by Nigel West
2 Construction of Coastal Defences
A West Coast Front
The construction of positions with special emphasis on offshore obstacles, erection of stakes against air landings and continuation of mining was carried on with all available forces. Shortage of building material for defence positions is still noticeable. Regulation of the distribution of railroad power has been strengthened by completion of the regroupings in the Netherlands, Cotentin, and in the Brittany area and also by the increase in construction work. Brittany will receive certain reinforcements in the near future after arrival of the 2nd Parachute Division. Assistance in making motorized units mobile is beginning to become effective. The release of truck space, passenger automobiles, and special-purpose vehicles has occurred and will have its results. The ordered movement of the 19th Panzer Division to the Netherlands will also produce more security in that area in the near future.
The inspection trip of C-in-C West in the coastal area between Loire and Gironde has the main purpose of examining the relationship of forces and the construction possibilities in that sector. During the period from 7 to 13 May, 40 permanent emplacements were newly occupied, so that the total is now 11,362. During the period from 11 to 20 May, 244,385 mines were laid. The total number of mines with units, in dumps, and with Chief Quartermaster West amounts to 490,006 different mines.
Evacuations
In the Netherland Command, 276 persons, among them 92 males between the ages of 15 and 60, were evacuated between 15 May and 21 May.
In the Belgian–North French command, 257 persons, 105 of them males between 15 and 60 years, were evacuated during the same period. In the French Command, 4,431 persons, 279 of them males between 15 and 60 years, were evacuated from the west coast battle area during the same period.
B. Mediterranean Front
Construction of field positions continued on a large scale, emphasis on laying of minefields and random scattering of mines in terrain endangered by air landings since the installations of offshore obstacles was often prevented by high seas.
Organization of the defense behind the coastal front unchanged as compared to last week.
After steady construction, 4 new emplacements were manned between 7 and 13 May. The total is now 706.
Between 11 and 20 May, 103,328 mines were laid. Total number with units and in depots, 99,946 different mines.
Evacuation
From the battle zone along the French South Coast, 5,321 persons, 389 of them males between the ages of 15 and 60, were evacuated between 15 and 21 May.
3. Interior Situation
Further successes against terrorists, in part with the co-operation of the troops. Increase in railroad sabotage in Brittany, also a certain increase in attacks on Wehrmacht members and Wehrmacht property.
Difficulties in the transport situation and power supply continue, additional restrictions are being put into effect, otherwise no important changes. Increasing feeling against the enemy powers among parts of the population affected by air attacks.
This document attracted the attention of Allied analysts because of the reference to the capture of the two members of a British beach survey team, and to the loss of the Canadian destroyer Athabaskan.
The two British officers were George Lane of 10 Commando’s X Troop, and a sapper officer, Roy Wooldridge, who were captured on the night of 18/19 May while participating in Operation TARBRUSH. A Hungarian Jew, Lane was under alias as a Welshman and resisted interrogation. He was taken to La Roche Guyon to be entertained to tea by Field Marshal Rommel, and was then transferred to Fresnes in Paris before being incarcerated at Spangenberg Castle, Oflag IX/A-H. Wooldridge’s mission had been to inspect the Teller mines reported to have been attached to underwater beach obstacles in the Pas-de-Calais, and the pair’s capture served to confirm Allied interest in the area.
The Athabuskan had been sunk on the night of 23/24 April while supporting a mine-laying operation in the Morlaix estuary off Brittany by a torpedo launched by the T-24, a German patrol vessel. Of the 355 crew, 128 were killed, forty-four were rescued by another Canadian destroyer, HMCS Haida, and eighty-three were taken prisoner. Evidently one of the captured sailors had been interrogated and had provided details of what he alleged had been his observations at Plymouth.
There was also concern in London about another potential breach of security, involving a senior RAF officer, Air Commodore Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman, who fell into enemy hands after his 576 Squadron Lancaster bomber was shot down on 6/7 May by a night-fighter over northern France. Ivelaw-Chapman had been the RAF’s director of policy and had been fully indoctrinated into OVERLORD in January 1944, so his capture was a great cause for concern in London. Accompanied by a member of the Lancaster’s crew, he was at liberty briefly, and in touch with an SOE agent, Clonet des Perruches (code-named GALILEE) before he was apprehended, but he was treated as a PoW for the rest of the war, the Germans never realising his potential value.
The FHW’s weekly ‘Survey of British Empire No. 29’, dated 15 May 1944, provided a more comprehensive insight into the OKW’s mindset in the days before the attack.
North Ireland
The total number of Anglo-American divisions ready for use in the United Kingdom has increased since the beginning of May by 3 divisions brought from the United States (2 Infantry Divisions and 1 Armored Division) and thus at present, probably amounts to 56 Infantry Divisions, 5 Independent Infantry Brigades, 7 Airborne Divisions, 8 Parachute Battalions, 15 Armored Divisions, and 14 Armoured Brigades.
