1939-40 Intelligence about German troops near our border
To determine the military membership of the units already in 1939, our scouts used visual observation of the signs on their uniform:
In this part, we will go back a bit and talk briefly about the German military districts. Of all the districts, we are interested in the 1, in whose territory, by 22 June, a part of the German invasion group will be concentrated. Consider the actual location of military units in East Prussia and former Poland in the 1939-1940 years, as well as the available intelligence information about them.
German military districts
By August 1939, Germany had 15 military districts with numbers from I to XIII, XVII and XVIII. The district consisted of primary and backup components. In the event of hostilities, the main components were part of the field army and became the headquarters of the corps, and the reserve came under the command of deputy commanders of the districts. The tasks of the reserve components included: the mobilization and training of enlisted personnel, the acquisition of existing units and the formation of new (including headquarters), the management of military schools and military facilities, etc.
Some headquarters of the military districts were deployed in the headquarters of the armies. For example, in the 1 military district due to the Sudeten crisis in 1938, the headquarters of the 3 army was created on the basis of the district headquarters. After the crisis, the separation of headquarters was abolished. In August 1939, when preparing for the invasion of Poland, the headquarters of the 1 district and the army were again divided.
After the conquest of Poland, two new districts appeared: XX and XXI. In the rest of the territory of former Poland, military districts did not exist before the start of World War II. The border of the Third Reich with the Soviet Union passed through the territory of former Poland, and after the Republic of Lithuania entered the USSR and along the border of the Lithuanian SSR.
In 1939-1942, German divisions that went to the front left one battalion in the place of permanent deployment, which served as a reserve: he trained new recruits and sent them to his division to the front. Therefore, in places of permanent deployment of divisions, large groups of military personnel could be located with the designation of regiment numbers that were on different fronts. It is possible that our intelligence sources mistook these units for full-fledged regiments.
The reserve divisions on the territory of the 1-th military district could include soldiers of the following divisions (which existed before the 22.6.41): 1-th, 11-th, 21-th, 61-th, 161-th, 206-th, 217- th, 228, 291 and 714 infantry divisions (pd), 1th cavalry division, division No.141 (reserve division).
Eastern Group Headquarters
Our intelligence regularly noted the headquarters of the Eastern Group of Forces: 15.6.40 and 17.7.40 in the city of Lodz, 21.6.41 in the city of Tomaszow. Mention of the headquarters of the Eastern Group, located in the city of Spala, is repeatedly available in RM 1941 of the year. The distance from Spal to Lodz is 52 km, and from Spal to Tomaszew is about 8 km.
The post of Commander-in-Chief of the East was defined in the decree of the Fuhrer from 25.9.39:
General Rundstedt took office on October 3 1939 of the year. In addition to the troops of his army group "South", troops located in the territory of the former Poland, Poznan and West Prussia began to obey him.
On October 20, Colonel General Blaskowitz is appointed the new Commander-in-Chief of the East, who remains in this post until 15.5.40. The rank of the post itself is being lowered, since it is planned to leave no command of an army group or a single army headquarters or army corps in Poland during this period. For the organization of the corps headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, parts of the headquarters of the command of the border center “Center” were involved. This is partly due to the fact that, in accordance with a decree from 19.10.39, the issue of management in the new governor-general has already been resolved, and from that day the management of the military administration has ended.
In May 1940 of the year, on the basis of the corps headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the East, the headquarters of the 9 Field Army was formed, which was decreasing to the West on May 14. The new headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the East will be formed on the basis of the headquarters of the command of the South border section. It was not possible to establish who exactly will become the new Commander-in-Chief, but the rank of this post has again dropped ...
The headquarters of Army Group B, which will lead all German forces on the Soviet-German border from August 1940, will be relocated initially to East Prussia. Our intelligence for a long time for the headquarters of the army group (headquarters of the Eastern Group of Forces) will take a third-rate headquarters, which could well play at that time the role of the fictitious headquarters of the army group ...
In conclusion, I want to say a few words about General Blaskowice, who expressed his categorical protest against the atrocities of the police and SS Sonderkommando in Poland. He reported this to the Führer, which caused him irritation ... 15 days after Blaskovits was appointed commander of the 9 Army, he would be removed from his post and sent to the reserve of the High Command. Only 24.9.40 g. He will be appointed commander of the 1 Army. Frank was appointed Governor-General of Poland. During the conflict between the leadership of the Wehrmacht and the SS, he would support Himmler, recommending Hitler to transfer the uncomfortable Blaskowitz from Poland, which he later regretted several times. C. Frank is the only one sentenced to death at the Nuremberg Tribunal, who fully admitted his guilt and repented of his deed ...
