Countdown to D-Day

by Peter Margaritis

  We stand on the eve of heavy fighting, the most decisive battle of the war. Extraordinary things have been accomplished during the last months and weeks, and yet we are not as prepared as I would like to be. We still need more mines, more obstacles in the water and against airborne troops, still more artillery, anti-aircraft, and rocket projectors……

  Yesterday, Rundstedt came here for a visit. In the afternoon I had a talk with a British officer who was quite sensible…

  With Panzer Lehr now back from Hungary, they seem to sport a real chance of defeating the invasion. It is all a matter of knowing where it will start and reacting as soon as possible. Perhaps any day now…

  1A flying court-martial or “drumhead” court-martial, a term used for a quick proceeding done in the field, one in which the accused is given little or no chance to mount an effective defense.

  2731-PS, Memorandum from Chief of the Command Staff of the Armed Forces to the Deputy Chief of Command Staff of the Armed Forces, dated May 21. The memorandum was later used as evidence in the Nuremburg trials after the war.

  3Rieve, who replaced Admiral von Fischel on April 21, 1943, commanded four sectors: Seeko Pas-de-Calais, with headquarters at Wimille, Seeko Seine-Somme, headquartered at Le Havre, Hennecke’s Seeko Normandie, its headquarters at Cherbourg, and Seeko Kanalinseln, its headquarters at Jersey. Rieve reported directly to Admiral Krancke.

  Monday, May 22

  In the morning, Rommel and Ruge travel southeast and upstream along the Seine to their alternate command center, a small, modest villa in the nearby town of Vernon. Accompanying them is war correspondent and good friend of the field marshal Lutz Koch.1 Rommel wants him to write an article about this alternate site, hoping that the enemy will be confused and not know for sure whether he is spending his time here or at La Roche-Guyon.

  At lunchtime, General von Salmuth arrives at this alternate site. He dines with them and then stays for a few meetings with Rommel early that afternoon.

  Leaving Vernon a while later, Rommel returns to his château and goes over reports. Today, they seem favorable. The effort to strengthen Normandy continues. By now, additional units have fully arrived in the area: Falley’s 91st Air Landing Division and von der Heydte’s crack 6th Parachute Regiment. In addition, several army group reserve units have been moved there: the 206th Panzer Battalion, the 7th AOK Stürm Battalion, the 101st Stellungswerfer2 Regiment, the 17th Machine Gun Battalion, and the 100th Panzer Replacement Battalion. Though these units are small in number, many of the men in these units are combat veterans or have been fully trained.

  In the late afternoon, Rommel goes rabbit hunting with his aide Lang and chief engineer Meise. He feels that this is about all he can do at this point, as he awaits the invasion. His units by now know what to do and are working steadily on their defenses every day (and the Allied air forces on his nerves every night).

  At one point, trudging through an open field, Meise and Rommel find themselves together and alone. For lack of anything better to talk about, Meise tries something he has never done before: he tries to engage the field marshal in politics. As he speaks though, Rommel interrupts him.

  “Meise… Look, you and I can only talk politics if we’re in an open field with nobody else in sight for two hundred yards all around.” He goes on to say that in his mind, the Führer is and always has been a sort of brilliant visionary, who can quite be levelheaded and practical. “If you see him entirely alone, you can talk quite reasonably with him. But then ‘Martin Bormann and Company’ come in, and he reverts to his old form.”

  He pauses and adds, “Let’s not talk about that.”

  ***

  Today’s Situation Report from OB West reflects von Rundstedt’s uncertainty about the landing area:

  OB West appreciates the situation as follows:

  The focal point of the enemy’s concentration for invasion is in the South and Southeast of England. The Isle of Wight area is a focal point of preparations. The threatened main front is still definitely the Channel front between the Scheldt and Normandy, as well as the northern part of Brittany, including Brest…”

  In the meantime, new reports of Allied air activity come in. The rail lines all over France have yet again been targeted. A number of German airfields and railroad marshaling yards are hit in the Calais, Cherbourg, and Paris areas.

  Paris, declared by the Germans to be an open city, like Rome, still comes under aerial attack, although it is a small, limited raid. The enemy aircraft fly in on careful, precise vectors and conduct strict bombing and strafing runs on parts of the Paris/ Orly airport.3

  A half-century later, a bomb run like this will be termed a “surgical air strike.”

