6 November 1943

6 November 1943 Proposals for reorganizing coastal artillery

Secret. To Seventh Army. The corps approves the principle of bringing tactical and administrative command into alignment and making the reorganization permanent. Had the intended renumbering been known at the Paris discussions on 7–10 October, Artillery Commander 118 could have included it in his proposals.

716th Division: rename Battalion 832 as I/761. Retaining an independent battalion numbered 761 would cause friction. If the new battery north or northeast of Isigny becomes an army coastal battery, designate it 3/761. Regimental Staff 645 has already transferred to 709th Division with naval agreement: it was superfluous in 716th Division and urgently needed in 709th. Its proposed designation as 760 remains to be settled.

709th Division: approve the renumbering of I and II/762, the formation of a new I/762, and the redesignation of 755 as II/762 and 404 as III/762. III/762 already tactically controls the naval batteries Blankenese, Thüringen and Hessen, Army Coastal Battery 282, and the projected new battery. It cannot also absorb 4/706 and 318. Designate 282 as 7/762, 272 as 8/762, and Hessen as 9/762, converting Hessen into an army coastal battery. Leave the tenth number vacant for a future battery. Battery 272 would then be the only organic battery outside the battalion's tactical area. Thüringen, as the seventh battery of the new divisional Artillery Regiment 709, can remain tactically subordinate to III/762; its proximity to II/709 makes this unobjectionable.

Keep railway artillery separate. Railway Artillery Battalion 681, with headquarters on the Jobourg signals peninsula, should command Railway Battery 685, Army Coastal Battery 4/706, Coastal Battery 318 and 2/669. Regimental Staff 645 should command 681 and III/669, and, in the event of landings, the relevant artillery of the Cherbourg area. It should cooperate with Alderney. These assignments should be permanent.

Withdraw Railway Battery 722 from the immediate sea front and divide it into two batteries. Concentration of all four guns is necessary only for an engagement at sea; camouflage also favours division. A new battalion staff is needed, including for the future battery at Gréville. Form a new I/760 if 645 is renamed 760:4/706 becomes 1/760, 318 becomes 2/760, and 685 becomes 3/760. Battery 685 is not appropriately classified as a railway battery. Convert Staff 681 into a static coastal artillery staff and use the personnel released to form I/760.

No changes are proposed for 319th Division. In summary: Hessen becomes 9/762 rather than 8/709; Railway Battery 685 becomes 3/760; Staff 681 becomes static and provides personnel for I/760; Reichenau becomes 8/709 rather than 11/709. Approval of establishments and replacement-district assignments is urgent. The shortage of personnel is weakening combat readiness.

Translation note: The war diary copy states that the accompanying map is absent. Some proposed battery numbers are faint; the original pages are retained.

T-314 Roll 1604, T314_R1604_English_Translation.docx. 6 November 1943 | Source PDF pages 1155–1158. Selected island-related text; document or report date governs placement.