Countdown to D-Day

by Peter Margaritis

  Rommel has ordered his units to complete the high-tide and half-tide belts before proceeding to the low-tide belts. This reasoning, to him, is sound. The invasion will probably come before they are finished with the four belts, most likely in the spring. If it does, and the enemy lands at high tide as he figures they will, he is covered. If they land at half tide, that belt will be effective.

  If for some crazy reason the Allies decide to land at low tide before those two belts can be finished, the lack of effective underwater obstacles will be balanced by the prospect of the enemy coming ashore being exposed to defensive fire for longer. They will have to charge over a much greater distance of beach, in the open, and quite vulnerable.

  This longer time will give his men on the bluffs a far better opportunity to chew up the incoming assault wave. And there will be other advantages for him if they land at low tide. Both his high-tide and his half-tide belts will still present obstacles that the enemy will have to move around under fire, especially for vehicles and tanks. Another plus for him is the fact that any landing craft that stay too long and leave at half tide will still be exposed to his half-tide and high-tide belts.

  And if the enemy gives him enough time to finish the two low-tide belts, his Atlantic Wall will indeed be a very tough nut to crack.

  Sunday, February 6

  OKW, currently located at the Wolf’s Lair in Eastern Prussia, is giving little thought to the problems in the West. The renewed Soviet offensive has their attention. Kanev, Niktopol, and Cherkassy are the names on their agendas, instead of Calais, Brittany, and Normandy.

  ***

  Rommel spends the day at his luxurious Fontainebleau headquarters. At breakfast, his mind as ever on his coastal defenses, he takes time out to make another phone call about the status of his minelaying efforts, particularly in the areas most likely to be hit. He then goes on another one of his casual armed walks in the woods to relax.

  Upon his return, he sits down with an important guest: Walther Warlimont, OKW deputy operations chief. Although Rommel is not too fond of the man and considers him an ambitious, self-centered, inexperienced staff officer, he will nevertheless rub elbows with anyone if it can get him more replacements and supplies.

  The two sit down in the late morning and discuss coastal defenses. They go over the chain of command problem again, and Warlimont assures Rommel that he will have the command control that he needs when the time comes.

  They are then joined by Vizeadmiral Ruge and by Leutnant Reischauer from Naval Group Headquarters. Once again, they talk about the problems of shortages of mines. Then comes another meeting with Rommel’s Luftwaffe advisor, Oberst!leutnant Wolfgang Queissner, 1 who tells them how weak the Luftwaffe is, and about the depleted air units that now occupy France.

  Rommel and his staff then treat their guests to a modest but satisfactory lunch, with Warlimont sitting in Ruge’s normal place next to the field marshal. They all talk of their experiences in Italy the year before. Warlimont recalls his couple visits there.

  That afternoon, Warlimont and Reischauer depart for Paris with Ruge, who will meet there an OKW naval deputy flying in from southern France.2 On the way, they discuss Rommel’s plans and problems.

  Rommel, concerned about his family’s move into their new home in Herrlingen, that evening writes to his wife:

  Günther3 has arrived safely here with everything. Thank you for your letter of 4 February. Now I know that the move went pretty well in general. Even if one does not see the sense of getting newly established in our grave times, one should still be grateful and happy that one has found such a beautiful new home.

  I will be so happy if I can spend a few days of leave in February with you…

  My dachshund [Ajax] is getting to be more and more affectionate. When I take him to the woods, he is crazy with joy. He diverts me from the grave worries that are with me day and night…

  General Marcks, commanding the 84th Infantry Corps, also writes home, to his son:

  R. [Rommel] has driven us hard to work fast. He is already so experienced here that he unites our warm confidence in him. Nevertheless, his decisions are final, which is something we’ve needed to poke us along.

  1Queissner was a decorated bomber commanding officer.

  2At least one source indicates that Warlimont accompanied Ruge to Paris, where he and the naval deputy parted from Ruge and returned to OKW together.

  3Günther, Rommel’s orderly, had been sent to Rommel’s home in mid-January to get some civilian clothes for him.

