Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing, and Dying (63 page)

358.
Mäckle got lost while flying a Ju 88 on a mission over the North Sea and accidentally landed in the English town of Woolbridge. His mistake hand-delivered Germany’s latest nighttime fighter jet technology to the British. Gebhard Aders,
Geschichte der deutschen Nachtjagd, 1917–1945
(Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1978), p. 250.

359.
What was meant was probably the Me 210, which the Luftwaffe planned to introduce in 1940. The schedule was continually put back because of technical problems, and the model was ultimately abandoned. Rüdiger Kosin,
Die Entwicklung der deutschen Jagdflugzeuge
(Bonn: Bernard & Graefe, 1990), pp. 135–38.

360.
SRA 117, 12 June 1940, TNA, WO 208/4118.

361.
SRA 117, 12 June 1940, TNA, WO 208/4118.

362.
SRA 3273, 16 October 1942, TNA, WO 208/4128.

363.
SRA 3069, 30 August 1942, TNA, WO 208/4127.

364.
SRA 4516, 11 September 1943, TNA, WO 208/4131. The stories refer to the He 219.

365.
SRA 3069, 30 August 1942, TNA, WO 208/4127.

366.
SRA 3307, 26 October 1942, TNA, WO 208/4128.

367.
SRA 3943, 13 April 1943, TNA, WO 208/4130. In December 1941, a private spoke of having seen the He 177, the aircraft that was supposed to fly to America. SRA 2371, 6 December 1941, TNA/WO 208/4126. See also SRA 5545, 29 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4134. See also Room Conversation, Krumkühler–Wolff, 26 August 1944, NARA, Entry 179, Box 566. The talk there is also of an aircraft supposedly to be used to drop propaganda leaflets on New York. Navy Lieutenant Josef Bröhl of U-432 spoke of a jet plane that would be used for the leaflet mission. SRN 1629, 11 April 1943, TNA, WO 208/4145.

368.
See Karl Kössler and Günther Ott,
Die großen Dessauer: Die Geschichte einer Flugzeugfamilie
(Planegg: Aviatic-Verlag GmbH, 1993), pp. 103–5.

369.
Peter Herde,
Der Japanflug: Planungen und Verwirklichung einer Flugverbindung zwischen den Achsenmächten und Japan, 1942–1945
(Stuttgart: Steiner, 2000).

370.
SRA 3950, 17 April 1943, TNA, WO 208/4130.

371.
SRA 2992, 12 August 1942, TNA, WO 208/4127.

372.
SRA 3465, 30 December 1942, TNA, WO 208/4128, mentions the principle behind the flying missile Me 163.

373.
SRA 4235, 20 July 1943, TNA, WO 208/4130.

374.
SRA 4709, 15 December 1943, TNA, WO 208/4132.

375.
SRA 4880, 27 January 1944, TNA, WO 208/4132.

376.
SRA 5114, 29 March 1944, TNA, WO 208/4133.

377.
Ibid.

378.
SRA 5531, 26 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4134.

379.
SRA 5456, 15 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4134.

380.
SRA 5732, 15 January 1945, TNA, WO 208/4135.

381.
Jeffrey L. Ethell and Alfred Price,
Deutsche Düsenflugzeuge im Kampfeinsatz, 1944/45
(Stuttgart: Motorbuch, 1981), p. 70ff.

382.
Ralf Blank, “Kriegsalltag und Luftkrieg an der ‘Heimatfront,’ ” in
Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg,
Vol. 9/1, pp. 433–36. See also Heinz Dieter Hölsken,
Die V-Waffen: Entstehung, Propaganda, Kriegseinsatz
(Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1984); Ralf Schabel,
Die Illusion der Wunderwaffen: Die Rolle der Düsenflugzeuge und Flugabwehrraketen in der Rüstungspolitik des Dritten Reiches
(Munich: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 1994).

