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3 May 1945 - Our Tough Little Bastard
3 May 1945, Luneburg Heath, Occupied Germany
Colonel James Ewart considered the brief. “Take all steps necessary to investigate the potential rearming of up to four Divisions of German troops using captured equipment and men from occupied areas allocated to 21st Army Group and from former occupation forces in both Norway and Denmark, which are to be occupied by 5th May by elements of 50th Infantry Division(Norway) and 1st Airborne(Denmark) as part of Operation Doomsday.
Note that a similar process with a view to activating up to four German Divisions using captured material will also be undertaken by United States Army 12th Army Group.”
The political implications were volcanic, especially in regards the French. It was just as well that there were volumes of captured material on hand. German manufacturing had gorged itself on slave labour, especially in the closing 18 months of the war. There would be little capacity to manufacture new armaments aside from the completion of small numbers of units from components on hand at factories that had been largely bombed and burnt out, their workforce's either liberated or scattered to the fore winds. The volume of displaced persons in Germany was beyond comprehension, food and supplies were scarce, housing nonexistent. Only those in rural areas were somewhat better off, the areas that fighting and heavy bombers had bypassed.
Ewart considered the man in front of him. Short, slightly built, with pale blue eyes, fair hair and a trimmed moustache, he looked more like a schoolteacher or accountant than a soldier. Old style spats and a thick lambswool coat completed the ensemble. Yet the man’s nickname “Unser Giftzwerg (our tough little bastard)” indicated he was highly regarded by his own men. Many regarded him as the Wehrmacht’s premier expert on defensive warfare, in particular defensive warfare against the Soviets. He had learned to hold the line with the minimum of men and at the lowest possible cost. Gotthard Heinrici was not the most famous German general, but maybe that was a good thing considering the nature of the task ahead and the politically sensitive implications of this all.
Colonel James Ewart considered the brief. “Take all steps necessary to investigate the potential rearming of up to four Divisions of German troops using captured equipment and men from occupied areas allocated to 21st Army Group and from former occupation forces in both Norway and Denmark, which are to be occupied by 5th May by elements of 50th Infantry Division(Norway) and 1st Airborne(Denmark) as part of Operation Doomsday.
Note that a similar process with a view to activating up to four German Divisions using captured material will also be undertaken by United States Army 12th Army Group.”
The political implications were volcanic, especially in regards the French. It was just as well that there were volumes of captured material on hand. German manufacturing had gorged itself on slave labour, especially in the closing 18 months of the war. There would be little capacity to manufacture new armaments aside from the completion of small numbers of units from components on hand at factories that had been largely bombed and burnt out, their workforce's either liberated or scattered to the fore winds. The volume of displaced persons in Germany was beyond comprehension, food and supplies were scarce, housing nonexistent. Only those in rural areas were somewhat better off, the areas that fighting and heavy bombers had bypassed.
Ewart considered the man in front of him. Short, slightly built, with pale blue eyes, fair hair and a trimmed moustache, he looked more like a schoolteacher or accountant than a soldier. Old style spats and a thick lambswool coat completed the ensemble. Yet the man’s nickname “Unser Giftzwerg (our tough little bastard)” indicated he was highly regarded by his own men. Many regarded him as the Wehrmacht’s premier expert on defensive warfare, in particular defensive warfare against the Soviets. He had learned to hold the line with the minimum of men and at the lowest possible cost. Gotthard Heinrici was not the most famous German general, but maybe that was a good thing considering the nature of the task ahead and the politically sensitive implications of this all.
- johnboy
- Word Count: 360