German troops in Poland and East Prussia
6.10.39 g. The war in Poland ended. In October and November, German associations and formations began to redeploy to the West and Germany. After the redeployment of large headquarters in Poland and East Prussia, only the 5 Army remained, which in November will be reorganized into the 18 Army and sent to the West.
By checking the location of all the existing Wehrmacht divisions, it was possible to find those that were deployed in East Prussia and Poland. The date of their departure from these territories is not always indicated in the sources. Most often indicated are the dates of their appearance elsewhere.
161-I PD - In December 1939 and in January 1940, she was in East Prussia, and in May she is in Germany. Also in East Prussia there is the 141-I reserve division, which was reorganized from the 151-th division.
On the territory of the governor general were:
— 1-I, 12-I, 46-I, 61-I, 68-I и 258-I PD - until December 1939 of the year. In December, they are celebrated in Germany and in the West;
— 197-I и 223-I PD - in December 1939 and in January 1940 are celebrated in Poland, and in March 1940 of the year are in Germany;
— 198-I PD - 12.39 and 1.40, and in April - in Germany;
— 50-I, 217-I, 218-I, 221-I, 228-I и 239-I PD - 9.39 and 1.40, and in May - are in Germany;
— 231-I PD - 11.39 g., And 5.40 g. - in Germany;
— 255-I PD - 9.39 g., And 5.40 g. - in the Netherlands;
— 206-I и 213-I PD - with 9.39 and 1.40, and in June - in Germany;
— 209-I PD - from 19.9.39 to June 1940, and in July - in Germany.
In addition, the formation of ten new DDs was begun.
301-I PD - began the formation of 6.10.39 in East Prussia (Koenigsberg). However, the division was disbanded immediately after the formation began.
311-I PD - began the formation of 1.11.39 in East Prussia. On March 8, the division was reorganized and 9.6.40 sent to a training camp in Germany, and 7.8.40 was disbanded.
358-I PD - began the formation of 10.3.40 in East Prussia. On June 1 the division was transferred to Germany and 23.8.40 was disbanded.
395-I PD - reorganized from the 521 th front (Austria) and 16.3.40 redeployed to East Prussia, and the July 22 disbanded.
399-I PD - began the formation of 15.3.40 in East Prussia, and on August 8 was disbanded.
351-I PD - began the formation of 10.3.40 in Poland (Czestochowa). June 1 relocated to Germany, and 21.8.40 was disbanded.
365-I PD - began the formation of 10.3.40 in Poland (Tarnow). In July, relocated to Germany, and 1 August was disbanded.
379-I PD - began the formation of 15.3.40 in Poland (Lublin). July 10 was relocated to Germany and 15.8.40 was disbanded.
386-I PD - Started the formation of 1.4.40 in Poland (Warsaw). In July, relocated to Germany and 13.8.40 was disbanded.
393-I PD - Started the formation of 10.3.40 in Poland (Warsaw). In July, relocated to Germany and 1 August was disbanded.
As can be seen from the materials presented, the number of divisions in Poland and East Prussia by June 1940 was extremely small. There was not a single headquarters of field armies or army corps.
It should be noted that during the period under review, the division headquarters were reorganized: 16.1.40 g. ZbV422 - to the headquarters zbV 401 (Koenigsberg), 1.2.40 g. ZbV424 - to the headquarters of the 379 th front (Poland), 1.6.40 g. ZbV425 - to the headquarters of the spare parts command 100 (Poland).
When considering German formations, regiments and battalions (not part of the divisions) that could be located in the indicated territories were not considered.
According to the 5th Office of the Red Army, as of 15.6.40 in East Prussia and Poland, there were 27 front. It can be seen that in the Republic of Moldova the number of German divisions was greatly overestimated.
RM about German troops in January – June 1940
Consider several intelligence messages and evaluate the reliability of the information contained in them.
Special message 5-th Office of the Red Army (January 1940 g.):
In fact, on the territory of East Prussia and Poland as of January 1940 of the year there is 16 front and one division at the formation stage. Perhaps reconnaissance has also detected the reorganization of two divisional headquarters ... If we take into account all the indicated divisions and headquarters, then the data differ from the information in the Republic of Moldova only for 9 divisions. It is likely that intelligence did not track the departure of part of the German divisions until December 1939 or took spare parts for the presence of divisions.
