German invasion of Luxembourg

• 1. Neutrality And Preparation

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  On the 1st of September 1939 Germany invaded Poland, initiating World War II. This put Luxembourg's Grand Ducal government in a delicate situation. The population's sympathies lay with the UK and France, yet the country maintained neutrality since the Treaty of London in 1867. The only military force Luxembourg kept was its small Volunteer Corps under Captain Aloyse Jacoby. It was reinforced by the Grand Ducal Gendarmerie under Captain Maurice Stein. Together they formed the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires under Major-Commandant Émile Speller. At noon on the 1st of September Radio Luxembourg announced that it would cease broadcasting to remain unambiguously neutral. Exceptions were a daily 20 minute-long message at midday and evening reserved for government announcements. Later that day several German stations posed as Radio Luxembourg by broadcasting in the Luxembourgish wavelength. On the evening of the 21st of September, the Grand Ducal government suspended all broadcasts pending the resolution of the war. In the spring of 1940 fortifications were erected along the borders with Germany and France. The so-called Schuster Line consisted of 41 sets of concrete blocks and iron gates. There were 18 bridgeblocks on the German border and 18 roadblocks on the same border. Five roadblocks stood on the French border. Since the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires had no pioneer unit, construction fell to civilian engineers. Technical advice was sought from the French, who took great interest in the line's establishment. A series of nine radio outposts were established along the German border. Each outpost was manned by gendarmes. A central radio receiver sat in Captain Stein's official office near the volunteers' Saint-Esprit Barracks in the capital. On the 4th of January 1940, the Cabinet convened under Grand Duchess Charlotte. They outlined steps to be taken in the event of a German invasion. Charlotte decided that if possible she and the government would flee abroad to advocate for the country's sovereignty. During World War I her elder sister and then-Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde had elected to stay during Germany's occupation. That choice brought the monarchy into disrepute. Charlotte wanted to avoid such problems. The government moved some of the country's gold reserves to Belgium. It began stockpiling funds in its Brussels and Paris legations. The Paris legation received a sealed envelope detailing a formal request of military assistance from the French government.

• 2. Intelligence And Warnings

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  Abwehr agents under Oskar Reile infiltrated the country posing as tourists. This activity was observed by Captain Fernand Archen, an undercover senior French intelligence officer in Luxembourg City. He posed as a wine merchant. He reported his findings to his superiors at Longwy on the 7th of May. He understood that the agents were to be used to seize key bridges over the Sauer, Moselle and Our rivers. Luxembourg authorities also took notice. Captain Stein worked to stop the Germans' activities. On the 3rd of March, the French Third Army was ordered to occupy Luxembourg in the event of a German attack. On the evening of the 8th of May, the Grand Ducal Government ordered all doors of the Schuster Line closed at 11:00. They remained so regardless of circumstance until 06:00 the following morning. Throughout the day Luxembourgish authorities witnessed much less activity on the far side of the border. They made no reports of tank or machine gun movements. On the afternoon of the 9th of May, a French intelligence officer stationed in Clervaux witnessed German troops preparing pontoon bridges in the Sauer. He attempted in vain to contact Captain Archen. He resorted to making a direct phone call to his superiors at Longwy. Also that day a German national working in Luxembourg as a gardener warned his employer, Carlo Tuck. The gardener was a member of the German fifth column who stated an invasion was impending. Tuck passed the warning on to government officials. Late that evening, the Grand Ducal government came into possession of a document from a German divisional command. It was dated the 23rd of April 1940. It detailed the division's chief of staff's orders to various units to occupy strategic points within Luxembourg. The Grand Ducal government put all border posts and Grand Ducal Gendarmerie stations on full alert. In Luxembourg City, gendarmes mobilised to defend public buildings. They dispatched vehicle patrols to arrest fifth columnists. The economic councillor and the chancellor of the German legation were detained for questioning regarding allegations that they had used legation cars to organise subversive activities within the country. Since an invasion had not yet occurred they still enjoyed diplomatic privilege. The police were forced to release them. One group of fifth columnists was arrested while attempting to reach the legation. Meanwhile, Captain Archen had received his subordinate's report. By that point he had been told by informants in the Gendarmerie that shots had been exchanged with German operatives at a remote farm near the Moselle. At 11:45 on the 9th of May he radioed Longwy. He reported important German troop movements on the German-Luxembourg frontier. Throughout the night his messages became more and more frantic. Two Luxembourgish customs officials at Wormeldange heard horses and soldiers across the Moselle. They were unable to make out the Germans' activities due to heavy fog.

