Case 397. Documents of the operational department of the headquarters of the regiment of the mortar special purpose forces No. 2: the order for the regiment to conduct hostilities when the storming of Gibraltar (operation "Felix").

Brief summary of Case 397

This file contains the operational orders of Smoke Regiment (Nebeltruppe) No. 2 relating to its role in the planned German assault on Gibraltar under Operation Felix. The documents, dated 27 November 1940, provide instructions for the employment of Nebelwerfer units in support of the attack and form part of the wider German assault plan against the Fortress.  

The regiment was tasked with supporting the advance of the assault forces by blinding and screening British defences with smoke. Two Nebelwerfer battalions were assigned distinct sectors:

• Nebelwerfer Battalion 4 supported the western assault group, covering the enemy main line of resistance from the Old Mole, across the drawbridge, lagoon and Windsor Battery sectors.  
• Nebelwerfer Battalion 1 supported the eastern assault group, operating from positions east of La Línea and maintaining continuous smoke cover over the northern summit of the Rock, denying British observers visibility over La Línea, the forward area and the approaches from Spain.

Importance was attached to obscuring the summit observation positions on the Rock. The plan called for repeated attacks by Stuka dive bombers using 50‑kg smoke bombs, beginning before the assault and continuing at intervals of approximately fifteen minutes until the mission was accomplished.  

The documents include a detailed fire plan, coordinated with the assault timetable. Smoke and Nebelwerfer fire were to protect the advance of Group Geiger, the assault engineers and later Mountain Infantry Regiment 98, during their movement through the forward defensive belt and towards the British main line of resistance. Following a breakthrough, Nebelwerfer Battalion 4 was to shift its fire onto the terraces between Moorish Castle and Windsor Battery, supporting further penetration into Gibraltar's defensive system.

The orders also detail the deployment of forward observers, communications arrangements and coordination between the smoke units, assault engineers and infantry formations. The documents demonstrate the central role that smoke warfare played in German planning for Gibraltar and illustrate the extent to which concealment and suppression of British observation posts were considered essential to any successful assault on the fortress.