One of the nicest things about living in the Schinnen/Brunssum area is the availability of hundreds of hiking and biking trails in the area. I do a lot of hiking and want to talk about my hike yesterday around the area of Maas-Mechelen, Belgium. I specifically wanted to go see the Messerschmidt Bf 108 memorial just outside Vucht (part of gemeente Maas-Mechelen). This memorial is probably one of the least known, least advertised memorials of a history making event that I know of. So here is the story, in a very summarized form:
Following the invasion of Poland in September 1939, a period of inaction called the "Phony War" set in between the major powers. Adolf Hitler had hoped that France and Britain would permit this conquest, as they had done in Austria and their betrayal of Czechoslovakia, and quickly make peace. On 6 October, he made a peace offer to both Western Powers. On 9 October, before they even had time to respond, he also formulated a new military policy in case their reply was negative: Führer-Anweisung N°6, or "Führer-Directive Number 6". This was the genesis of the later operation called "Fall Gelb" or Case Yellow, the invasion of France. The original date of the German attack on the western countries was set for mid-November 1939. Most German generals knew that Germany was not ready to attack the larger combined forces of Belgium, France, and Great Britain so soon after the invasion of Poland. The German Chief of Staff, General Franz Halder, had the same opinion. In addition, he was an anti-Hitler conspirator and did not approve of Hitler's plans for expansion beyond regaining the German-speaking areas taken away from Germany under the Treaty of Versailles.
Halder's original attack plan was a conventional attack into France generally mirroring the von Schlieffen Plan used in World War One. It was expected that Germany would lose up to half a million men in this attack against the fortified Belgian defense lines and the French Maginot Line. (Halder was an excellent planner and strategist so many military historians believe he intentionally created a plan doomed to failure in an attempt to dissuade Hitler from attacking at all.) This attack would generally spare The Netherlands since it only required crossing south Limburg province, which the Dutch were not even attempting to defend. Hitler had stated to his staff that he would seek a "political solution" with The Netherlands since most Germans were opposed to invading their cultural cousins. (Germany and The Netherlands had extremely close cultural and economic ties for many decades.)
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| Early German Attack Plan |
The German generals were able to put off the invasion time and time again until Hitler once again set the date for 17 January 1940. As part of the invasion, the German 7th Flieger Division was tasked to insert paratroopers well behind the Belgian front lines around the city of Namur. Major Helmuth Reinberger was responsible for organizing the Division's supply. Reinberger was going to Cologne for a staff meeting. The previous evening, he met pilot Major Eric Hoenmanns, (an old friend that he hadn’t seen in many years), over a drink in the mess. MAJ Hoenmanns was the airbase commander of a German airfield and he offered to fly him there so that he could also stop in and see his wife.
The German invasion plans were extremely secret and only a small number of key personnel knew anything about them. Major Reinberger had orders to bring the plans to Köln (Cologne, some 70 nautical miles south of Loddenheide). Reinberger planned to go to Münster railway station the next morning and travel to Cologne by train. There he would have to hand over the document to the 2. Luftflotte for an important meeting in preparation of the German invasion. It was strictly forbidden, for Operational Security (OPSEC) reasons, to fly with classified documents. Reinberger was supposed to take the train but he decided to fly with his friend instead. Major Hoenmanns was completely unaware that Rheinberger was carrying the plans with him. (In fact, Major Hoenmanns did not even know an invasion was planned.)
They took off late in the morning on 10 January 1940 and headed toward Cologne flying using visual flight rules (VFR). Due to the fog and heavy snow on the ground Hoenmanns soon became disoriented and flew past Cologne. He changed his heading to due west so that he could spot the Rhine River and get his bearings. What he didn't know is that he had already flown over the frozen, snow-covered Rhine. When he finally spotted a river below he did not know that it was the Maas, the border between The Netherlands and Belgium in this area.
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It was then that Hoenmanns appears to have inadvertently cut off the fuel supply to the plane's engine by moving a lever inside the cockpit. The engine spluttered, then stopped, and Hoenmanns was forced to land in a nearby field at about 11:30 AM. The aircraft was severely damaged. Both wings were broken off when they hit two trees as he sped between them. The heavy engine tore off the nose section. The plane was a write-off, but Hoenmanns and Reinberger survived unscathed.
The two Germans were taken to the Belgian border guardhouse near Mechelen-aan-de-Maas (now called Maas Mechelen). There they were interrogated by Belgian Captain Arthur Rodrique, who placed the charred documents on a table. As a diversion to help out his friend and fellow officer, Hoenmanns asked the Belgian soldiers to let him use the toilet. When the Belgians left the room with Hoenmanns, Reinberger then tried to stuff the papers into a burning stove nearby. He succeeded but yelled with pain when lifting the extremely hot lid of the stove. Startled, Rodrique turned and snatched the papers from the fire, badly burning his hand in the process.
The documents were now locked away in a separate room. The failure to burn them made Reinberger realize that he was in a very dangerous position. He had no doubt that Hitler's henchmen would surely kill him if they got hold of him for letting the attack plan fall into the hands of the enemy. He then decided to commit suicide and tried to grab Rodrique's revolver. When the infuriated captain knocked him down, Reinberger burst into tears, shouting “I wanted your revolver to kill myself”. Major Hoenmanns supported Reinberger by telling the Belgians: “You can't blame him. He's a regular officer. He's finished now.”
