Unternehmen "Otto".

German campaigns and battles 1919-1945.

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tigre
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Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D ; here goes some histories dealing with the German units which took part on it.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

Following the announcement of the plebiscite to be held in Austria on March 13, 1938, Hitler who had assumed command of the Wehrmacht, on February 4, 1938 took severe measures to avoid it; this was plainly the invasion of Austria. Therefore, on March 11, 1938 was issued Directive No. 1 relating to Operation Otto stating:

Supreme Commander of Armed Forces
O.K.W. L 420/38 g.Kdos I Nr. Berlin, 11.03.1938.

Re:. Operation Otto
30 copies

Secret Instruction.

Directive No. 1

1) I have the intention, if other means do not lead to the target, to intervene with armed forces in Austria in order to establish constitutional conditions and to prevent further violence against the German people.

2) I have the command of the whole operation.

According to my instructions will lead:

The Ob.d.H. (Army) ground operations with the 8th Army with the composition proposed by that force, and reinforcements of the Air Force, the SS and police.

The Ob.d.L. (Air Force) support from the air with the proposed forces.

3) tasks:

a) Army

The invasion of Austria was to take place as my proposal. The goal for the army will be first, the occupation of Upper Austria, Salzburg, Lower Austria, Tirol, the rapid occupation of Vienna and the security of the border between Austria and the Czech Republic.

b) Air Force

The Air Force has to hold aerial demonstrations and launching propaganda material; was to occupy the airports of Austria and subsequently transport troops to support the army as it was to be required and was to maintain combat units to fulfill special requests.

4) The forces of the Army and the Air Force foreseen for the operation should be ready to be used no later than March 12 1938 at 12:00 hours.
I reserve to myself the right to establish and to authorize permission to over flight and to cross the border.

5) The behavior of the forces must take into account the point we are not looking for war against a sister nation. It is in our interest that the whole operation is achieved without the use of force in the form of a peaceful invasion and thus to be understood by the people. Therefore, any challenge should be avoided. But if there is any resistance, it must respond with force of arms.
Austrian formations are now under German command.

6) In Germany's borders with other countries should not be taken any security measure for the time being.

Adolf Hitler

Distributor:
O.K.W.
O.K.H.
O.K.M.
R.d.L.u.Ob.d.L.
Himmler
Reserve

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
The troops of the Kradsch. Btl 2 were directed to take all their gear.................
The troops of the Kradsch. Btl 2 were directed to take all their gear.................
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; here goes something more.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

At 16:00 hours General v. Bock learned of the mission that had been imposed to him and from 18:30 hours onwards were given orders to deploy the 8th Army HQ which would be at Mühldorf. The order of battle of the 8 AOK was as follows:

VII AK (right wing) with 7 ID (IR 19 - IR 62), 27 ID (IR 40 - IR 63 - IR 91), 1 GD (GJR 99 - GJR 100), IR SS Germania.

XIII AK (left wing) with the 10 ID (IR 20 - IR 41 - IR 42)

XVI AK (Mot) was the main effort with 2 Pz and IR SS LAH.

Heeresdienstelle 10 which would act independently with the GJR 98, IR 61, IR 14, IR SS Deutschland.

On March 10, 1938 and under the top secret word, Guderian was told about the situation by General Beck; Guderian returned to his office to wait and between 21:00 and 22:00 hours it was ordered to mobilize the 2 Pz and the LAH. Between 23:00 and 24:00 hours the order was relayed to those units: by telephone to the armored division and personally to the SS unit.

The order was received without problems in the LAH but it was not the case in the 2 Pz as its Commander and officers were conducting a training trip in the Trier area and had to be brought by car from the Moselle region.

The LAH had to travel 962 km from Berlin to Vienna and the 2 Pz about 680 km from Würzburg to the Austrian capital.

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Kradsch. Btl. 2  members ready to march.............
Kradsch. Btl. 2 members ready to march.............
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tigre
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; here goes something more.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

An Eyewitness Account of the Pz Abw. Abt 38: On the evening of 10 March ( Thursday ) 1938, the Battalion Adjutant and the 3rd Company Commander are on leave; the officers of the battalion and those from the 4th Panzer Regiment are entertaining their wives and guests at the Military Garrison Ball at the ( Schweinfurt ) Wintersaison. (a large function hall ) Suddenly at about 22 00 hrs. quite unexpectedly, the mobilization order was received to include possible deployment not only for the men in Schweinfurt but the associated Reserve units.

