Lesser known details of WW2 part three

German coastal defense in Norway during WW2

http://www.nuav.net/maa.html

The Germans were always worried about an allied invasion would take place in Norway, and prepared for this by building forts along the Norwegian coastline. By 1945 it was a total of 221 forts divided into 29 units and 10 regiments. These where manned by about 65 000 men!

One of the biggest forts was "Vara" in Kristiansand. They had 3 x 38 cm(!) SKC guns with an impressive range of 42 000m. These guns were guarded by 4 x 8,8 cm Flak 37 guns and an unknown number of AA mounted MG-34.






http://www.nuav.net/coastgr1.html

http://home.no.net/bttvara/english.html

http://www.feldgrau.com/norwcoast.html

[ 20. July 2003, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

 

The Augsburg Raid, April 17th 1942

'When the curtain drew back at the briefing there was a roar of laughter instead of a gasp of horror. No one believed that the airforce would be so stupid as to send 12 of its newest four-engined bombers all that distance inside Germany in daylight. We sat back and waited calmly for someone to say "Now the real target is this". Unfortunately it was the real target, a factory near Munich that was a major manufacturer of diesel engines for submarines.

Four from 97 Squadron got back, but only one from 44 Squadron. Five out of twelve."

http://www.rafbombercommand.com/personals_2_dangersofwar.html#rr_2_theaugsburgraid

 

On the afternoon of Stauffenberg's July 20th coup attempt, Goering plays an insignificant but rather comical role. Upon hearing that Hitler has emerged slightly injured from the attempt, Goering rushes to the Wolf's Lair to make sure he arrives there before Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, who is by then his bitter arch-rival. Their hatred and contempt for one another is so fierce that it erupts into the open right in front of a diffident Hitler and an embarrassed Mussolini (who had arrived that afternoon). When Ribbentrop ridicules Goering's boasts about the Luftwaffe's capacity to defend German cities from Allied bombings, Goering loses his temper yelling back, "Shut up! You champagne salesman!" to which Ribbentrop reminds him sharply that he was still Foreign Minister.

http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Goering.htm

 

The IQ ratings were taken, by the American psychologist Dr. Gilbert, while the defendants were in the Nuremberg Jail.


Karl Doenitz 138
Hans Frank 130
Wilhelm Frick 124
Hans Fritzsche 130
Walter Funk 124
Herman Goering 138
Rudolf Hess 120
Alfred Jodl 127
Ernst Kaltenbrunner 113
Wilhelm Keitel 129
Constain von Neurath 123
Franz von Papen 134
Erich Raeder 134
Joachim von Ribberntrop 129
Alfred Rosenberg 127
Fritz Saukel 118
Hjalmar Schacht 143
Baldur von Schirach 130
Arthur Seyss-Inquart 141
Albert Speer 128
Julius Streicher 106

http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/imt.htm

[ 24. July 2003, 03:23 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

 

Just goes to prove what Ive always said then Kai, high IQ is no proof of common sense or general knowledge....Usually a statement by those of us with low IQ's I must point out though...

 

I had no idea that so many men and large guns and forts were built in Norway.

I wonder why they thought the Allies would invade Norway ? If they invaded Norway what good would it do since they would still not have a land link to Europe ? The only advantage I could see would be it might put the Allied bombers slightly closer to some of the eastern German cities.

 

not trying to give away info from another forum but go to TRF third reich forums and look for member Erik E from Norway. My friend and his collegues have done much excavation work on and in bunkers in his homeland. have received some very nice small Ju 88H recon parts from him the last year. He has posted some great scans of bunkers, and gun emplacements along the Norwegian coast line......

~E

 

I guess one of the reasons to keep Norway was the Narvik harbour and through it the iron ore from Kiruna Sweden. They did send some through the Swedish harbours but their capability was not high enough for the German war industry requirements. So Narvik was needed.

 

Guderian´s famous Quotations

"Klotzen, nicht Kleckern !". (Boot'em, don´t spatter'em) - Guderian's favourite quotation and Adolf Hitler was so impressed by it, that he used it himself.

"Es gibt keine verzweifelten Lagen, es gibt nur verzweifelte Menschen". (There are no desperate situations, there are only desperate people).

"Fahrkarte bis zur Endstation". (Ticket to the last station) - Shouting to his Panzertroops when they were roaring past him, meaning that they should go as far as they could.

"Man schlägt jemanden mit der Faust und nicht mit gespreizten Fingern". (You hit somebody with your fist and not with yout fingers spread) - Meaning that you should concentrate your Panzers for one mighty push in one direction and not distribute them.

"Der Motor des Panzers ist ebenso seine Waffe wie die Kanone". (The engine of the Panzer is a weapon just as the main-gun).

