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Posted on 06/18/2005 8:14:30 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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 Following a number of detailed reconnaissance missions by officers wearing civilian clothing and studying the Rock from Spanish soil as well as seaward perspectives, the Wehrmacht in the summer and autumn of 1940 drew up detailed plans for Operation Felix, the assault on Gibraltar. Only failure at the highest levels of diplomacy prevented the operation from occurring at the beginning of 1941. |
| The Führer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces WFSt/Abt. L(I) No. 33 356/40 g. K. Chefs Top Secret |
Führer Headquarters 12 November 1940 10 copies By officer only |
DIRECTIVE No. 18
The preparatory measures of the High Commands which are being prepared for the conduct of the war in the near future are to be in accordance with the following guiding principles:
1. Relations with France
The aim of my policy toward France is to cooperate with this country in the most effective way for the future prosecution of the war against England. For the time being France will have the role of a "nonbelligerent power" which will have to tolerate German military measures on her territory, in the African colonies especially, and to give support, as far as possible, even by using her own means of defense. The most pressing task of the French is the defensive and offensive protection of their African possessions (West and Equatorial Africa) against England and the de Gaulle movement. From this task the participation of France in the war against England can develop in full force.
Except for the current work of the Armistice Commission, the discussions with France which tie in with my meeting with Marshal Petain will initially be conducted exclusively by the Foreign Ministry in cooperation with the High Command of the Wehrmacht.
More detailed directives will follow after the conclusion of these discussions.
2. Spain and Portugal
Political measures to induce the prompt entry of Spain into the war have been initiated. The aim of German intervention in the Iberian Peninsula (code name Felix) will be to drive the English out of the Western Mediterranean.
For this purpose:
a) Gibraltar should be taken and the Straits closed;
6) The English should be prevented from gaining a foothold at another point of the Iberian Peninsula or of the Atlantic islands.
For the preparation and execution of the undertaking the following is intended:
Phase I:
a) Reconnaissance parties (officers in civilian clothes) will conclude the requisite preparations for the operation against Gibraltar and for the taking over of airfields. As regards camouflage and cooperation with the Spaniards they are bound by the security measures of the Chief of the Foreign Intelligence Department.
b) Special units of the Foreign Intelligence Department in disguised cooperation with the Spaniards are to take over the protection of the Gibraltar area against English attempts to extend the outpost area or prematurely to discover and disturb the preparations.
c) The units designated for the action will assemble in readiness far back of the Franco-Spanish border and without premature explanation being given to the troops. A. preliminary alert for beginning the operation will be issued 3 weeks before the troops cross the Franco-Spanish border (but only after conclusion of the preparations regarding the Atlantic islands).
In view of the limited capacity of the Spanish railroads the Army will mainly designate motorized units for the operation so that the railways remain available for supply.
Phase II:
a) Directed by observation near Algeciras, Luftwaffe units at a favorable moment will conduct an aerial attack from French soil against the units of the English fleet lying in the harbor of Gibraltar and after the attack they will land on Spanish airports.
b) Shortly thereafter the units designated for commitment in Spain will cross the Franco-Spanish border by land or by air.
Phase III:
a) The attack for the seizure of Gibraltar is to be by German troops.
b) Troops are to be assembled to march into Portugal in case the English should gain a foothold there. The units designated for this will march into Spain immediately after the forces designated for Gibraltar.
Phase IV:
Support of the Spaniards in closing the Strait after seizure of the Rock, if necessary, from the Spanish-Moroccan side as well.
The following will apply regarding the strength of the units to be committed for Operation Felix:
Army:
The units designated for Gibraltar must be strong enough to take the Rock even without Spanish help. Along with this a smaller group must be available to support the Spaniards in the unlikely event of an English attempt at a landing on another part of the coast.
For the possible march into Portugal mobile units are mainly to be designated.
Luftwaffe:
For the aerial attack on the harbor of Gibraltar forces are to be designated which will guarantee abundant success.
For the subsequent operations against naval objectives and for support of the attack on tlie Rock mainly dive bomber units are to be transferred to Spain.
Sufficient anti-aircraft artillery is to be allocated to the army units including its use against ground targets.
