21 October 1942 Part 7

21 October 1942 Duty officer ordered on Sark after failure to forward a warning

Date note: Order arising from the raid of 3–4 October, not a second raid.

Seventh Army Headquarters. Army Headquarters, 21 October 1942.

Operations 4631/42, secret command matter. Ten copies; copy 10.

Reference: Seventh Army Operations 4530/42, secret command matter, 13 October 1942.

Subject: reporting. War diary copy.

During the British raid on Sark in the night of 3/4 October 1942, countermeasures were not initiated in time because an Obergefreiter assigned as duty NCO failed to pass a reinforced frontier surveillance post's report of engine noise at sea to the island commandant, who was the company commander. He intended first to await confirmation from the strongpoints, but failed to ask them.

Conclusions:

(a) A duty officer is to be appointed on Sark with immediate effect. Corps headquarters will ensure that duty officers responsible for receiving and forwarding reports are appointed wherever comparable circumstances exist.

(b) Reports must be passed on immediately, if necessary marked “unconfirmed”. The receiving officer bears full responsibility in every case for forwarding a report. All measures needed to clarify a doubtful report must be taken without delay.

(c) This incident is to be used to instruct the troops. Orders governing the forwarding of reports must be reviewed.

For Army Headquarters, Chief of the General Staff, signed Sixt.

Distribution: LXXXIV Army Corps, copy 1; XXV Army Corps, copy 2; SS Panzer Corps, copy 3; Seventh Army Operations, copy 4; intelligence, copy 5; Army engineer commander, copy 6; Army signals commander, copy 7; staff artillery officer, copy 8; senior quartermaster, copy 9; Operations war diary, copy 10.

German Seventh Army records, T-312 Roll 1548. T312 Roll 1548 English translation REVIEWED EDITION 4.docx. Local source scans: 0677.jpg.