Countdown to D-Day

by Peter Margaritis

  Rommel seems to score on this point, because Hitler apparently sees the reason in what he is saying. He tells Rommel that his request sounds logical and promises to seriously consider it. Rommel finally departs, believing that Hitler will accede to his request.

  1Dr. Theo Morell, the Führer’s private physician, was standing next to Rommel’s operations officer at the door to the closed conference room. At the end of the meeting, he nudged von Tempelhoff and with a slight grin, commented dryly, “Congratulations. Evidently you’re Ia to the new Oberbefehlshaber West. Rundstedt lasted only five minutes, and your boss managed thirty.” Of course, Morell’s prediction was wrong. Von Rundstedt kept his position.

  Tuesday, March 21

  Vizeadmiral Ruge is, on Rommel’s behalf, finishing a three-day tour of the Brittany area, checking out naval ordnance centers and other naval facilities.

  ***

  The conference at the Berghof ended, the major Western commanders return to France by special train. Rommel feels satisfied with the meeting on the whole. However, his positive feelings are peppered by some misgivings, some of them based upon the Führer’s past record on fulfilling promises. Rommel has noted in his daily report:

  Satisfied with result. The Führer has completely accepted the commander’s [Rommel’s] opinion regarding the defense of the coast and agreed to a change in the command organization.

  He believes this. After he had left the conference with von Tempelhoff, he had even exclaimed that the Führer had agreed with every one of his points. A half-hour later though, after some inner analysis, he had remarked thoughtfully, “What has he really given me?”

  He is still wondering about that.

  Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt understandably still feels slighted by the Führer’s behavior at the conference. As a result, he and Rommel speak to each other as little as possible on the return trip. On the other hand, army commanders Dollmann and von Salmuth, having heard from the Führer himself how they must stop the enemy at the water’s edge, have renewed their determination in carrying out Rommel’s defensive instructions.

  The special train arrives back in Paris in the late afternoon. Rommel immediately returns by car to his château and unpacks. Before catching up on his paperwork though, he starts going over the notes he and von Tempelhoff have made at the conference.

  In the meantime, his headquarters staff have not been idle. Chief of Staff Gause has been on the phone several times with OKW. The main subject was armor, of course. There are only four panzer divisions left in France, 1 and only two can be considered even somewhat combat-worthy: the 9th SS and the 10th SS, both down south. The still-forming 12th SS Hitlerjugend is not yet ready for combat, and the 21st Panzer, still fitting itself, lacks a good deal of its armor as well as most of its transport. Basic training on tank warfare is in full swing. Clearly, the division still needs time to develop. Even so, it had nearly followed Panzer Lehr to Hungary, assigned to the operation’s strategic reserve. Several of the 21st’s components, such as they were, had already entrained and were ready to move east when the order to stand down had come from the top. Operation Margarethe I had been completely successful—the 21st Panzer would not be needed.

  1Not of course, including scattered reserve panzer battalions in various stages of organization.

  Wednesday, March 22

  Rommel spends the whole day at his headquarters, further going over conference notes. In addition, a couple of other details need his attention. Fortresses along the coast, for one thing. Again, it is a matter of command control. To a large extent, OKW directives and special orders dictate that each fortress area is to be its own entity, complete in its responsibility, and broad in its control of defense. On the other hand, what about the individual units within the fortification zone? While they may belong operationally to the fortress command, and are subject to reorganization for its benefit, are they not in many ways still connected to parent units (often nearby) and administratively to other organizations on the outside?

  Rommel decides that they are. Army and naval ground units within a fortress are to keep their own unit and service identities, and not be reorganized into “fortress units” for the area.

  In addition, he wants the fortress commands to undertake the same anti-airborne measures that the other coastal units are pursuing. Up until now, undertaking this measure has been a problem in fortified zones, what with the shortages of material and the priorities of port operations and constructing the beach barriers. Still, work is moving along on airborne barriers, and this problem once again has to be addressed. He calls for implementation of the usual obstacle ensnarements in clear fields, including stakes, barbed wire, and mines, mines, mines…

  Late in the morning, a directive comes down from OB West. Offshore obstacle construction is to utilize as much as possible all available geologists in Western France, naturally applying, of course, tact and diplomacy to coordinate this with the Navy.

  ***

  Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt is mostly pleased with the relocation of his quarters, and it partially dispels his foul mood from that distasteful conference in Austria. In his absence, his staff have moved his things out of the Hôtel Georges V in downtown Paris and into his main residence, the villa on the Rue AlexAndré Dumas in St.-Germain-en-Laye.

  He approves most of the changes that have been made, except of course, the air raid shelter in his backyard. The conspiring staff who had overseen the installation had hoped that, like before, the addition would have a minimal impact on his mood. Unfortunately though, they are not as lucky this time. The workers had taken great pains to not damage, ruin, or remove any of his garden or landscape in the area. He would have thrown a fit if they did. They had though made one mistake. A privet hedge1 had been mauled during construction. As he is being shown the new shelter, he notices the assaulted shrub immediately. True to form, he grouses about it. He will thereafter take pains to point out the poor hedge’s damage to his staff every time he passes by.

