German command against Soviet intelligence
It is possible that in crowded places, servicemen of these formations deliberately started talking about their units.
The detection of many settlements, and their identification by numbers could occur by their names, the signs of which were on the shoulder straps of the military. Most likely, this happened on the orders of the German command. To “complicate” the detection of infantry troops by our intelligence, German troops sometimes removed signs and numbers from shoulder straps, but shoulder straps or clutches themselves did not change. In this case, unburned traces from the removed signs were visible on the shoulder straps ...
Part of the “discovered” compounds either did not exist at 22.6.41 or was located far from the places of their discovery by our intelligence. The vicious method of detecting German units was used by analogy: if it was visually detected before the enemy company with insignia of the enemy, then somewhere nearby could be the indicated regiment or one of its battalions. At the same time, many numbers of compounds concentrated at the border were never found ...
A little more about the enemy infantry at the borders of Pribovo and Zapovo
In addition to the frontier, there were six more security divisions (207, 221, 281, 285, 286 and 403) at the borders of PribOVO and ZAPOVO. The numbers of these divisions in intelligence materials (Goals Difference) are absent. With security divisions, the number of infantry formations at the border reached 57. Our intelligence, watching the German troops in May – June of the 1941 year, “learned” the numbers 43-sd, of which coincided with the actual 16 numbers. At first glance: the result is more or less positive.
However, there are suspicious oddities:
- on 22 of June 1941, thirteen of the indicated divisions did not exist (39, 40, 43, 54, 154, 264, 301, 307, 431, 454, 509, 521 and 525);
- The 14 and 16 infantry regiments were reorganized into motorized divisions in the autumn of 1940, and their troops could not walk with insignia of infantry units if such an order was not given to them;
- Five front offices were located in France (205, 208, 212, 216 and 223) and two in Romania (22 and 24);
- 213-I was disbanded 15.3.41, and its regiments were sent to the formation of three security divisions.
It turns out that up to 40% of divisions with known and confirmed numbers could not be near the borders of PribOVO and ZAPOVO! And the intelligence services regularly tracked them ... It is possible that our intelligence officers did not even find all the fictitious formations that the German intelligence services had palmed out to them. It’s just that where some fictitious formations “appeared”, our scouts weren’t there ...
Infantry units and formations against KOVO
At the border of the KOVO zone of responsibility were 21 front, 4 light front and 3 security divisions. Of the 25 divisions whose numbers became known to our intelligence, only nine (32%) were true.
The grouping of the 28 division included the 74 infantry regiment, of which the 14 numbers (19%) were known to the intelligence.
The 1 and 4th mountain rifle divisions concentrated against the KOVO included the 13, 91, 98 and 99 mountain rifle regiments. In RM there is an indication of the number of only one regiment - 136, which was absent in the indicated divisions. Either the intelligence was mistaken, or the extra number “6” appeared on the shoulder straps of the servicemen of the lighted regiment at the present time ...
Of the 25 divisions with numbers known to our intelligence in the KOVO area of responsibility:
- on 22.6.41 there were not ten (39, 156, 193, 237, 249, 308, 365, 372, 379 and 393);
- 86-I PD - was in reserve army group "North";
- 96-I was in the West and 183-I was in the Balkans;
- The 14 and 18 infantry regiments were reorganized into motorized in the autumn of the 1940 and could not bear the insignia of the infantry division.
It turns out that 60% of these divisions could not be near the border of the KOVO, but they were seen ...
Artillery regiments
It is quite difficult to accurately track the change in the number of artillery regiments, since not all of the RM got data on them. You can only conduct a simplified assessment of artillery regiments located in the area of responsibility of PribOVO and ZAPOVO.
In accordance with the summary of the Reconnaissance Directorate of the General Staff of the spacecraft about enemy grouping in 1.6.41, 56 artillery regiments (excluding anti-aircraft and anti-tank) were found in the territory under consideration. According to RM PribOVO and ZAPOVO, as of June 17-21 and the cards that were presented to you earlier, there are 45 artillery regiments (excluding two regiments in the city of Lodz, information on which is missing after 1 June). Therefore, it can be said that an increase in artillery units of the enemy against the forces of PribOVO and ZAPOVO in June was not detected by intelligence. Even there was a decrease in their number. In the same way, as there was no increase in the number of German divisions at our border in the area of responsibility of the three districts, which we have already considered.
