Blitzkrieg in the West. Hitler took the countries of Western Europe out of the game with one blow. At the same time, she used a strategy of psychological lightning war, when the enemy surrendered himself, although he had the resources and strength for serious and long-term resistance.
Fortress Holland
Since the end of 1939, the Abwehr, together with the propaganda department of the ground forces, waged an unprecedented information war against the allies. Hundreds of thousands of leaflets were dropped on parts of the French army. The radio stations were broadcasting entertaining and demoralizing programs. A similar situation was in Belgium.
Holland, until the May 1940 invasion, lived generally calmly. The authorities and the people were holy and it is not clear why they were sure of their "neutrality." They believed that the war would bypass Holland. Although even in Holland, disturbing rumors began to circulate about the ubiquitous German agents. The invasion of Norway forced the Dutch authorities to strengthen the security of the airfields and even partially plow the runways so that the Germans could not land transports with troops on them. An official package of documents was also found, which was addressed to Berlin. Some of the documents bore the signature of Otto Butting, the attaché of the German embassy. The documents described in detail the fortifications of the Dutch army, airfields, outposts on the roads, etc. Butting was escorted out of Holland, accused of espionage.
On April 17, Amsterdam declared a state of emergency in the country. Many pro-Nazi priest were arrested. Preparations began to repel the invasion. Following the example of the Danish-Norwegian operation, the Dutch learned a lot about the enemy. However, this could not save the country.
For the Fuehrer, who planned to crush France and withdraw Britain from the war, the occupation of Holland and Belgium was a vital task. Back in May 1939, at a military meeting, Hitler announced that it was necessary to capture a number of key positions in Holland in order to ensure the actions of the Luftwaffe (Air Force). Hitler also needed to capture the northwestern countries in order to secure the northern flank of the Western Front. Defend Northern Germany from the invasion of Anglo-French troops. Also, the German army needed a foothold for an invasion of France bypassing the Maginot Line and a base for the Navy and Air Force for operations against Britain.
It seemed that the task was relatively easy. The Dutch army was small: 8 infantry divisions, one mechanized division, three combined brigades, plus border units (in total, up to 10 combined divisions, 280 thousand people). But the matter was difficult, the strength of the Dutch troops was in numerous water obstacles. Holland was called a "fortress" because of the numerous rivers, canals, bridges, dams, dams and locks that covered the country with a dense network. If bridges were blown up, dams destroyed, locks opened, then neither German tanks nor infantry would be able to break through quickly. And the central part of Holland - Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and Dordrecht, was well fortified. Further there was a line of water obstacles that protected the area of The Hague. The explosion of the bridges on the Meuse River will disrupt the blitzkrieg. In addition, the enemy expected a repeat of 1914 (Schlieffen's plan), that is, the breakthrough of the German divisions through Holland and Belgium. On the Belgian border, the best formations were concentrated, which were to enter Belgium as soon as the Germans launched an offensive.
Thus, the task was difficult. Conventional methods could drag out a war for weeks or more. And a protracted war is a disaster for Germany. German generals were horrified at this prospect. All military, material and economic calculations were against the Reich. Therefore, the German generals drew up more than one conspiracy against Hitler before the blitzkrieg in the West, until they believed in his "star".
How the Netherlands took
Hitler was not only a brilliant statesman, but also a commander. While his military leaders were thinking in traditional schemes, the Fuhrer put forward a number of innovations that led to a quick victory. He came up with the idea of disguising the detachments of volunteers in the uniform of the Dutch military police and railway workers, they were supposed to swiftly seize bridges and open the way for tanks. Also, the Fuhrer decided to make the most of the capabilities of the airborne troops - two divisions, throwing paratroopers into the heart of Holland - near Amsterdam and The Hague. For this operation, General Sponeck's 22nd Infantry Division, trained and equipped as an airborne division, and General Student's 7th Airborne Division were allocated. Just as in Norway, paratroopers and landing troops were supposed to take the most important airfields near The Hague, and then break into the city itself, capture the government, the queen and the top military leadership.