The difference in the data of nine divisions over a large territory with numerous troop movements in all directions in the fall of 1939 is a pretty good result. It is possible that during this period the Germans only began to play with our intelligence, using false epaulettes in some cases. In the spring, the amount of misinformation increases.
Special message 5-th Office of the Red Army (3.5.40 g.):
When rechecking RM, the author found:
1) 209 I was actually in Poland until June 1940 and then departed for Germany. She did not go to the Western Front, since already in July she was disbanded. RM confirmed: the division was in Poland. However, it completely disappeared from the governor general only after 1,5 months;
2) 88th Infantry Regiment (pp) was part of the 15-th front, which in January 1940 was in Germany and Luxembourg, and since June - in France. It is unlikely that between the two marks this regiment arrived for some reason in Poland ... Perhaps this was a fictitious formation;
3) The 110-th PP is part of the 33-th PD, which has been in Belgium and France since January 1940. In November 1940, the division will return to Germany and will be reorganized into the 15 th;
4) 210-th and 219-th points - in the Wehrmacht, points with such numbers never existed ...
Information about the availability of the 210 and 219 go is misinformation, and the indication of their exact numbers indicates a deliberate tossing of such information by the German intelligence service. This is understandable. In May, the German offensive in the West is expected and all that can be transferred there and as reserves on German territory. Perhaps that is why ten divisions are being formed, which will be disbanded in the summer.
Special message 5-th Office of the Red Army (11.5.40 g.):
In 1940, there was no cavalry regiment No. 18.
The 46-th pp from the 30-th pd could not be in Poland. 30-th FROM 10.10.39 to May 1940 is located in the Netherlands, moves to Belgium in May and then is deployed to France on 1941 for a year.
The 77-th pp from the 26-th pd also cannot be in Poland. 26 is located in Germany, in May 1940 departs for Luxembourg and further to Belgium.
The same situation is with the 134 mn from the 44 md, which was in Germany in December-January, and in May it is noted in France. In France, it will remain until March 1941.
Special message 5-th Office of the Red Army (17.5.40 g.):
From December 1939 to June 1940, there were no tank divisions in Poland. With the three hundred divisions being formed, the total number in Poland could be around 16.
Special message 5-th Office of the Red Army (June 1940 g.):
239-I in May 1940 year could be in Poland in the specified period. There could also be in Poland the 360th and 375th pp from the 221th pd.
221-th infantry is not in the list of Wehrmacht infantry regiments.
The 161-th pp from the 81-th pd, which since May 18 has been in France, and before that it was deployed in Germany.
The 162-th PP from the 61-th PD is in Germany in January, and in May in Belgium, then in France.
50% of true information and 50% of untrue ... The situation with numbered infantry regiments is the same as was discussed above. Where information is visually recorded from the shoulder straps of military personnel, there is more misinformation.
20.6.40 g. The first division arrives in the border zone - 62-I pd.
RM about German troops in July – September 1940
Special message 5-th Office of the Red Army (27.7.40 g.):
Four new infantry divisions appeared: 4-I, 7-I, 239-I and 241-I.
Since December 4, the 1939th Front went to Germany, where in August 1940 of the year it was reorganized into the 14th Tank Division.
7 I - from October 1939, I left Poland and was in the Netherlands, Belgium and Northern France. From Northern France only 14.4.41 g. It will be sent to Poland.
239 I - from September 1939 to 1.1.40, it was in Poland. Then it was sent to Germany, and with 4.4.41 it will be sent to Bukovina and further to Slovakia. Only in June will it arrive at our border.
The 241-th front never existed in the Wehrmacht ... In the RM four new divisions are mentioned and again all are fake ...
It should be noted that the number of divisions 50 is excessively overpriced, since only by 1.11.40 will they be at the border of everything 32. In September, intelligence counts up to 83-90 German divisions at the border ...
В Help The 5th Directorate of the Red Army as of 8.8.40 was repeating information about the presence of one army headquarters headquarters (eastern group headquarters) and two army headquarters against ZAPOVO and KOVO at our border.
Since the numbers of the armies are known (note 2), these are the 1-I army (Warsaw) and 4-I (Krakow). These armies were mentioned in RM from 20.7.40. The reliability of this information was carried out in the previous part.
The summary indicates that in Poland and East Prussia intelligence was found nine AK headquarters, of which six with famous numbers. In RM, the numbers of five AKs were previously called: 3, 7, 20, 21, and 32.
In July 1940, five AKs arrived at the border territory: 3X, 17, 26, 30 and 44. Of the five issues, only one coincided - the 3-th AK! From June - July, it seems that our intelligence was faced with mass misinformation using fictitious epaulettes of military personnel ...