The decrease in the number of artillery regiments should be associated with the movement of artillery to new places of deployment, which were difficult to access for the population and for our sources of information.
Large headquarters of German associations
Consider the information that our intelligence delivered about the headquarters of large formations of German troops: about the command of army groups, about the headquarters of field armies and tank groups. By the presence and location of such headquarters, one can judge the enemy's groupings and his plans. The figure shows generally known information about the headquarters of large associations concentrated near the border by June 22.
The figure shows the numbers of the armies at our border, which passed along the Republic of Moldova during the 1940 - 21.6.41 period.
Of the seven armies available at the border by June 22, in the Republic of Moldova, six were mentioned! Very good result! However, in the Republic of Moldova there is not a single tank group number ... Is this intelligence success or not? Let's look at this issue in more detail.
One of the writers who classifies himself as a historian wrote on the website that the lack of information in the RM about motorized corps and tank groups of the enemy is due to the fact that the leadership of the spacecraft from non-commissioned companies was easier to consider ... The author strongly disagrees! In RM, everything that intelligence managed to find out was given. What associations or headquarters they found out about and wrote about. If the data was not verified, from other sources, then some kind of phrase was added. For example, “data need clarification.” What the scouts did not know about and did not write about!
In January of 1940 of the year, Intelligence No. 1 stated:
We can say that on the Western front of our intelligence there simply were no sources of information. And it is right! There were no such sources not only on the Western Front, but also in large headquarters in Germany and in the headquarters of associations deployed near our border.
The first alarm bell: the Germans learned to mask the locations and names of their large headquarters. A series of renaming and reorganization with a change in the deployment of headquarters, associations at all levels confused our intelligence. The author claims that the absence in most RMs of data on army groups and tank groups, armies, army and motorized corps is due to the lack of intelligence data on their location and structure.
In the Polish campaign participated: Army Group “South” in the 8, 10, 14 Army and Army Group “North” in the 3 and 4 Army. After the war in Poland, both army groups and four armies (except the 4) changed their names and were moved to the Western Front.
Let us briefly consider the change in the 1939-1941 years of the names of large Wehrmacht associations and their movement. We will only talk about those formations that by the 22 June 1941 of the year will be at our border.
The command of Army Group South was formed in August 1939 and operated in Poland. On October 3 it was renamed the Vostok command and led the troops on the Soviet-German demarcation line. On October 20 there was another change of name to the command of the army group "А"Who participated in the war in the West. Based on the headquarters of Army Group A, the West Command was created. Since 1.4.41, the redeployment of command “A” to the Soviet-German border began. In order to disguise the command of Army Group “A” was called the “headquarters of the Silesia Division”, and on June 22 it was renamed the command of Army Group “South”.
Army Group CommandВ"Was created 12.10.39 g., As a result of renaming of the army group" North "redeployed from Poland to the west. The new command participated in the war in France. Since 16.8.40, the redeployment of the command to Poland began, in which it led the troops on the Soviet-German demarcation line, and 22.6.41 was renamed the command of the Army Group Center.
Army Group CommandС"Was formed in August 1939 of the year and relocated to the Western Front. In November, the 1940 command was relocated to German territory, and from 20.4.41 its transfer to East Prussia began. In a new place, the command received, for the purpose of disguise, the name "headquarters of the East Prussia sector", and on June 22 was renamed the command of the Army Group North.
From the information presented it is clear that from mid-August 1940, the command of Army Group B begins to be relocated to Poland, and the other two commands will only begin to move to our border in April 1941.
4-th Army. Formed in August 1939 year. The fighting in Poland and France. Since 12.9.40, it began its relocation to Poland under the command of Army Group B.
6-th Army. Formed in October 1939 year by renaming the 10 Army. Participation in hostilities in France. Until 17.4.41 is in Normandy. From April 18, it begins its relocation to Poland, and in May of the 1941 of the year it becomes subordinate to Group A
9-th Army. Formed in May 1940 on the basis of the Vostok corps command. Located in the West. Since 18.4.41, its redeployment from Belgium and Northern France to Poland begins, and in May of 1941, it became subordinate to Army Group B.
