Orders to military commanders to prepare for the occupation of Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern France

The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces OKW No. 172/39 Top Secret. WFA/L
TOP SECRET
Berlin, 9 October 1939
8 copies Copy No. 2
[Stamp]
C in C Navy Op 283/39 Reed. 10.10.39
S.O. only access only through omce
DIRECTIVE NO. 6 FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR
1. If it should become apparent in the near future that England, and, under England's leadership, also France, are not willing to make an end of the war, I am determined to act actively and aggressively without much delay.
2. If we wait much longer, not only will Belgian and perhaps also Dutch neutrality be lost in favor of the Western powers, but the military strength of our enemies will grow on an increasing scale, the neutrals' confidence in a final German victory will dwindle, and Italy will not be encouraged to join us as a military ally.
3. Therefore I give the following orders for the further military operations:
a. Preparations are to be made for an attacking operation on the northern wing of the Western front, through the areas of Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland. This attack must be carried out with as much strength and at as early a date as possible.
b. The purpose of this attacking operation will be—
To defeat as strong contingent of the French operational army, as possible as well as the allies fighting by its side, and at the same time.
To gain as large an area as possible in Holland, Belgium, and Northern France as a base for conducting a promising air and sea war against England and as a glacis for the vital Ruhr area.
c. The timing of the attack depends on the readiness of tanks and motorized units for use,—this must be speeded up by every possible effort, also on the weather conditions then prevailing and the weather prospects ahead.
4. The Air Force is to prevent the Anglo-French air force from attacking our own army, and, if necessary, to give direct support to the army's advance. In this connection, it will also be essential to prevent the Anglo-French air force as well as
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English landing troops from gaining any hold in Belgium and Holland.
[Marginal note in handwriting: "It will also be up to the Air Force to cut the supply lines of those English troops which have already landed. The employment of U-boats in the Channel will soon cease because of heavy losses."]
5. The Direction of Naval Warfare must concentrate everything on being able to give direct and indirect support to the operations of the army while this assault lasts.
6. Apart from these preparations for starting the attack in the West according to plan, Army and Air Force must be ready at any time and with increasing strength, in order to be able to meet an Anglo-French invasion of Belgium as far inside Belgian territory as possible, and to occupy as much of Holland as possible in the direction of the West Coast. [Marginal note in handwriting: "This kind of procedure would be more desirable in every respect"]
7. The camouflage used for these preparations must be that they are merely precautionary measures in view of the threatening concentration of French and English forces on the Franeo-Luxembourg and Franco-Belgian borders.
8. I request the Supreme Commanders to give me, as soon as possible, detailed reports of their intentions in the basis of this directive and from now on, to keep me informed, via the OKW, of the state of the preparations.
[signed] Adolf Hitler
Distribution:
Supreme Command of the Army ...................Copy No. 1
Supreme Command of the Navy ...................Copy No. 2
Reich Minister for Air and C. in C. Air Force .Copy No. 3
Supreme Command of the Armed Forces:
Chief Armed Forces, General Staff Dept.........Copy No. 4
Chief L .......................................Copy No. 5
I a .....................................Copy No. 6
I b ............................-........Copy No. 7
I c ...............—.....................Copy No. 8
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MOST SECRET
Supreme Command of the Armed Forces W.F.A. No. 20/S9 Most Secret S.O. only
Berlin, 15 October 1939 [should read 15 November 1939]
Subject: "Fall Gelb"
S.O. only, access only through officer
7 copies Copy No. 2
The queries roused by the Supreme Command of the Army, on the subject of the execution of Directive OKW/WFA/L No. 213/ 39 Most Secret dated 14 November 1939, were discussed with the Fuehrer today.
The result was as follows:
It is of not inconsiderable significance for the over-all strategy of the war to protect the Ruhr areas by moving the plane-spotting organization and the air defense as far forward as possible in the area of Holland.
The more Dutch territory we occupy, the more effective can the defense of the Ruhr area be made. This viewpoint must determine the choice of objectives made by the Army, even if Army and Navy are not directly interested in such a territorial gain. Therefore, the purpose of the Army's preparations must be to occupy—when a special order is received—the area of Holland, at first as far as the Grebbe-Maas line. It will depend on the ' political and military attitude of the Dutch, as well as on the effectiveness of their flooding, whether it will be necessary and possible to push the objective still farther.
Likewise, preparations must be made to take possession of the West Frisian islands, with the support of the Navy, at first with the exception of Texel, as soon as the Northern coast of Groningen is in our hands; these, too, are of great significance as bases for the A/C reporting service and England must be deprived of the possibility of seizing them for similar purposes.
Reich Minister for Air and C in C Air Force.....Copy No. 3
Supreme Command of the Armed Forces/Sect. L
the Army) ..............
Supreme Command of the Navy
Copy No. 2
Copy No. 1
Copy No. 4, 5, and 6
Draft
Copy No. 7
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