3 June 1939

Yesterday Tomorrow

1921: Philippine Division re-instituted to include mobile elements of Philippine Department. The Philippine Division was to go into history as the only US Army division to ever be disbanded, as opposed to inactivated. (Marc Small)

June 3rd, 1939 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: All men of 20 years of age are called up for 6 months compulsory National Service.

GERMANY: Martin Bormann decrees that followers of Christian Science should be excluded from the Nazi Party.

3 June 1940

June 3rd, 1940 (MONDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: RAF Bomber Command: 4 Group (Whitley). Bombing - oil plants at Hamburg and Gelsenkirchen.

10 Sqn. Eight aircraft to Hamburg. Heavy opposition. All bombed, one crashed on return.

51 Sqn. Eight aircraft to Hamburg. All bombed.

58 Sqn. Eight aircraft to Kamen. Four bombed primary, four bombed alternatives.

77 Sqn. Eleven aircraft to Gelsenkirchen. All bombed, one crashed on return.

102 Sqn. Eleven aircraft to Gelsenkirchen. Two returned early, nine bombed.

First service issue Blackburn Bothas are delivered to No. 1 OTU, Silloth, Cumberland

HMCS Fraser arrived Devonport for refit. One bank of torpedo tubes removed for Anti-Aircraft guns.

FRANCE:

Paris: 254 civilians are killed when 200 Luftwaffe bombers bombard the city.

Dunkirk: All British troops have left, and the French troops are pushed back to the Dunkirk-Furnes canal, only 1.25 miles from the sea. Because of the narrowness of the strip General Fagalde and Admiral Abrial agreed that tonight will be the last night for evacuating. During the last night, 50 ships take away 38,000 French troops.

The final cost of the northern campaign to France is:

24 infantry divisions; 13 of which were regular, and including 6 of the 7 motorised divisions.

3 light mechanised divisions.

2 light cavalry divisions

1 armoured division.

To which should be added 2 more armoured divisions (the 2 and 4) which were considerably depleted.

NORWEGIAN CAMPAIGN: The British carrier force arrives off Narvik, position 71.00 N, 12.56 E, at 1600, and commenced air operations immediately with Air Defensive Area (A.D.A.) patrols around the task force. Earlier sorties off Norway had established that the weather inshore, which seldom matched that at sea, was the overriding factor. With daylight no spanning virtually the entire 24 hours each day, Wells intended to ensure that his Squadrons knew the weather in advance before departure. Henceforth, Ark Royal would dispatch a single Swordfish inshore each day to verify the current weather before any fighter patrols or strike missions were dispatched.

The days activity saw ADA patrols depart at 1600 (two Swordfish of 820 Squadron), 1835 (two Swordfish of 820 Squadron), 2050 (one from 820 Squadron), and 2337 (one from 820 Squadron). The first weather flights left at 2050 and 2337. Having determined that the weather was acceptable, the first fighter patrol was flown off for Narvik at 2337, two Skuas of 800 Squadron under the newly returned (having spent several days in Norway and then getting back to Scapa, he had missed the ships second voyage off Norway) CO Capt. R. T. Partridge, RM. His wingman was forced to return immediately with a stuck undercarriage, so Partridge continued alone. He met no aerial opposition and returned safely.

Lt. "Fairy" Filmer, a section leader of 803 flies from Ark Royal to make an attack on German ships.

"As we neared Trondheim I was stunned to see the battlecruiser Scharnhorst was surrounded by a heavy cruiser and four destroyers," he remembered. "It was painfully evident that the firepower from the six naval ships, plus the land batteries, was going to be immense. The tracer bullets commenced rising well before we were within striking distance".

Despite the heavy flak Filmer completed his attack, but was jumped by two Me 110 fighters. Outgunned and out-manoeuvred, he ditched his aircraft to save his wounded observer, Midshipman Tony McKee, landing wheels-up on the fjord where they were picked up by Norwegians in a small boat. En route to hospital Filmer and McKee planned their escape to Sweden, but they were taken prisoner and flown to Germany.

Meanwhile, back in the Clyde, HMS Illustrious departed Devonport , Plymouth. She was destined to remain there until 21 June, at which point she departed for her shakedown cruise to the West Indies. Her commissioning deprived Coastal Command of three squadrons: 806 Squadron, still equipped with Skuas but expecting the imminent arrival of the first productions versions of the Fleets new 8-gun fighter, the Fulmar I. Also assigned were 815 and 819 Squadrons, each equipped with Swordfish TSRs. (Mark Horan)

CHINA: Chinese forces counter-attack, retaking Hsiangyang and capturing Tsaoyang.