383.
SRN 1559, 25 March 1943, TNA, WO 208/4145.

384.
SRN 1622, 11 April 1943, TNA, WO 208/4145.

385.
SRN 1986, 25 July 1943, TNA, WO 208/4146.

386.
SRX 1532, 24 January 1943, TNA, WO 208/4162.

387.
SRM 263, 27 October 1943, TNA, WO 208/4137.

388.
SRX 1617, 11 March 1943, TNA, WO 208/4162.

389.
SRN 2989, 3 March 1944, TNA, WO 208/4149; SRN 3379, 20 April 1944, TNA, WO 208/4151.

390.
SRM 601, 25 June 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138; SRM 655, 18 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

391.
SRM 263, 27 October 1943; SRM 291, 9 November 1943, TNA, WO 208/4137; SRN 2636, 4 January 1944, TNA, WO 208/4148; SRM 499, 21 March 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138; SRM 680, 26 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138; SRA 5199, 27 April 1944, TNA, WO 208/4133.

392.
SRM 639, 8 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

393.
SRM 491, 14 March 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

394.
SRN 2851, 25 January 1944, TNA, WO 208/4149.

395.
SRA 5196, 25 April 1944, TNA, WO 208/4133.

396.
Hölsken,
Die V-Waffen,
p. 131ff.

397.
Ibid., p. 103.

398.
Ibid., p. 104ff.

399.
Ibid., p. 109.

400.
SRN 3922, 8 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4153.

401.
For example, Otto Elfeldt (SRGG 988, 24 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4168) and Erwin Menny,
Tagebuchblätter aus der Gefangenschaft,
BA/MA, N 267/4.

402.
SRM 655, 18 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

403.
SRM 847, 30 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4139. See also SRM 960, 10 October 1944, TNA, WO 208/4139; SRM 1077, 29 November 1944, TNA WO 208/4139; SRX 2075, 29 December 1944, TNA, WO 208/4164.

404.
SRN 4130, 16 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4155.

405.
SRX 2048, 4 November 1944, TNA, WO 208/4164. See also SRN 4031, 4 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4154. A V2 had the explosive capacity of two to three thousand bombs.

406.
Lieutenant Borbonus of SS Junkerschule in Bad Tölz refers to such a speech by Hitler. SRM 914, 20 September 1944, TNA, WO 208/4139.

407.
SRGG 543, 9 November 1943, TNA, WO 208/4167.

408.
SRGG 596, 26 November 1943, TNA, WO 208/4167. On criticism of the V weapons, see SRM 722, 30 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138; SRM 1094, 21 November 1944, TNA, WO 208/4139.

409.
See Kehrt,
Moderne Krieger,
pp. 291–97.

410.
SRA 5512, 23 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4134.

411.
SRA 5532, 25 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4134.

412.
SRA 2058, 2 August 1941, TNA, WO 208/4125.

413.
SRA 2660, 18 June 1942, TNA, WO 208/4126. Zastrau was a member of 5/‌KG 2 and was shot down on 23 April 1942 over Exeter. Balke,
Luftkrieg in Europa,
p. 430.

414.
SRA 4862, 23 January 1944, TNA, WO 208/4132. This description refers to the German bombardment of Bari during the night of 3 December 1943. German bombs and explosions aboard the ammunition carriers
John E. Motley
and
Joseph Wheeler,
as well as the tanker ship
Aroostock,
destroyed eighteen ships with a gross tonnage of 71,566. There were more than 1,000 dead and wounded. Firefighting and rescue attempts were hindered by the fact that the U.S. freighter
John Harvey
was carrying mustard gas.
http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/43–12.htm
(accessed 30 August 2010).