  He goes back to doing most of his work in the villa, spending more time there than at his headquarters; a sort of semi-retirement. He performs most of his daily activities on the first floor, where his bedroom, his study, and the dining room are located. His own room has a view of the girls’ school next door. For efficiency, his adjutant and chief of staff both have quarters with him.

  As the weather warms up, he will start to spend part of his time outside. The villa is surrounded by a beautiful lawn (woe betide the man who unknowingly steps on it!). There are some pretty hedges, lovely poplars, chestnuts, and beech trees. Lots of room for his dachshund, Flori. And of course, he has designated the area that soon will become his pride and joy—his half-acre garden, which he and the resident gardener, M. Ernest Gavoury, will tend to almost religiously.

  Down the hill slope from his villa and mostly underground is his bunker headquarters, built into the hillside. He still only walks down there for official activities and to make long-distance phone calls.

  Well, at any rate, he is back now in the villa, and he can really relax. He is glad to be out of Paris. He did not like living in the French capital. Too much hustle and bustle; too many people, dirty streets, occasional offensive odors. And besides, the social nightlife is far beyond his desires. No, he had preferred St.-Germain for years. Only the cold and the severe shortage of coal for heat had driven him to the Parisian Hôtels for the winter. Now though, he is happily back in his little suburb.

  It is getting on to lunchtime. Perhaps he might go for a brisk walk. He considers wandering over to the Pavillon Henri IV at the edge of those beautiful woods to have a few brandies. As always, he takes in his pocket several bars of chocolate for any children he might encounter.

  1A hedge-type shrub identified by small, dark-green leaves.

  Thursday, March 23

  Rommel is on the road again by 6:30 a.m., with a part of his staff. Coming along are engineer Meise, Oberst! Lattmann, von Tempelhoff, and Ruge, his naval advis
or and good friend. They are leaving on a five-day tour up the northern European coast.

  They make good time and hit Brussels by noon. Rommel first calls on the district military commander there, General der Infanterie Alexander von Falkenhausen. The man is getting on in age, and the style in which he lives underlies the responsibility that he carries. And why not? After all, von Falkenhausen had already been appointed a second lieutenant when Rommel was only six years old. As a young officer, von Falkenhausen had served as a military advisor to, of all people, the Chinese, and it had only been the war that had forced him to come out of retirement. He had been appointed the military governor of Northern France and Belgium back in the spring of 1940, and had been there ever since.

  They all dine together, and over a sumptuous lunch, discuss a number of subjects, including some politics. Von Falkenhausen at one point mentions the obvious negative consequence of gaining power, and paraphrases Confucius: “Power corrupts, and total power corrupts totally.”

  That afternoon after lunch, von Falkenhausen and Rommel adjourn to secluded quarters to have a “private discussion.” Most staff members surmise that it is about the war, and that the two are merely airing their frustrations and opinions in seclusion, where they can speak freely. Some think that they are actually exploring possible actions that can be taken.1 It is of course hard to do that with staff members around, even loyal ones; and though there are no SS or Gestapo members in the area, it would still only take one slip to get into trouble.2

  After the private talk, Rommel and his staff bid farewell and leave again, off to the headquarters of General Reinhard’s LXXXVIII Corps.3 There he meets with Reinhard, Admiral Förste, and Admiral Kleikamp, commander of the naval forces in the region.

  Reinhard briefs them on the construction progress in the area. As part of the effort to maximize the difficulty of attacking specific fortress and fortification defenses, large areas of flat terrain—over a quarter of a million acres—are undergoing flooding. As is to be expected, with spring here, the nearby inhabitants and the local civilian authorities, who had initially been remarkably relaxed over the loss of the farmland and pasture, have realized how much the loss of this land will mean to them this year, and are now irate.

  Rommel patiently explains to them all that the protesters will just have to make do with the lands they have. “All interests, economic and otherwise,” he declares, “will have to be subordinated to the military requirements, because improving the readiness of the defenses will protect the Netherlands from destruction and any enemy threat.” And so he orders Reinhard to continue with the flooding, insisting â that he wants it completed by the end of April. After that, good weather will set in. The risk of invasion will increase significantly.

  On the rest of their work, Rommel expresses dissatisfaction. The total number of offshore obstacles completed is not high enough. And the fortresses must better prepare surrounding flat areas against possible paratroop landings.

  Admiral Kleikamp tries to argue that the area is already well protected by the extensive checkerboard pattern of naval batteries.

  Rommel replies that the batteries are still too far inland, irritated by their complacent lack of insight, he energetically restates his well-worn theories about a fortified zone on the coast, no further inland than eight kilometers; about the batteries and reserves also being on the front line. Let the naval training units protect the rear areas.

  Reinhard’s chief of staff mentions a few areas that already have significant defenses. But when he mentions effective strengths for reserve units, Rommel criticizes the numbers. One corps has a complement of 39,000 men, but is being listed as having an effective strength of only 20,000 because so many are recruits. Rommel rebuffs this practice. Recruits, he claims, can in only a matter of days be shown how to use weapons effectively and defend a position.