3 June 1941

June 3rd, 1941 (TUESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: Three wounded German airmen owe their lives to the gallantry of the second officer of a British merchant vessel which they had tried to bomb. When their aircraft was shot into the sea by the ship’s gunners they scrambled on to a raft, and in a heavy swell the ship was manoeuvred alongside and ropes were thrown to the men, but they were too badly injured to help themselves.

Though he knew the risk of being crushed against the ship’s side, the second officer climbed down a ladder, jumped on to the raft, and roped the three men so that they could be hoisted on board.

The Times.

HEAVY ATTACK ON MANCHESTER

A heavy raid was made on Manchester on Sunday night, when thousands of incendiary bombs and many tons of high-explosive were dropped indiscriminately. Present reports indicate that fatal casualties are believed to be particularly heavy, considering the fierceness with which the town was bombarded. Once again, churches, hospitals and the homes of the people were among the buildings damaged. One of the worst incidents occurred at a nurses' home, which was wrecked by a heavy bomb. Rescue work was still going on yesterday and one of the workers said that it was known that at least two f the people underneath were alive because some of the men had spoken to them and had heard their faint reply. By dawn, five bodies had been recovered, and a few hours later, after some soldiers and an airman, together with civil defence workers, had dug and torn their way through the heap of rubble, a doctor from the hospital was
able to crawl through an opening where it was found that one nurse was trapped by her arm. With the light of miners' lamps he administered an anaesthetic on the severely injured young woman and amputated her arm on the spot. Soon afterwards she was got out but the shock and her injuries proved too much, and she died within a few minutes. Another nurse was extricated after being buried for nearly 12 hours. She is a first-year probationer at the hospital and her home is in St Asaph. She was unconscious when rescued and the matron told a reporter that she would have an immediate blood transfusion. "She is suffering badly from shock, the effect of many hours' [sic] buried under the heavy debris, and from cuts and bruises," the matron added. Four of the missing are young nurses who entered the hospital for preliminary training a few weeks ago. The hospital to which the home is attached was not damaged, and there were no
casualties among patients. Two other hospitals received damage through fire or explosive bombs, but fortunately the patients had been removed to safety. Five [ARP] wardens were killed on patrol and a curate was killed on shelter duty outside his church.

Belfast city hall was damaged in a recent air raid. Fire bombs fell on the roof over the ballroom, and though the roof was damaged and some portraits in the ballroom were destroyed, good work by firefighters saved the main structure. Thirty Belfast churches have been wrecked or damaged.

FINLAND: From today until the 6th of June, the Finnish and German military leadership negotiate at Helsinki on co-operation in event of a Russo-German war. An agreement regarding the Finnish Army and Air Force is reached. Although formally the idea of a Russo-German war is hypothetical, the Finns have already understood that the Germans are in all probability about to invade the USSR.

IRAQ:

British Gurkha troops occupy Mosul.

Baghdad: Arab supporters of Rashid Ali riot, killing hundreds of Jews and looting Jewish shops.

NEWFOUNDLAND: City of Dieppe, RN stores ship, arrived St. John's and joined the NEF. Extremely limited naval facilities at St. John's could not support operations without extensive afloat resources. The RN provided both depot ships and stores ships to act as tenders for RCN and RN escorts. Fuel was provided by afloat support from commercial and naval auxiliary tankers berthed in the port. Canadian shore facilities were expanded throughout the WW.II, although some were not completed before hostilities were ended.

U.S.A.:

New York:

The American 'United Press Agency' reported:-

It is rumoured that an American air force unit has already arrived in Greenland, where it is conjectured that they are busy with the preparation of airfields.

Public Law 99 authorises enlisted pilots in the USAAF. (202)(W. Rinaman)

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June 3rd, 1942 (WEDNESDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: The government announces that it will take over the running of all coal mines.

A Wellington of No. 172 Squadron RAF makes the first Leigh Light attack on a U-boat. (22)

FRANCE: British commandos raid Le Touquet.

NORTH AFRICA: The British have raised a special unit called SIG (Special Interrogation Group) from the volunteer, German speaking, Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany and Austria and now fight in the British forces. SIG is the idea of Oxford scholar and German linguist, Captain Herbert Cecil A. Buck, MC, of the Punjabi Guards and Scots Guards. Wounded and captured in Egypt, he had escaped using an Afrika Korps uniform. Surprised by how easy it was for a German-speaker to pass unmolested through Axis lines, he reported to British High Command in Cairo and was rewarded with command of the new unit.