Two hours later officers from the Belgian intelligence service arrived, bringing the papers to the attention of their superiors in the late afternoon. Now the dilemma; are the papers real or part of a deception plan by the Germans. To find out the Belgians conduct their own deception. First, they start questioning the two Germans about the contents of the destroyed papers. This was done in a way that pretty much convinced Reinberger that the papers were adequately destroyed. Secondly, they allowed the German air and ground Military Attaches to visit the prisoners in a bugged room so they can listen. From this conversation the Belgians realize that the papers are real. They quickly inform the military and civil leadership of Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Great Britain, and Luxembourg with coded messages. Some of the leaders, notably the Military Chief of Staff of The Netherlands, do not believe that the information is realistic. They cannot believe that the Germans, who had a great reputation for professionalism and attention to detail, could make such a mistake as this.
Regardless, they mostly feel that it would be prudent to take some precautions and this was their great mistake. One Belgian General officer recalled all personnel on leave by announcing the order over the commercial radio stations. The French, believing that the Belgians have been scared enough to drop their neutrality, begin to move their forces towards Belgium to deploy them in defensive positions inside of Belgium. General Gamelin, the French Army Chief of Staff, is furious when the Belgian Border Defense guards refuse to let them cross the border. All this activity is detected by the Germans and now they know that the papers were captured and the plan is compromised.
Hitler was furious and the first thing he does is fire everyone in a supervisory position over the two captured Majors. The next thing he demands is to move up the date for the attack so they can launch before the western allies can react to the captured information. The German General Staff continues to monitor events and it is soon clear that the French, in particular, are doing nothing of any major significance in reaction to the German plan. General Gamelin refuses to change his plan of defense. In addition, the weather turns for the worse and it is soon apparent that the invasion must be postponed. Because of these events Hitler demands a new plan.
General Eric von Manstein had been developing an alternate plan, in conjunction with a couple of the tank regiment commanders, for several weeks. He had presented the plans to the German General Staff but they were not interested in it. They saw it as too risky. Undoubtedly, General Harder had a major part in this situation. But Hitler was informed of the plan by former subordinates of von Manstein and he requested a presentation. Hitler approved von Manstein's plan, but did not like von Manstein, so the plan was turned over to General Halder to coordinate and execute.
The new plan called for German forces to attack through The Netherlands and central Belgium as "holding actions" and part of a deception plan. The intent was to draw the bulk of the Belgian, French, and British forces into northern Belgium (which they were calling the "Belgian Pocket"). The major German attack would now shift south to a massive armor thrust through the supposedly impenetrable Ardennes Forest. This armor attack would sweep west through Sedan, France and then north to the English Channel. The goal was to trap and surround the allies in the Belgian pocket, cutting them off from their supplies and support, and then destroy them in place. The paratroopers that originally were slated to attack Namur would now insert to Fortress Holland (Vesting Holland) and to attack and capture various bridges and the Belgian fortress Eben Emael. Vesting Holland is the center of the Dutch civil government and the military headquarters. It is the area surrounding Amsterdam, Den Haag (The Hague), and Rotterdam. The Manstein plan changed the attack through only south Limburgs to a full-scale invasion of The Netherlands. The primary focus was on Vesting Holland and the other avenues of attack were holding actions to prevent the Dutch from redeploying their forces to reinforce this area.
Military historians will argue the impact of this incident forever I suppose but the end results speak for themselves. The new plan, at least partially in response to the Mechelen Incident, resulted in the incredibly swift defeat of The Netherlands, Belgium, France, and the British forces involved. Combined, the western forces were superior in numbers of men and in most categories of weapons systems except aircraft. Many people attribute the success to superior German tanks but at that time the German tanks were inferior models; a large percentage were only armed with machine guns. What the Germans did have was superior training and superior leadership capabilities.
A terrible mistake by one German Major was initially seen as a disaster for the German plans. But because the Germans were able to adapt and change in response to a changing situation and the French were not, history was possibly changed. It is highly likely that the original invasion plan would have failed to meet the goal of defeating France. At best, the Germans would have gained some territory and then sued for peace from a position of strength.
The memorial site is fairly easy to find and well worth a short trip. Just head to Belgium on E-314 and get off at the Maas Mechelen exit and take N78 north through the city. At the far north end of town you will cross a bridge over a canal. Just on the other side take the first right and guide left onto Heirstraat. Stay on Heirstraat until you get to Gratumstraat. Turn left here and continue for a couple hundred yards and you will see the memorial on the right. Park in the gravel parking lot. Take a picnic lunch with you and enjoy the area. There is a table at the parking lot and a bench overlooking the memorial. This area is a major hiking and biking cross-roads so you will have plenty of people to watch if you are a "people watcher".
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| My visit to the memorial on 21 May 2011 |
So what happened to the two Majors? Erich Hoenmanns and Helmuth Reinberger condemned to death in absentia. Transporting secret documents by plane without explicit authorization was strictly forbidden and a capital offense. The verdicts would never be carried out though. After a stay in an internment camp in Huy both men were evacuated in 1940, first to Britain and then to Canada. Hoenmanns' wife however, did not survive an interrogation by the Gestapo; his two sons were allowed to serve in the army and were killed in action during the war. The men were later part of a prisoner of war exchange; on returning to Germany they were partially pardoned.
Personal Note 8 December 2011: I see I am getting a lot of Page Views for this subject. I would love to hear from some of you why this subject is so popular. What brought you here?
