German WWII "war diary"

[Bleipriester]

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (equivalent to a modern Ministry of Defense) kept a war diary (German) available under the ISBN 3-8289-0525-0.
It consists of four volumes, each segmented in two half-volumes.

Volume 4 is available as PDF:
http://www.promacedonia.org/en/ktb_iv/iv_a_scans.pdf
http://www.promacedonia.org/en/ktb_iv/iv_b_scans.pdf


Extract, translated to English:

The Remagen Bridge​

Inspired by Moshammer´s WW2 Reenacting thread, I want to write about the happenings around the Remagen Bridge from the German military view. It is a factual digest about the daily sequence of events. I will not tell about single sodiers or copy the wikipedia or other online entries, because most of them are wrong and show the holey knowledge set by the history warpers. I am also not going to write novels, I just show the facts. I hope, my English is not too bad.

03.08.1945:
The Enemy reached the Remagen Bridge, that was seemingly full of escapees, crossed it and established a toehold. A counter attack in the early morning was not successful. The 11th Panzerdivison is coming from Bonn, but it has rare fuel.

03.09.1945:
10 aircrafts against the Remagen Bridge, 2 hits. The airforce and navy shall peruse, what is possible, because this bridgehead could have unforseeable consequences.
The 78th infantrydivison, parts of the 9th infantrydivision and parts of the 9th tankdivison crossed the Remagen Bridge. Against it the Gruppe General v. Kortzfleisch.

03.10.1945:
32 aircrafts against the Remagen Bridge, 2 hits.
The 7th infantrydivison crossed the Remagen Bridge into the bridghead. The 5th American Armycorps is free now.

03.11.1945:
20 aircrafts against the Remagen Bridge, 3 hits, 5 casualties.
The Remagen Bridge attracts the whole American army like magnetic.

03.12.1945:
Some aircrafts against the Remagen Bridge, no results yet.
The enemy could not enlarge his bridgehead. The Panzer-Lehr-Division assaulted it from the south-east successfully. Thruts of the enemy to the east have been repulsed. The enemy´s artillery is very vividly.

03.13.1945:
360 fighters, thereunder jet fighters, against the Remagen Bridge, 4 casualties, 4 shot downs. Numerous hits, but apparently no hits on the bridge. One aircraft subsided to 450 metres and pitched a 1000 kg bomb, that did not explode on the bridge and recoiled from the bridge pier into the water.
At Remagen the enemy pushed forwards.

03.14.1945:
100 aircrafts against the Remagen Bridge, 24 casualties, 3 shot downs. Because of the hard enemy defense, the effect could not be ascertained.
Now in the toehold: The 7th tankdivision, the 9th, the 99th, the 18th infantrydivision and the 9th tankdivision. On the western waterside: The 2nd infantrydivison. The 5th American Armycoprs is busy with clean up (i.e. elimination or capture of the last enemies there) backwards.

03.15.1945:
21 jet bombers against the Remagen Bridge, 6 casualties, no effect ascertained.
The press wrote about, that Remagen lies at the wrong place and there are troubles. This massage could have the intention, to dull the hopes for a fast advance into Germany, because the army lead wants to destroy the German forces before crossing the Rhine.

03.16.1945:
150 allied bombers against Remagen.
3 jet bombers against the Remagen Bridge and 1200 fighters for „free hunting” there.
At Remagen more fights in progress. To the north and the east broadening of the bridgehead. The Drachenfels (small mountain) got lost. Battles at Königswinter. The enemy is only 1000 metres off the motorway. In the east, he made 3 km headway (Redenscheidt in enemy tenure, just Vettelschoß in own). In the south slight battles. The 3rd Panzergrenadierdivison is coming.

03.17.1945:
At the Remagen Bridge, the enemy guided more forces to join. In the northeast loss of territory. Königswinter got lost. But the Ölberg could be repossessed. Another fights at Ägidienberg, where the enemy is pushing to the motorway and the 3rd Panzergrenadierdivison pushes against it. Nondistinctive situation in the south.

03.18.1945:
At Remagen, the 3rd Panzergrenadierdivison pushed forward but was delayed. One municipality got repossessed. In the east silence. In the south loss of territory. The remains of the 18th and 167th Volksgrenadierdivision get pulled up from the south.

03.19.1945:
At Remagen more loss of territories in the north and northeast. The 3rd Panzergrenadierdivison attacked again. The own casualties are grievous, the casualties of the enemy, too. In the east single burglaries. In the south weak attacks only. By English massages is the Remagen Bridge in cause of the German Attacks fully sagged.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
I can add some more days, if you want.