The focal point of the enemy concentrations in the south and south-east of the British Isles becomes more and more marked, indicative of this is the transfer of two British divisions to the Portsmouth area and the recently observed attaching of American units to the British forces in SE England (observed so far have been one corps and one infantry division). Commitment of individual American divisions from the remaining jump-off places must also be expected.
From 4–6 May, a large-scale landing manoeuver in which all three branches participated took place in the Isle of Wight area. The recognition and removal of offshore obstacles at low tide apparently played an important role. According to a creditable Abwehr report, parts of the 3rd British Armored Infantry Division, the 3 and 6 Commandos, and possibly parts of the 45th and 61st British Infantry Divisions are supposed to have participated.
The picture of the Anglo-American assembly of ground forces is particularly emphasized by the following observations of the assembling of enemy air forces made by the OKL Intelligence Section, Foreign Airforces West:
• Observation of advance radio squads of the type used during landings in the Mediterranean, probably aircraft guiding stations, along the English south coast, some of them on flagships.
• Transfer of parts of the American 9th Airforce, which is intended for tactical support, from south-west to south-east England.
• Movement of American transport units to the Salisbury area, which is the main assembly area for the British airborne, towing, and transport units.
The withdrawal of personnel fit for field duty from the British home AA units and their replacement with home guard personnel, as is known from press and Abwehr reports. This indicates preparation of AA units probably for use with ground forces.
The enemy air attacks against the occupied western areas increased further during the first half of May. Besides the continuation of the attacks against traffic installations and airports, attacks are also directed against our defense installations now.
Concerning the enemy situation in Great Britain and North Ireland, the following details have become available since the beginning of May 1944:
1. Order of Battle
• British Troops
An Abwehr report has confirmed the belief that the British Army Group under the command of General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery is the 21st British Army Group. (see ‘Survey of British Empire No. 28’)
1). According to several mutually supporting reports, the headquarters of
the Army Group is in the area south of London.
The first confirmation has been found for the presence in Great Britain of the 7th British Armoured Division brought there from Italy. This unit was reported by a sure source (Y Service) in a so far unidentified area.
According to an official British report, labor units are supposed to be formed from the 300,000 Italian PoWs held by the British.
• Scottish Command
According to various creditable Abwehr reports, the 3rd British Armored Infantry Division so far believed to be south of Inverness was moved into the area of the southern Command. This unit, which had previously been identified in the Southern Command (see ‘Survey of British Empire No 25’), was in Scotland probably only for training.
A proved Abwehr source reports creditably that the Polish unit so far believed to be the 1st Polish Infantry Division, is the 2nd Polish Armored Infantry Division. This unit was formed by the absorption of one of the Armored Brigades of the 1st Polish Armored Division into the Polish Infantry Division.
2. American Troops
• Troop shipments from the USA to Great Britain
According to available reports from a proved source (Abwehr), it may be assumed that between the middle and the end of April, besides air force personnel about 3 American divisions among them, 1 armored division [was] shipped from the USA to Great Britain.
Order of Battle and Identifications
The two American infantry divisions believed to be in Yorkshire and Norfolk may be the 79th and 83rd Infantry Divisions, according to a good Abwehr source. Confirmation of this report is outstanding.
In Eastern England, in the Bury St. Edmunds area (about 50km southwest of Norwich), are supposed to be the XX Corps and the 4th Armored Division, according to a reliable Abwehr source.
Furthermore, in the same area in the vicinity of Ipswich the 6th Armored Division is reported which had already been identified in England by an unconfirmed Abwehr report. This may be the American Armored Division so far reported with location unknown.
According to this, the American forces in the Norwich area and southward thereof may consist of one infantry division and two armored divisions.
Besides these American units in Eastern England, another American force seems to have been formed in South-eastern England in the Folkestone area. The American VIII Corps was reported here, according to an Abwehr source. Furthermore, the 28th Infantry Division up until now in the Swansea area, is supposed to have been transferred to the Folkestone area, according to a reliable report (Abwehr). The departure for its original area around Swansea was confirmed by a sure source (Y Service). Whether, out of a desire to mix individual American divisions or units with corresponding British forces, additional American units are to be moved to Southeast England, remains to be seen.
In the southern English area, a further unit which is to be designated as the 10th Light Division could be identified as being under the XIX Corps together with the 30th Infantry Division, which has been confirmed by a sure source (Y Service). This may possibly be the unidentified infantry divisions so far believed in North Ireland, whose transfer to England according to information from a proved source (Abwehr?) is probable (see paragraph on North Ireland).
The VII Corps, according to a creditable source, (Abwehr) is supposed to be in Devon in southwest England. Near the end of April, a landing maneuver was conducted in which, according to a sure source (Y Service), the lst Tank Destroyer Group and 4th Infantry Division participated under the VII Corps.
The Third Armored Group was confirmed in its old area northeast of Salisbury, according to information from a sure source, (Y Service).
According to reports from a proven source, (Abwehr) no large organized troop transports have arrived in North Ireland from the USA since January. As was reported previously, the bulk of the American troops in North Ireland was moved there from England only temporarily for training. The number of American units in North Ireland varies with the number of training courses in progress. The number of training personnel and the supply troops may continue to be assumed at 20,000. For a considerable time there have no longer been indications of the presence of an organized unit in Ulster so that it may be assumed that [the] unidentified infantry division so far believed in North Ireland was moved to England.
