Inside the Nazi War Machine by Bevin Alexander

Author:Bevin Alexander
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-03-29T14:38:45+00:00

Rommel recorded carefully in his report on the campaign that he sent repeated signals to Panzer Corps Hoth asking to continue his advance to secure the bridge over the north-flowing Sambre River at Landrecies, 18 kilometers (11 miles) farther on. His report said that he received no reply, so he decided on his own to continue the attack at dawn. It is evident that whether the breakdown of radio contact was real or contrived, Rommel was delighted not to be obliged to obey orders from the higher commands, for they most certainly would have been horrified—and would have told Rommel not to go forward one more inch.

So the advance that he now ordered on Landrecies not only was entirely unauthorized and entirely contrary to orders from Adolf Hitler on down, but it also was one of the boldest, most daring, and most consequential strikes in history. For it was a penetration right into the heart of enemy country, without any flank protection whatsoever, but also so deep, sudden, and unexpected that it bewildered the French. This strike was an extreme example of the theory propounded by Heinz Guderian—that a drive straight into the vitals of the enemy was like a blow of a boxer into an opponent’s solar plexus, leaving him utterly incapable of response. There had never been anything like this before in warfare. Even Guderian’s advances were not as overwhelming and as spectacular as this plunge by Rommel.

At Avesnes, Rommel’s division was already strung out on a single road deep in the enemy rear surrounded by many thousands more French soldiers and more weapons than he possessed. There was absolutely nothing protecting the 7th Panzer—except shock, incredulity, and consternation at the sheer audacity of this unsupported attack. The concept of a panzer strike being like a narrow rapier thrust was being carried by Erwin Rommel to its ultimate extent.

To continue this advance even deeper into the enemy rear—and on the same terms of a single column rushing down a single road—was taking the concept of an unsupported offensive to an entirely new level. This is precisely what Rommel ordered.

“At about 4.00 hours [on May 17] I moved off toward Landrecies with the leading battalion of Rothenburg’s panzer regiment,” Rommel reported. “The 7th Motorcycle Battalion, which had now closed up, followed behind, and I was firmly convinced that behind them again the remaining units of the division would take part in the attack.”

It turned out that Rommel’s faith in the ability of his rear detachments to keep up was greatly misplaced. No supplies had come up. The leading forces had little ammunition left, so Rommel ordered the guns to keep silent. The advance quickly ran into refugee columns and detachments of French troops. Guns, tanks, soldiers, and vehicles were entangled with horse-drawn refugee carts, goods-filled baby carriages, and fleeing civilians. By keeping the guns quiet and occasionally driving their vehicles off the road, the Germans were able to get by the constricted columns. Nowhere did the French soldiers offer any resistance.

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