  Monday, February 7

  Since Rommel is still technically the Inspector-General for the defenses in all of France, he decides to take a tour of southern France. First the Nineteenth Army positions in the southeast. Then they will swing west to the Bay of Biscay and cover the First Army positions there. This tour will also confuse Western Intelligence, and might persuade them that this is his area of command as well.

  So at 6 a.m., he leaves with Staubwasser and Queisner in his Horch. They travel southeast, with Rommel himself at the wheel. General Meise and Admiral Ruge, chauffeured by MatrosenOberst!absgefreiter (Leading Seaman) Hatzinger, follow him in a Mercury. Behind them are two open cars full of escorting soldiers.

  As usual, Rommel is in a hurry, and Hatzinger has a hard time trying to keep up with him. Rommel’s car surges ahead on the straightaways, and the trailing Mercury can only barely catch up on the hills. The last two escorting cars behind struggle even more, and they slowly drift back. Finally, the rearmost car gets lost.

  Rommel stops (briefly) in the city of Dijon, on the Burgundy canal. From there, they travel south to Chalon-sur-Saône, the wine center Beaujolais, and then on to the lovely city of Lyon, where they stop for lunch along the right bank of the Rhône River. Under a light cool wind, they take shelter behind some advertising signs. They munch on some sandwiches, drink tea, and sip some wine before continuing southward.

  They sail past several towns—Tournus, Valence, and Montelimar, the town that created the nougat. Naturally, Rommel does not stop, to the chagrin of his staff.

  Onward to Orange, and finally they hit Avignon at half past four in the afternoon. Way above the town west of the Rhône is located the headquarters of General der Infanterie Georg von Sodenstern, commanding the Nineteenth Army.1

  The general briefs Rommel on his construction progress, and the field marshal is satisfied with the work done so far. In turn, Rommel outlines his plans for new defensive measures. Then they leave and tour the French towns at a dizzying tempo, including Marseilles. Members of staff feverishly take notes every time they leave their cars, and often continue writing after they are back on the road again.

  That night, after the lost car of escorts has caught up with them, they travel to the exquisite Hôtel d’Europe2 in the center of Avignon. They will stay there for the night. After checking in, they dine with von Sodenstern in the Hôtel’s fine restaurant. Afterwards, most of the weary travelers turn in.

  1This unit used to be Armee Felber, named after its commander, General der Infanterie Hans-Gustav Felber. After Italy’s collapse in August of 1943, Felber was relieved by General Sodenstern, and it was renamed the Nineteenth Army.

  2A lavish four-star Hôtel on the Place Crillon. Built in 1580 for the Marquis de Graveson and once owned by a female friend of Napoleon, it is laden with rare antiques and stunning rooms.

  Tuesday, February 8

  Today, after a nice breakfast at the Hôtel d’Europe, Generalfeldmarschall Rommel and his entourage start out again at 8 a.m. for the Mediterranean coast. Driving through the Alpilles hills, they reach the coast just south of Fos-sur-Mer. They turn southeast and travel to Port-de Bouc, 1 go west across the mouth of the Rhône River, and finally reach Port St.-Louis-du-Rhône.

  The flatland area around the Rhône estuary is rich with large stones and small boulders. Rommel notices that many of these have been gathered and piled into stone mounds called “cairns,” to thwart any paratroop attacks there.


  In Port St.-Louis, they watch an impressive demonstration of flamethrowers used against a couple old landing craft. The boats go up nicely in billowing columns of smoke as the flames lick at their hulls and interiors.

  Then the entourage is off again, continuing west. They stop for lunch around midday. They dine in Montpellier at the headquarters of the IV Luftwaffe Field Corps. The commanding officer, General Petersen, 2 is pleased to play host to the field marshal.

  Rommel is shown that the laying of barriers in this area must be different than along the English Channel. The tides down here are very shallow, and as a result the width of the land exposed at low tide is very small. Water pressure hoses down here cannot be used to put in the stakes of the obstacles; it must be done from rafts. On the other hand, the belts themselves can be much narrower and more concentrated.

  In every sense, defensive measures here are quite inadequate, and not much is being constructed, except at ports, towns close to the coast, and at chosen resistance points, way too far from each other.

