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Operation Felix
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Operation Felix
Operation Felix (German: Unternehmen Felix) was the codename for a proposed German Wehrmacht campaign to cross into Spain and to seize Gibraltar early in the Second World War. The planned operation presupposed the co-operation of the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco; it did not occur chiefly because of Franco's reluctance to enter the war - partially due[citation needed] to the influence of British intelligence.
Reminiscing about the Spanish Civil War, Republican minister Federica Montseny wrote to historian Burnett Bolloten in 1950 that the government had planned to offer the Canary or the Balearic Islands to Germany in exchange for its neutrality. However, the Largo Caballero government could not provide written proof of its proposal and the Germans continued to support the Nationalists.
After the Fall of France in June 1940, Hermann Göring advised Adolf Hitler to occupy Spain and North Africa, rather than to invade the British Isles. As early as June 1940, before the armistice with France had been signed, General Heinz Guderian also argued for seizing Britain's strategically-important naval base of Gibraltar. Guderian even urged Hitler to postpone the armistice so that he could rush on through Spain with two Panzer divisions, take Gibraltar and invade French North Africa. General Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) operations, presented Hitler with a formal plan to cut Britain from the east of its empire by invading Spain, Gibraltar, North Africa and the Suez Canal, instead of invading Britain.
On 12 July 1940, the OKW set up a special group for the necessary planning. On 22 July, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr and an acknowledged expert on Spain, travelled with several other German officers to Madrid, Spain, where they held talks with the Spanish dictator, General Francisco Franco, and Spanish War Minister General Juan Vigón. They then travelled on to Algeciras, where they stayed some days to reconnoitre the approaches to Gibraltar, and they returned to Germany with the conclusion that Franco's regime was reluctant to enter the war. Canaris's group determined that Gibraltar might be seized by an air-supported ground assault by at least two infantry regiments, three engineer battalions and 12 artillery regiments. Canaris declared that without 380 mm (15 in) heavy assault cannon, which he knew were unavailable, Gibraltar could not be taken. When he reported to Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Canaris gave his opinion that even if Germany were able, with the co-operation of Spain, to seize Gibraltar, the British would land in Morocco and French West Africa.
In August, Canaris met with Franco's brother-in-law, Ramón Serrano Súñer, who was about to become the Spanish Foreign Minister. Canaris urged Serrano Súñer to do what he could to convince Franco to stay out of the war. Soon afterward, Franco dispatched Serrano Súñer to Berlin to get an idea of Hitler's attitude since Canaris had assured him that Germany would not forcibly intervene in Spain. When Serrano Súñer met Hitler on 16 September, Hitler did not press very hard for Spanish involvement in the war, perhaps because he planned to meet Franco himself very soon.
On 24 August, Hitler approved a general plan to seize Gibraltar. On 23 October, he met Franco at Hendaye, France, and proposed for Spain to enter the war on the Axis side as early as January 1941. Gibraltar would be taken by special Wehrmacht units and turned over to Spain, but Franco refused the offer and emphasized Spain's need for large-scale military and economic assistance. Hitler took offence when Franco expressed doubts about the possibility of a German victory in fighting the British on its home territory. Franco also pointed out that even if the British Isles were invaded and conquered, the British government, as well as most of the British Army and the powerful Royal Navy, would probably retreat to Canada and continue the Battle of the Atlantic with the support of the United States.
A meaningless memorandum of understanding was signed at Hendaye by Franco and Hitler, with neither side getting what it wanted. A few days later, Hitler was reported to have told Benito Mussolini, "I would rather have four of my own teeth pulled out than go through another meeting with that man again!"
Despite those problems, German military leaders proceeded to prepare for a large-scale operation against Gibraltar, codenamed Operation Felix. The plan called for two German army corps to enter Spain across the Pyrenees. One corps, under General Ludwig Kübler, was to cross Spain and assault Gibraltar, and the other, commanded by General Rudolf Schmidt, was to secure its flanks. Air support would need one fighter and two dive-bomber wings[clarification needed]. The overall command of Felix was to be assigned to Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau. The plan also made provisions for the occupation of Spanish possessions in North Africa: Spanish Morocco, Río de Oro, and the Canary Islands, whose ports could then be used as bases for German U-boats.
