German forces in France prior to D-day[/heading]
Timeline
10.5.1940 – the German army launches the western campaign
22.6.1940 – France signs surrender, Germany occupied most of its territory, including the coast
The English channel and the Atlantic
16.7.1940 – Hitler in Directive no. 16 issued an order to invade Britain – operation sea lion
17.9.1940 – after the failure of the Luftwaffe in the air battle of Britain, Hitler postpones operation sea lion indefinitely
11.12.1941 – Germany declares war on USA
8.11.1942 – american and british forces landing in north Africa (operation Torch)
11.11.1942 – German troops enter into the unoccupied part of France
13.5.1943 – surrender of Axis forces in north Africa
10.7.1943 – the Allies landing on Sicily
3.11.1943 – Directive no 51 sets as a priority the strengthening of troops in the West
6.6.1944 – begins with the allied landing in Normandy
the Structure of the German high command in western Europe
air force: Air force 3 (the field marshal Hugo Sperrle)
navy: Group headquarters navy West (admiral Theodor Krancke)
ground troops: the Main headquarters of the West (the field marshal Gerd von Rundstedt)
- army Group B (the field marshal Erwin Rommel)
- 7. army (colonel-general Friedrich Hauser) – breton
and the normandy coast after the Seine
- 15. army (colonel-general Hans von Salmuth) – lamannšské and
north sea coast from the Seine after the holland – German
the border
- army Group G (colonel-general Johannes Blaskowitz)
- 1. army (general Kurt von der Chevallerie) – atlantic coast
- 19. army (general Georg Sodenstern) – mediterranean coast
- Panzer group West (general Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg)
German commanders in Normandy
Gerd von Rundstedt – the oldest German commanding general (68 years old), during the Polish campaign he commanded army Group South, fighting on the western Group of armies And, during operation Barbarossa army Group South until the end of November 1941, when it was for disobeying an order to keep Rostov-on-Don, removed from office and released to the backups. Reactivated in march 1942. He assumed that the Allies will attack through the Calaiskou strait. Was going to allow the invasion forces to disembark, let them advance into the interior, where it is then attacked panzer division still held in the background and destroys them in the style of the lightning war.
Erwin Rommel – master flat turn fight, during the western campaign he commanded the 7. panzer division in north Africa earned him the nickname "Desert fox". Thanks to the experience of the fight against the Allies in Africa, he was convinced, that the decisive factor in the coming conflict will be the allied air force. He claimed that the landing would take place between Dunkerkem and the cherbourg peninsula, and the air superiority of the Allies will prevent the movements of the German strategic reserve. According to Rommel was the only possible solution to repel the Allies
during the disembarkation. Therefore, he insisted, to the maximum of the German forces was located in the immediate vicinity of the "Atlantic wall".
Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg – during the Polish campaign he commanded the 3. panzer division during the western campaign XXIV. army corps and on the eastern front III. and later XXXX. panzer corps. Shared von Rundstedtův of the opinion that the tank division it is necessary to keep in the background.
Friedrich Hauser – during the Polish campaign he commanded the IX. the army corps, in France in 1940 7. army. Most of the war was spent in occupation duty and lacked frotové experience.
Hans von Salmuth – the beginning of the second world war spent in the higher staff positions, on the eastern front, he commanded the 17., 4. and 2. army.
German forces in France
After the recall operation sea lion the western front finally stabilized on the coast of the Atlantic and the North sea. The western border of the Empire it was necessary to secure against a possible british attack. The construction of permanent fortifications had to be the release of the military forces required for other planned operations. The order of the construction of the so-called "Atlantic wall" gave Hitler's Directive no. 40 of 23. march 1942. At the same time the goal was set to build approximately 15 000 objects. In theory, should be the Atlantic wall by a massive dam, capable of capturing even the most powerful punch led by out of the sea. In fact, he remained only an illusion, that had not only fooled the enemy, but also to give the German people a sense of security. Von Rundstedt ordered in may 1943, conduct a review of all aspects of the defense of the west coast and the results summarized in a report to OKW, dated 28. October. The report states that permanent fortifications are required for the fight and propaganda, but the landing will not prevent. The defense needs to be in the final stage of based on advances, in particular, the tank and motorized units.
