Schwerpunkt: From D-Day to the Fall of the Third Reich (6 page)

Ike had a monumental decision to make and was agonizing over probabilities, possibilities, permutations, and percentages all related to the judgment he alone could make: “Do I send the first waves of men across the English Channel in their boats, tubs and vessels in the worst weather seen on the coasts of England and France in just about a quarter century or do I keep over two million Allied soldiers quarantined in tent cities on the coast of England for at least another month while they wait for the word to go and by then probably lose almost all hope of catching the Germans by surprise?”

At 0415 on June 5
^th
, Ike gave the order to go. June 5
^th
was now a date of no return. Those boats recalled earlier had not been back for more than a couple of hours when they were ordered to shove off again. And shove off they did, the first wave now followed by the second which was followed by the third. Europe was being invaded and the Germans would be attacked on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Talk about Hell and high water… But even before the order to go was uttered, the great war machinery had been set in motion. Even earlier than June 5, 1944, I saw orders directing the bombing of 50 miles of northern France. We made numerous bombing runs over the coast line in order to knock out as many of the Krauts’ static defenses as we could but we couldn’t do it perfectly because of not wanting to draw more attention to the Normandy part of the coastline above all the others. Every precaution was taken so that the roads leading up to the beaches couldn’t be used by the Krauts to bring up reinforcements. We tried to take out as many of the travel options for possible reinforcements as we could and we used the French Underground Resistance fighters for a lot of this clandestine sabotage work. Those brave lads did a remarkable job of gumming up whatever works they could. They were a Godsend! If they’ve done half of what they reported they were doing, the Krauts wouldn’t be able to coordinate any meaningful response for hours…hours that would be critical to the success of our landings.

Those Resistance Fighters blew holes in railroad tracks which prevented the Hun from bringing up reinforcements by rail; they cut down trees by night and pushed them across roads so Panzers were stalled. They cut communication wires, photographed German defensive positions and advised us of enemy troop movements and concentrations. They wreaked as much havoc as they could and prevented enemy reinforcements from quickly and easily being able to get to the Normandy landing sites. They sniped at and killed isolated Kraut soldiers but they and innocent bystanders paid dearly for this. There was one town whose entire population was murdered by those goddamn Germans in reprisal for an underground attack. I also heard that in another town, a group of men were found hanging from street lamps as a punitive warning against other would be saboteurs. It’s downright revolting, the sons of bitches. So while we were grateful for help from the Resistance fighters, we couldn’t rely on them alone so we had planned militarily to prevent easy movement for the enemy troops. We planned for paratroops to land inland and it was their job to hold key towns, roads and intersections to stop any Jerries from coming to the aid of the party. Communication and railway lines were bombed relentlessly which also hindered Kraut movement up to the beaches.

Immediately after Ike delivered the order, over 1000 Allied bombers took off to give the Krauts the what for. One of the main objectives of these bombing runs, besides knocking out and destroying the enemy gun positions was to knock out all (or as many as possible) radar stations to keep the Krauts from “seeing” what we would be up to on DDay. But since we bombed the entire coast line, giving a little more attention to the Calais area, those planes weren’t tipping our hand at all. In reality, we needed to knock out as many of the German coast line defenses as possible and sending in this air armada was sure one hell of a way to do that. But we didn’t stop there. We had over 120 naval warships patrolling and pounding the beach head areas as well, clearing underwater mines and giving support to the Allied planes and paratroopers that night.

After that, the plans were in the hands of the generals and all we at Supreme Headquarters could do was watch. Watch and pray. That’s what I did too. And I read letters. Letters to Ike and letters to me. Letters to me from my cousin, Paul but especially letters to me from my brother, Harold. And I kept thinking about Utah Beach. Was I glad it was added as an invasion site or not? It gave me the willies because I found out that Harold was landing on Utah. You see, I was one of the 20,000 planners of the DDay invasion. Paul and Harold were two of the 170,000 soldiers doing the invading.

June 6, 0230

Dear Frank,

So since I last wrote, we were ordered to board our LSI (I don’t want to insult your intelligence, but you know that means Landing Ship Infantry, right?) which was going to take us out to sea and then land us a short distance from our objective (which I now know is Normandy and by the time you get this, the whole world will know too). Our ship is going to stop so we can climb, like the monkeys we are, down a rope ladder so we can get into these small sardine can boats that are supposed to take us right up to the beach. Then the front end opens which turns into a ramp and then we’re supposed to run like heck over the beach and onto the beachhead without getting killed. Oh and we’re supposed to be killing Germans while we’re doing this. Piece of cake, right? What I’m most worried about is getting into the sardine can without falling on my kiester or worse, missing the boat all together and falling into the drink. If
only
that we’re my biggest worry!

When I joined the army, I never thought I’d have to sail across the ocean. Well, I’m here to tell you that not only did I have to cross the ocean but I’ve been training on boats, climbing off boats and had to march through water to get to a beach off the coast of Wales. I should have just joined the gosh darn Navy.

So anyway, after we boarded our ship last night, we shoved off and then aren’t we called back to shore? Seems the weather isn’t being too cooperative so we stay on this stinking ship while we’re anchored so close to shore I could spit there. The winds are gosh darn gales, I’m telling you. I can’t believe we even left dock in the first place to be honest with you but great minds apparently have great plans for us. So quick as a wink, after we just got back, we get orders to shove off again because the weather is supposed to die down. I’m thinking it could start dying down any second now because it’s already a real gut buster. So further to these orders, we are to land, cross the beach and then take out the German bunkers which could impede the progress of the guys behind us. What about us is what I want to know! I’m kind of scared of where we’re going but if it means us getting out of this crummy boat, it’ll be worth it. I heard we’re landing after 0630 in the morning so I guess I only have to sit tight for another half a night. It’s late as heck but there is no chance I’ll be sleeping any time soon.