He found eager recruits from the ranks of the German-speaking Jews in the British Army, French Foreign Legion and Free Czech Forces. One, Maurice "Tiffen" Tiefenbrunner, escaped just as the war broke out. "I was alone in Palestine. My parents and a hundred other relatives were in dire straits in Poland. I had a dream that I could help them by joining the British Army and being parachuted into Poland," he says from his home in Jerusalem.

Declassified cables of military intelligence reveal that in March 1942 the SIG was given the green light.

A top-secret letter from the War Office spoke of "a Special German Group as a sub-unit of ME Commando ... with the cover name 'Special Interrogation Group', to be used for infiltration behind German lines in the Western Desert, under 8th Army."

Another early volunteer was a battle hardened commando, Ariyeh Shai. Now in his eighties and living in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, he recalls how the straight-talking Captain Buck explained that a Jew caught masquerading as a soldier of the Master Race was finished. "Captain Buck had warned that our lives would depend on our ability to wear disguises faultlessly, to learn to perfection the slang prevalent among the soldiers of the Afrika Korps and to drill in accordance with all the German methods," says Shai. "Buck told us 'If your true identity is found out, there is no hope for you'."

The SIG training camp was at the far end of an isolated group of desert escarpments. Contacts with other British units were "nil", says Shai, so that he and his comrades could live, eat, drill, speak and behave like Germans. They even goose-stepped to the mess room.

Meanwhile, their "Aryan" identities were embellished with pay books, cigarettes and chocolates, and even love letters to fictitious sweethearts in Germany. In Cairo, ATS women dressed as civilians and posed for photos with the men in their Afrika Korps uniforms against a Germanic background.

The training - handling explosives, desert navigation, unarmed combat - under the Saharan sun welded the individuals into a team with all the skills required by a special raiding force. Within months the SIG was ready for action. The early missions involved using captured German vehicles and going behind the lines and setting up roadblocks. Dressed as German military police, they stopped and questioned German transports, gathering crucial intelligence. On other forays they would carry out acts of sabotage or simply pull in at German camps to chat amiably with their "fellow'" soldiers and gather information. Tiffen even collected his German Army pay at one stop.

On June 3, 1942, the SIG was given its first big task: to blow up Luftwaffe airfields 100 miles west of Tobruk, which were threatening the Malta supply convoys. Captain Buck was delighted; it would give him a chance to show what his Jews could do. But among his commandos lurked a suspicion that the greatest danger was from within the ranks.

Now a sprightly 85, Tiffen still clearly recalls the two real Germans who had been selected to help train the SIG in the minutiae of the life of an Afrika Korps trooper. They were recruited in the PoW camps, where they had spied effectively on their fellow prisoners for the British military intelligence. They were deemed reliable by the British but distrusted by the Jewish soldiers.

"(Herbert) Brueckner was in his twenties. He was big, brash and fair; (Walter) Essner was quiet, good-natured and in his thirties. They were former members of the French Foreign Legion before the war, professing to be anti-Nazi communists," he says.

Tiefenbrunner, whose early years were spent in Wiesbaden, says the commander would not listen to his concerns. "I grew up in German society and knew the mentality, but Buck insisted and the orders were obeyed."

The raid took place in mid-June. SIG and Free French SAS soldiers plunged into enemy territory to attack the airfields at Derna. At dusk they struck; one unit blew up 27 aircraft. But a second group was cornered by Nazi troops - Brueckner had managed to slip away, and betray them to the nearest battalion of Germans.

Thirty men were surrounded; all but one fought and died; the last SIG soldier blew himself up to avoid capture.

That night Hitler himself issued an order that "German political refugees" fighting in North Africa "were to be immediately wiped out".

Back in Berlin, Brueckner received a medal. But Essner never got an opportunity to betray the SIG. Closely guarded by Tiffen throughout the raid, he was given to the Military Police and later shot.

The Times November 17th, 2000 (Julian Kossoff and Mike Yared)

CHINA: Chinese troops abandon Chuchow air base.

PACIFIC OCEAN: The Japanese Invasion Group is spotted by land based aircraft from Midway. An unsuccessful raid by USAAF B-17s is mounted.

Preliminary action begins in the Battle of Midway. Nine B-17 Flying Fortresses, flying out of Midway Island, attack five large transports 570 miles (912 km) off Midway, claiming 5 hits and several near misses; actually, they hit nothing. Seven other B-17s leave Oahu, Territory of Hawaii and fly to Midway.

