The file contains a comprehensive set of wartime directives, memoranda, situation reports, and annexes issued by Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt and his staff between 1942 and 1944. The documents trace the planning, organisation, and execution of Germany’s coastal defences from the North Sea to the Mediterranean.
Subjects include:
- Foundational Orders (“Grundlegende Befehle”) Nos. 1–25: policy statements governing combat readiness, alarm procedures, and fortification priorities.
- Detailed Coastal Defence Instructions: layout and terminology for Widerstandsnester (resistance nests), Stützpunkte (strongpoints), Verteidigungsbereiche (defensive sectors), and Küstenverteidigungsabschnitte (coastal defence zones).
- Atlantic Wall Construction Orders: coordination between the Army (Heer), Navy (Kriegsmarine), and Organisation Todt for the building of bunkers, minefields, and anti-tank obstacles.
- Railway and Transport Regulation Orders: directives for maintaining troop mobility under air attack, including the “Eisenbahnwesen im Falle der Küstenverteidigung” order of March 1943.
- Gas and Chemical Defence Directives: preparation of Entgiftungsstellen (decontamination stations) and distribution of gas equipment.
- Administrative Coordination: correspondence on the jurisdictional division between military and civil authorities in occupied France and Belgium during emergencies.
- Kampfkommandanten & Straßenkommandanten Orders (1943): establishing local commanders with dictatorial powers to maintain order during invasion or uprising, including authority to convene Standgerichte (summary courts).
- Training and Discipline Regulations: emphasis on readiness, improvisation, and “unconditional holding” of defensive positions (Halten bis zum letzten Mann).
The sequence culminates in late-1943 and early-1944 documents on final readiness inspections and the implementation of Führerweisung Nr. 40, anticipating Allied landings in Western Europe.
Disclaimer
This document is presented for historical and scholarly research purposes only.
The materials contained herein were created by agencies of the German Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres, OKH) and other institutions of the German state during the period of National Socialist rule (1933–1945).
They reflect the language, administrative practices, and ideology of that regime.
The Irving Collection makes these records available to preserve the historical record and to facilitate critical study of the Second World War.
The inclusion of original terminology, insignia, or quotations does not imply endorsement of the views or actions expressed.
Researchers are urged to approach the material within its full historical and ethical context.
All texts are reproduced verbatim from archival sources; transcription errors may occur due to the condition of the original microfilm or the limitations of optical scanning.
Use of this material for propaganda, denial, or incitement contravenes the principles of this archive and may be prohibited under applicable law.
Condition Note
The file survives as a digitised reproduction from postwar U.S. microfilm (T-78/317), derived from captured OKH records. Image contrast varies, with occasional frame cropping and light fading along margins, but the majority of pages remain fully legible and structurally complete. Original pagination, signatures, and stamps are visible; no significant textual loss is present. Overall condition: Archival Good (B+), suitable for scholarly use and facsimile publication.
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