  ***

  Reich Minister Albert Speer begins a conference with the Führer that, on and off, will take place today and tomorrow. At the end of it, Speer will note the Führer’s agreement with his view that:

  …in the West, even though building operations on the Atlantic Wall should be possible, the main duties of the OT should lie in the elimination of difficulties in transport, including those in the interior of France.

  1See entry for May 5.

  2Rocket launcher.

  3This is the first time that Brereton’s tactical Ninth Air Force has hit the capital in force.

  Tuesday, May 23

  At La Roche-Guyon, Rommel has that noontime conference with State Party Leader Karl Kaufmann that he set up on the 20th. They discuss the problems of transportation along the inland rivers and canals. They also discuss (although in the abstract) possible consequences to Germany if the invasion fails and the Führer steps down from power. If he did, the other prominent Nazis such as Göring, Bormann, and Himmler would have to go with him. If that happened, government stability would depend upon the Gauleiters like Kaufmann to keep political constancy in the Reich until a peace could be secured with the Allies.1

  That afternoon, the army group staff squeezes in a few games of tennis between air raid warnings. The Allies are at it again, bombing railroads and bridges.2

  A series of phone calls is made to Germany. Rail transports are being held up at the border because the delousing operations there have fallen behind schedule.3

  That evening, General Speidel in his bedroom up in the old Norman tower packs his bags, getting ready to go on leave. To him, this trip home will be an important one. He is going to confer with some of his co-conspirators in his province of Württemberg.4

  ***

  Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram von Richthofen arrives at the Berghof in Bavaria. He has flown in from Italy to report directly to the Führer on the air situation there. First though, he attends a preliminary morning air production meeting in the SS barracks. Göring of course chairs the meeting. Von Richthofen is struck by the difference in attitudes between the old-school veterans like Milch and those wanting change, like Armaments Director Karl Saur.

  Just after noontime, the Luftwaffe field marshal meets the Führer, who to him appears older. He still though, carries himself regally, and despite rumors, he does not seem at all nervous. On the contrary, he acts like a man charged with a historic mission, calmly letting his destiny unfold before him.

  Von Richthofen gives his briefing on both the military and the political status in Italy. Each facet is getting bad. The setbacks at Cassino and Anzio though do not seem to perturb the Führer. Time, he says, is their ally. He even boasts to Richthofen that, as a matter of fact, from a political standpoint, Germany has already won the war.

  Later on, around 3 p.m., Reichsmarschall Göring and his air production people join them in the villa’s Great Hall. With them is famous fighter ace Adolf Galland. Although the view of the Alps is spectacular, the unheated room is somewhat chilly. They are all here for the Jägerstab report, the update on the production of fighters. Today’s reports will include the status of the long-awaited new jet airplane, the Me-262. Hitler listens to standard fighter details as he absent-mindedly gazes out his grand window at the breathtaking m
ountain view below. Field Marshal Erhard Milch, in charge of aircraft production, then begins his report on the projected figures for production of the new jet-fighter—

  Hitler whirls around. “Jet-fighter?” he asks sharply. “I thought the 262 was coming in as a high-speed bomber.”

  Surprised at this, Milch replies hesitatingly, “Mein Führer, for the time being, it is being manufactured as a fighter.”

  Hitler looks intently around at the group and asks, “How many of the 262s already manufactured can carry bombs?”

  Milch is now thoroughly rattled by the Führer’s abrupt, somewhat harsh tone. He meekly tells him, “None, mein Führer. The Me-262 is being designed exclusively as a fighter aircraft.”

  After an awkward moment of silence, Milch goes on defense. Hitler is ominously quiet. Milch explains that the 262 has been designed as a swift fighter aircraft. To be redesigned now as a Jabo and hold bombs, its frame would have to be strengthened considerably. That would take a lot more precious design time. Even then, its payload would be limited; it would not be able to carry more than one 500kg bomb.

  The Führer erupts into a furious tirade. Another screw-up! He had wanted a jet built that could carry bombs to the upcoming Western invasion site and smash through the enemy air armadas. Instead, they are getting ready to make another fighter. He fumes, “Who pays the slightest attention to the orders I give? I gave an unqualified order and left nobody in any doubt that the aircraft was to be built as a fighter-bomber.”