Facts and happenings in 1945​

01.13.1945:
An edict of the president of the USA forbids offices to speak about the end of the war.

01.25.1945:
As a German crackup was to be expected, the US-stock exchange sunk.
As the coal transports from Upper Silesia gets complicated, resp. endangered, coal from Ruhr Valley must be used, what is possible, if the rail can be bouyed at its current level. Therefore, the AA-protection must not be reduced in the Ruhr area (It is about 13.000 wagons of coal daily).

01.26.1945:
For Janury are 50.000 t of petrol available. This are 28 % of the available petrol for August 1944, that were 185.500 t. 12.000 t of plane propellant are available, 6 % of the available propellant for May 1944.

01.28.1945:
New (German) submarine successes.
The Britsch press extenuates Russian successes.
13.100 wagons of coal have been transported from the Ruhr area. The tilt in 1944 was 20.000 wagons.

01.29.1945:
The Russian press points out, that now would be the convenient moment for the Englishmen and Americans to assault and reproached them, they undertook nothing yet.

02.02.1945:
In cause of the extreme frostiness in New York, state of emergency- introductions have been prefaced.

02.09.1945:
The allieds said, that the three „General staffs“ negotiated for the first time.

02.10.1945:
The Polish exile government invoiced to fight the Russians.

02.11.1945:
A new method to use wood gas has been tested from now on. A mobile facility gets deployed in the forest to make coal for 200 km or liquid propellant for 75 km out of one cubic metre of wood. The advantage is, that wet splitted wood can be used.

02.12.1945:
US casualties so far (01.26.45): 676.000
US casualties between 21st and 28th January: 26.450, therefrom 1/3 deads.

02.13.1945:
The „Three Powers Conference” took place in Livadia. It is called Crimea-Conference. Befor this, Roosevelt and Churchill talked in Malta. A conference about how to proceed with East Asia is supposed to take place in San Francisco.

02.20.1945:
Roosevelt disclaims a invitation to Paris. This shows the tensions between France and the allieds.

02.21.1945:
From the Ruhr area 8.000 instead of 13.000 wagons of coal went out recently daily. From Upper Silesia 3 – 4.000 wagons are coming daily. Alltogether 26 – 28.000 wagons of coal daily. 36.000 are needed.

02.24.1945:
The Turkey declares the war to the Reich.

02.25.1945:
Egypt declares the war to the Reich. During the parliament sitting, the minister-president Achmed Macher Pascha gets shot.

03.07.1945:
About the Russian tank production and reserve:
The tank production have been increased to about 2.300 tanks monthly, therefrom 1.300 T 34/85, 250 heavy tanks, 200 medium tanks and 550 light assault guns. To that are coming to Russia monthly 175 to 200 American tanks, mostly Shermans.
The casualties in 1945 were valved at 8.500, thereof 4.600 in February. Before the offensive the stock of tanks was valved at 11.000, at the 02.28.1945 at 8.500. For compensation, 7.300 tanks were available apparently (Production and influx from 1 ½ months and a store of 3.500). The store was not expendet evidently, rather to imbibe at 1.200 (8.500 less 7.300). According to that the stock of tanks of the tank forces is sagged by ¾ , the stock of the reserve to 1/3. If the Russian casualties do not sag, the reserve of production and influx would have to be spent at the end of march. The number of available Russian tanks will plummet then.

03.11.1945:
German production:
In spite of the aggravated situation, 1.200 tanks, 25.000 machine guns and 200 to 250.000 rifles have been produced in the previous month.

03.13.1945:
The Reichsleiter Bormann typed out an order to the Gauleiters, that the Volkssturm – insofar it is not integrated into the Wehrmacht – has to hand over its wapons to the Wehrmacht.

03.20.1945:
The Führer changed his Führer-order „Verbrannte Erde“ to lame the supply industrie and traffic facilities from the 03.19.1945 to that effect to destroy it, when the enemy could use it.

03.23.1945:
After the loss of the Saarland the daily pit coal supply sinks from 9.500 t 6.000 t.
Only one of the 8 deployed railway-guns is offbeat.

03.26.1945:
A new order tells to proceed energetic against the exhibition of white foulards and the opening of tank barriers.

03.08.1945:
Argentina declares the war to the Reich.

 

[jon_berzerk]

thought i have read that they had around 500 kills