Case 217. Documents of the operational branch of the Infantry Regiment "Great Germany": orders for the regiment and battalion on offensive actions against the fortress of Gibraltar.

Brief Summary of Case 217

This file contains operational orders prepared by Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland for Operation Felix, the planned German assault on Gibraltar in December 1940. The documents include a regimental attack order, a battalion attack order, and an order for a reinforced battalion assault force.

Key contents include:

• A detailed plan for how Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland would advance after engineer units breached Gibraltar's outer defences and reached the main line of resistance.
• The regiment was assigned responsibility for attacking through the western sector of Gibraltar, advancing from the lagoon and north wall area into the city.
• I Battalion was tasked with capturing the Old Mole, Landport area, Main Street approaches, King's Bastion, and Governor's Palace, including an amphibious assault using assault boats.
• II Battalion was ordered to penetrate the narrow corridor between the lagoon and the Rock, seize the Casemate Barracks area, advance toward the Moorish Castle, and support the drive into the city.
• The plans specify the use of engineers, assault guns, anti-tank guns, infantry guns, mortars, anti-aircraft weapons, and heavy machine guns attached to individual battalions and companies.
• The battalion-level orders provide highly detailed instructions for:
• assault-boat landings,
• clearing defensive obstacles,
• crossing ditches and water barriers,
• securing tunnels and gallery entrances,
• attacking fortifications, bastions, barracks, and harbour facilities,
• coordinating with artillery and engineer units.
• Special emphasis is placed on maintaining momentum, bypassing isolated resistance when possible, exploiting breaches in the defences, and coordinating with mountain infantry units attacking the Moorish Castle and Rock galleries.
• The orders include communications arrangements, reporting requirements, command-post locations, aid stations, signal-flare procedures, and plans for bringing forward heavy weapons and reinforcements as the assault progressed.
• Several objectives specifically mention the seizure and security of Gibraltar's key military infrastructure, including harbour areas, bastions, fortress walls, galleries, tunnels, and government buildings.

Overall, the file is a detailed tactical operations package showing exactly how Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland was expected to breach Gibraltar's defences, fight through the city, capture major military objectives, and support the wider German plan to seize the fortress.