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Prologue
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On 4 August, Jagdgruppe 200 had been assigned four Bf 109s from Hptm. Öls’s JG 27 rear detachment at Champfleury but had to collect them itself. Ten days later, as we have seen, JG 27 signalled that four pilots had arrived from JGr. 200 to fetch aircraft made available by II. Jagdkorps on the 6th had these already been handed over to JG 3. On the 15th, II. Jagdkorps told JG 27 that the four JGr. 200 men should instead report to II./JG 2 at "Airfield 409." This was thought by the Allies to be a satellite of Creil and indeed II./JG 2 was based at Baron, 18 km. south east of there. In the unravelling German situation their journey (130 km. by road) may not have been easy and British Intelligence heard no more of them until the 22nd (see below).
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18–23 August 1944
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By the evening of 18 August JGr. 200 had been down to 12 Bf 109 G-6 (9 serviceable) and 23 pilots (6 ready for operations); the next day it had been ordered to withdraw from Orange and Avignon to Metz along with Jagdfliegerführer Süd, although these orders seem to have been changed because neither actually went there.
By Saturday the 19th, German forces in France were in deep trouble. In Normandy, the neck of the Falaise pocket was being closed on Seventh Army and Fifth Panzer Army; in Provence, Nineteenth Army was ordered to withdraw north up the valley of the River Rhone and the units of Luftflotte 3 were also heading toward or across France's eastern frontier.
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Signed Blaskowitz, Army Group G, IA, No. 2042, 20 August 1944:
Nineteenth Army has been without any kind of fighter protection, recce and close-support forces since 19 August.
Army Group urgently requests that new units be brought up, especially recce and fighter aircraft. Recce on the eastern flank of the Army most necessary; presence of fighters necessary for carrying out recce, and also for psychological reasons for the troops.
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Note dated 21 August 1944 signed OB West, IA Flivo, No. 1856
Subject: Application for fighter protection and recce from Army Group G
Luftflotte 3 makes following statement:
(1) 2. Flieger Division is transferring on orders of OKL to OB Süd West.
(2) Following will remain for the present in the area of Army Group G: 2./NAG 13, Stab JG 77, II./JG 77, Jagdgruppe 200.
(3) 2. Flieger Division has task with these forces of effecting cooperation with Army Group G and/or 19 Army until roughly area Valence is reached.
(4) From this area onwards, Luftlotte 3 will continue cooperation with Army Group G with forces from the Dijon area.
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Signed Kohla, stamped 13.00 hours [GMT] 22 August 1944:
Preliminary order:
Get ready 2 a/c with cameras and auxiliary tanks for task P/R A/F Bourges … A/F Avord (40 km east of Bourges), Clermont-Ferrand (east of Clermont-Ferrand), Lyon-Bron just SE of Lyon. All A/Fs with runway. Intermediate landing according fuel reserves at Lyon or Dijon. Fill up there and bring films to Reims. Pilots: Fw. Schuster, Uffz. Henkel. Greatest urgency. Ofw. Holbartz will bring full orders.
Note: Kohla has frequently signed 4.(F)/123.
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At 16.00 hrs. (local time) on 22 August, Air Movement Control at Dijon was notified that the Bf 109 being flown in from Creil by Lt. Bell had been re-routed to Strasbourg. Kurt Bell was 2./JG 200’s Staffelführer and besides him, at least two more pilots from the same Staffel Lt. Max Moschke and Ofw. Eduard Isken are known to have served with Sonderstaffel Kaatsch.
It was later reported to II. Jagdkorps that the “detachment of Jafü Süd which was ordered” had operated for the first time on 23 August.
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24 August 1944
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Early in the day a signal went out to Jafü Süd at Dijon to say that the flying and ground elements of JG 200 assembling there were to be attached to Aufklärungsstaffel Kaatsch, operationally subordinated to FAG 123: their task would be reconnaissance to support Nineteenth Army’s withdrawal. Also, Dijon’s base command signalled a Major Holzmann (serving with an unidentified liaison platoon) that “Aufklärungsstaffel K reinforced with forces from Jagdgruppe 200” would probably be ready to operate from there next day. This was the first Allied Intelligence had heard of the new Staffel.
Units streaming back east from Normandy were beginning to converge with those retreating from the south. At 20.00 hours on the 24th, OB West signalled that the Bf 109-equipped 5.(F)/123 would be transferring to Dijon to co-operate with Nineteenth Army. Its first task would be to cover the area east of the River Rhone plus Digne, Grenoble and Lyons, keeping in touch with the Army by radio. Next morning, this Staffel reported that a detachment of three Bf 109s had arrived in Dijon and all were serviceable (those aircraft not sent to Dijon were to be used in support of 4.(F)/123 further north). Another report suggests that 5.(F)/123 was ordered to fly a road reconnaissance that day but was unable to do so before evening because of the weather.
continued on next page...
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