II. Naval Situation
Air reconnaissance of Plymouth on 20 April indicated enough landing craft for about 11–4 assault divisions, 1 battleship of the King George class, 2 old French battle ships, additional light warships and about 95,000 gross register tons of shipping space.
Air reconnaissance of Penzance and Newlyn on 29 April indicated only a few landing craft.
Air reconnaissance of Falmouth on 8 May showed a considerable increase of landing craft (increase of 4 transports carrying landing craft, 7 LST, 21 large landing ships) over the last reconnaissance of 27 April. This probably is another indication of the continuing movement of landing ship apace to the jump-off ports.
Transport capacity of the landing craft space observed along the English south-east between 26 April and 8 May
Southampton–Portsmouth area
for about 3 assault divisions
Salcombe-Dartmouth–Brixham area
for about 2 assault divisions
Plymouth
for about 1¼ assault divisions
Falmouth
for about 1½ assault divisions
Total
for about 7¾ assault divisions
Including the ship space observed in the Southampton–Portsmouth area (or about 4 in the Plymouth area for about 2½ assault divisions), there is now a total shipping capacity for about 14½ assault divisions. It must be considered, however, that without doubt, considerable parts of the well-camouflaged landing ship area were not observed, so that a much higher landing ship tonnage must be expected.
There is a new confirmation from a generally good source (Abwehr?) about the freighter and tanker fleet, which has been divided into three flotillas and to a great extent loaded.
According to this, the invasion fleet is now supposed to include 2.8 million gross tons. The first flotilla with parts in the Bristol Channel ports and the southwestern and southern English ports is said to have reached 1 million gross tons. The third flotilla with parts in the ports of the Irish Sea and particularly Liverpool bay also is supposed to include 1 million gross register tons. The size of the second group, believed to be in north England and Scotland, is said to be 750–800,000 gross register tons, of which about 300,000 gross register tons are in East Scottish ports.
In the opinion of the 3 SKL/OKM, intelligence section, these tonnage figures are somewhat too high, however, particularly since it is difficult to differentiate between invasion tonnage and regular current tonnage in the ports. 3 SKL furthermore assumes about 2.2 million gross register tons of invasion tonnage, of which about 900,000 gross register tons are believed to be in Southern and South-western England, 500,000 gross register tons in the Irish Sea and 800,000 in North England–Scotland.
III. Air Situation
During the 1st half of May, the planned reinforcement of the Anglo-American air force in Great Britain was also continued, particularly with the addition of American fighters, according to the OKL Intelligence section, Foreign Airforces West. Furthermore, the transfer of previously identified Anglo-American fighter forces to the close proximity of the south England coast was observed.
Quite apart from the timing of the FHW evaluation, it is of great importance because of the Allied units to which it referred. Specifically, XX Corps and the 4th Armoured Division were reported to be in the area of Bury St Edmunds, a claim that could be traced back to BRUTUS, helpfully described as a ‘reliable Abwehr source’, who had transmitted that precise information on the evening of 9 May. The purpose of this message had been to reinforce reporting of the non-existent FUSAG components, and to show them moving to the east and south-east of England, presumably in anticipation of a major embarkation. BRUTUS
had previously located XX Corps in the village of Ogbourne St George in Wiltshire, so the transfer eastwards was significant.
On 16 May 1944 Guy Liddell confided to his diary that he had been briefed by the head of B1(a), Tommy Robertson:
T.A. Robertson tells me that an MSS appreciation up to 7 May shows that from wireless intelligence the enemy have a very good idea of the disposition of our forces and of our objective. The whole picture is built up from a number of details. Agents’ reports do not appear to play a very big part. These are the views of General von Rundstedt, on which he bases his demands for units to deal with the situation. It is not possible to say how far the OKW accept his appreciation or how far, if they differ, they would be able to impose their views. I cannot help feeling that the enemy, as in the case of ourselves, are more likely to rely upon Y information and wireless intelligence than on anything they may receive from other sources, when formulating their plans. All that agents can really do is to fill in the picture.
While Liddell may have been sanguine about the Abwehr’s dependence on agents, whom he knew only too well could be of doubtful reliability, there was one eyewitness influence on FHW whose dependability was peerless, for he was a senior German military commander with first-hand knowledge who had witnessed the Allied preparations for himself. General Hans Cramer, the last commander of the Afrika Korps, had been captured in Tunisia on 12 May 1943, just two months after his appointment, and had been released from Trent Park on 22 February 1944 and repatriated by the Red Cross to Germany via Algiers on the hospital ship Atlantis with thirty-four other PoWs. He was then put on the chartered liner Gripsholm to Barcelona, where he was picked up by a special flight for Berlin. His journey under escort from Cockfosters to Liverpool was carefully stage-managed by LCS to give him plenty of opportunity to see FUSAG for himself.