Frankie, I’m going to try to write as often as I can just so you can let mom and pop know I’m ok. I hope I will be ok. I hope I make it back home. I hope I measure up and don’t turn yellow when the going gets tough. I think I’ll do what I’m supposed to. God knows we’ve trained hard enough but you never know how you’re going to react. What if I can’t shoot a Jerry skunk? I think I can but what if I can’t? Don’t tell anyone, Frank, but I’m scared. I’m miserable and I’m scared. Tell mom and pop I love them and I’ll try to do them proud. I hope to write to you again soon, brother. I love you.

Harold

In 1940, British troops went to the aid of France but they could not defeat the German army. After the British evacuated France, the French surrendered in 1940 leaving all of France under German control. With the United States still firmly out of the war, there was no viable threat to France from anywhere and consequently, Germany used France to rest up war weary German soldiers on leave from other theaters. After Pearl Harbor and the entry of the Americans into the war, the need for the Germans to fortify the French coasts and borders became more critical so German engineers built The Atlantic Wall. Not really a wall at all but rather a series of strong points intermittently placed across the 2,500 mile Atlantic coast, it served its purpose until Hitler determined that an Allied invasion could likely occur through France. He therefore ordered Field Marshal Rommel, who had since been relieved of his command in the African desert, to take control of strengthening this Wall and intensifying the German defenses against such an invasion. Since the Germans were sure an Allied offensive would occur but were unsure where or when it would take place, almost the whole French coastline was inspected and reinforced by General Rommel who took on this task with a great sense of urgency and gravity.

While it is accurate to say that the idea of a “Lightening War,” that is to say a “Blitzkrieg” was formulated by General Heinz Guderian, it is also accurate to say that Herr General Guderian’s principles were spectacularly implemented by General Rommel. I know that many generals claim to have perfected or sharpened the idea of a Blitzkrieg, but I also know that it was General Erwin Rommel who mastered this form of warfare. One of General Rommel’s many strengths was how he learned to respond to an enemy attack with a lightening quick counter-attack which so often caught our adversaries unawares. He avoided catastrophe in many battles where he was vastly outnumbered and faced an enemy who was far better armed. In many situations, he prevailed where almost any other general would have been defeated. Herr General Rommel is one of the greatest generals, living or dead, that the world has ever seen. I know I will be accused of being prejudiced for believing this but I know enough to see facts. My name is Rudi Katzenmeier and my duty is working at the Army Group B headquarters in France under General Rommel.

General Rommel has been a soldier for almost his whole life. His sense of honor and duty are apparent to everyone who knows him. He served our country during the war in 1914 and in fact received a very serious injury when he was here, fighting in France, during that war. Then just months after he was deemed fit enough to return to battle, he led his men in a brave and successful attack on the enemy. For his actions, he was awarded the Iron Cross. I guess everyone knows that der Führer also received an Iron Cross during that war. Maybe that is one reason why he and Herr Rommel seem to see eye to eye on some (but certainly not all) things. Herr General Rommel learned on those French battlefields the benefits of speed and boldness and these traits are ones which he has carried into every battle since then. I read the book he wrote about warfare and I have come to see that he is no less brilliant than General Guderian, Napoleon or the ancient Chinese General Tzu. What he has that these warriors did not is the love and admiration not only of his men but of our entire country, including der Führer himself.

We all know that Adolph Hitler is a genius. I know this because I am constantly hearing every German general say this to each other and I see how the people worship him. He has taken our Country, defeated in that last war, and brought it back to the proud Fatherland I had heard my Opa tell me about. Because he is our Leader, our Führer, and the commander of all our armed forces, I serve him with all my ability. He has made strict laws and forbids trivial pastimes such as drinking and dancing in public but I’m sure our soldiers and citizens are the stronger for it. I see how weak the Americans are and thank God that I live in a country where such weakness is not tolerated.

To run a country totally and efficiently, I think one man has to be in charge of both the government and the military. I heard that the English Prime Minister Churchill apparently agrees with this and had himself declared Minister of Defence as well. It was only the incompetent Roosevelt who is allowing his generals to run the war so far but after we defeated his armies in Italy and after we defeat his armies in France or Norway or wherever he decides to come and meet us, maybe he will see that leaving command to the generals alone is folly. Such insecurity from such a large country. There must be a Supreme Commander such as der Führer. Just think what he has accomplished so far. Adolph Hitler makes the plans and his generals carry them out even though I’ve heard General Rommel mutter that some of the orders he receives are impossible. Still, he obeys and generally is victorious.

General Rommel really is a genius to me. He is held in high regard by der Führer which, from what I see of other generals, is most unusual. From the very beginnings of the Third Reich, der Führer has liked and admired Herr Rommel. In fact, he ordered Herr Rommel to command his escort troops when the first German soldiers entered into Poland on September 4, 1939. Herr Rommel watched (and dare I say, learned?) about how to implement forward tank units to maximum effect at this time. He also saw how der Führer was close to the battles being fought in our quest to incorporate Poland into our own territory. He saw how just the presence of their leader seemed to spur our troops to even greater heroics.