Brief Summary of Case 626
Case 626 is a collection of logistical, supply, ammunition, and organizational documents prepared by the XXXIX Army Corps for Operation Felix, the planned assault on Gibraltar during late 1940. Rather than focusing on tactics or intelligence, the file concentrates on the practical requirements needed to support the operation.
Key contents include:
- Detailed planning for the supply and sustainment of German forces assigned to the Gibraltar operation, including artillery, mountain troops, engineers, anti-tank units, and supporting formations.
- Extensive lists of spare parts and maintenance equipment for heavy artillery, including 10 cm, 15 cm, 21 cm, 30.5 cm, and 35.5 cm guns and mortars, as well as anti-aircraft weapons, anti-tank guns, Nebelwerfer launchers, and engineer equipment.
- Large-scale inventories of assault engineer stores, including flamethrowers, cutting torches, demolition tools, explosives, wire cutters, ropes, detonators, gas-protection equipment, and construction tools.
- Comprehensive ammunition planning showing the quantities required for:
- corps artillery,
- coastal-defence batteries,
- the 1st Mountain Division,
- infantry, mortars, anti-tank weapons,
- Nebelwerfer smoke units,
- signal and illumination ammunition
- Detailed calculations of ammunition stockpiles, forward depots, transport arrangements, reserve loads, and resupply requirements, including estimates running into thousands of tons of ammunition.
- Tables identifying ammunition shortages and requests for additional stocks of shells, grenades, smoke munitions, explosives, signal ammunition, and specialized artillery propellant charges.
- Organizational charts and orders of battle for the 1st Mountain Division and associated artillery groups assigned to the operation.
- Detailed breakdowns of the artillery structure supporting the attack, including assault artillery, coastal-defence artillery, heavy mortars, railway guns, and super-heavy siege weapons.
- Planning documents for smoke warfare, showing projected and actual stocks of smoke grenades, smoke candles, smoke shells, and Nebelwerfer ammunition.
- Rail transport and ammunition-train schedules that were intended to move ammunition and supplies into staging areas for the operation.
- Numerous tables allocating ammunition by individual artillery battalion and battery, with calculations for first-line loads, reserve loads, ammunition columns, and firing stocks.
The file also contains organizational diagrams and artillery deployment charts, including a command and fire-support structure for the 1st Mountain Division.
Overall, Case 626 is essentially the logistical backbone of Operation Felix, documenting how artillery, ammunition, engineer equipment, transport, maintenance, smoke assets, and supply systems were to be organized and sustained for the proposed German assault on Gibraltar.
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