Cavdivis Intelligence Counted two, single in the Wehrmacht, the 1-th Cavalry Division will arrive from the West only in the month of September ...
Headquarters of infantry divisions counted 39, of which 24 with known numbers. In RM from 20.7.40, 11 division numbers were given. Of the 11 numbers, not one could be in the territory under consideration. It turns out that during this period, German generals began to play big against our intelligence ...
In the month of July, a large enough movement of German troops to the border territory takes place. Fifteen pd arrives: 68, 75, 76, 161, 162, 168, 183, 251, 252, 257, 258 me, 291 and 297. In August, another one will arrive - 298-I fr.
В communication 5-th department of the GUGB NKVD from 24.8.40 speaks of 75-German divisions only in Poland: "... The German ambassador in Belgrade informed the Minister of War of Yugoslavia that the Germans concentrated in Poland 75 divisions, of which 18 were motorized. ...". Our intelligence is also aware of the presence in East Prussia of the 19 German division (16-ty front and three armored). In total, there are 94 divisions at our border ...
And only field divisions near our border seventeen! More coming in September seventeen: twelve infantry (1-I, 2-I, 13-I, 21-I, 31-I, 32-I, 50-I, 56-I, 217-I, 262-I, 268-I and 299- I) and five tank (1-I, 2-I, 5-I, 6-I and 9-I). Later, the 2-I and 13-I fr. They will become the 12 and 13 tank divisions.
Consider Summary Reconnaissance of the General Staff of the spacecraft from 11.9.40:
In East Prussia, i.e. against PribOVO and on the flank of the ZAPOVO, over 16 infantry divisions are concentrated, up to three tank divisions ... This group makes up the army of Colonel General Kühler. Army Headquarters (number not installed) in Koenigsberg ...
The northern and middle part of the Governor-General ..., i.e. mainly against the ZAPOVO concentrated over 21 infantry divisions, two armored divisions, up to one motorized division ... This group is combined into two armies whose headquarters are in Warsaw (the headquarters of the 1 army) and, presumably, in Radom. Commander - Colonel General Blaskowitz ...
The middle and southern parts of the Governor-General ..., i.e. more than 20 infantry divisions, up to two tank divisions, up to one motorized division are concentrated against KOVO ... This grouping is combined into two armies whose headquarters are in Krakow (the headquarters of the 4 army) and in Lublin (presumably the 3 army).
In the depths of the territory of former Poland, in the areas of Danzig, Thorn and Poznan, are concentrated two army corps (at least five infantry divisions).
The commander of all German troops in the East (in East Prussia and in the territory of former Poland), presumably, is Field Marshal Rundstedt, with headquarters in Lodz.
The Protectorate (Czech Republic and Moravia) and the former Austria are concentrated up to 20 infantry divisions and up to two tank divisions ... Presumably, the army headquarters in Prague ...
The grouping against Pribovo and the flank of ZAPOVO is “The army of Colonel General Kühler. Army Headquarters (number not installed) in Koenigsberg » - we are talking about the 18 Army, which, since the July 21, began its relocation to East Prussia.
Grouping against ZAPOV “United in two armies, whose headquarters are in Warsaw (headquarters of the 1 army) and, presumably, in Radom. Commander - Colonel General Blaskowitz. The 1 Army is located in the West, and General Bleskovitz has yet to command it.
Grouping against KOVO "United in two armies, whose headquarters are in Krakow (headquarters of the 4 army) and in Lublin (presumably - 3 army)".
What four armies against ZAPOVO and KOVO are in question is completely unclear. The redeployment of the 4 Army will not begin until October. Since the Republic of Moldova is talking about the non-existent 3 Army, which intelligence will observe until 21.6.41 (inclusive) in the city of Lublin, other armies are likely to be fictitious associations. Perhaps some of them are corps headquarters ... A review of the headquarters of the armies and army corps awaits us in the next part.
The summary also refers to the commander of the Eastern Group headquarters:
Rundstedt during this period was the commander of the occupation forces in France and responsible for coastal defense in the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Intelligence repeated in a somewhat distorted form the information from the decree of the Fuhrer. Since there is no significant person in the post "commander of all German troops in the East", Then this information is a clear misinformation. Our scouts do not know and will not know until the outbreak of war that in August 1940, the redeployment of the command of Army Group B to East Prussia began. This command will lead troops on the Soviet-German demarcation line until the summer of 1941.
To be continued ...
Information