22 June 1944 Part 2

22 June 1944 Part 2 Air activity over the islands and minelaying off Saint Peter Port

Date note: 22 June 1944.

Secret. Ia daily report of 22 June 1944.

Seventh Army Headquarters, Ia, to Army Group B Headquarters, reporting post Polo I.

1. General. Enemy remains quiet along the whole sector. Harassing fire by enemy naval artillery on the area east of the Orne has increased. The reported concentration of enemy transport shipping remains off the Orne estuary; only slight unloading on Riva Bella beach. In the I SS Panzer Corps sector the enemy continues to develop his positions. Increasing artillery and air activity; heavy occupation of enemy forward airfields observed. Increasing artillery fire and stronger bombing attacks on the Cherbourg fortress area.

2. Details.

(a) LXXXVI Army Corps: reports not yet available because of line interference.

(b) I SS Panzer Corps: increasing enemy truck traffic west of the Orne as far as Bretteville. Bénouville–Périers-sur-le-Dan road camouflaged by straw screens. Increasing enemy air activity; bombing of the western edge of Caen. Reconnaissance established occupation of enemy forward airfields: about forty aircraft each north of Cairon and near Sainte-Croix; at Ducy, about one hundred aircraft.

(c) XXXXVII Panzer Corps: after reconnaissance aircraft, increased enemy artillery and air activity during the day. Enemy positions being developed on heights south of Caumont. One balloon, probably a captive observation balloon, seen in the Bayeux area.

(d) II Parachute Corps: increasing enemy air activity in the afternoon.

(e) LXXXIV Army Corps: nothing special to report.

[Original page 2]

(f) Group von Schlieben: strong enemy air activity, mass bombing and low-level attacks on the inner fortress area. Fourteen enemy aircraft shot down, predominantly Lightnings and Thunderbolts. Increasing enemy artillery and mortar fire on Cherbourg. Lively enemy vehicle traffic, including tanks, in both directions on the Vasteville and Biville roads engaged by our artillery fire from all available batteries. Fighting to clear the ground south of Théville airfield not yet concluded.

(g) LXXIV Army Corps: command of 319th Infantry Division taken over. Lively enemy air activity over the Channel Islands. Individual flares and high-explosive bombs dropped over Alderney. Minelaying in the sea area off Saint Peter Port harbour, Guernsey.

During the night of 21–22 June, individual enemy ships in the Perros–Île de Batz sea area; slight enemy naval air reconnaissance over Coastal Defence Sector A2. At 19:00, fifteen enemy aircraft attacked the Luftwaffe long-range search station at Pleumeur [source spelling softened], northwest of Perros, with rocket bombs and aircraft guns; transformer building hit. Luftwaffe observation post 34 km south of Belle-Isle attacked; two men killed.

(h) XXV Army Corps: nothing special to report.

3. Assessment. Heavy truck traffic and increasing supply flights in the right-hand sector of I SS Panzer Corps suggest possible attack intentions there as well.

4. Changes of command posts: XXXXVII Panzer Corps, Saint-Jean-le-Blanc, 10 km north of Vassy.

Seventh Army Headquarters, Ia No. 1687/44 Secret. Signed Pemsel. Certified correct: [signature indistinct], Major, General Staff.

After dispatch: Ic; Senior Quartermaster; O1; Air Force Liaison Officer; war diary.

German Seventh Army Headquarters (AOK 7), NARA T-312 Roll 1565. Roll 1565 Jersey and Channel Islands English translations.docx, reference 54. Scan extracts: img101_07_11874_13829.jpg, img101_08_13829_15753.jpg. Extract filenames identify the original image strip, section number and horizontal pixel boundaries; these are not archival frame numbers.