11-th Army. Formed in October 1940 and was subordinate to Army Group C in Germany. Since June 1941, the subordination of Army Group "A". It was deployed in Romania.
12-th Army. Formed in October 1939 year by renaming the 14 Army. From 3.7.40 to 31.12.40, it was in France. In March - May 1941 of the year - in Bulgaria, from 4 of June to 31 of December - in southern Serbia and Albania.
16-th Army. Formed in October 1939 year, by renaming the 3 Army, and sent to the Western Front. Since 18.4.41, its redeployment from the Netherlands to East Prussia begins. Since May 1941 of the year is subordinate to Army Group "C".
17-th Army. Formed in December 1940 year. Since January 1941 of the year it was subordinate to Army Group B on the Soviet-German line of demarcation, and from May it was transferred to the subordination of Army Group A. It was stationed in Poland.
18-th Army. Formed in November 1939 of the year and was subordinate to Army Group B in the West. Until 20.7.40, it was located in Southeastern France in the OKH reserve. On 21 July, its redeployment to the eastern border began. Since May 1941 of the year was subordinate to Army Group "C".
From the data presented it can be seen that at the end of July 1940, the redeployment of the 18 Army to the East began. Following her from 12 September sent to Poland 4-I army. In January 1941, the next 17 Army was sent to Poland.
From April 18, the redeployment of three armies begins at once: the 6, 9, and 16. In June, the last, the 11 Army, arrives. According to German sites, the 12 Army was not in the area of responsibility of our border districts in 1941.
1939-1940 year intelligence reports
In the database of the fund A.N. Yakovlev there are quite a lot of intelligence reports of the 5th Directorate of the Red Army (the future Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the spacecraft) about the German troops from 1938 until the summer of 1940, but they are somewhat faceless militarily. Similar reports are available in books on military intelligence. They contain a lot of general education information and little information about the troops, their locations and numbers ...
Examples are typical PM: 16.12.39 Summary. or 3.5.40 Summary.. You can not watch them - you will not lose much ...
In the "Brief Overview of the German-Polish War" of the 5th Office of the Red Army in September 1939, German groups, army numbers, and the approximate number of divisions are mentioned, but there is no such an abundance of numbers that will appear much later. In RM, of course, there are numbers, but they are few ...
After the defeat of the Anglo-French troops of 9.7.40, a meeting was held between the deputy chief of the General Staff Smorodinov and the German military attache Kestring. The position of the Chief of the General Staff of Germany was brought up:
In the 20.7.40 Summary, information appears in the usual form (from the point of view of the 1941 year) with a large number of formation numbers. The article summarizes in truncated form. You can familiarize yourself with it in more detail. in the fund database.
In V. Prussia - up to 13 front, of which up to two motorized divisions, a tank brigade, 6 tank battalions and 7 cavalry regiments.
- The corps headquarters are marked in Koenigsberg and Insterburg (numbering not established).
- Headquarters divisions: 21 front to Letzen, 10 front in Suwalki and 161 front to Koenigsberg; unspecified numbering - in Tilsit, in Ragnit, in Insterburg and in Ortelsburg.
- In the area of Danzig, more than an infantry division were established, the headquarters of the 20th AK and the headquarters of the 18 front ...
On the territory of the former Poland, up to 28 front, tank regiment, tank part of undetermined strength and numbering, and 5 regiments. In addition, according to the NKVD, which requires verification, from 1 to 7.7 to 7 traffic arrived in the Warsaw area.
Large headquarters are installed in the following locations:
— eastern group headquarters to Lodz;
— army headquarters: 1 in Warsaw and 4 in Krakow;
— army corps headquarters: XXI to Poznan, III to Lodz, XXXII to Lublin, VII to Krakow and unidentified numbering in Warsaw;
— headquarters of infantry divisions: 42 to Lochow, 182 and 431 to Lodz, 530 to Nebory, 218 to Kloum, 424 to Krakow, 28 to Nowy Sacz, 139 to GD in Gorlice and unidentified numbering: to Bydgoszcz, Pozn, to Torn in Warsaw, in Sieradz, in Radom, in Lublin, in Kielce, in Zamosc, in Rzeszow and Tarnow ...