  Reinhard’s staff protests, arguing that recruits should remain in reserve units in the rear until they can be sufficiently trained to be combat efficient. Rommel tells them they are wrong. Even the reserves should be on the front line for maximum initial resistance to the landing.

  After the reports and some more discussion (Rommel of course, squelches the protests), the entourage leaves. They travel to see Christiansen in the Netherlands. A large dinner is served, and besides the army group inspection party, Christiansen’s guests include Admiral Kleikamp, Admiral Förste, and undersecretary Wimmer. Interesting conversations about the war drift over the evening dinner table.

  Rommel and his staff do not stay long after the meal is over. There is too much work to do.4

  ***

  OB West today gets an intelligence estimate from OKW that the invasion might be put off. Recent reports received by Fremde Heeres West suggest that the Allies might postpone the landing. FHW has dismissed them, concluding that they are delusive, designed to throw the Germans off. But OKW is not so sure, leaning perhaps too heavily on wishful thinking. At any rate, it is more persuasive evidence to transfer badly needed units to the East.

  At OKW, that subject brings more bad news. The problems in the East are getting worse. The Russian spring offensive has torn significant gaps in three army groups. General Hube’s élite but emaciated First Panzer Army is once again in trouble. Fighting in the Carpathian Mountains, they have been assaulted by strong Soviet units.

  The front commander, Feldmarschall von Manstein, had also attended the Führer’s conference back on the 19th and taken part in the oath of allegiance ceremony. However, though the conference was mostly about the West, von Manstein at that time had briefed Hitler on the severity of their problems in the East, and the field marshal had not pulled any punches. The Soviet army, he had pointed out, was advancing all along the Bug River, and if he was going to have any hope of stopping them, he had to pull back and regroup his forces. He had then asked to withdraw them back to the Dniester River and to reinforce the First Panzer and Eighth Army. Hitler, irritated at this distraction from the main purpose of the conference—the West—had not allowed any general withdrawals, and had told von Manstein that reinforcements were not available.

  Now though, just four days later, the situation has become critical, and both the First Panzer Army and the Eighth Army could very well be surrounded and neutralized unless help comes. Hitler has already dispatched no fewer than six of the army’s newly created infantry divisions to the southern portion of the Eastern Front, but that clearly will not be enough. To extricate Hube’s army, they will need sizeable power. All the mobile formations in the East and the South are committed. As with the Hungarian occupation, the relief will again just have to come from the West. Several mobile units in France are put on a list for reassignment to the East. The orders will go out as soon as possible.

  As if the military situation is not enough to fret over, Hitler is given another bit of news that sends him into a fury. He is told that the Russians have tried several German officers for crimes against the Soviet Union and, having found them guilty, have executed them.

  Yelling over this outrage, he decides to return the favor to the enemy. Only he decides to target the American air crewmen that are devastating his country. He declares that, “British and American war criminals must also be condemned to death and their confessions must also be publicized after their execution.” He orders that Allied airmen accused of machine-gunning civilians are to be put on trial.

  Jodl suggests that since the enemy routinely executes German agents, they should do the same with the five hundred British and American agents and saboteurs who have been captured in the Hungarian operation.

  Hitler agrees, adding that he had read that some of these enemy gangsters had carried out particularly dirty assignments to assassinate Germans, or to spread highly contagious germs to start epidemics.

  1This could be the meeting that David Irving referenced in Trail of the Fox (see footnote for March 2). Admiral Ruge remarked of the meeting, “As I found out much later, it was the first time they made contact in orde
r to find ways to end the war and to change political conditions in Germany.”

  2Rommel early on refused to have an SS officer or representative anywhere on his staff. This was mainly so that he could be relaxed around his men, although he also never cared much for the flair and aplomb of the SS. Interestingly enough, he also banned the Nazi salute in his headquarters and around the local populace. Once the year before, when Rommel had been speaking rather freely to his own staff, he had noticed that one of the aides was writing down what he had said. “My God, man!” he had shouted at the fellow with a laugh. “Are you trying to get me hanged?!?”

  3Forty-six-year-old General der Infanterie Hans Wolfgang Reinhard. After serving on the Russian front, he took command of the corps on July 1, 1942. Admiral Ruge in his Reminiscences mistakenly refers to him as “Major General Reinhardt, commanding 89th Corps.”

  4Undersecretary Dr. Friedrich Wimmer was the Reichskommisar (Reich Commissioner General) for Internal Affairs from July 1940 to the end of the war. As such, he participated in the regular weekly official conferences of the Reich Commissioner, along with the general commissioners and the general secretaries. Wimmer was also general commissioner for internal administration and justice in the Netherlands.

  Friday, March 24

  Von Rundstedt’s headquarters is notified in the early morning hours (Rommel, in Brussels, will get the word later) that the 349th Infantry Division is to move east immediately1. Along with it are to go the assault gun battalions from three infantry divisions—the 326th, the 346th, the 348th—as well as the one from the 19th Luftwaffe Field Division.