• 3. The Invasion Timeline

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  At around midnight, Captain Stein, Minister of Justice Victor Bodson, and Police Commissioner Joseph Michel Weis held an emergency meeting. Bodson requested that the capital be reinforced by gendarmes from the south. He told Weis to forward this information to the capital's district commissioner to give the necessary orders. Weis later tried to contact the district commissioner by phone but failed to reach him. Reinforcements never came. A short time later the gendarmes at Diekirch were ordered to patrol the local railway bridge. They were to be wary of unfamiliar persons. Luxembourgish authorities received the first reports of exchanged fire at around 02:00 on the 10th of May. Two gendarmes were ambushed near the German border by plainclothes agents. The Germans retreated to the Fels mill near Grevenmacher. Around 20 soldiers who volunteered were dispatched to arrest them. The government then ordered all steel doors along the border locked. At 02:15 soldiers stationed in Bous were attacked by Germans in civilian clothes. One soldier was badly injured as was one German who was detained. Shortly thereafter a gendarmerie lieutenant and his chauffeur were ambushed. They exchanged fire with German-speaking cyclists. No one was hurt. Fifth columnists successfully severed the telephone wires between the capital and the border posts. This forced the gendarmes to communicate via shortwave radio. German agents gradually seized the radio stations. The last post to fall, in Wasserbillig, transmitted until the Germans breached the operating room. The steel doors of the Schuster Line were ordered closed on the 10th of May 1940 at 03:15. This followed reports of movement of German troops on the east side of the border rivers Our, Sauer, and Moselle. At 03:30 Luxembourgish authorities released interned French pilots and German deserters. The Royal Family was evacuated from its residence in Colmar-Berg to the Grand Ducal palace in Luxembourg City. Around 30 minutes later, at dawn, German planes were spotted flying over Luxembourg City towards Belgium. The German invasion began at 04:35 when the 1st, 2nd, and 10th Panzer Divisions crossed the border. They entered at Wallendorf-Pont, Vianden, and Echternach respectively. Wooden ramps were used to cross over the Schuster Line's tank traps. Fire was exchanged but the Germans did not encounter any significant resistance except for some bridges destroyed and some land mines. The majority of the Luxembourgish Volunteer Corps stayed in their barracks. The border was defended only by soldiers who had volunteered for guard duty and gendarmes. A handful of Germans secured the Moselle bridge at Wormeldange. They captured the two customs officers there who had demanded that they halt but refrained from opening fire. The partly demolished bridge over the Sauer at Echternach was quickly repaired by engineers of the Großdeutschland regiment. This allowed the passage of the 10th Panzer Division. Planes flew overhead heading for Belgium and France though some stopped and landed troops within the country.