  As Milch tries to goes on, Hitler snaps, “Never mind! I only want one 250-kilo bomb!... How much do they weigh?”

  Armaments Director Saur replies with statistics on the weight of the aircraft’s cannon, protective armor, and ammunition. Hitler adds the numbers up as they are given. Together, the total weight is over 500 kilos.

  “You don’t need any guns,” he replies with an evil grin. “The plane is so fast, it doesn’t need any armor plating, either. You can take it all out.”

  He turns to Oberst! Edgar Petersen, head of the Luftwaffe experimental research station at Rechlin, and asks if this is not so. The colonel of course nods in agreement. “That can be done without any difficulty,” he replies.

  Trying to salvage the situation, Milch pleads for the Führer to listen to other air experts who have come with him, but none want to speak up. In a brave attempt, General Galland begins hesitantly. An abrupt retort from the Führer, though, silences him after a dozen words or so.

  After a short tense moment of silence, Milch tries again to appeal to the Führer. Raging, Hitler cuts him off and begins to berate the man.

  Desperate and agitated, Milch hesitates, then again speaks up. “Mein Führer,” he cries pleadingly, “the smallest infant can see that this is a fighter, not a bomber aircraft!”

  Infant?! Hitler deliberately, dramatically turns his back on the field marshal, a clear sign that this part of the meeting is over and a curt dismissal to the group. Milch is clearly on the way out. One of Petersen’s assistants to his left in a very low voice whispers, “ Aufschlagbrand”—Shot down in flames.5

  After leaving the main hall, Göring follows the Führer’s lead and turns on his own production leaders, berating them. Milch, for whom Göring already has a long-standing personal resentment, naturally gets the brunt of the heat.

  A short time later, Göring meets outside the great hall with Keitel, Milch, Armaments Minister Albert Speer, and several key industrial leaders who had come to brief Hitler on war production and the effects of the enemy bombing raids.6 With the previous Me-262 fiasco fresh in his mind, Göring pleads with the industrialists not to be too pessimistic in the meeting. The Führer is already upset enough. And of course, with more bad news about the air war, Hitler might very well unload upon him again.

  They all join Hitler in the cold (physically and socially) Great Hall. They discuss the impact of the Allied air campaigns upon German industrial output. The industrial leaders are under no illusions and stick to the facts. At first Hitler tries to put a good spin on the discussion and gives them his commonly used phrase, “We’ve been through worse crises.” The industrial leaders, though, tell it like it is, and he is forced to ask them for their objective opinion. They give it to him. If the air war does not get any better, German production (and thus, the war) will be lost.

  After leaving the Great Hall and entering the anteroom, Göring again starts up with a post-conference berating, this time rebuking the industrialists. They should not have burdened the Führer with such bad news. They could have dispensed with the needless anxieties and kept their pessimistic nonsense to themselves.

  The guests are all eventually ferried down the mountain to the Berchtesgadener Hof, a luxurious hotel in town. With the fiery conferences now over, the members of Hitler’s private inner circle hesitantly come down from their upstairs rooms for the social part of the day. With coats on, they patiently wait in the vestibule for their daily excursion across the valley to his Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus.7

  Depressed, Hitler finally joins them wearing a hat and a black cape, holding his walking cane. They leave for their daily afternoon trek to the tea house less than a kilometer away.

  ***

  In Berlin, General Hans Cramer arrives. He had been the last Befehlshaber of the Africa Corps before being captured in 1943. For medical reasons (acute asthma), the Allies, through skillful negotiations with the Red Cross, allowed him to be repatriated. Having been imprisoned in England, he was taken from the London Cage8 near Kensington Palace to a formal dinner with General George Patton, commanding First US Army Group. He had then been given a thorough tour of the Operation Neptune assembly area. They had driven by various military staging areas in what seemed to be southeast Britain, although he could not tell for sure. Signposts, street signs, and names had all been removed or changed. The units are all supposedly ready to hit the Calais area.9

  The next day, Cramer had been taken to the docks and allowed to board the Swedish ship Gripsholm for home. He had arrived in Berlin on May 23.

