Posted on 03/12/2015 4:29:23 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
5-060 To General Carl Spaatz, March 12, 1945
1945
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Date: March 12, 1945
Subject: World War II
Collection: Papers of George Catlett Marshall, Volume 5: The Finest Soldier
Summary
To General Carl Spaatz
March 12, 1945 Radio No. WAR-51724. Washington, D.C.
Top Secret
Personal for Spaatz from Marshall.
Archer and Deane in Moscow report following from Marshal Khudyakov:1
“According to information which we have, the General Staff of the German Army is situated 38 kilometers south of Berlin in a specially fortified underground shelter called by the Germans The Citadel. It is located on the territory of Stammlager at a distance of 5 1/2 to 6 kilometers south-southeast from the town of Zossen and from 1 to 1 1/2 kilometers east of a wide super highway which runs parallel to the railroad from Berlin to Dresden.
The area occupied by the underground fortifications of The Citadel covers from about 5 to 6 square kilometers. The whole territory is surrounded by wired entanglements several rows in depth and is very strongly guarded by an SS Guard Regiment.
According to the same source the construction of the underground fortifications for the German General Staff was started in 1936. In 1938 and 1939 the strength of the fortification was tested by the Germans against bombing from the air and against Artillery fire.
I ask you, dear General, not to refuse the kindness as soon as possible to give directions to the Allied Air Forces to bomb The Citadel with heavy bombs.
I am sure that as a result of the action of the Allied Air Forces, the German General Staff, if still located there will receive damage and losses which will stop its normal work and the installation shall have to be moved elsewhere. Thus the Germans will lose a well organized communication center and headquarters.
Enclosed is a map with exact location of the German General Staff.”
Deane adds: “On the British map 1: 500,000 Europe (air), the area located is on the right side, about half to 3/4 of a mile east, of the road between Zossen and Neuhof with the southwestern corner of the area at 52 degrees 11 minutes north and 13 degrees 28 minutes east.” This completes message from Deane.
The U.S. Chiefs of Staff have recommended to the British Chiefs of Staff “That orders be given Spaatz and Bottomley2 to carry out promptly action requested by Marshal Khudyakov unless they consider it impracticable of successful execution. In latter case report to be made accordingly to Combined Chiefs of Staff with statement of reasons.”3
Document Copy Text Source: Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs (RG 165), Records of the Operations Division (OPD), Top Secret Message File CM-OUT-51724, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
Document Format: Typed radio message.
1. Major General John R. Deane, chief of the United States Military Mission to Moscow, had sent to the War Department a letter from Soviet Marshal of Aviation S. V. Khudyakov, asking him to direct the Allied air forces to bomb the German General Staff headquarters. (Deane to War Department, Radio No. MX-23173 [CM-IN-11902], March 11, 1945, GCMRL/G. C. Marshall Papers [Pentagon Office, Selected].) Rear Admiral Ernest R. Archer was chief of the British Military Mission to the Soviet Union.
2. British Air Marshal Norman H. Bottomley.
3. On March 14 General Marshall informed Deane: “Spaatz has just informed me that this target will be attacked with the best means available as soon as conditions permit.” (Marshall to Deane, Radio No. WAR-52766, March 14, 1945, NA/RG 165 [OPD, TS Message File (CM-OUT-52766)].) Allied bombers targeted the headquarters of the German high command at Zossen, long regarded as invulnerable, on March 15, as a “gesture of collaboration” in reply to the Soviets’ request. “The bombers dropped almost 1,400 tons visually on Zossen,” wrote official Army Air Forces historians Craven and Cate, “blanketing the area with bombs and destroying most of the buildings above the ground.” (Craven and Cate, Europe: ARGUMENT to V-E Day, p. 743.)
Recommended Citation: ThePapers of George Catlett Marshall, ed.Larry I. Bland and Sharon Ritenour Stevens(Lexington, Va.: The George C. Marshall Foundation, 1981- ). Electronic version based on The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 5, “The Finest Soldier,” January 1, 1945-January 7, 1947 (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003), pp. 86-87.
Digital Downloads
5-060.doc
Collection
Papers of George Catlett Marshall, Volume 5: The Finest Soldier
http://marshallfoundation.org/library/digital-archive/to-general-carl-spaatz/
115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Divison, Presidential Citation, Geisenkirche, Germany, 03/12/1945
https://archive.org/details/ADC-3584b
I think the 8th Air Force got him in a big attack on Berlin.
I find this footage of German civilians after we’ve already occupied their town to be kind of fascinating. They’re quite diligent about cleaning up the mess left by war. And they look quite happy that it’s all over for them.
No young men left, though...
Civilians Of Neuss Germany, March 12, 1945
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsqjDRNB7o0
No sound. Who are those wonderful bunch of guys?
Thanks! Not as pretty as the German maps, but lots more detail.
115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Divison, it says.
Found this:
On D-Day, June 6 1944, the 115th was part of the second wave of the assault force that landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy. The entire regiment was awarded gained a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation, embroidered “St. Laurent-sur-Mer” for its gallant actions on that historic day.
The 115th experienced slow progress and numerous casualties fighting its way across the bocage of the Normandy toward its ultimate goal, St. Lo. During the final move on St. Lo from the 11th through the 22nd of July, the regiment lost 175 KIA and 726 WIA. In late August, the 115th moved with the rest of the 29th Infantry to assist in the siege of Brest. The city surrendered on the 18th of September and the regiment then moved to Maastricht, Holland and then assisted in the campaigns in Germany. The strength of the regiment was 3327 on June 6th and it suffered nearly 5,800 casualties between D-Day and December 31st of 1944.
Subsequently the 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star for repulsing a determined German counterattack outside St. Lo on 11 July 1944.
http://www.29thdivisionassociation.com/115th%20Infantry%20history.html
Yeah. Kind of nice to be able to zoom in.
I found this to be interesting:
Employment of a TD Battalion with an Infantry Division - March 12, 1945
This 7 page report by Capt. Frederick H. Parkin, who was the S-3 of the 813th Tank Destroyer battalion, is dated March 12, 1945, while the unit was with the 79th Infantry Division somewhere in France. The report draws from his four years of experiences while in Africa, Sicily, Normandy, France and Germany.
http://www.tankdestroyer.net/images/stories/ArticlePDFs/Empl_of_TD_Bn_w-Inf._Div._Capt_Parkin.pdf
Thanks. Pretty small regiment. Even smaller if you subtract casualties from original strength. This was truly a "stealth" unit. :)
Had a little time this afternoon, thought I would dig up a few things to add to the thread, because I hate to see a grown man cry! :-)
But I think I can maintain my composure. Gotta keep up a brave front for the troops.
You betcha.
Kamminke, March 1945, Victims of the air raid of March 12, 1945, prior to being buried in mass graves, Archiv Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.
Kamminke, 2006, Golm War Cemetery - Sculpture »The Frozen«, Archiv Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V.
http://www.memorialmuseums.org/eng/staettens/view/1146/Golm-War-Cemetery-and-Memorial
Very interesting. I remember reading that, unlike Italians, German civilians started cleaning up as soon as the shooting or bombing stopped.
“U-260 (type VIIC) is scuttled at 2230hrs south of Ireland, in position 51.15N, 09.05W, after being mined at 80 meters depth. Whole crew interned in Ireland 48 survivors (No casualties).”
Are these just about the luckiest Germans in the entire war and after being mined 80 metes down to boot?
Saying a prayer. God rest her soul.
I have written before about the military government in Germany after territory is occupied and the German civil administration revived right away. There must be orderly administration!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.