Countdown to D-Day

by Peter Margaritis

  1Admiral Ruge in his work (Rommel in Normandy: Reminiscences) claims that these were units of the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen. This is quite possible, even though the division itself was at the time fighting in the East, because some replacement units to the division were at the same time being formed in the West.

  2Fifty-six-year-old General der Artillerie Johann Sinnhuber, commanding.

  Saturday—Christmas Day

  Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt enjoys a quiet holiday in his luxurious suite at the Hôtel Georges V. He goes out for a sumptuous dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, and then enjoys the rest of Christmas Day at the Hôtel.

  ***

  Generalfeldmarschall Rommel, after briefly enjoying a Christmas morning get-together with his army group staff, spends most of his day catching up on the mountain of paperwork on his desk. He also works on his summary report to the Führer on the readiness of what he has seen so far of the Atlantic Wall. He has not been impressed.

  He and his staff have settled in to their new quarters. Rommel, Gause, von Tempelhoff, and all their aides are lodging in Madame Pompadour’s old château. His naval staff officers are quartered in a nearby boarding house, and the rest of their personnel are in quarters around the estate.

  As they do most evenings, Rommel and his staff take their meals in the main dining salon of the Maison Pompadour. The meals are usually simple. This often frustrates their artistic dining officer, who before the war oversaw the exquisite restaurant of an internationally famed Hôtel. Of course when they have special guests, he is allowed to flex his talents. Still, Rommel seldom has more than one guest visit at a time, and never allows more than two. At such times, the guest usually sits at the table to the field marshal’s right (Admiral Ruge dutifully moves down one chair).

  The field marshal often relaxes during the evening meal with talk about military subjects and the many different types of people he has met in his life. Still, he does not like to dominate the conversation and often allows staff members to carry on the dialogue. The atmosphere around the table is usually relaxed, and because the field marshal enjoys a good joke (although nothing crude or dirty), the talk is sometimes punctuated with laughter. Rommel allows his staff to smoke, although he does not, and seldom drinks any alcohol.

  Tonight after dinner, he takes time out to write to his family. To Lucie he writes:

  It was grand that the telephone call worked so well last night and that I now know that things are all right with you both. The big news was Manfred’s call-up on January 6. He is sure to be pleased, but for us, and above all, for you, it’s painful to see the youngster leave home, and it will take us a long time to get used to the idea.

  I wish you both a happy Christmas. Enjoy the time you still have together… I spent yesterday evening with the officers of my staff and afterwards with the men, though it’s difficult to be really cheerful at the moment.

  He finishes his letter to her, and then begins one to his son.

  Dear Manfred:

  In a fortnight, you’ll be leaving your parental home to enlist as a Luftwaffe auxiliary. So life begins in earnest for you. I hope you bring us as much joy in uniform as you have up until now.

  A new way of life is starting for you. You must learn to obey the orders of your superior quickly and without answering back. Often there’ll be orders which you don’t like, often you won’t understand the point of them. Obey without question. A superior cannot go into a long discussion about his orders with his subordinates. There just isn’t time to give reasons for every order...

  Now that the instructions are over, he summarizes.

  Remember your moral upbringing, and don’t fall into bad company. I’ve talked with you often enough about that. You know the importance I attach particularly to this question of conduct.

  He finishes his letter, guilty that the boy has grown so much over the last few years and that he has missed so much of it. Now he is going into the military, and Rommel is missing that, too…

  He leaves his office and, to cheer up, he joins his staff for a while, celebrating the holidays. But he is homesick, and is not in much of a mood for festivities. He goes to bed early.

  ***

  Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, spends Christmas with most of his senior leaders at his Wolfsschanze in East Prussia. He is in a funk of depression. Another Soviet offensive began yesterday, and it looks as though things are going to get really bad in the East.

  Clearly, the rest of the war is not going well either. Africa is lost. Italy has surrendered, and Hungary is considering a similar solution. The Wehrmacht has been crippled with nearly two million casualties in just the last year, and given the way the war is going, it looks like there will be at least that many this next year. American bombers pound the Reich’s cities by day and British bombers take their turn at night. The struggle in the Atlantic has turned decisively against them, and his surface navy is a ghost of what it once was. On top of everything else, it appears to him that his generals and admirals are doing little to change these fortunes of war.

  Dejected, Hitler decides that the holiday will not be celebrated. He has ordered that no Christmas tree be put up, and he does not allow a single candle to be lit. OKW Chief of Staff Generalfeldmarschall Keitel makes sure that this policy is followed.

  The Führer, his entire command staff, and everyone at the Wolfsschanze go through a sad, dismal Christmas Day working as usual.

  Sunday, December 26

  Generalfeldmarschall Rommel spends the day after Christmas at his palatial headquarters in Fontainebleau. He goes over the notes and summaries that he and his staff have written up on their last two inspections of the coast. In a few days, he will start writing his report to the High Command. After all, that is really what he is there for. No one as yet has officially told him that he will be taking over the northern area. Right now, he is just an inspector for the Führer.