Despite dense fog and rough seas, the Japanese light aircraft carriers HIJMS Junyo and HIJMS Ryujo, supported by the heavy cruisers HIJMS Takao and HIJMS Maya, three destroyers and an oiler, begin launching aircraft at 0325 hours local against Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island, Aleutian Islands. The is part of the "AL" Operation. Only half of the aircraft reach the objective; the other half either crash into the sea or return to their ships. At 0545 hours, 15 aircraft appear and begin strafing targets at naval installations at Dutch Harbor and the Army's Fort Mears; at 0555 hours, the first of four waves of bombers in groups of three or four, Nakajima B5N, Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name "Kate," release 16 bombs on Fort Mears killing 25 and wounding many others.

P-40s from Cold Bay trying to intercept them arrive 10 minutes after the last attack wave departs. Other P-40s at Otter Point Field on Umnak Island are notified too late due to communication failure. The Japanese cruisers had catapulted four Nakajima E8N2 Navy Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplanes, Allied Code Name "Dave," to reconnoitre the area west of Dutch Harbor and two of them flew over Umnak and one was shot down and the other was damaged and retreated still unaware of the new airdrome. By 0745 hours local, the Japanese carriers had recovered their aircraft. Meanwhile, nine P-40s and six B-26 Marauders fly a patrol but cannot find the fleet, 180 miles (288 km) south of Dutch Harbor. However, a PBY-5A Catalina of the USN's Patrol Squadron Forty Two (VP-42) flies through a snow squall and locates the Japanese ships. The aircraft is attacked by Japanese fighters but the Americans linger in the area until the composition and position of the force can be determined. The PBY finally heads for home but runs out of fuel and makes an open sea landing where the crew is rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Nemaha (WSC-148). Another PBY-5A of VP-41 searching for the Japanese are shot down and three are captured and taken aboard the cruiser HIJMS Takao. The Japanese torture the three in an attempt to learn the location of the unknown USAAF base but the sailors reveal nothing. The three are taken to Japan and survive their internment.

One Mitsubishi A6M Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter, Allied Code Name "Zeke," is damaged by AA fire and the pilot makes an emergency landing on Akutan Island. However, he was fooled by the flat surface; it is actually a bog and the aircraft flips over killing the pilot. The recovery of this aircraft in July 1942 reveals many of its secrets.

Six B-17Es equipped with SCR-521 radar arrive at Kodiak and are immediately dispatched on search missions to locate the Japanese ships.

Additional losses in the Aleutians: 26 Army and 1 Navy were killed, and four quonset huts, one barracks building, and one radio tower were destroyed. All but one of the carrier-based air returned safely but two of four Pete floatplanes were shot down late in the day when they were ambushed by P-40's from Cold Bay.

Anti-aircraft fire from the few US Navy weapons was heavy but ineffective due to the siting of the weapons. The US Army's 206th CA (AA) was ashore and well-sited but the commander refused to allow it to open fire from concerns about revealing its location. Accurate fire was returned from the SS PRESIDENT FILLMORE, moored in the harbour, which had G/260th CA (AA) (often but inaccurately listed as G/503rd CA (AA) on board with its guns on deck through the foresight of then 1st Lt Perry Faust. The Port Captain later credited this unit for its performance and noted that he had thought the ship had exploded, so heavy was the fire being returned from the ship.

The Port Engineer had only recently completed the pier at Dutch Harbor, a example of really solid engineering due to the extreme depth of the harbour. He ran along the dock during the attack and continued to order all moored vessels to set sail lest the Japanese damage "his" pier. He was ignored by the ship's captains. (Marc Small)

U.S.A.: German U-boat operations continue off the U.S. east coast:

- U-502 sinks an unarmed U.S. tanker off the Florida keys. The Germans take two survivors aboard for interrogation but have to dive when a USN patrol bomber appears. The sub later surfaces and the U.S. sailors are released and provided with a life raft and provisions. The sailors are rescued on 8 June.

- U-432 sinks two armed U.S. fishing boats en-route from Gloucester, Massachusetts to Sea Island, Nova Scotia with gunfire after allowing the crews to abandon ship and board lifeboats.

The second prototype Grumman F6F-3 is ordered with a more powerful engine, the R-2800, following experience gained in the Battle of the Coral Sea. (Will O'Neil)

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June 3rd, 1943 (THURSDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: HMCS Tillsonburg ex HMS Pembroke Castle laid down Port Glasgow, Scotland.

FRANCE: The French Resistance destroy 300 tons of tyres at the Michelin tyre factory at Clermont-Ferrand.