During the year 1943 (13. may capitulating remnants of Axis units in Tunisia and 10. July, the Allies landed on Sicily) began to be the German command became clear that the allied invasion of France is only a matter of time. 3. November, therefore, Hitler issued Directive no. 51, which has set as a priority the strengthening of the German forces in the west.
Until the end of 1943 was in France fifty to sixty divisions, which were repeatedly being replaced by divisions zdecimovanými on the eastern front. This continuous exchange had a detrimental impact on the proper functioning of the defensive system of the coast. Thus were formed the permanent division for the protection of the coast, organizationally tailored to their specific sectors. This system allows the most economical use of the limited equipment available in the west, however, had an inevitable weakness: the officers and men were mostly older people, many with health limitations, and they were armed with to a lesser extent than was the case with the active divisions. Their armament, for the most part included the captured French, Polish, and yugoslav weapons, which used various types of ammunition. This coupled with the inevitable difficulties in supply. Most of these divisions had two infantry regiments, some of them have been incorporated "eastern" battalions, composed of "volunteers" from among the prisoners of war from the eastern front. From a total of 59 divisions that had von Rundstedt available in předvěčer D-day, was 33 described above, "stationary", without their own means of transport, with artillery towed by horses. The weight of defense in the west so she lay on the 13th motorized infantry divisions, three airborne, 9 tank and one division of panzer grenadiers.
Another negative element was the extreme weakness of the Luftwaffe, which was in the west only 300 ledadel, of which 150 bombers. After landing should be strengthened by 700 aircraft dedicated to the defence of the Realm. The Kriegsmarine had to defend before the invasion, available to 7 large ships, 23 cruisers, 148 destroyers and 350 smaller vessels, equipped with guns or rocket launchers. Lamanšské coast were to guard the submarine from the bases of Brest and Lorient plus U-booty from Norway.
A major problem of the German forces was disunity of command. Von to rundstedt as commander-in-chief nominally subject to all of the ground forces in the west and was for the defense of this space charge. Formally his subject and SS units, but you had your own command, headed by Himmler, who in their activities interfere. No power had von Rundstedt over the air force units located in France or over the Group headquarters of the navy of the West, responsible for the defense of the entire French coast. A number of heavy coastal battery was the navy placed in conflict with the requirements of the commanders of ground units. In addition - if these batteries were shooting towards the sea, subject to the command of the Kriegsmarine, when postřelovaly the beach or the mainland, to follow up on the orders of the commanders pozemnního troops. Similarly, it was with the anti-aircraft artillery subordinate to the Luftwaffe. Reich marshal Goering as commander in chief of the air force refused to Rommelův requirement for unit III. anti-aircraft artillery corps, scattered throughout France, have been provided to ground forces. The air force should control all units of the parachute divisions and the field divisions of the Luftwaffe.
Verily fateful impact on the defense of Normandy was a jurisdictional dispute about the location of the tank divisions between the von Rundstedtem and Geyrem von Schweppenburg, commander of Panzer group West on one side and Rommel on the other side. Rommel, commander of army Group B Panzer group West subject, I Geyrovy panzer divisions to move as close as possible to the coast, to the Allies prevented to gain a foothold on the beaches. Thanks to the previous experience of fighting in north Africa feared that the superiority of the Allies to stymie any movement of the strategic reserve. On the contrary, Geyr, sponsored by the von Rundstedtem, he was convinced that the tank unit it is necessary to keep in the background and in the manévrovém the fight after landing to encircle and destroy the allied forces. Therefore, he wanted to let the tank formations hidden from allied aircraft in the forests of the northwest and south of Paris, from where they can attack the enemy penetrating into the interior. They also act as a backup for the case that the Allies planted a powerful air-dropped far inland. Competency disputes ultimately had to deal with Hitler, that Rommel obeyed 2., 21. and 116. the tank division; 1. and 2. panzer division SS and Tank instruction division formed the advance of the high command of the Wehrmacht, in other words, Hitler himself. As a result of this decision was the situation, when the tank divisions could not fully dispose of, nor Rommel, nor von Rundstedt.
The only one who actually commanded all the troops in France, so was Adolf Hitler, isolated in his "Wolf's lair" at Rastenburg in east Germany. The organization of the German command was extremely complex matter. Lieutenant general Hans Speidel later described as "something between confusion and chaos". And just chaos in the German command in the early days after the date of the "D" opened to the Allies the way to France..
Timeline
German commanders in Normandy
German forces in France