  One disturbing factor out here is the varying sizes of the divisions. So many are either being formed, being refitted, or just struggling to hold onto their own numbers, given the huge drain of manpower on the Eastern and Southern fronts. So the divisions in Western Europe vary greatly in number and types of men, vehicles, and formations.

  The panzer divisions were typically created around an initial, small cadre of experienced Panzermänner. Initially labeled Reserve Panzer Divisions, they would struggle to acquire resources to grow and then train for combat. After several weeks, they would either reach a reasonable size (at least 12,000 men) and a minimal level of efficiency, or be combined into another larger unit. Sometimes a unit might be able to beg, borrow, or steal enough transport of any kind, including wagons, carts, and bicycles, to be considered “mobile.” If they could commandeer enough old or captured tanks to be loosely considered a panzer force, they might suddenly find themselves given an allotment of moderately good tanks (but still no transport). Unfortunately, they are usually then shipped off to the Eastern Front to play in the big leagues.

  Some units are already large enough, and just struggle to get into shape to fight. The 156th Reserve Division, as an example, has a nearly full complement of some 14,0 men. And they are usually in good shape too, trained, many with combat experience. But their equipment is pathetic; little motor transport, old decrepit weapons, and a supply setup that is primitive at best.

  Then there are the Luftwaffe field divisions.

  There are at present several of them stationed in France. The idea for these unique units began in the winter of 1941—42, when the situation on the Eastern Front had first become critical and manpower shortages had begun to have an effect on the Heer. The army was starting to have difficulties getting fresh bodies to fill their divisions. In comparison, Herman Göring’s Luftwaffe, shrunken down by heavy combat losses in all theaters, now had spare ground personnel who were, to all intents and purposes, out of a job.

  The vain Reichsmarshal, rather than turn these 200,000—250,000 men over to the
army, decided to use them to create his own field divisions. And naturally, the Luftwaffe would retain operational control of them.1 The program to establish these new units had been offered to Hitler as a present on his 53rd birthday in April 1942. Creation of the divisions started in October.

  Rommel scowls as he thinks of these divisions. Air force personnel trained as infantry! Two of the divisions are doing a lackluster job in Italy. Those here in France are no better. Some are undersized. The 18th Luftwaffe Field Division for instance, defending the coast northeast of Calais, has fewer than 9,000 men.

  Rommel had inspected one of these Luftwaffe field units back in Italy. It was an odd thing to see air force personnel committed in ground combat roles. Their officers were incompetent and inexperienced in land warfare. The senior officers were usually old veterans of World War I. The junior field officers had little training to lead men on ground maneuvers, and the few noncoms lacked any combat experience. The one positive virtue of these divisions though, was that most of the men were healthy and had at least some type of war training, even if it was usually tied to air operations.

  Still, Rommel would rather see these inadequate divisions disbanded and their men used to flesh out other, weaker army units. The units would benefit from the fresh influx of good manpower, and the airmen would in turn benefit from the experience of their army cohorts.

  But Göring would not hear of such a preposterous idea. Dump his élite Luftwaffe men in with the “cannon fodder?” Ha! Niemals!

  ***

  This morning in the freezing North Sea, the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst, having put to sea yesterday with five Z-class destroyers in Operation Östfront, is having no luck trying to find a couple eastbound convoys northwest of Norway and headed for Russia. The battlegroup, commanded by Konteradmiral Erich Bey, does not know that the convoys are bait sent to lure him out to sea. The Royal Navy, forewarned of Scharnhorst’s departure by Ultra intercepts from London, has sent a battle force out to catch it. So in the process of looking for and trying to intercept the merchant ships, Bey instead meets at North Cape a British cruiser force.2 The British cruisers keep the German vessel from engaging a convoy to the north and hold it off until more ships can arrive. The Scharnhorst, now alone, having sent its destroyers home to escape in the heavy seas, attempts to return to base southeastward, but is cut off a couple hours later by the battleship Duke of York and cruiser Jamaica.

  In the late afternoon, a three-hour running gun battle ensues. Outnumbered, outgunned, far outclassed technologically by the superior British radar, and crippled by a couple lucky hits early on, Scharnhorst is beaten down. Although she is damaged by several torpedoes from British destroyers, she can still make 12 knots. Then the light cruisers Jamaica and Belfast close in for the kill, and after several more torpedo hits, she goes down by the bow at 7:45 p.m., her props still proudly turning. Out of a crew of nearly two thousand, just 36 crewmen are picked up in the frigid waters. None are officers.

  At the Wolfsschanze, Großadmiral Erich Raeder informs the Führer of the loss later that night.

  1These units initially remained under Luftwaffe control, but not for long. While the Luftwaffe retained administrative control of them, operational control was soon handed over to the Heer. The divisions were able to retain their original numbers and a Luftwaffe designator was attachéd to them, thus distinguishing them from similarly numbered army units already created. However, they were operationally controlled by Army headquarters.

  2The British had intercepted Scharnhorsf’s battle orders by wireless before she had sailed, and had just enough time to move in sufficient vessels to trap her.