At about 22 45 hrs. the general alert alarms were sounded in the barracks the those who were asleep were quickly out of bed. The NCOs who had passes for Schweinfurt were quickly retrieved using trucks and motorcycles. The preparation efforts for such a deployment, with an as of yet unknown purpose or destination, went according to plan through the night. Let there be no secret, wild rumors flew and they were met with often repeated orders.

“Should the anti-tank cannons be combat zeroed?! … Should the troops carry their full set of clothing and gear?! … What about the personal effects in the barracks, pack for storage or not pack??!! ‘ The night was filled with questions of that nature while some of the subordinates muttered that it was all only a drill. Later on, such alarms and our reactions became well rehearsed events and we certainly had the opportunity to practice what we learned.“

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
ljadw
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by ljadw »

Originally,operation Otto would be executed to prevent a possible return of the pretenderOtto von Habsburg(who died a few days ago).
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; thanks for your tip ljadw. Now, here goes something more.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

11 March At exactly 07:00 hours, we were fully march ready. Towards 11:00 hours, the final march order was received and by 11:45 hours, we had joined the assembled 2nd Panzer Division on the march in the vicinity of Bamberg. The objective was still undetermined. Closer still to Bamberg, we received an intermediate objective for the day, we passed through Nurnberg and reached the vicinity of Regensburg.

While the XVI AK (Mot) came to Passau at about 20:00 hours and were issued orders to cross the border on March 12 at 08:00 hours.

At midnight arrived there General Veiel at the head of his division but had no maps from Austria or fuel to go on. The precious fuel was obtained after violent threats against the administrator of the army depot in Passau.

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
The Kradsch Btl 2 marching to Austria.
The Kradsch Btl 2 marching to Austria.
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Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by fridgeman »

Very interesting tread again tigre!
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; thanks for your supporting words fridgeman :wink:. Now, here goes something more.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

As much as was attempted the border was crossed only on 12 March of 1938 at 09:00 hours (one hour later than expected) and the advanced guards of the 2 Pz were greeted with joy by the population. The vanguard was composed of Aufkl. Abt. 5, Aufkl. Abt. 7 and Kradsch. Btl 2; these troops moved rapidly through Linz at noon and went to St. Polten.

On March 12 of 1938, “The march continued, Straubing - Passau, across the Austrian border near Scharding and then further over the Linz near Enns, where the battalion - once more on Austrian soil - spent the night at the Cavalry Barracks.“

“It was sort of a ghostly existence. No one really knew what to make of this deployment. We had considered the possibility that at the border, there may have been a battle but, this did not come to pass. This was really the first ‘ Flower War ‘. … and a short while later, all this became a rain of flower blossoms …’“.

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Passau, 2 Pz elements crossing the Austrian-German border.
Passau, 2 Pz elements crossing the Austrian-German border.
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Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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tigre
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; here goes something more.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

At 12:00 hours General Guderian arrived at Linz and when he was preparing to leave for St.Pölten met the SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler and Austrian ministers Seiss-Inquart and Glaise-Horstenau who told Guderian that the Führer would arrive at Linz at 15:00 hours asking him to be in charge of the cordon to be established along the main street. The vanguard was stopped in St. Pölten. Hitler newly arrived in the evening and was greeted by a crowd of around 60,000 people gathered in the town square to hear the speech from the balcony of the municipality.

Guderian left Linz at 21:00 hours and arrived at St. Pölten at midnight, giving the order that the advance guard resume the march to Vienna.

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Elements of the 2 Pz - Unternehmen "Otto".
Elements of the 2 Pz - Unternehmen "Otto".
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; here goes something more.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

At Vienna.

On March 13, 1938 at 01:00 hours and under a snow storm Guderian reached Vienna unleashing unspeakable joy. The vanguard paraded in front of the Opera with the sounds of a band of the Austrian Army. After the parade, General Guderian was taken to the hotel by the crowd and on the way, the buttons of his coat, turned into souvenirs for the Viennese.