GERMANY: A tunnel was broken at OFLAG VIIB at Eichstätt which got 65 officers out, all of whom were recaptured within a matter of days but which caused such a diversion of resources as to cause the Gestapo to insist upon extermination on the next mass escape. (Marc James Small)

U.S.S.R.: Germany launched Operation Cottbus, aiming to destroy Soviet partisans in the area of Borisov.

ALGERIA: Algiers: French Generals DeGaulle and Giraud agree to form the Committee of National Liberation. After three days of talks, the committee issued a communiqué tonight stating that it will be the "Central French Power". It will exercise French sovereignty in all territories outside the enemy's power, direct the French war effort and take command of all Fighting French forces.

There will be seven members of the committee in all. Besides Giraud and de Gaulle, they are: Rene Massigli and Andre Philip (appointed by de Gaulle); Jean Monnet and General Georges (for Giraud); and General Catroux, who becomes the new governor-general here, chosen by both sides. The committee is very much a compromise between the two rival factions led by Giraud and de Gaulle. The intention is that their groups should be equal in power. For General de Gaulle, who arrived here on 30 May, this may be counted a success.

In the communiqué the committee, known as the CFLN, bound itself to the overthrow of the regime of Marshal Petain and restore French liberties. It called on all Frenchmen to rally to it "so that France should regain through battle and victory her traditional place among the Allies Great Powers" and be represented as such in the post-war peace negotiations and international settlements.

CHINA: Chinese troops recapture Nanhsien, in Hunan province.

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Admiral William Halsey gives orders for Operation Toenails, the invasion of New Georgia which aims to secure Munda as a base for a series of "hops" through the islands.

TERRITORY OF ALASKA: The USAAF's Eleventh Air Force dispatches aircraft against Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands. Three weather missions flown by two B-24 Liberators and two P-40s, as well as two attack missions by two B-24s and six fighters are weathered out.

CANADA: HMCS Gatineau ex HMS Express commissioned.

Castle Class corvettes transferred RN to RCN while under construction in the UK and renamed - HMCS Arnprior ex HMS Rising Castle, HMCS Petrolia ex HMS Sherborne Castle, HMCS Bowmanville ex HMS Nunney Castle, HMCS Copper Cliff ex HMS Hever Castle, HMCS Hespeler ex HMS Guildford Castle, HMCS Orangeville ex HMS Hedingham Castle, HMCS Humberstone ex HMS Norham Castle ex HMS Totnes Castle, HMCS Huntsville ex HMS Woolvesey Castle, HMCS Kincardine ex HMS Tamworth Castle, HMCS Leaside ex HMS Walmer Castle, HMCS St Thomas ex HMS Sandgate Castle, HMCS Tillsonburg ex HMS Pembroke Castle.

Minesweepers transferred RCN to RN while under construction in Canada and renamed - HMCS Arnprior/HMS Courier, HMCS Bowmanville/HMS Coquette, HMCS Copper Cliff/HMS Felicity, HMCS Forest Hill/HMS Providence, HMCS Hespeler/HMS Lysander, HMCS Humberstone/HMS Golden Fleece, HMCS Huntsville/HMS Prompt, HMCS Kincardine/HMS Mariner, HMCS Leaside/HMS Serene, HMCS Long Branch/HMS Regulus, HMCS Mimico/HMS Moon, HMCS Orangeville/HMS Marmion, HMCS Petrolia/HMS Lioness, HMCS Sole Bay/HMS Skipjack, HMCS St Thomas/HMS Seabear, HMCS Tillsonburg/HMS Flying Fish, HMCS Toronto/HMS Mary Rose.

HMCS Edmunston completed forecastle extension refit in Halifax.

U.S.A.: USNAS Quonset Point RI, 1830 Sqn, Corsair a/c #JT116, Lt (P) James Ernest Gaunt RCNVR, of Toronto,, Ontario, Lost, flying accident, at North Kingston, Maine, when propeller hit the runway during takeoff.

The motion picture "Bataan" is released in the U.S. This war drama, directed by Tay Garnett and starring Robert Taylor, George Murphy, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Bowman and Desi Arnaz, tells the story of thirteen American military personnel on Bataan Peninsula, Luzon, Philippine Islands in 1942, detailed to blow up a bridge and keep the Japanese from rebuilding it.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: The Panamanian cargo ship HALMA is sunk by German mines laid by a U-boat off Halifax, Nova Scotia.

U-308 (Type VIIC) Sunk in the Norwegian sea northeast of the Faroes, in position 64.28N, 03.09W, by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Truculent. 44 dead (all crew lost).

