“32. Shortly after this program was drawn up demands were made on the Wehrmacht which had changed completely compared with the traditional use of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of a war. Troops had to be brought to the frontier, in the shortest possible time, in numbers which had until then been completely unforeseen. The Wehrmacht was able to fulfill these demands by means of organizational measures but transport could not.
“33. In the field of transportation Germany is at the moment not yet ready for war.”
I offer the detail which follows, in contradiction of the statements repeatedly made by a number of witnesses that the movements of the Wehrmacht in the Rhineland, the Anschluss, and all the rest of it, even Czechoslovakia, were surprise movements.
“a. In the case of the three operations in 1938/1939 there was no question of an actual strategic concentration. The troops were transported a long time beforehand near to the area of strategic concentration by means of camouflaged measures.
“b. This stop-gap is of no use whatever when the time limit cannot be fixed or is not known a long time beforehand, but when an unexpected and almost immediate military decision is required. According to the present situation transport is not in a position, despite all preparations, to bring up the troops.”
“a” is unimportant for my purposes, “a” on Page 18. “b” and “c” represent steps to be taken to meet the deficiency. On Page 19 I shall not bother to read the statements on 38, showing the preparation of highways from east to west and from north to south.
I read Number 39, if I may:
“The President remarked that even in peacetime certain vital supply stores of industry and the Armed Forces are to be transferred to the war industrial centers to economize in transport later on.”
I shall pass to Point Number 41 on Page 20:
“To sum up, the President affirmed that all essential points had been cleared up at this meeting.”