Navy:
U-boats are to be provided for combating the English Gibraltar squadron, and particularly in its evacuation of the harbor which is to be expected after the aerial attack.
For support of the Spaniards in closing the Strait the transfer of individual coastal batteries is to be prepared in cooperation with the Army.
Italian participation is not envisaged.
The Atlantic islands (particularly the Canaries and the Cape Verde Islands) will, as a result of the Gibraltar operation, gain increased importance for tho English conduct of the war at sea as well as for our own naval operations. The Commanders in Chief of the Navy and of the Luftwaffe are to study how the Spanish defense of the Canaries can be supported and how the Cape Verde Islands can be occupied.
I likewise request examination of the question of occupation of Madeira and of the Azores as well as of the question of the advantages and disadvantages which would ensue for the naval and for the aerial conduct of the war.
The results of this examination are to be presented to me as soon as possible.
3. Italian offensive against Egypt
The employment of German forces will be considered ,if at all,only after the Italians have reached Mersa Matruh.But even then the use of German air units will only be considered if the Italians will provide the nesscassry air basses.
The preparations of the Armed Services for operations in this theatre or in any other North Africa theatre of war will be made on the following basis:
Army:
One armored division (composition as already laid down) will stand by for service in North Africa.
Navy:
German ships in Italian ports which are suitable as troop ships will be coverted to carry the largest possible forces either to Libya or to North-West Africa.
Air Force:
Plans will be made for attacks on Alexandria and on the Suez Canal to close it to English warships
4.The Balkans
Commander-in-Chief Army will be prepared, if necessary to occupy from Bulgaria the Greek Mainland north of the Aegean Sea.This will enable the German Air Force to attack targets in the Eastern Mediterranean and in particular those English air bases which threaten the Rumanian oil fields.
In Order to be capable of fulfilling all tasks and to keep Turkey in check, planning and march tables will assume the employment of an Army Group in a strength of about ten divisions. The use of the railway line running through Yugoslavia will not be assumed in planning the movement, the German Military mission in Rumania will be shortly reinforced to an extant about which I require advice.
In conjunction with the proposed land operations, Commander-in-Chief Air Force will prepare to post air force units to the southeastern Balkans and to set up an Air Force signal service on the southern frontier of Bulgaria.
The German air force mission in Rumania will be reinforced to the extant proposed by me.
Requests by Bulgaria for equipment for its army (weapons & ammunition) will be met sympathetically.
5. Russia
Political discussi9ons for the purpose of clafifying Russia's attitud in the immediate future have already begun. Regardless of the outcome of these conversations all preparations for the East for which verbal orders have already been given will be continued.
Further directives will follow on this subject as soon as the basic operational plan of the Army has been submitted to me and approved.
6. Landing in England
Since changes in the general situation may make it possible or necessary to revert to 'Undertaking Sealion' in the spring of 1941, the three brats of the Armed Forces will make every effort to improve in every way the conditions for such an operation.
7. Reports
I await reports from Commander-in-Chief on the operations laid down in this directive. I will then issue orders on the manner of execution and the timing of individual operations.
In the interests of security, special measures are to be taken to limit the number of those working on these plans. This applies particularly to the undertaking in Spain and to the plans relating to the Atlantic Islands.
(signed)
Adolf Hilter
Good morning!
Fine topic today .. my opinion is that without Spanish help Hitler couldn't have taken Gibraltar.
Churchill states in his memoirs that the British had a treaty dating back to the 1300s with Portugal which allowed British use of the Azores for naval bases, and they were prepared to use them in the event of the fall of Gibraltar.
However, Franco's intention was to keep Spain out of the war, meaning the Germans couldn't have attempted an assault from the landward side. I can't imagine a seaward assault being successful, and by 1941 the Crete operation had soured Hitler on large-scale airborne operations.
But the benefits would have been enormous. Churchill also writes about the difficulties inherent in bringing reinforcements for the Desert Army all the way around Cape Horn to the Suez Canal due to the presence of the Italian fleet in the Mediterranean - and this was even with British control of Gibraltar. Without it, holding Malta would have been even more difficult. Its fall would have opened the way for easier German supply to Africa, with all the danger to British forces and possessions in the Middle East that might have entailed.