  Now he reports to OKH Chief of Staff Kurt Zeitzler. Tomorrow he will go to Berchtesgaden, and eventually wind up in France on Geyr von Schweppenburg’s staff. He is full of details of what he has seen—an enemy invasion force that, evidently, is getting ready to hit the Pas-de-Calais.

  ***

  In the late evening, several German minelayers venture into the English Channel to lay segments of several new ad hoc minefields—Blitzsperren. Unfortunately for them, they are pounced upon by both the Royal Navy and the RAF, and take heavy losses before retreating to port.

  The intercepts by Allied intelligence of the Kriegsmarine Enigma signals have proven to be invaluable again.

  1Kaufmann after the war claimed that the conversation was much more specific, and that they openly discussed the idea of forcing Hitler from power.

  2Over 800 bombers hit central and secondary rail marshaling yards all over France and Belgium. Nearly 60 bombers hit three coastal batteries, and over 120 fighter-bombers hit trains in France.

  3Delousing is a process in which individuals are treated with insecticides or insect repellents to get rid of lice on the head, body parts, and clothes. Typically during the war, an insecticide powder was used, usually sprayed onto the individuals. It was not a pleasant procedure.

  4Sources are conflicting or vague on whether or not Rommel knew this.

  5Erhard Milch, not a brilliant man, had made a number of strategic blunders, some of them political, some of them related to air production. After the dismal failure of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain and its lackluster performance in the opening phases of Barbarossa in 1941, Milch, disillusioned with Göring, had gone to Hitler with Goebbels and Himmler and stated that Göring had to be replaced. Hitler turned them down, and the Reichsmarshal never forgot the betrayal. Even worse, Milch made a number of strategic air planning blunders that put the Luftwaffe in a critically weak condition by 1944. His heavy emphasis on design research came at a crippling sacrifi
ce to production. This incident on the Me-262 became the final straw. Six days after this meeting, Petersen informed Milch that Göring had replaced him as head of air armaments. Hereafter, the Air Ministry would be run by Karl Saur. It was suggested to Milch that he take a vacation. He did, a broken man.

  6They included: Professor Carl Krauch, minister of the Reich’s chemical industry; Paul Pleiger, Reich Commissioner for Coal and director of several key fuel plants; SS Oberst!ürmbannführer Heinrich Bütefisch, director of the I.G. Farben synthetic fuel Leuna Works; E.R. Fischer, Chairman of the Board for I.G. Farben; and Kehrl, head of the Planning and Raw Materials Branch.

  7The Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus was less than a kilometer from the Berghof, and Hitler frequented it. It should not be confused with the Kehlsteinhaus (“Kehlstein House”), otherwise known as the Eagle’s Nest. Built atop the nearby Kehlstein mountain in the Bavarian Alps, it was a birthday gift given to the Führer on his 50th birthday, April 20, 1939. Access was via a 124-meter high elevator. Hitler though, had a bit of acrophobia (a strange condition for one who loved living on a mountain!) and so he rarely went up there. The Kehlsteinhaus survived the war and today is a popular tourist attraction.

  8The London Cage was the headquarters of the War Crimes Investigation Unit and Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Center. It was located in a large mansion on the corner of Kensington Palace Gardens and Bayswater Road. Here, all captured prisoners of high rank were interrogated by special intelligence teams. Naturally, all cell conversations between prisoners were bugged.

  9It was, in fact, a grand ruse. It was quite a tour that the Allies put on for him. Cramer was led to believe that they were motoring through southeastern England, when in fact he had been driven through a good part of central and southwestern England. Guy Liddell, director of British counterintelligence 1931—1952, kept a detailed diary of British intelligence activities, and it paints a different picture of the repatriated general. According to Liddell’s March 4 entry, General Cramer, soon to leave his POW camp, made a pleasant speech to the British commandant. Cramer with a smile confessed that, now that he was being sent back to Germany, he could admit that he himself was by blood one-quarter English. Cramer confessed that, “Every time he looked out of the window and saw his very smart guards, he was proud of his English blood. He then donated to the BAO in the name of all the officers of the Africa Korps as a token of their gratitude for the British gentlemanly (sic). He then gave the BAO his Africa Korps armband from his uniform with the remark that not even [General] Arnim was entitled to wear that.”