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Operation Felix
Operation Felix (German: Unternehmen Felix) was the codename for a proposed German Wehrmacht campaign to cross into Spain and to seize Gibraltar early in the Second World War. The planned operation presupposed the co-operation of the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco; it did not occur chiefly because of Franco's reluctance to enter the war - partially due[citation needed] to the influence of British intelligence.
Reminiscing about the Spanish Civil War, Republican minister Federica Montseny wrote to historian Burnett Bolloten in 1950 that the government had planned to offer the Canary or the Balearic Islands to Germany in exchange for its neutrality. However, the Largo Caballero government could not provide written proof of its proposal and the Germans continued to support the Nationalists.
After the Fall of France in June 1940, Hermann Göring advised Adolf Hitler to occupy Spain and North Africa, rather than to invade the British Isles. As early as June 1940, before the armistice with France had been signed, General Heinz Guderian also argued for seizing Britain's strategically-important naval base of Gibraltar. Guderian even urged Hitler to postpone the armistice so that he could rush on through Spain with two Panzer divisions, take Gibraltar and invade French North Africa. General Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) operations, presented Hitler with a formal plan to cut Britain from the east of its empire by invading Spain, Gibraltar, North Africa and the Suez Canal, instead of invading Britain.
On 12 July 1940, the OKW set up a special group for the necessary planning. On 22 July, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr and an acknowledged expert on Spain, travelled with several other German officers to Madrid, Spain, where they held talks with the Spanish dictator, General Francisco Franco, and Spanish War Minister General Juan Vigón. They then travelled on to Algeciras, where they stayed some days to reconnoitre the approaches to Gibraltar, and they returned to Germany with the conclusion that Franco's regime was reluctant to enter the war. Canaris's group determined that Gibraltar might be seized by an air-supported ground assault by at least two infantry regiments, three engineer battalions and 12 artillery regiments. Canaris declared that without 380 mm (15 in) heavy assault cannon, which he knew were unavailable, Gibraltar could not be taken. When he reported to Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Canaris gave his opinion that even if Germany were able, with the co-operation of Spain, to seize Gibraltar, the British would land in Morocco and French West Africa.
In August, Canaris met with Franco's brother-in-law, Ramón Serrano Súñer, who was about to become the Spanish Foreign Minister. Canaris urged Serrano Súñer to do what he could to convince Franco to stay out of the war. Soon afterward, Franco dispatched Serrano Súñer to Berlin to get an idea of Hitler's attitude since Canaris had assured him that Germany would not forcibly intervene in Spain. When Serrano Súñer met Hitler on 16 September, Hitler did not press very hard for Spanish involvement in the war, perhaps because he planned to meet Franco himself very soon.
On 24 August, Hitler approved a general plan to seize Gibraltar. On 23 October, he met Franco at Hendaye, France, and proposed for Spain to enter the war on the Axis side as early as January 1941. Gibraltar would be taken by special Wehrmacht units and turned over to Spain, but Franco refused the offer and emphasized Spain's need for large-scale military and economic assistance. Hitler took offence when Franco expressed doubts about the possibility of a German victory in fighting the British on its home territory. Franco also pointed out that even if the British Isles were invaded and conquered, the British government, as well as most of the British Army and the powerful Royal Navy, would probably retreat to Canada and continue the Battle of the Atlantic with the support of the United States.
A meaningless memorandum of understanding was signed at Hendaye by Franco and Hitler, with neither side getting what it wanted. A few days later, Hitler was reported to have told Benito Mussolini, "I would rather have four of my own teeth pulled out than go through another meeting with that man again!"
Despite those problems, German military leaders proceeded to prepare for a large-scale operation against Gibraltar, codenamed Operation Felix. The plan called for two German army corps to enter Spain across the Pyrenees. One corps, under General Ludwig Kübler, was to cross Spain and assault Gibraltar, and the other, commanded by General Rudolf Schmidt, was to secure its flanks. Air support would need one fighter and two dive-bomber wings[clarification needed]. The overall command of Felix was to be assigned to Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau. The plan also made provisions for the occupation of Spanish possessions in North Africa: Spanish Morocco, Río de Oro, and the Canary Islands, whose ports could then be used as bases for German U-boats.
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