopposed into Montargis, cutting off Grandsard’s 21st Infantry and 1ère Division Légère in Puiseaux. Not satisfied with that, he has immediately launched an attack on Bethouarts’s 3oth Infantry in Joigny. While Bethouart has more than 8,000 men in a well prepared position, our reconnaissance units have picked up a few prisoners who have told us that morale in the 30th is very low. Nehring is confident that they will soon realise that a foxhole will not protect them against his medium tanks and that the open terrain will be to our advantage. His only concern is the Allied air power: his men, particularly the two motorised infantry regiments, will be very exposed racing across the plains.
Nehring was lucky: while the RAF was very active during the afternoon of the 22nd, it concentrated on Étampes and Paris, leaving 1st Panzer Division alone. And he has won considerable praise in OKH, as his determined action in taking Montargis has forced Grandsard to halt all combat operations in Puiseaux and order his men to flee. How many will make to back to the French lines is doubtful. It seems as though few of the French and Belgians who fought in Nemours actually made it back to safety, and we have reports of thousands of prisoners. General Dietrich, commanding 2nd Panzer, has acknowledged casualties of 180 in the fighting in Puiseaux, and claimed to have inflicted 828.
I had planned a relaxing Saturday night, but events overtook me. My plan had been to work unitl about 8.30PM and then adjourn with a few work colleagues to a nearby restaurant for a few beers, a meal and few more beers, but at 8PM an urgent radio message came in from Admiral Raeder, commanding the Nordsee fleet. Even though a storm has grounded our spotter aircraft, he has detected a Royal Navy fleet attempting to enter the Ostsee and had ordered his fleet to go to battle stations, full steam ahead, intercept and destroy the enemy. Of course, with that sort of action beginning, all thoughts of a pleasant evening were abandoned as we sat, pretending to work, waiting for the next shouted news from the radio room.
The next report was brief but alarming. The enemy ships have been identified as the battleship “Royal Sovereign”, the heavy cruiser “Cornwall” and the light cruisers “Danae” and “Calcutta”. By itself, that would not be a problem, as our big ships would easily outgun them. The combination of the stormy weather and the early autumn darkness, however, caused some confusion and we lost sight of the enemy fleet. When a slight break in the clouds gave a little visibility, Admiral Raeder was horrified to realise the Nordseeflotte was right on top of the British. Somehow the “Admiral Scheer” had blundered into the heart of the British formation, and every gun on every ship opened up on her immediately, from a range of about a kilometre. The 8 x 15in guns of HMS “Royal Sovereign” could hardly miss at that range, and caused devastating damage. HMS “Cornwall” joined in with her 8 x 8in guns and added to the destruction. One of the first hits was on her bridge, and the “Admiral Scheer” lost all co-ordination and control, as well as radio contact. No one knows where else she was hit, but within a few minutes she was dead in the water, with several fires already getting out of control. (Survivors later told of a muffled explosion from below, and our naval engineers believe a 15 inch shell may have pierced the ship just above the waterline and allowed water into the boiler room).
HMS “Royal Sovereign” fires a broadside at the crippled “Admiral Scheer” during the Battle of the Bälts”.
The other ships of the Nordseeflotte of course opened fire, and HMs “Cornwall” was soon showing signs of the effect of fire from the “Scharnhorst” and the “Deutschland”. The “Bismark” had to concentrate its fire on HMS “Calcutta” which was racing towards our flagship at her full speed of 29 knots. There was no way that the “Calcutta” could be allowed to get in range to use her torpedoes, and several of our smaller ships also moved to intercept the courageous, if doomed, light cruiser.
The last photograph of the “Admiral Scheer”, taken from the light cruiser “Leipzig” as the Nordseeflotte set sail on what was to be the Panzerschiff’s final voyage.
An hour later, it was confirmed. The Panzerschiff “Admiral Scheer” had been lost. It seems that the British decided that having sunk our heavy crusier, they had achieved enough, and they attempted to break off the battle. The battleship “Royal Sovereign” was safely out of range of all but our biggest guns, and our gunnery observers could not confirm a single hit. Possibly we did manage to hit her, but her 13 inch belt armour is difficult to penetrate. The light cruiser “Danae” had been hit several times, but it had not affected her speed. The “Calcutta” however, was now ablaze from bow to stern, and although she was still fighting, was clearly doomed. HMS “Cornwall” was not much better, having taken the brunt of our attacks. Admiral Raeder was determined to avenge the loss of one of our capital ships and he reported the “Leipzig” was far ahead, still pouring shells into the fleeing cruisers.
