Commander of Security West
The commander of the fuse west (BSW) was a command authority of the Kriegsmarine in the Second World War . It served to secure the English Channel and the French Atlantic coast by sea .
structure
After the armistice in Compiègne (1940) and the German occupation of France , the fleet chief was initially responsible for securing the conquered coasts. The BSW was formed in October 1940 by relocating the entire staff of the commander in charge of securing the Baltic Sea . Militarily, he was subordinate to the commander Admiral France , use moderate the Naval Group Command West . The headquarters were in Trouville in Normandy . On April 8, 1941, it was moved to Paris .
In February 1941, security divisions were set up in which the flotillas of auxiliary minesweepers and outpost boats were incorporated. In the coastal apron of the Netherlands , Belgium and France, the BSW led the 1st , 2nd , 3rd and 4th security divisions . When in October 1941 the area north of the Scheldt was handed over to the commander in charge of the protection of the North Sea , the 1st protection division left the command area of the BSW. To this end, the 6th security flotilla set up in November 1942 in southern France was added. Shortly before the Allies invaded southern France , the commanding admiral French south coast was given the command and the area was withdrawn from the BSW.
The BSW office was dissolved on September 30, 1944. BSW, BSO and BNO were subordinated to the new commander of the security forces.
Assumptions September 1940
- Leader of the minesweepers West: Rear Admiral Hans Stohwasser from deployment in August 1939 to October 1939; Captain of the Sea / Commodore Friedrich Ruge from October 1939 to February 1941
- 6. Minesweeping Flotilla
- 13. Minesweeping Flotilla
- 17. Minesweeping Flotilla
- 18. Minesweeping Flotilla
- 19th minesweeping flotilla
- 5th clearing boat flotilla
- 2nd barrier breaker flotilla
- Leader of the West Outpost Boats: Captain Otto Kähler from the deployment in September 1939 to October 1939; Rear Admiral Eberhard Wolfram from September 1939 to April 1940
- 8. Outpost Flotilla
- 11. Outpost Flotilla
- 12. Outpost Flotilla
- 12. Submarine Hunting Flotilla
- 11. Submarine Hunting Flotilla
- 17. Submarine Hunting Flotilla
- Leaders of the mine ships
- Mining Ship Group West
- Mining ship group north
- Mine clearance ships
Commander
- Rear Admiral / Vice Admiral Hermann Mootz , from October 1940
- Vice-Admiral Hermann von Fischel , from January 1941
- Captain of the Sea / Rear Admiral / Vice Admiral Friedrich Ruge , from February 1941
- i. V. Captain Winfried Hagen, February to May 1943
- Rear Admiral Erich Alfred Breuning , June 1943 to September 1944
literature
- Richard Lakowski: The Unknown Fleet. The security forces of the Kriegsmarine. Mittler, Hamburg et al. 2006, ISBN 3-8132-0849-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b B.SW (German Naval Archive)
- ↑ A new BSO staff was formed from the staff of the leader of the outpost boats east stationed in Aalborg (Denmark), with the previous leader of the minesweepers north, Rear Admiral Hans Stohwasser , from October 14, 1940 as the new BSO
- ↑ a b Commanding Admiral France (WLB Stuttgart)