At the same time, a swift rush of infantry divisions into the center of Holland was being worked out. In Holland, the forces of Kühler's 18th Army were advancing - 9 infantry, one tank and one cavalry divisions. The 6th Reichenau Army operated in the southern part of Holland and was supposed to oppose the Belgian and French troops, its participation in the capture of the Netherlands was minimal. So that the movement of infantry and tanks did not stall anywhere, the Germans planned several operations of special forces to capture bridges over rivers and canals. So, one detachment of scouts was aimed at capturing bridges across the river. Issel in the Arnhem region, other groups - on bridges over the Maas-Waal canal, over the Juliana Canal in Limburg, on bridges over the Meuse in the section from Mook to Maastricht. The Germans also planned to take important bridges in the city of Nijmegen, sending camouflaged riflemen there on a barge. Four German armored trains were supposed to support the capture groups, immediately moving to the captured objects. Next, it was necessary to develop an offensive on The Hague, to take the bridges at Murdijk, Dordrecht and Rotterdam.
Thus, a feature of the Dutch operation was the active participation of special forces. Hitler had few special forces at that time - about 1 thousand soldiers. Among them were the Dutch, devoted to the ideas of Nazism. The Dutch Nazis also had their own assault squads, which were called "sports clubs". It was, though not numerous, but a real "fifth column". Members of the "sports clubs" received special training in camps in Germany. On May 9, 1940, these detachments secretly left their bases and at night advanced to their targets. They wore Dutch police, railroad and military uniforms.
On May 10, 1940, the German offensive operation began. The blow was simultaneously delivered in Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. At the very beginning of the operation, the Germans attacked bridges on the Meuse River and across the Meuse-Waal Canal. For example, on May 9, 1940, at 11:30 pm, German soldiers from the 100th Special Forces Battalion were able to secretly reach the bridge over the river. Meuse in Holland near the city of Gennep. Several commandos were in Dutch uniforms and were supposedly leading the German prisoners. They calmly found themselves at an important facility, killed or captured the guards, and ensured a calm passage for the troops. A German armored train passed the bridge, followed by a troop train. The Germans poured into the gap, which led to the fall of the first line of defense of the Dutch army on the Meuse River and the IJssel Canal.
To the south, the Germans were able to block the bridge at Roermond, and took the city itself. They were in train uniform. Reich Special Forces was able to capture important bridges and crossings on the Belgian-Dutch border, the Scheldt Tunnel near Antwerp. Special forces from the 800th Brandenburg Special Purpose Battalion captured the bridges across the Julian Canal. There were also failures. So, the special forces group was unable to capture the bridge at Arnhem. Haste in preparation for the operation affected. The Dutch military uniform was obtained, but the helmets were not enough. They made an imitation, but rough. It gave them away. The 3rd company of the 800th battalion unsuccessfully attacked the crossings at Maastricht. The Germans were dressed in the uniform of the Dutch mounted and military police, but they could not catch the guards by surprise. The Dutch managed to blow up the bridges.
As a result, the audacious, albeit often unsuccessful, actions of reconnaissance and sabotage groups caused a great psychological effect. The whole of Holland was struck by rumors of thousands of German saboteurs dressed in Dutch uniforms or civilian clothes. They say that the Nazis are already swarming in the country, wreaking havoc and death. Allegedly, they disguise themselves as peasants, postmen and priests. Panic gripped the Netherlands, this fear spread to other countries. Although the disguised special forces fighters acted only on the border and there were few of them.
In the country, general arrests of all suspicious began. First, 1,500 German citizens and 800 members of the Dutch Nazi Party were “closed” in a democratic country. The commander-in-chief of the Dutch army, General Winckelmann, ordered all German subjects and immigrants from Germany to stay at home. Tens of thousands of people were affected by this order, including political migrants and Jewish refugees. For general arrests, special police groups and internment camps were created. Arrests were also carried out by people without authority, soldiers, officers, burgomasters, simply overly vigilant citizens. So, in Amsterdam, where it was planned to drive 800 people to the internment camp, 6 thousand were arrested. "The good old Holland" went off the bag.