"Der Kampf gegen die eigenen Oberen macht manchmal mehr Arbeit als gegen die Franzosen". (It is sometimes tougher to fight my superiors than the french) - When he got orders to stop and wait for the following infantry an tried to persuade his superiors that this would mean to throw away victory.

http://users.pandora.be/dave.depickere/Text/guderian.html

 

Wasn't it Franz von Papen the ReichKansler (?) during 1932 and later vice ReichKansler?

 

Yes, Munken, Franz it is actually!

 

91st Bomb Group (H)

"The Ragged Irregulars"

http://www.91stbombgroup.com/raggedinfo.html

Claims to Fame

Highest total claims of enemy aircraft destroyed of all 8th Air Force bomb groups - 420.

Highest loss of all 8th Air Force bomb groups - 197 Missing in Action

First group to attack a target in the Ruhr - 4 March 43; Hamm.

Led the famous Schweinfurt mission of 17 August 43.

First 8th Air Force bomb group to complete 100 Missions - 5 January 44.

Selected to test first flak suits - March 43.

B-17G "Nine-O-Nine" completed 124 missions without a mechanical abort - an 8th Air Force record.

 

Great info Kai thanks for posting

Greg

 

Lt-Col 'Paddy' Blair Mayne

Africa Star & 8th Army Bar, Italy Star, France & Germany Star,Defence Medal, War Medal & Oak Leaf, Legion D'Honneur and Croix De Guerre with Palm.
Mentioned in Despatches .... 20/2/42
D.S.O. ... Middle East .... 20/2/42 Rank Lieutenant
1st Bar - Sicily .... 21/10/43 Rank Captain / Temp Major
2nd Bar - Normandy .... 29/3/45 Rank Major / Temp Lt. Colonel
3rd Bar - North West Europe .... 11/10/45 Rank Lt Colonel

http://members.aol.com/bma1997/

http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/sas.htm

http://members.aol.com/bma1997/morepics.htm

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When the SAS were equipped with jeeps, Mayne was in his element. Although he enjoyed shooting up German aircraft with the fast-firing Vickers "K" machineguns(stripped from obsolete aircraft), undoubtedly his favourite activity was driving a jeep through the Officer's Mess after particularly heavy drinking sessions in camp at Kabrit.

http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreign/United_Kingdom/SAS/Founding_Fathers.htm

 

And then to die in a car crash in 1955.

But one feels that some men are so suited to war that peace is just, as Churchill famously said, 'dull reading'...

 

Norwegians who received EK 1

1. Uscha. Inge Martin Bakken, in 5./”Westland” after Cherkassy
2. Ustuf. Johan Petter Balstad, as platoon commander in 7./”Norge”.
3. Ustuf. Kåre Brynestad, as O.O. in II./”Norge” after battle of Westsack
4. Hstuf. Per Børresen, as doctor in I./”Norge” 2. february, 1944.
5. Ostuf. R.N. Børresen, as adjutant in II./”SS-Panzer Artillerie Regiment 11”.
6. Uscha. Alf Fjeld, in Rgt. ”Germania” after Cherkassy.
7. Uscha. Fritjof Hegg, in ”SS-Panzer Regiment 5”.
8. Stubaf. Egil Hoel, in staff belonging to ” III.(germ.) SS-Panzerkorps“.
9. Ostuf. Sophus Kahrs, as commander of 1./SS-Skijegerbataljon ”Norge” in July 1944.
11. Uscha. Nils Lande, squadleader in 2./DnL 1942.
12. Uscha. Sverre E. H. Larsen, in Regiment ”Nordland” (called ” ”Nahkampf”-Larsen”)
13. Stubaf. Jonas Lie, as temporaily commander of DnL in 1942
14. Uscha. Per Meidell, in 14.(Pak)/DnL 1943.
15. Ustuf. Gösta Myhrvold, in 9./”Norge” 22. February, 1944.
16. Rttf. Arne Nilsen, in I./”Nordland”.
17. Hscha. Arne W. Nilsen, in 1./DnL 1943
18. Rttf. Per Ramberg, in 10./”Norge” , oktober 1944.
19. Uscha. Paul Sæther, in „SS-Flak Abteilung 5“,1944.
20. Uscha. Willy Schakesby, with Reg. “Norge” in 1944.
21. Ustuf. Jan Schneider, in 1./”Hermann von Salza” in 1944
22. Ustuf. Axel Steen, posthumt, as commander of 3./SS-Skijegerbataljon ”Norge”, summer 1944
23. Ustuf. Bjarne Sveen, in 12./”Norge”, 1944
24. Ostuf. Harald Normann Sødahl, As commander in 6./”Norge” in March 1944.
25. Rttf. Lage Søgaard, in Pak-Platoon, 12./”Norge”, February 26,1945.
26. Rttf. Hermod Tuft, in 4./”Westland”.
27. Uscha. Olav Thunestveit, posthumt, in „KG Scheibe“ February 1945
28. Rttf. Helge Tollefsen, in 8./”Germania” at Cherkassy.
29. Stubaf. Arthur Quist, As commander of DnL, 1942
30. Hstuf. Frode Halle, Time of award unknown.
31. SS-Ustuf Fredrik Jensen, in July 1943, as platoon commander / 7.Company, Div Wiking, after the battle at Andrejevka / Ukraine.

http://www.nuav.net/ironcross.html

 

This was not an accident, it was in fact an intended outcome of Operation Bodyguard.