  Sodenstern has reported that he has a long 500km stretch of coast to defend with a mere six divisions. The 277th Infantry alone, near the Spanish border, must cover a staggering 200km of coastline. The weather is usually nice, with an occasional chilling “Mistral” wind blowing down from the north.

  They travel on southeast to the well-defended port of Sète, then on to Agde, where they make a cursory inspection. As twilight nears, they reach the city of Narbonne near the coast. There they stop for the night.3

  A nice dinner is followed by summaries of the day’s findings, and then off to bed for the tired inspection party.

  Rommel makes sure the reporters get several good photos of him.

  1About 20km east of Marseilles.

  2Fifty-five-year-old General der Flieger Erich Petersen, a decorated veteran of the trenches of World War I. The IV Luftwaffe Field Corps consisted of General Schack’s 272nd Infantry Division, Praun’s 277th Infantry Division, and Danhauser’s 271st Infantry Division.

  3Desmond Young states they stopped in Perpignan.

  Wednesday, February 9

  After a very early breakfast of tea, jam, and bread in Narbonne, Generalfeldmarschall Rommel’s inspection of southern France continues. Departing at 6 a.m., his party swiftly rolls southward around the coast under overcast, rainy skies to Perpignan. There they turn westward and travel inland, along the edge of the Pyrenees. Between the bad weather and the trees and brush along the route, the view of the mountains is all but invisible. The chilly rain slows down their pace, although Rommel makes sure they stay at a good clip. More towns: Foix, Tarbes, and Pau. Following the twisting roads, the vehicles often churn down muddy gullies, gorges, and deep ravines. The road begins to lead upward, and it starts to snow as the clouds seem to come down to greet them.

  They stop for a makeshift lunch. Standing along the side of the road, eating sandwiches in the cold, they observe the gray skies around them. A check of their fuel tanks shows that there is only enough petrol for two cars to finish the trip. The reserves are split up between Rommel’s Horch and Ruge’s Mercury, and these two vehicles continue on, leaving the other cars behind.

  The two cars reach the outskirts of Bayonne, near the coast, at 2 p.m. There they are briefed by the commander of the 86th Corps.1 Then Rommel gets up and outlines his program of defensive construction. Immediately afterwards, the group leaves for the Spanish border, the weather hardly letting up for them. Rolling southwest down the coast, they inspect a number of positions en route, including the railway battery at St.-Jean-de-Luz.

  The motorcade reaches the border near the harbor town of Hendaye, next to the coast and just a kilometer away from the Spanish border. Actually driving up to the border, they take a cursory look at neutral Spain, each of them silent in his own thoughts. Then they turn around and return up the coast on a fairly good road through flat, swampy forests, some 220km towards First Army headquarters in the lovely provincial city of Bordeaux.

  The sky has turned dark, and it is close to 7 p.m. as the two vehicles reach the outskirts of the city, Rommel’s Horch naturally in front. The city guide scheduled to meet them and escort them into town is not at the appointed rendezvous point, so the two cars enter the city unescorted. Suddenly, Ruge sees an unmarked car pass his. Accelerating in front of the Mercury, it starts moving up suspiciously towards Rommel’s car. The unknown vehicle has no license plate and maneuvers strangely, as though the driver either wants to pass the Horch or force it off the road. Resistance fighters maybe?

  Ruge tells his driver that the vehicle is acting suspiciously and, not wanting to take any chances, orders him to cut it off. Acting instinctively, the seaman accelerates and runs the suspect vehicle off the road. They continue on.

  The two cars find the First Army headquarters, located at the Palais de la Bourse along the Garronne River. The army commander’s quarters are in Hôtel Ballande, across from the mayor’s office, inland 0.9km away on Bordeaux’s main square, the Place Pey-Berland. Blaskowitz had picked this Hotel because of its key location, its beautiful, white, aristocratic layout, and most importantly, because it had been the quarters of his French predecessor.