415.
SRA 1557, 23 April 1941, TNA, WO 208/4123.

416.
SRM 606, 27 June 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

417.
Förster, in
Das Deutsche Reich,
Vol. 9/1, p. 469.

418.
SRA 281, 4 August 1940, TNA, WO 208/4137.

419.
SRA 453, 4 September 1940, TNA, WO 208/4137.

420.
SRA 450, 4 September 1940, TNA, WO 208/4137.

421.
SRA 549, 17 September 1940, TNA, WO 208/4138.

422.
Wilhelm von Thoma diary entry, 21 January 1942, BA/MA, N 2/2.

423.
SRA 2655, 18 June 1942, TNA, WO 208/4126; see also SRA 2635, 15 June 1942, TNA, WO 208/4127.

424.
Förster, in
Das Deutsche Reich,
Vol. 9/1, p. 540.

425.
Hans Meier-Welcker,
Aufzeichnungen eines Generalstabsoffiziers, 1919 bis 1942
(Freiburg: Rombach Druck- und Verlagshaus, 1982), p. 158 (23 August 1942).

426.
SRN 129, 15 November 1940, TNA, WO 208/4141.

427.
SRN 395, 8 June 1941, TNA, WO 208/4142.

428.
SRN 183, 21 March 1941, TNA, WO 208/4141.

429.
SRN 370, 28 May 1941, TNA, WO 208/4142.

430.
SRN 127, 16 November 1940, TNA, WO 208/4141.

431.
SRN 720, 25 December 1941, TNA, WO 208/4143.

432.
For the results of the questionnaires filled out by German POWs November 1941–March 1943, see TNA, WO 208/4180.

433.
SRN 690, 7 November 1941, TNA, WO 208/4143.

434.
SRN 933, 31 March 1942, TNA, WO 208/4143. Josef Przyklenk (born 10 January 1914) was machinist aboard U-93 and was captured on 15 January 1942.

435.
SRN 731, 31 December 1941, TNA, WO 208/4143. The British listed him, in contrast to the crew registry, as Karl Wede
kinn
.

436.
SRN 969, 22 August 1942, TNA, WO 208/4143; SRN 968, 22 August 1942, TNA, WO 208/4143. U-210 was sunk on her maiden patrol.

437.
Bernhard R. Kroener, “ ‘Nun Volk steht auf …!’ Stalingrad und der totale Krieg, 1942–1943,” in
Stalingrad: Ereignis, Wirkung, Symbol,
Jurgen Förster,
ed. (Munich: Piper, 1992), pp. 151–70; Martin Humbug,
Das Gesicht des Krieges: Feldpostbriefe von Wehrmachtssoldaten aus der Sowjetunion, 1941–1944
(Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1998), p. 118ff.

438.
SRA 3717, 2 March 1943, TNA, WO 208/4129.

439.
SRA 3442, 28 December 1942, TNA, WO 208/4128.

440.
SRA 3868, 22 March 1943, TNA, WO 208/4129.

441.
SRA 4012, 18 May 1943, TNA, WO 208/4130; SRA 4222, 28 July 1943, TNA, WO 208/4130. There were opinions like this in the navy, but not in the army. See SRN 1643, 14 April 1943, TNA, WO 208/4145.

442.
SRA 4791, 6 January 1944, TNA, WO 208/4132.

443.
The reference is to the commander of the II/KG 2, Major Heinz Engel, who had joined the group in October 1941 and had led it since February 1943. Balke,
Luftkrieg in Europa,
p. 409.

444.
SRA 5272, 16 May 1944, TNA, WO 208/4133.

445.
Ibid.

446.
SRA 4747, 22 December 1943, TNA, WO 208/4132.

447.
SRN 2509, 27 November 1943, TNA, WO 208/4148.

448.
See SRN 2521, 11 December 1943, TNA, WO 208/4148.

449.
SRN 2768, 17 January 1944, TNA, WO 208/4149. Even weapons of retribution seemed to hold out little hope in this regard. SRN 3613, 8 May 1944, TNA, WO 208/4152.

450.
“Erlass gegen Kritiksucht und Meckerei,” 9 September 1943, cited in Salewski,
Seekriegsleitung,
p. 638ff.