U-594 (Type VIIC) Sunk west of Gibraltar, in position 35.55N, 09.25W, by rockets from a British Hudson aircraft (48 Sqdn.). 50 dead (all crew lost). (Alex Gordon)

3 June 1944

June 3rd, 1944 (SATURDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: In Operation COVER, the USAAF's Eighth Air Force in England flies two missions, both designated Mission 388. In the first, 219 of 238 B-17s and 120 of 124 B-24s attack coastal defenses in the Pas de Calais, France area, bombing a total of 22 targets without loss. Escort is provided by 91 P-38 Lightnings and 129 P-47 Thunderbolts. In the second raid, 97 of 102 B-17s and 98 of 104 B-24s hit 16 of the same targets hit in the morning without loss. Escort is provided by 102 P-38s, 34 P-47s and 83 P-51 Mustangs; one P-51 is lost.

During the night, 23 B-24s participate in CARPETBAGGER operations in France.

The USAAF's Ninth Air Force dispatches 250+ B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs to bomb airfields, highway bridges, and coastal defence batteries in northern France; 400+ P-38s and P-47s dive-bomb targets in northwestern Europe.

FRANCE: Cherbourg: As bad weather in the Channel worsens, RAF bombers destroy the second of two major wireless intercept stations at Ferme d'Urville.

Tonight, 259 RAF aircraft bomb four gun positions, three in the Pas de Calais and one in Normandy, opening a wave of round-the-clock bombings.

D-Day Countdown The German Perspective Saturday, 3 June, 1944

The weather in France is still nice, although cloudier. Rommel is at his study this morning, going over the reports. The latest weather report says that there is a storm coming in. That is good news for him. Looks like the trip home is on.

Enemy bombers the night before have hit another radio jamming station near Dieppe. Another group had bombed four of his batteries in the Pas de Calais

There are two significant reports, both of them disconcerting. The first is a communications intelligence report. The army operational centers all over England have gone on radio silence. Rommel feels a chill go through him. In the desert, radio silence usually meant that the enemy was getting ready to attack them. But here in western Europe, after all this wait, it could mean anything. For the last few months, a few of these periods of radio silence have come and gone. This one, like the others, probably is not significant. Still, he had better not take any chances - not this late in the game. He writes out a memo to Speidel requesting that the Luftwaffe immediately conduct aerial reconnaissance flights over all British southern ports.

The second message is from General Marcks at LXXXIV Corps. He reports that, they are quite behind in their defensive barrier construction program, due to a lack of supplies, inferior materials, and a shortage of power. Marcks estimates that the defensive construction program in his zone is only about half done.

At La Roche Guyon, administration of the army group continues. Another debate breaks out regarding a battalion of SS geological engineers in the 7th Army Sector. They are excellent at helping with the defensive barriers. Now Himmler wants to transfer them out of the area.

And orders from OKW via OB West inform Rommel that the 19th Luftwaffe Field Division is going to be transferred out of Belgium. It is slated for -Armeegruppe G,- specifically, to Chevallerie's 1st Army.

A number of staff pursue on the phone some mundane subjects such as smone candles and types of smoke- creating acids. Two army generals* promise Rommel that the manufacture by Major Becker's men of these multiple rocket launchers will continue.

Fearful now of a possible low-tide invasion, Rommel puts out an order to continue with his huge offshore barrier construction program, but to now concentrate on low- tide obstacles.. Most areas have finished or are over three-quarters finished with the high tide barriers, and the two mid tide barriers are coming along; but many of the low-tide barriers have not even been started yet, especially in the 7th Army sector. Now that the even lower spring low tides are here, Rommel wants the men to take advantage of this temporary condition and set up as much of the low tide barriers as possible. He writes:

"The enemy has conducted repeated invasion maneuvers at low tide, which means we may have to take such an invasion seriously into account."

Rommel also requests that the Luftwaffe lay some quick minefields in both approach channels around the Isle of Wight.**

Fortified by a forecasted storm coming their way, Rommel is thankful that a possible low tide-good moon Allied landing for the 4 to 7 June period is now probably just an academic question. He and Lang that afternoon drive down to the capital area.

First, they call on von Rundstedt at the suburb of St.- Germain-en-Laye. The old Prussian greets them at his villa, and they walk, accompanied by Blumentritt, together down the hill to the OB West blockhouse headquarters. There, they sit and have tea, and are called upon by -Generalmajor- Hans Cramer. Now refreshed from some leave and mineful of the Fuehrer's instructions, he fills them in completely on what the Allies had shown him shortly before he was repatriated. Of the many weapons and vehicle depots, the FUSAG*** units ready to go in what was probably southeast England…

They all discuss the information. To the old man, this is more confirmation that the invasion will come at Calais. Rommel is not so sure. Surely the Allies had some good motive for showing him all of that stuff. To discourage the Germans into giving up? Hardly. Maybe it was to throw them off the track…

Then they talk about Rommel's trip home. Both of the field marshals agree that it is a good time for it, and that Rommel needs the break.****

Rommel gets ready to leave, and as he does, he looks at them and addresses the possibility of a landing once more. "There's not even going to BE an invasion," he says as he starts walking out. "And if there is, then they won't even get off the beaches!"

