Historic background
A new location for Hitler’s headquarters
The previous headquarters had been in a place called Felsennest [ fɛlsənɛst ] or Eagle’s Nest. Located in a German town 100 km from Bastogne called Münstereifel, he’d been using the base to command his armies since 10 May. But the troops were quickly closing in. It was time for the second part of Hitler’s plan. For that, he had to relocate his headquarters farther west, beyond the River Meuse. That would also bring him closer to the front and his troops
While they were scouting for locations toward the north, on 22 May, it was the Reich Minister for Armaments and Ammunition Fritz Todt who found the ideal location of Brûly-de-Pesche, a clearing among 12 000 hectares of dense woodland.
The civilian evacuation of May 1940
In order to keep the site secret, the head of security, Major Kurt Thomas set up a security perimeter around a no-go zone. All residents were forced to evacuate under heavy guard between 06:00 and 09:00 on 28 and 29 May 1940 without any explanation.
28 villages and more than 27,000 inhabitants commenced their mass exodus to the Belgian cities of Philippeville and Beaumont. They took with them only their bare essentials and closed the doors to their homes and lives behind them. They left their keys in the door, labelled with their names. Even the animals, even those who weren’t owned, were removed.
The civilian evacuation of May 1940
In order to keep the site secret, the head of security, Major Kurt Thomas set up a security perimeter around a no-go zone. All residents were forced to evacuate under heavy guard between 06:00 and 09:00 on 28 and 29 May 1940 without any explanation.
28 villages and more than 27,000 inhabitants commenced their mass exodus to the Belgian cities of Philippeville and Beaumont. They took with them only their bare essentials and closed the doors to their homes and lives behind them. They left their keys in the door, labelled with their names. Even the animals, even those who weren’t owned, were removed.
Development of the main headquarters
Once they’d decided on the location, the Germans spent two days drawing up plans in Château Saint Roch in the Belgian city of Couvin. This included preparing a series of requisitioned buildings and constructing new headquarters in the forest.
Work began on 24 May 1940 under the command of Captain Bertram. 400 workers from the Organisation Todt, a Third Reich civil and military engineering organisation, worked 16 hours a day for 12 days to get everything ready
Read more…
Find out more about the Führer’s stay in Brûly-de-Pesche from 6 June to 28 June 1940 in the book ‘le Ravin du Loup’ by René Mathot, published by Racine.
