15 April 1944 Part 4

15 April 1944 Part 4 Urgent civilian provisioning

Date note: 15 April 1944.

Chief Quartermaster Qu 2

Army headquarters 15 April 1944

War diary copy Annex 23

Subject Liaison detachments

Memorandum of the discussion with Ministerial Councillor Baron von Fritsch, liaison official of the Commander Southwest France to the Army.

Participants: Colonel of the General Staff Wolff, Seventh Army Headquarters; Major of the General Staff Baron von Buchholz; Captain Törber; Staff Intendant Dr Theophil; Lieutenant Friedrich; and Ministerial Councillor Baron von Fritsch, Commander Southwest France.

I. Order Seventh Army Headquarters/Chief Quartermaster/Qu 2 No. 30/44, Secret, dated 1 April 1944, forms the basis for the duties of the liaison detachments. A copy is handed over for information to the liaison official, who recently took over the duties of the previous liaison official, Senior Military Administrative Councillor Mayer.

II Individual questions

a Provisioning of fortresses

The Army supplies the troops; the civilian population is the responsibility of the Military Commander. The Commander Southwest has so far taken no measures. The Commander Northwest France has made the necessary arrangements for supplying Cherbourg fortress. Attention was drawn to the need to provide immediately for the civilian population of the Channel Islands as well.

b Labour deployment

Concentration of labour will be necessary to repair damage in emergencies involving roads and railways. Workers must be provided together with working tools.

c Registration of vehicles and transport

Once vehicles have been registered, French drivers must be secured for them. The Military Commander is to examine compulsory labour service for drivers.

Particular attention is drawn to keeping available signs for road diversions and closures, lamps for illumination and reflective road markers.

d Medical and veterinary material

Securing accommodation for hospitals, the bed capacity of French hospitals, dressings, horseshoes, horseshoe nails and smithing coal.

III. The Army established that the supply of livestock for slaughter to the troops in the departments of Finistère and Morbihan is unsatisfactory. There, almost exclusively … [Continues beyond the cited page.]

German Seventh Army Headquarters (AOK 7), NARA T-312 Roll 1571. Roll 1571 Jersey and Channel Islands English translations.docx, reference 13. Scan extracts: img035_02_1999_3960.jpg. Extract filenames identify the original image strip, section number and horizontal pixel boundaries; these are not archival frame numbers.