The code name “Bodyguard” was derived from a speech given by Winston Churchill in 1943, in which he stated: “In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” Bodyguard had two main missions: (1) to fix German forces in areas away from the actual invasion sites; (2) to convince the Germans that Normandy was only a feint or demonstration for the real invasion that was to occur several weeks later. To accomplish these missions, Bodyguard attempted to mislead Hitler by convincing him of the following notional Allied strategic objectives:

1. Invasion operations would begin in the spring of 1944 with a combined British, American and Russian attack through Norway.

2. The Allies would continue their thrust through the “soft underbelly” of Europe, repeating their 1943 attempt to break through the Gustav Line and expand their efforts into Greece and the Balkans as well.

3. If an invasion of France were to be attempted at all, it would occur at the Pas de Calais, but certainly not before July of 1944.

4. If indeed any Allied landings did take place on the beaches of France, they would be merely diversionary feints designed to draw German forces away from the actual invasion sites along the Pas de Calais.

Aiding these efforts was the exploitation of Hitler’s personal biases and obsessions. He believed that one major factor in Germany’s defeat in WW I was that its powerful naval fleet was bottled up in and around Germany. His immediate seizure of Norway in 1940, and the large force he stationed there to protect the ice-free fjords and ports testifies to this fact

Operations Fortitude and Zepplin were the major divisions of Bodyguard used to accomplish these missions and goals. They were the keys to unlocking Hitler’s exploitable obsessions and opening the doors to a successful invasion.

Operation Fortitude

Operation Fortitude had three main divisions:

Fortitude North -- the threat of a Norway invasion with a follow-up assault of Germany through Denmark.

Fortitude South -- a fictitious invasion effort directed against coastal Belgium and northern France in the Dover Straits area.

Fortitude South II -- radio deception after D-Day to convince the Germans that NEPTUNE was only a feint and that the real invasion was yet to come.


Fortitude North

This operation threatened a notional combined Anglo-American and Russian invasion of Norway. It served to fix the strong German forces to the north, and divert both attention and resources away from the actual landings. The German garrison in Norway was indeed quite powerful. One hundred and fifty thousand of the 464,000 German troops stationed in Norway were surplus, held up away from France under the threat of this notional northern invasion. Also fixed in place were a Panzer division, a large air force, and over 1,500 coastal defense guns.

 

Hitler´s General Ritter von Leeb




In February 1922 he returned to Munich as chief of staff of Wehrkreis VII and in 1923 von Leeb was involved in putting down the Beer Hall Putsch....



Interesting to notice that Adolf didn´t throw the man into jail after he made it chancellor...

 

Already in the autumn of 1939 – almost a year before the occupation – the Soviet deputy head of state security, general Ivan Serov, had signed the order about mass deportations from the Baltic states. According to this order, no 001223 from October 11, 1939, a number of alleged anti Soviet elements were to be sent to Soviet camps. Among the groups especially mentioned were members of all non Communist parties (from the right to the Social Democrats and the Free Socialists) and persons expelled from Communist organisations, police officers, military and members of the Home Guard, higher government officials and diplomats, judges and prosecutors, merchants and owners of big houses and hotels, people who were employed in subsidiaries to foreign companies and other persons with extensive foreign contacts (including esperantists, philatelists and Red Cross members), clergymen and people with relatives who had escaped to the West.

During these 24 hours, 9 250 persons were deported from Estonia alone, 15 081 from Latvia and around 13 600 from Lithuania (2). Around 38 000 persons were thus deported within 24 hours only.

http://www.rel.ee/eng/communism_crimes.htm




Ivan Aleksandrovich Serov Profession: Government Official. Sex: Male. Birth Date: 29 September 1905. Nationality: Russian. Date of Death: 01 July 1990. Comments: First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. Chaired KGB 1954-1958.

 

Some findings from Max Hastings´ Bomber command:

p 142

5,327 officers and men were killed and a further 3,113 injured in RAF training accidents 1939-1945.

p 152

Cologne May 1942 the first 1,000 bomber raid

Not to mention houses etc but

36 factories were totally destroyed
70 factories badly damaged
over 200 factories partially damaged

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as well this:

p 169

Aircraft that crashed in England was never included officially in Bomber Command casualty figures. However many of its crew were killed or wounded and there added at least 15 per cent to the published loss figures for most of the war.

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Martin, I understood this as bombers arriving from raids and crashing or did I get it wrong?