The last report from the Bälts came at midnight. The battle was over, and we had claimed victory. Both the “Cornwall” and the “Calcutta” were officially classed as sunk. The former had been overhauled by our faster heavy cruisers and had simply exploded under the ferocious barrage while still attempting to make the Nordsee. The “Calcutta”, awash with flames, was abandoned by her crew, and was last seen drifting aimlessly on the horizon, until the flames were extinguished by the incoming water. There were no survivors from the “Cornwall” and few from the “Calcutta” and the “Admiral Scheer”.
Although officially a victory, I could see our Kriegsmarine officers were in no mood to rejoice. The loss of fine ship is not a reason to celebrate. In addition, a few more “victories” like this, and the Royal Navy will be celebrating. They can afford to lose some 20 year old ships. We cannot afford to lose a single vessel, let alone an integral part of our naval strategy such as the “Admiral Scheer”. The talk throughout the Kanzlei is about the new-fangled “radar”. One loud-mouthed individual (I think he had been drowning his sorrows) shouted that Professor Kuenhold and GEMA were right, that the “FunkMessGerät” would have saved the “Admiral Scheer”. He was quickly quieted and led away, but could this mean that it is possible to have a ship-borne “radar”, something that could locate other ships by radio beams?
A message from Wolf off the Galician Banks to report that his U-boats sank a supply ship heading for Tal-Aviv was heartening news, but could not dispel the gloom that had captured the Kanzlei following the naval loss (I refuse to call it a victory). A slow walk to the Bahnhof, and a very sombre trip home.
Bombing Summary: 20th to 22nd October
Luftwaffe
Chaumont: Kesselring with 1st Sukakorps (2 x Ju 87G):
59, 112, 168, 93, 191, 219, 134. 178, 154
Romilly: Sperrle with 1st Taktischeluftflotte (1 x Bf 109G, 2 x He 111): 114
Puiseaux: Schwartzkopf with 2nd Taktscheluftflotte (1 x Bf 109G, 2 x He 111):
85, 173, 155, 242, 212, 262
Évreux: Grauert with 4th Taktischeluftflotte (2 x He 111):
99, 217, 274
Toul: Sperrle with 1st Taktischeluftflotte (1 x Bf 109G, 2 x He 111):
129, 236, 228, 118, 238, 215
St Dizier: Löhr with 2nd Stukakorps (2 x Ju 87G):
79, 149, 90
Puiseaux: Dörstling with 6th Taktischeluftflotte (1 x Bf 109G, 2 x He 111):
223
Royal Air Force
Paris: Joubert de la Ferte with Far East Group, Indian Group (2 x TAC):
33, 94
Troyes: Joubert de la Ferte with Far East Group, Indian Group (2 x TAC):
112, 251
Étampes: Joubert de la Ferte with Far East Group, Indian Group (2 x TAC):
73, 154, 134
Portal’s Tactical Bomber Groups have used the Vickers Wellington 1 to devastating effect on our infantry. Our pilots say it would not last against effective fighter opposition, but where are our fighters?
Troyes: Portal with 14th RAF Fighter, 1st and 5th RAF Tactical Groups (1 x MRF, 2 x TAC):
244
Paris: Portal with 14th RAF Fighter, 1st and 5th RAF Tactical Groups (1 x MRF, 2 x TAC):
135, 180, 132, 169, 150
Unternehmen Stahlknüppel at end of 22nd October: all is progressing well
Denmark at end of 22nd October: the Swedes are using delaying tactics but there is no need – they vastly outnumber us and have a well fortified position in the city. 2nd Marine-Sturm has allowed our other troops to break off and soon it will do the same. Note HMS “Royal Sovereign” and “Danae” fleeing the area after the Battle of the Bälts.
French-Italian border at end of 22nd October: another push west by the Italians seems to be succeeding. Marignane and Manosque have been captured and St-Claude is under heavy attack. From our point of view, it is unlikely that any more than a handful of troops can be sent north to slow our advance.
Egypt at end of 22nd October: the Iraqis are moving in to finish off Lisi’s headquarter’s unit, while the British push west from Tobruk.
China: there has been an insurrection around the port of Qingdao. Our information is that the rebels have held this area for some weeks, with no move by the Japanese to put down the uprising. While there is a marine division at Jinan, we believe that tension is so high in that city that were the Japanese to march towards Qingtao, it is likely that partisans would then seize Jinan.