Hitler (or at least some in the German High Command) did want to close the Straits of Gibraltar. In fact, preliminary negotiations took place with Franco on German troop movements through Spain, but Franco flatly refused and the plan was dropped.
Taking that into consideration, do we assume that further negotiations would have borne fruit and allowed German forces free passage through Spain, or do we assume that Spain would resist a German invasion?
US Naval Observatory
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on June 18:
1681 Feofan Prokopovich theologian, archbishop of Novgorod, westernizer
1799 William Lassell discoverer (satellites of Uranus & Neptune)
1809 Sylvanus William Godon, Commander (Union Navy), died in 1879
1839 William Henry Seward Jr, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1920
1877 James Montgomery Flagg illustrator "I want you" recruiting poster
1886 George Mallory England, mountain climber ("because it is there")
1901 Jeanette MacDonald actress/singer (When I'm Calling You)
1904 Keye Luke Canton China, actor (Kung Fu-Master Po, Gremlins-Grandfather (Mr. Wing))
1906 Kay Kyser Rocky Mount NC, orch leader (Kay Kyser's Kollege)
1908 Bud Collyer NYC, TV emcee (Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth)
1910 E.G. Marshall actor (Defenders, Nixon, Absolute Power)
1913 Sammy Cahn lyricist (3 Coins in a Fountain)
1913 Sylvia Porter financial writer (Sylvia Porter's Money Book)
1915 Red Adair, oilman (fought oil fires)
1917 Richard Boone LA Calif, actor (Paladin-Have Gun Will Travel)
1926 Tom Wicker columnist (NY Times)
1937 Vitali M Zholobov cosmonaut (Soyuz 21)
1939 Lou Brock one-time baseball stolen base leader (St Louis Cards)
1942 Paul McCartney rocker, Beatles, writes silly love songs
1942 Rogert Ebert Urbana Ill, film critic (Siskel & Ebert at the Movies)
1952 Carol Kane Cleveland Ohio, actress (Dog Day Afternoon, Simka-Taxi)
1963 Bruce Smith NFL defensive end (Buffalo Bills)
Morning Snippy.
Could have?
At that point in the war,IMHO, the Germans could have. Even if Spain had not allowed access to the Germans I believe they would not have been able to prevent the Germans from grabbing Gibraltar. However, Hitler was looking to the East and without Spanish cooperation I don't think he really wanted to commit the forces or time to the effort.
Should have?
There was no plan for an "African Campaign" at the time so I believe it would have been more of a "prestige" blow to the Brits at the time. But once the Germans decided to bolster the Italians in North Africa, the closing of the straits to the Allies would have changed the entire African Campaign shifting the advantage to the Axis. In conjunction with the taking of Malta the Med would have become an Axis lake.
((HUGS))Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.
Morning Aeronaut.
Good morning Snippy!
Had Hitler taken Gib, it would have been disastrous for Malta and North Africa, as the Brits would have had to ship everything via the Cape Horn/Suez route. Doenitz's subs would have had a field day. Raeder's capital ships could also have been far more effectively utilized with Gib as a safe harbour.
As for his actually TAKING Gib: well, that's an interesting question, one for those more versed in hypothetical situations than I.
Gooood Morning.
Now I can go try some of this "food" that I've been hearing so much about. I hear it's all the rage in Hollywood, everyone simply EVERYONE is trying it.
Hey Sam.
The only help that Hitler needed was for Spain to look the other way for a few weeks.
Gibraltar could have (and should have) been taken. The islands provide a more difficult question, since it would, at that point, have been difficult for either side to supply them. A determined British attack could have taken them, but German U-boats and perhaps surface ships operating out of Gib would have made life very difficult.
If they remained in Spanish/German hands, they would have been exposed to raids from the British surface fleet and would have faced the continual threat of invasion. In the end, however, they may not have been worth the cost to England at that stage of the war.
Very interesting. Thanks Colonel. Obviously today's topic was Sam's idea. I don't have enough knowledge to participate, however, I expect to learn much from the conversations. :-)
Thanks steveegg. Your two questions lead me to a third.
Can we assume that the Germans could have taken it regardless of what Franco wanted?
Hey, I've seen that place.
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