• 4. Government Evacuation

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  Captain Archen repeatedly alerted his superiors at Longwy of the invasion. His reports never reached the 3rd Army at Metz. General Charles Condé, the army's commander, was unclear about the situation. At 05:30 he dispatched aerial reconnaissance units to investigate. At 06:00 the French 3rd Light Cavalry Division was ordered to intervene. Telephone and radio messages from the border posts informed the Luxembourgish government and Grand Ducal court of the invasion. Foreign Minister Joseph Bech, in the presence of Prime Minister Pierre Dupong, attempted to contact the German ambassador. They were informed that he was present at neither his legation nor his private residence. At 06:30 the majority of the government, including Dupong and Bech, evacuated the capital by motorcade to the border town of Esch. Bodson stayed behind at the Saint-Esprit Barracks to monitor the situation. In Esch a group of 125 German special operations troops had landed by Fieseler Storch. They had orders to hold the area until the main invasion force arrived. A gendarme confronted the soldiers and asked that they leave but he was taken prisoner. The government motorcade encountered a roadblock at a crossroads manned by German units. It was forced to detour through the countryside to avoid capture. French Ambassador Jean Tripier followed the government party but was stopped by the Germans. He was forced to return to the capital. Belgian Ambassador Kervyn de Meerendré was also stopped by German soldiers at the border. He was ordered to turn back as was the Luxembourgish Minister of Education, Nicolas Margue. Margue had attempted to escape by taxi. Bodson later fled the capital. Having learned many of the secondary roads by memory, he was able to avoid German roadblocks. He navigated his way to France. Following consultation with her ministers, Grand Duchess Charlotte decided to abandon the palace. She departed for the border village of Redange accompanied by her husband Prince Felix, her mother Dowager Grand Duchess Marie Anne, and members of the Grand-Ducal suite. After a brief stop, her party crossed the border at 07:45. Meanwhile Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and two of his sisters waited at the border for confirmation of occupation. They were accompanied by an aide-de-camp named Guillaume Konsbruck. Around 08:00 the prime minister and his entourage passed over the border before making contact with French troops at Longlaville. Last minute telephone calls with Luxembourg City revealed the capital to be completely surrounded.

• 5. Military Resistance And Casualties

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  Charlotte's party was able to link up with the government motorcade at Longwy. Meanwhile Jean's party's car was strafed by a German aircraft while stopped at a cafe. Near Esch, the group was delayed by a German roadblock. They escaped when their chauffeur drove straight through the soldiers. The party ultimately joined Charlotte and the Grand Ducal government at Sainte-Menehould. At 08:00 elements of the French 3rd Light Cavalry Division under General Petiet crossed the southern border. They were supported by the 1st Spahi Brigade under Colonel Jouffault and the 2nd company of the 5th Armoured Battalion. These units conducted a probe of German forces but later retreated behind the Maginot Line. Five Spahis were killed. British Air Marshal Arthur Barratt ordered a flight of Fairey Battle bombers from the 226 Squadron to attack German tank columns. They went unescorted and encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire. Most were damaged by flak but managed to escape. One received a direct hit and crashed near Bettendorf. German soldiers pulled the three injured crew from the burning wreckage. One of them later died in a local hospital. The Grand Ducal Gendarmerie resisted the German troops but to little avail. The capital city was occupied before noon. The Gendarmerie chain of command in the south was thrown into disarray by the influx of refugees. It was also disrupted by the arrival of German and French troops. Most gendarmes escorted refugees over the border while some abandoned their posts and fled to France. Total Luxembourgish casualties amounted to six gendarmes and one soldier wounded. Twenty-two soldiers including six officers and 16 non-commissioned officers were captured. Fifty-four gendarmes were also taken prisoner.

• 6. Civilian Exodus And Occupation

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  By the evening of the 10th of May 1940, most of the country with the exception of the south was occupied by German forces. More than 90,000 civilians fled from the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette as a consequence of the advance. Forty-seven thousand evacuated to France joining the Exodus of refugees from Belgium and Northern France. Another 45,000 poured into the central and northern part of Luxembourg. On the 11th of May the Grand Ducal government reached Paris and installed itself in the Luxembourg legation. Fearing German aerial attack and finding the small facilities unsuitable, the government moved further south. They went first to Fontainebleau then Poitiers. It later moved to Portugal and the United Kingdom before finally settling in Canada for the duration of the war. In exile Charlotte became an important symbol of national unity. Her eldest son and heir Jean volunteered for the British Army in 1942. The only official representative left behind was head of the Ministry of State Affairs along with the 41 deputies. By the end of May Wehrer and several high ranking functionaries established a provisional Administrative Commission. This body governed Luxembourg in lieu of the Grand Ducal family and the other ministers. Wehrer retained the Ministry of State Affairs and assumed responsibility for Foreign Relations and Justice. Jean Metzdorf held the portfolios for Interior Transportation and Public Works. Joseph Carmes managed Finance Labour and Public Health. Louis Simmer oversaw Education while Mathias Pütz directed Agriculture Viticulture Commerce and Industry. In the days after the invasion Luxembourgish officers walked about the capital freely though regular soldiers were mostly confined to their barracks. Colonel Speller was briefly incarcerated by the Gestapo though he was later released under close supervision.