451.
The British forced some of the POWs in the surveillance camps to fill out standardized questionnaires. Between March 1943 and January 1944, they surveyed five groups of 35 to 71 men, 240 in total. The majority came from the German navy, a smaller percentage from the Luftwaffe. CSDIC (UK), Survey of German P/W Opinion, GRS 10, 24 February 1944, TNA, WO 208/5522.

452.
Rafael A. Zagovec, “Gespräche mit der ‘Volksgemeinschaft’ ” in
Die deutsche Kriegsgesellschaft, 1939 bis 1945—Ausbeutung, Deutungen, Ausgrenzung,
Vol. 9/2, Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt, ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 2005), p. 327.

453.
Jörg Echternkamp, “Im Kampf an der inneren und äußeren Front: Grundzüge der deutschen Gesellschaft im Zweiten Weltkrieg,” in
Das Deutsche Reich,
Vol. 9/1, p. 47.

454.
Heinz Boberach, ed.,
Meldungen aus dem Reich
(Munich: Pawlak Verlag Herrsching, 1968), p. 511.

455.
Michael Salewski, “Die Abwehr der Invasion als Schlüssel zum ‘Endsieg’?” in
Die Wehrmacht,
Mythos und Realität,
Rolf-Dieter Müller, and Hans-Erich Volkmann, eds. (Munich: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 1999), pp. 210–23.

456.
SRM 519, 7 June 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

457.
SRM 526, 9 June 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

458.
SRM 547, 13 June 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

459.
SRM 606, 27 June 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138. Kuhle was the commander of III/IR 1050 of the 77th Infantry Division, while Saldern led the dramatically weakened Grenadier Regiment 1057 of the 91st Airborne Division. Major
Bornhard, commander of the Feldersatzbataillon of the 77th Infantry Division, was captured on 18 June 1944 and was interned together with Kuhle at Wilton Park. From 1 February to 25 April 1944, Lieutenant General Walter Poppe commanded the 77th Infantry Division, in which Kuhle served. On 5 July, Poppe took over a new command. The basis for the rumors of treason is unclear.

460.
SRM 610, 29 June 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

461.
SRM 830, 24 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4139.

462.
SRM 849, 27 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4139.

463.
For a summary of current research, see Neitzel,
Abgehört,
p. 61ff.

464.
SRM 639, 8 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

465.
SRM 637, 7 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

466.
We owe this analysis to Felix Römer in Mainz.

467.
A Lieutenant Trettner, for example, asserted that eight paratrooper divisions would soon be deployed and that “there was much to be done.” SRM 813, 24 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4139.

468.
SRM 796, 19 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4138.

469.
This is based on an analysis of moral questionnaires carried out by Felix Römer in Mainz. On navy men, see SRN 3815, 9 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4153; SRN 3830, 12 June 1944, TNA, WO 208/4153; SRN 3931, 11 July 1944, TNA, WO 208/4154; SRN 4032, 3 August 1944, TNA, WO 208/4154.

470.
This conclusion was reached by an American study based on interrogations of German POWs shortly after they had been taken captive. M. I. Gurfein and Morris Janowitz, “Trends in Wehrmacht Morale,”
Public Opinion Quarterly
10 (1946), p. 81.

471.
NCO Brandt of the 11/NJG 3 told of a superior’s address to the troops shortly before the Ardennes Offensive: “He said that if we don’t regain aerial dominance soon, we will have lost the war. And the group commander said: ‘The offensive in the West right now will be all-decisive. If it’s halted, it will be the last offensive battle we can afford.’ That’s what the group commander said in public before all of his airmen, whom he had called together.” SRX 2091, 11 January 1945, TNA, WO 208/4164. See also SRM 1133, 18 December 1944, TNA, WO 208/4140; SRM 1168, 8 January 1945, TNA, WO 208/4140.