13 March “The battalion resumed the march over Saint Polten and into the vicinity of Vienna. Near Puckersdorf, the Adjutant and Commander of the 3. Company finally caught up with the column and we were halted and ordered to ‘ clean and dress everything up’ . Then, through the indescribable joy of the population, we marched into the near suburbs of the city …“

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
The Austrian people joyfully received the German troops.
The Austrian people joyfully received the German troops.
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; here goes something more.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

At Vienna.

On March 14, 1938 Adolf Hitler arrived in Vienna therefore were made ​​preparations for the parade to be held the next day.

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Hitler in Vienna.
Hitler in Vienna.
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Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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tigre
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; the end.................

The 2 Pz in Operation Otto.

Parade at Vienna.

On March 15, 1938 took place the parade which was initiated by the Austrian Army formations, alternately followed by German troops; the enthusiasm of the population was enormous.

Sources: Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.
http://www.eaglehorse.org/3_home_statio ... /index.htm
http://www.documentarchiv.de/ns/1938/we ... _otto.html
Panzerleader. Heinz Guderian.

It's all folks. Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
image006.png
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image008.png
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ReinhardH
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by ReinhardH »

Many thanks for yet another one of your wonderfully informative threads, tigre ... what an amazing historical resource! :up:
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello ReinhardH :D; thanks for your kindness and joining this thread :wink:. All the best. Raúl M 8).
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; another unit, this time an infantry division........................

Arrival of the 27 ID to Vienna.

According to the development of the political situation, Germany would achieve, if possible, that a large number of troops could reach Vienna in the shortest time. From the morning of March 12, 1938 the divisions of infantry which had entered Austrian territory into the Upper Austria (10 ID and 7 ID) advanced slowly, so it was decided that the 27 ID (subordinated to Wehrkreis VII) was transported directly to Vienna by rail and its motorized elements only continued the progress by road.

In fact the 27 ID, unlike the other subordinate divisions, such as the 7 ID, the 10 ID or the 1 GD had not been alarmed previously and it was ordered to be ready to march only on March 12, 1938 at 18:00 hours. The mobilization was carried out smoothly and as planned. Meanwhile the 10 ID had been alarmed at sunset on March 10, 1938 and at 06:00 hours on March 11, 1938 the division was ready to go. The 10 ID was ordered to gather its forces in the area Schärding - Passau in order to march on Austria.

Sources: CHRONIK DER GARNISON ZWÖLFAXING 1938 – 1945. „EINE ORTSCHAFT IM ZWEITEN WELTKRIEG“ RENATO SCHIRER. ZWÖLFAXING 1998
Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
At dawn of the 12th March 1938, when the divisions of the German Wehrmacht crossed the border into Austria, a single shot was not fired.<br />http://www.welt.de/politik/article1781634/Als_Oesterreich_die_Besatzer_mit_Jubel_empfing.html
At dawn of the 12th March 1938, when the divisions of the German Wehrmacht crossed the border into Austria, a single shot was not fired.
http://www.welt.de/politik/article1781634/Als_Oesterreich_die_Besatzer_mit_Jubel_empfing.html
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tigre
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Re: Unternehmen "Otto".

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; more follows........................

Arrival of the 27 ID to Vienna.

On March 12, 1938 at 05:00 hours the 10 ID crossed the Inn River by Schärding and Passau in broad front, marching through the Upper and Lower Austria towards Vienna. As its vanguard marched the newly organized AA 10 from the RR 17. The march went by Grienskirchen - Wels - Enns - Amstetten - Melk - St. Pölten - Vienna. Behind followed the IR 20 with the mass of the AR 10 and the I. / IR 42.

Another column composed of the IR 41, the III. / IR 42 and the III. / AR 10 crossed the border at Passau. The II. / IR 42 advanced through the Bohemian Forest and it was to join the column in Linz.

Sources: CHRONIK DER GARNISON ZWÖLFAXING 1938 – 1945. „EINE ORTSCHAFT IM ZWEITEN WELTKRIEG“ RENATO SCHIRER. ZWÖLFAXING 1998
Operación Otto: La Wehrmacht ocupa Austria Marzo de 1938. C. Caballero Jurado.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
The SS troops also occupied Austria (Note the masked helmet and the eagle on the sleeve).<br />http://thirdreichcolorpictures.blogspot.com/2010/01/austrian-anschluss.html
The SS troops also occupied Austria (Note the masked helmet and the eagle on the sleeve).
http://thirdreichcolorpictures.blogspot.com/2010/01/austrian-anschluss.html
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Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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