The Summary contains quite a lot of German formations. Regarding connections with numbers, there is no clarification inscription that the data requires clarification, i.e. All data is confirmed and not in doubt. Let's see what formations the German generals slipped into our intelligence.
The largest headquarters is “eastern group headquarters to Lodz. ” This headquarters is spoken of as of 15.6.40. This fictitious headquarters will be mentioned in the Intelligence Directorates for 31.5.41 and 15.6.41, and is also marked on the map of ZAPOVO headquarters as of 21.6.41 only in the city of Tomashov.
Consider the smaller headquarters: “Army Headquarters: 1 in Warsaw and 4 in Krakow”.
Headquarters of the 1 Army from the fall of the 1939 of the year, he was in western fortified positions in France until the 31.7.44 of the year and could not have been in Poland. Only if he was not portrayed by some unit that actively shone signs on their shoulder straps.
Headquarters of the 4 Army will begin its movement in Poland only in September 1940 years and someone portrays it the same. There is another version: our intelligence knew in advance about the movement of this headquarters ... But it does not stand up to criticism, since all other data is also more misinformation!
The Summary refers to the headquarters of the army corps (AK): "AK headquarters: XXI in Poznan, III in Lodz, XXXII in Lublin, VII in Krakow ..." и “The headquarters of the 20th AK was in Danzig.
3th AK - in Poland in September 1939 of the year, and then went to the West. From the 5 of July 1940 of the year he returns to Poland. PM confirmed.
7th AK - in September 1939 was noted in Poland, and in December of the same year it was already in the city of Trier (Germany). Then it travels to the West and is deployed in Verdun and on the English Channel until January 1941. It can not be celebrated in June - July 1940 of the year in Poland ...
20th AK - formed 17.10.40 g. Comments are not required ...
21th AK - from October 1939 to January 1940 is in Germany. In March, 1940 was reorganized into the “21 group” and sent to Norway. The mummers could portray him in Poznan together with the headquarters of the Eastern Group ...
32th AK - It will be formed only in April 1945 of the year, but for now it exists only in the person of a fictitious formation ...
We have now reached the divisions. 10-I PD noted in Suwalki. However, from December 1939 to May 1940 of the year it is located in the city of Marburg (Germany), and from May 19 it has already been noted in France. In November 1940 of the year, 10-I will return to Germany ...
18-I PD until 23.10.39, it was in Poland, from October 25 in West Germany, from 1.1.40. - The Netherlands, from May to 24 July - in France. Next, she will be reorganized into a motorized division ...
21-I PD noted in the city of Letzen. Again misinformation or mummers. Since January 21, the 1940 Division has been located in Eifel (Germany), in March - Luxembourg, in June - in Germany and Belgium, from July to 12.9.40 - France, and only then will go to East Prussia. But the German generals themselves did not suspect this in June of 1940 ...
161-I PD in January 1940 of the year is in East Prussia, from the 4 of May - in Germany, Luxembourg and on the 8 of July returns to East Prussia. Intelligence could simply miss its loss. Later, she was lucky that she again surfaced in East Prussia.
The remaining headquarters of the divisions with known numbers will be considered in bulk: “The headquarters of the infantry divisions: 42 in Lochow, 182 and 431 in Lodz, 530 in Nebory, 218 in Pulawy, 424 in Kholm, 28 in Krakow, 139 in Nowy Sacz, 2 GSS in Gorlice”.
Infantry divisions with numbers 42, 139, 424, 431 and 530 never existed.
Room "182»For the infantry division will be used only in the 1942 year, and before that, none of the German generals knew whether the division with this number or not ...
218 I was on vacation from July 1940 to January 1941 in Berlin. From January to March, 1941 of the year re-deployed to the division and in April went to Denmark ...
28 I was in France until May 1941, after which it headed east.
The 2 I Mountain Division since March 1940 went to Norway and was there ...
The author tried to show that the mass misinformation of our intelligence and through it the command of the Red Army and the leadership of the Soviet Union already occurred in June - July of the 1940 year and this data was believed ...
Stay with us and we will learn a lot of things that are not customary to talk about and think about ... And it will also be sad: how the German generals led us ...
To be continued
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