  Rommel’s inspection party will be quartered nearby at the Hôtel Splendide.2

  The inspection party dumps their suitcases in their rooms and immediately goes back to the First Army headquarters for briefings with the army commander, GeneralOberst! Johannes Blaskowitz.3 Rommel and his staff are treated to some hot chocolate, and Blaskowitz wastes no time getting started. Later on, they find out that the mysterious car was only the city guide, just trying to get ahead of the field marshal to guide him. The poor fellow had been waiting for them at the wrong rendezvous point. Still, Ruge had reacted correctly. Rommel’s safety always came first.

  Rommel learns that only in a few experimental areas are defensive barriers actually being built, despite his detailed instructions given out when he was just the Inspector-General. The field marshal is not happy. This clearly underscores the fact that his “proposals and suggestions” were taken as that, and not regarded as orders.

  At 9 p.m., the group casually breaks for a small snack. Then the army’s supply officer gives his report, followed by the signal communications officer, and then the Bordeaux fortress’s chief engineer. Then Meise begins, giving instructions on what defensive measures are expected. As the reports drone on, Rommel’s staff, steadily winding down since their arrival, grows weary, and several officers slowly fall asleep at the briefing table, including General Meise whose head sinks down quietly onto the tabletop.

  The briefing finally ends, and Rommel’s staff retires for the night. Rommel sits down with Blaskowitz, and they have a nice, personal chat. Blaskowitz tells him a couple stories, including the main reasons he is still a GeneralOberst!.4

  Blaskowitz is an even-tempered, happily married, religious man. From his stint as head of the Führer’s security back in 1939, 5 Rommel knows that Blaskowitz commanded the Eighth Army in the invasion of Poland, and it was his army that had captured Warsaw late in September.

  On October 5, 1939, they had both been a part of the victory celebration in Warsaw, commemorating their quick victory over Poland. Hitler had flown in from Berlin, in his personal Condor. He was met at the airport by Generals Walther von Brauchitsch, Erhard Milch, and Walter von Reichenau.6 Rommel had gone ahead of him a day or two before, to organize his escort. Also with them had been the three senior army officers who had actually captured the capital. They were 10th Infantry Division commander Generalleutnant Conrad von Cochenhausen, his superior, Eighth Army commander Blaskowitz, and his superior officer, army group commander von Rundstedt.

  The celebration had been organized as a show of triumph for both the victors and the vanquished. An elaborate victory march and salute to the Führer had been reluctantly prepared by Blaskowitz and an uncooperative von Rundstedt, who found the whole matter disgusting, once referring to it as playing “Affentheater.”7

  Bla
skowitz recalls, “Personally, I thought it was too early for him to see the city, since it was still in shambles, and I had not had the chance to completely secure it.”

  There also had been reports that the Polish Resistance had found out that Hitler had been recently touring the battlefields, and was planning an assassination. In any event, Warsaw still had a “pall of death” hanging over it, and the stench of rotting flesh was present here and there. The Führer, however, had remained unmoved by these concerns, and at one point had prophetically remarked to foreign journalists near him, “Take a good look around Warsaw. That is how I can deal with any European city.”

  The review stand had been set up across from the Belgian embassy (the Belgian flag above still had holes in it from the fighting).8 Finally, Hitler’s entourage had pulled up, the Führer himself in his gray Mercedes, accompanied by Rommel’s heavily armed SS guards. General von Reichenau had greeted the German leader stiffly and had said simply, “Führer, I give you Warsaw.”

  The parade, complete with an elaborate band, had lasted nearly three hours, and included a review of components from each of the six divisions that been involved in taking the city. As the Führer had saluted the lead of each passing division, the steel-helmeted division commanding officers, each in succession, had dismounted his horse, left the parade, and had joined him up on the review stand. Thus as the seemingly endless columns of gray-uniformed troops had marched by, his generals had joined him one by one, and in the end, they had all stood next to him, at attention, an exalted and majestic group.

  “Remember the dinner fiasco?” Blaskowitz asks.

  Rommel does. Blaskowitz is referring to the banquet given after the ceremonies. Hitler had ordered that the field kitchens back at the Warsaw airfield feed the men who had marched in the parade. Hitler would join them in an open-air lunch.