Operation in Rotterdam
The paratroopers also played an important role in the operation. Lt. Col. Bruno Breuer's paratroopers captured the bridges at Dordrecht and Murdijk. This thriller unfolded with the capture of Rotterdam and its bridges. The Germans used 12 old Heinkel-59 seaplanes in the operation; infantrymen and sappers were loaded onto them. The planes landed on the river. The Meuse in Rotterdam and the paratroopers were to capture three strategic bridges. The risk was enormous: old and slow-moving, heavily loaded aircraft were easy prey for enemy fighters and anti-aircraft guns. However, the slugs flew half the country and appeared in Rotterdam at 7 am. They sat quietly by the bridges. The Dutch did not expect anything like this and could not adequately respond to the daring attack. Inflatable boats were unloaded from seaplanes, on which the infantrymen moved to the bridges and took important objects. The Germans took three strategic bridges with the forces of an infantry company - 120 people.
The Dutch rushed to fight off the bridges, but the Germans had already gained a foothold and repulsed the first attacks. A small reinforcement arrived to them - 50 paratroopers, who were dropped in the area of the city stadium. They quickly got their bearings, seized the trams and rushed to the bridges to help their own. Also, the success of capturing and holding the bridges was facilitated by the fact that the Germans simultaneously attacked Rotterdam elsewhere, from the south, where the important Valhalven airfield was located. As the seaplanes approached the target, German bombers struck the airfield and diverted the Dutch air defense forces. German aircraft were able to cover the barracks, where many Dutch soldiers were burned to death. As soon as the Heinkeli 111 flew away, transport Junkers approached and threw out a battalion of paratroopers from Hauptmann Schultz. The paratroopers' attack was supported by Messerschmitt-110 fighter-bombers. Soon a second wave of planes approached, carrying Hauptmann Zeidler's paratroopers. Then the third one approached - Ju-52 with a landing force. The planes bravely landed on the airfield where the battle was going on. Two platoons of the 9th company of the 16th infantry regiment of Oberleutenant Schwibert landed from the planes. His fighters launched an offensive in the center of the airfield, paratroopers were advancing on the outskirts. The Dutch were more numerous, but their fighting spirit was broken. They started to give up. Valhalven was captured.
New planes immediately began to arrive at the airfield, landing a battalion of the 16th regiment. Soon the Germans deployed anti-aircraft guns at the airfield and at about noon repelled a raid of British bombers. Meanwhile, transport aircraft landed more and more units at the airfield - a soldier of the 16th Airborne Regiment, a battalion of the 72nd Infantry Regiment. Having requisitioned vehicles from the Dutch, the Germans immediately rushed to the aid of the soldiers who held the bridges in Rotterdam. However, the task was only half completed. The bridges were blocked, but the Germans sat on one side, and the Dutch held their positions on the other. The German paratroopers could not advance further, nor could they establish contact with those paratroopers who landed in the Hague area.
Nevertheless, the relatively small forces of the German army occupied the bridges and held them until the surrender of Holland on May 14, 1940. The German paratroopers held out in complete encirclement until the main forces arrived. At the same time, the Dutch had 8 battalions only in Rotterdam. Also located nearby was the Dutch fleet, from which it was possible to transfer new forces. However, the Dutch were late in bringing the Navy into battle. When they did this, the Luftwaffe was already in control of the air. German bombers Neinkel 111 sank the Dutch destroyer Van Galen, and gunboats Friso and Brinio were fatally damaged.
Shock and Awe
The command of the Dutch army at this time was completely demoralized and did not know what to do. So, in Rotterdam, the headquarters of the military district was located and they did not know what to do in connection with a surprise attack. The headquarters received many reports of saboteurs, paratroopers, shooting by unknown persons from houses, etc. Instead of mobilizing forces and quickly attacking overwhelming forces to recapture bridges, the Dutch military was engaged in searching hundreds of houses. Local nationalists were primarily under suspicion. Time and effort were wasted, not a single armed man was detained.