He sets off for downtown Paris, intent on buying those birthday shoes for Lucie. He ends up purchasing a beautiful pair of handmade gray suede leather shoes - size 5-1/2, just like she had told him.

--------

Allied intelligence, examining of recent aerial photos, finally begins to suspect that some elements of another unit, probably the veteran 352nd Infantry Division, have relocated northwards along the Calvados coast, east of the Vire Estuary. Intelligence analysts, having heard nothing of this move up until now from any Resistance elements, theorize that these few units, if they are indeed part of the 352nd, have only recently relocated to the coast for a `defensive beach exercise' and probably will withdraw as soon as it is concluded. Still, major commands should be notified

General Bradley, commanding the American troop for that area, will not find out about the `temporarily' reinforced coastline for another 48 hours - just after his flagship puts out to sea on June 5th. The American troops hitting this strip of beach will never know until it is too late that this entire area has been permanently reinforced and fortified by major elements of a veteran infantry division, . or that these seasoned troops have been alerted and are patiently awaiting their arrival.

This coastal strip is designated as Omaha Beach.

-----

It was early evening. The 15th Army's Signal Center is busy intercepting the BBC transmissions. A weary -Oberstleutnant- Meyer is listening to the broadcasts himself tonight, even though he desperately needs some sleep. This is the third night in a row that the first part of that Verlaine poem has been picked up. Meyer had been led to believe that it would only be transmitted once. Could these repetitions indicate some kind of cancellation? Or are the Allies just making sure that the Resistance received the word? Chances are, it is the latter. Maybe it is a sort of `standby' indicator... Why couldn't intelligence work be easy once in a while?

About an hour later, they intercept a chilling message. It reads:

URGENT PRESS ASSOCIATED NYK FLASH --- Eisenhower'S HQ ANNOUNCES ALLIED LANDINGS IN FRANCE."

Meyer fights down the panic rising in his chest. The Allies have already landed?!? How? And more importantly, WHERE? Certainly not in the Calais area. But where is the second Verlaine verse? Have they missed it? If so, he is in deep trouble. At any rate, he had to alert all the major headquarters immediately. But they would certainly ask him where the landing was at. What would he tell them? `I don't know'? That would look really stupid on his part.

Quickly he scans the message traffic for any other signs, but there are none. No radar reports, no sightings, no phone calls, no NOTHING. Everything seems boringly normal.

The intercept simply had to be a ruse. The second part of the Verlaine message had not come yet. Besides, there is absolutely no indication of any trouble anywhere, other than the normal enemy air activity. If there had been a landing somewhere, sure as hell SOMEBODY would have said something. He had to bet on Canaris's information being right. And yet, Berlin had been wrong so many times before. He had no idea how many intelligence reports he had received in the last few months, giving them information that had later proven to be either partially or (more often) completely wrong.

And yet...

He looks down at the message again. He has made up his mind. He will hold off hitting the panic button for now, even though he calls Hoffmann and tells him. Hoffmann reacts by telling him to stay on it, and find out for sure. And that is what he will have to do. So much for his social life--- or for sleep...

=======

* Generals Leeb and Schneider.

** Between the lethargy and the inadequacy of the Luftwaffe at this time (to say nothing of the preparedness of the Allies), -this was very unlikely.

*** First U.S. Army Group - Patton's fictitious command, as part of Operation Fortitude.

****Blumentritt later noted that Rommel seemed "tired and tense...a man who needed to be home for a few days with his family."

Pete Margaritis (156)

NORWAY: U-477 (Type VIIC) Sunk west of Trondheim, in position 63.59N, 01.37E, by depth charges from a Canadian Catalina aircraft (RCAF-Sqdn. 162/T). Although five men were sighted in the water after the attack, there were no survivors. 51 dead (all crew lost) (Alex Gordon)

ITALY: The Allies maintain movement towards Rome. Field Marshal Kesselring abandons Rome and declares it an "Open City".

Operations by the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force in Italy is drastically curtailed by bad weather. In Yugoslavia, 36 B-24s bomb the waterfront area of Omis and 38 hit the port area and western part of Split. Fighters sent to strafe targets of opportunity in the target areas abandon the mission because of low clouds over the targets.

