Post by Diarist on Feb 20, 2017 22:06:07 GMT 1
The 1st Motorized Infantry Division located at Saint-Avold, 30 km east of Metz, is an unusual division. It has recently arrived from Lille to be converted to an armoured division but there are no tanks anywhere to be seen. It's headquarters shares the same building as an intelligence unit which arrived at the same time. There are often high-ranking officers walking around. Even the Prime Minister visited the unit last Friday. It's motorized infantry battalions are also absent. The unit's artillery battalions arrived on flatbed rail cars but have not been off loaded although they receive daily maintenance.
A phone rang just after 20:00 in the joint HQ. Apparently in Saarbrücken no more trains will be arriving from Mainz or Karlsruhe. Passengers are being turned away and told to come back the following day. No reason has been given. The information was passed on to higher headquarters in Paris. This wasn't the first report of train schedule disruption that had been received that evening. In fact dozens of reports were arriving. After consulting with General Gamelin at Hôtel de Brienne it was decided to place the 1st MID and 42nd ID on amber alert. General Gamelin informed DM Daladier who in turn telephoned his counterparts in Brussels, Amsterdam and finally London. Winston Churchill called Bob Carter at his home but there was no answer so he called the Saffron Hotel.
A phone rang just after 20:00 in the joint HQ. Apparently in Saarbrücken no more trains will be arriving from Mainz or Karlsruhe. Passengers are being turned away and told to come back the following day. No reason has been given. The information was passed on to higher headquarters in Paris. This wasn't the first report of train schedule disruption that had been received that evening. In fact dozens of reports were arriving. After consulting with General Gamelin at Hôtel de Brienne it was decided to place the 1st MID and 42nd ID on amber alert. General Gamelin informed DM Daladier who in turn telephoned his counterparts in Brussels, Amsterdam and finally London. Winston Churchill called Bob Carter at his home but there was no answer so he called the Saffron Hotel.