The Germans realized that the landing of paratroopers was causing panic. A flurry of alarms from citizens. To increase the panic, the Nazis resorted to tricks - they dropped stuffed animals by parachute. They dropped special ratchet devices that imitated shooting. This caused general confusion, the Dutch thought that enemy agents, saboteurs, paratroopers, the "fifth column" were everywhere. That they are shooting everywhere, that agents are firing at the troops from houses or giving light signals. All Holland believed that the Germans were being helped by the numerous "fifth column". Later research revealed that this is complete nonsense. In May 1940, the Dutch nationalists did not manage to find a single rifle.
The Dutch have psychologically broken down, have lost the will to resist. Militarily, though, things weren't as bad as they seemed. The Germans also had numerous setbacks. For example, the plan to capture The Hague, where the Dutch government and the royal court were located, failed. The Germans planned to seize three airfields near The Hague in the early morning of May 10 - Falkenburg, Ipenburg and Okenburg, and from there break into the city and capture the Dutch elite. However, here the Germans ran into strong anti-aircraft fire and stubborn ground defenses. At the coastal airfield of Falkenburg, the German paratroopers were unable to take the Dutch base on the move. The first Junkers landed on the field and got bogged down in the sodden soil. As a result, they blocked the airstrip and other planes could not land. They had to turn back. The Dutch burned the first planes. Nevertheless, the German paratroopers took the airfield and the town near it. But the burning cars prevented other planes from landing. A new wave of German paratroopers had to land on the coastal dunes. As a result, two small German groups were formed - in Falkenburg and in the dunes. They had no connection with each other.
At Ipenburg, the Germans were completely defeated. The first wave of paratroopers was mistakenly landed south of the airfield, at the location of the Dutch troops. Thirteen planes tried to land on the airfield and came under heavy fire. 11 cars caught fire. A handful of surviving fighters fought until the evening of May 10, and then surrendered. The next wave of aircraft made an emergency landing on the Hague-Rotterdam route. It was also bad in Oakenburg. The first wave of paratroopers was thrown in the wrong place. The landing force was landing under enemy fire. The landing party suffered losses, the planes were crippled. Then the British bombed the runway and made it unsuitable for the landing of new German transport workers.
Thus, the German landing in the area of The Hague landed weak, there were no reinforcements. The weak and scattered groups of German paratroopers had no connection with each other. The Germans tried to attack The Hague, but they were easily driven back. From a military point of view, it was a complete failure. But the failure of the German landing operation caused a new wave of panic in Holland. German planes circled West Holland, some descending on the highway, others on the sandy coast. Observers from the civil defense corps, monitoring the air, announced this. Their radio transmitters were ordinary radio stations that were heard by the entire population. One panicky news of the appearance of the enemy in the rear was replaced by another. Horror swept across the country.
As a result, Dutch society and government were completely psychologically broken. People fell into a panic and looked around for imaginary agents and saboteurs, everywhere they saw enemy spies and parachutists. So, in the same The Hague, rumors about saboteurs-agents dressed in Dutch uniforms forced some units to remove their insignia. Like, we will outsmart the Germans. This "brilliant step" led to the fact that other Dutch units, which did not remove the insignia, began to take their own for the "disguised" enemy. A "friendly fire" began, order was restored only on the fourth day of the war, when the troops were withdrawn from The Hague. Spy mania struck Amsterdam and The Hague, the whole country. It got to the point of firing vigilant citizens at their officers, attempts to detain their own policemen and soldiers.
The authorities and citizens were sure that the circle was full of Hitler's accomplices in civilian and military uniforms. Wild rumors were spread about betrayal in the leadership and among the military, about the poisoning of water in the water supply system and food, about the contamination of roads with poisonous substances, about mysterious signs and light signals, etc. All this cleared the way for the German troops advancing from the east. Thanks to the press and radio, letters and oral rumors, the whole world learned about these events. A wave of terror and panic swept across the West. The German intelligence and propaganda department discovered that the Western consumer society is prone to hysteria and generally exists on the verge of common sense and sick imagination. And they skillfully dealt a psychological and military blow to the countries of Western democracies. The Nazis skillfully combined propaganda and psychology with the advanced methods of war at that time - the actions of special forces and the Airborne Forces, dive bombers and mobile armored formations.