Anzio: Sgt. Maurice Albert Windham Rogers (b.1919), Wilts Regt., ran through barbed wire and a minefield to take two German positions, continuing to advance until he was killed. (Victoria Cross)

NEW GUINEA: US forces advance against heavy Japanese resistance on Biak.

PACIFIC OCEAN: CINCPAC PRESS RELEASE NO. 431, A single search plane of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed and strafed shipping and shore installations at Truk Atoll at night on June 1 (West Longitude Date). Four one-thousand-pound bombs were dropped over a medium cargo vessel, two of them scoring direct hits and two straddling the vessel, which was believed sunk. The search plane then strafed a number of small cargo vessels, the seaplane base at Dublon and the airstrips at Eten Island. Two of the small vessels were set on fire, fires were started at Dublon Island and Eten Island, and an ammunition dump exploded. In retiring the search plane was pursued by a single enemy plane which did not make an attack. Over the target antiaircraft fire was moderate. Two Liberators of the Eleventh Army Air Force bombed Shimushiru Island in the Kuriles before dawn on June 1. No opposition was encountered. Ventura search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four bombed Paramushiru and Shimushu Island before dawn on June 1. Fires were started. Antiaircraft fire was light and inaccurate. (Denis Peck)

CANADA: HMCS Eastview commissioned. (DS)

U.S.A.: 20th Fighter Headquarters evaluates the P-38. Here. (Daniel Ross)

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(1) The 352. ID was not technically a "veteran unit," despite this often being stated. It saw its first action on June 6, 1944. What is true is that its cadre came from the veteran 268. and 321. IDs. But the mass of the 352. ID were untried men. What really set the 352. apart from most of the other German infantry units found in coastal areas is that it was an almost fully equipped Infanterie Division (though short of what would have been considered necessary transport earlier in the war), instead of an immobile, badly equipped "Static" Division. It had better quality men and more firepower than most other coastal divisions, but not substantially more experience. (Marc Rikmenspoel)

I concede, PARTLY. Perhaps the phrase "veteran 352nd
Infantry Division" is a bit misleading. But there were a lot more differences between the 352nd and the other (static) units in the area...

The 352nd, like her sister, the 353rd, was made from the
cadres of two units smashed in Russia. But the cadres
were substantial. You indicate that most of the men in
the 352nd were raw recruits... I'd have to see some proof
of that.

In any event, they were capable, physically well qualified,
and not sick. On the other hand, most of the men in the
static divisions were, in fact:

Old men
Young teenagers
Convalesced or once-wounded soldiers
Men with chronic ailments
Foreigners, like the Russian troops

OK, we agree there.

Unlike almost ALL the infantry divisions, the 352nd as you mentioned was indeed fully mobilized. Again, agreement.

The 352nd was fully-manned, as well. Many of the other
units were not, especially with transfers "East" coming
as often as they did. Some static units only had two regiments, or only two battalions per regiment.

The 352nd was fully-trained. The static divisions had a spastic, on-and-off combat training routine interrupted by work on obstacles, minelaying, and other defensive barrier construction projects.

So, I guess that I am saying the 352nd was a superbly
better division than her counterparts, and if they all were
not veterans, many (even assuming that it is not most) of
her complement were. And remember, even recruits don't
have to be "raw"... They could have seen action some
where else.

Pete Margaritis

3 June 1945

Yesterday Tomorrow

June 3rd, 1945 (SUNDAY)

UNITED KINGDOM: As a precaution Coastal Command has been making anti-submarine patrols since hostilities have ceased. The last of these sorties by a Short Sunderland of No. 201 Squadron RAF flying from Lough Erne in Northern Ireland, is made tonight. (22)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: The Czech army orders 5,000 ethnic German men in Zatec to assemble on the market square, from where they are marched 15 kilometres to Postoloprty to a hail of threats, beatings and gunfire.

"On Monday evening we were all forced to run around the square and sing Nazi songs or whatever passed as such," Peter Klepsch recalls. "All those who didn't run or sing right were flogged."

The next night he saw a group of men being led off for execution. It wasn't to be the last. He also repeatedly heard volleys of gunfire during the day. Hans-Ulrich Stoldt, Spiegel Online (4 September, 2009)(Peter Kilduff)

JAPAN: Ryukyu Islands:

- A reinforced regiment of the US 2d Marine Division lands on Iheya Shima.

- Kamikazes damage the cargo ship USS Allegany (AK-225) and a large infantry landing craft [LCI(L)].

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