  Monday, December 27

  Generalfeldmarschall Rommel goes on the road again. He has a noontime meeting with corps commander General der Artillerie Erich Heinemann. The general, at 56 more than three years older than Rommel, had retired from the army back in ‘37. Recalled to serve again in 1940, he commanded artillery on the Eastern Front for a couple years before he was given command of the new 65th Corps just 26 days ago. He has also, by special order of OKW, been put in charge of the German V-1 program. Rommel discusses with him the locations where the “vengeance weapon” sites will be built.

  Later that afternoon, Rommel travels to Paris with Alfred Gause, his chief of staff, and Hans-Georg von Tempelhoff, his Ia. They call on von Rundstedt at his Hôtel headquarters, and over tea, they go over Rommel’s initial findings in respect of the Atlantic Wall.

  The enemy has conducted a few landing exercises, and will more than likely do more. Regarding the enemy fleet, intelligence reports that the combat vessels in southern ports are mainly destroyers, escorts, and auxiliary craft. Cruisers and battleships are nested in the central and northern ports, away from German bombers and prying eyes. These ships might unite at any point up there, concealed from the few German recon flights that are completed.

  They then discuss possible defensive strategies. The invasion is expected to occur sometime between next spring and fall, when the weather is good. Rommel thinks the invasion will most likely be near Boulogne and the Somme estuary. The Cherbourg and Brittany peninsulas are too remote. In any event, he wants to put all available forces on the coast and build a chain of massive fortifications, interlaced with minefields and obstacles. He wants the panzer divisions brought forward too, with at least one to support each infantry corps.

  Von Rundstedt disagrees. There just is too much coastline to cover, and not nearly enough men. Better to let the enemy first land, and then conduct a mobile defense around them.

  Still, the old Prussian does not voice too many objections. He partially accepts Rommel’s theory of defending the coast despite his own personal views. He is willing to put infantry close to the coastline. And he further agrees that the Somme is a likely target. He does though object to the placement of the panzers. He wants them further inland, where they can be free of naval gunfire and be allowed to maneuver. So he forbids putting them so near the beaches. He states, “for me too there is no doubt whatever that the main invasion will most probably come either side of the Somme.” However, if the Allies do land in a different area, then the panzers would not be able to quickly move to get to the landing area.

  After Rommel leaves, von Rundstedt repeats his concerns in a reply to an extensive communique he has received from von Salmuth. The Fifteenth Army commander’s suggestions echo those of Rommel, who toured his area just a few days ago. Von Salmuth, in a detailed report, recommends a) strengthening the coastal defenses, b) expanding the minefields with additional labor and engineer units, and c) concentrating units close to the coast, because the issue would need to be resolved immediately, and reserves would arrive too late. He also adds that the mobile reserves should be formed into large formations and positioned in key “focal points.”

  Von Rundstedt starts off on a positive note:

  Far be it from me, not to assess the suggestions of responsible commanders-in-chief from a purely technical standpoint, and with a view to the general good. You may therefore rest assured that I welcome every suggestion and every proposal, and that I will have their practicability examined.

  And he does agree that time would be of the essence. However, his intentions regarding the positioning of the panzers, as with Rommel, remain the same:

  I have … intentionally avoided placing panzer divisions in particular too far forward, in order still to allow an advance from the rear areas, or a lateral movement without too great a sacrifice.

  He adds a note of hope to his report for von Salmuth:

  Circumstances may change, if—as OKW foresees—additional forces, including mechanized formations, are placed at OB. West’s disposal within the next few weeks. I will then place large bodies of troops, including mechanized or armored formations at the disposal of Fifteenth Army too as operational reserve divisions, and I shall perhaps also be able to strengthen the forces on the coast.

  Still, he has no intention of putting his mobile units up front, wher
e they would be stuck, and where enemy naval and air forces could decimate them. No, the panzers will stay inland, under his command.

  This point of contention between the two field marshals will persist until the invasion.

  Tuesday, December 28

  A meeting in Fontainebleau today is to be attended by the operations officers (Ia) for all the major commands in the West. Attendants include OB West’s Bodo Zimmermann, von Tempelhoff, and the operations officers from each of the Seventh, Fifteenth, and First Armies.

  Rommel does not stay for the meeting, though. He leaves with his chief of staff and Queissner. They drive to Hugo Sperrle’s headquarters at the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris, once the residence of Marie de Medici.1 Sperrle commands Luftflötte 3, and all other air units in the West. Additionally, he is Stellvertretender OB West.2

  Sperrle, along with Albert Kesselring, had been a key player in the 1940 Battle of Britain. Now, over three years of the easy, Parisian life has left him out of shape, spoiled, relaxed, and generally unconcerned about the war. With his bulky legs propped up on a map on his desk, his monocle in one eye, he tells Rommel that the Luftwaffe will not be much of a factor in the upcoming invasion. As a matter of fact, on the first day, it will not even be around.

  Rommel is astounded. Oh, the ground support system for the aircraft is there and will be ready. But the actual air units will not start coming in until a few days after the landing.

  Take for instance, the II Fliegerkorps.3 It had been transferred a couple weeks ago from the Italian front, and was to be the core unit to assault the landing when it came. The headquarters unit had even moved to France. However, the air squadrons were still in Germany, getting refitted and reorganized.