Rotterdam ashes. Surrender
The Nazis struck Holland first of all not with tanks, not with artillery shelling and air strikes, not with landings (Hitler's airborne forces were few in number and took part in only a few relatively small operations), but with a wave of skillfully raised fear. There were few German agents and representatives of the "fifth column" in Holland - several dozen people. There were also few special forces and parachutists, but they struck in many places at once and at the same time. Created the feeling of the widespread presence of the enemy in Holland. Caused chaos, confusion and panic.
The German embassy in Holland played an important role in spreading the panic, distributing allegedly secret documents and maps. Psychological warfare was skillfully organized and led to tremendous success. Even the military failures of the German troops led to psychological victories over Dutch society. The Dutch themselves did everything to quickly lose the war. While German forces were advancing into Holland from the east, the Dutch army, police and society fought feverishly against spies, agents and paratroopers. Dutch units were feverishly deployed to Rotterdam and The Hague to fight against the insignificant forces of the German landing and to suppress the nonexistent "Nazi uprising".
And at this time, German troops were rapidly advancing. The Dutch defenses were falling apart before our eyes. Already on May 12, the Nazis broke through in several places and the second line of the enemy's defense. On the evening of May 12, the advanced units of such a German division entered Murdijk. On the 13th, the 9th Panzer Division, crossing the bridge, defeated the Dutch light division, which was almost entirely captured and rushed to Rotterdam. The advance units of the 7th French Army had already reached the city of Breda on May 11, but they refused to attack the Germans who had captured the crossing at Murdijk. They wanted to wait for the main forces. Meanwhile, the Germans were developing their offensive.
On the fifth day of the operation, May 14, 1940, the Nazis launched an air strike on Rotterdam. On the eve, on the evening of May 13, tanks of the 9th Panzer Division from the south reached the bridges over the Meuse in Rotterdam. But the Germans could not force the river, the bridges were under fire. It was necessary to urgently occupy Rotterdam, otherwise the offensive would stop. The Dutch refused to give up. Then they decided to launch an air strike and cross the river under the cover of a bombing raid.
On the morning of May 14, the commander of the Rotterdam garrison, Colonel Sharo, was warned that if you did not lay down your arms, there would be a bombardment. Sharo hesitated and asked for command. Negotiations began. But the bombers were already moving towards the target and by 3 o'clock in the afternoon they were over Rotterdam. The pilots did not know about the outcome of the negotiations, they were told that if everything was going well, the ground forces would give a signal with red rockets. However, when Heinkeli 111 approached the city, the Dutch air defense opened heavy fire. In addition, the city was in smoke, a tanker was on fire in the port. At first, the pilots simply did not notice the red rockets that the Germans launched (according to another version, the strike was deliberate). 57 out of 100 bombers managed to drop their cargo (97 tons of land mines). The city center was on fire. The bombs hit the port oil storage facilities and margarine factories, from there the wind drove the flames into the old part of Rotterdam, where there were many old buildings with wooden structures.
The result was an act of air terror. About a thousand people died, and many more were injured and maimed. This horror of the German Air Force finally broke Holland. The Rotterdam garrison laid down their arms. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and the government fled to London. The Dutch military and merchant fleet under the command of Admiral Furstner also left the Netherlands - there was still a huge colonial empire. The Dutch fleet (500 ships of all sizes with a total displacement of 2, 7 million tons and with crews of 15 thousand people) has seriously replenished the Allied naval forces.
On the evening of May 14, 1940, the commander-in-chief of the Dutch army, General Winckelmann, not wanting to take responsibility for the destruction of the country, ordered the troops to lay down their arms and announced the surrender of the country. The Dutch decided that they would wait for real help from the Anglo-French, and attempts to further resist would lead to the destruction of cities and mass deaths of the population. The last Dutch units, supported by the Allies, resisted in the province of Zeeland, especially on the islands of Süd Beveland and Walcheren. There the Dutch surrendered or evacuated to Britain on May 16-18.
Holland fell in just five days. The Nazis inherited an entire developed country with intact railways, bridges, dams, power plants, industry and cities. The Dutch troops lost more than 9 thousand killed and captured, the remaining 270 thousand surrendered or fled. German losses - over 8 thousand people and 64 aircraft.
