Operation Annie - December 8, 1944

Recorded Sound | Digitized | RG Number: RG-91.0503

Overview

Description: 0:00: "Trojan Horse" theme 1212 Sender Announcement: "Radio 1212 is on air every day from 2-6 and reports news for the Rhineland, news from the Front for the population of the Rheinland-Gaue and the Saarpfalz."
2:19: Front reports: US troops advancing at one part of the Westwall; US ships overturned near Dillingen; German defense underway; heavy fighting at the Westwall; German fortress cannons firing at American bridgeheads.
3:09: No major attacks on the industrial cities of Saarlautern, Saargemünd and Fürtlingen; Americans have erected bridgeheads at Saarlautern only; Wehrmacht orders Saarlautern’s Volkssturm [militia] of 4000 troops to withdraw from the city following US attacks; frontal attack on Saarbrücken's defense positions anticipated.
3:57: US troops have advanced east of Vorbach and have begun their assault on the city; fleeing farmers and workers seek safety in tunnels, where water and food for 1000s of people are stockpiled; not much known about a major tank battle taking place west of Bitche; hill of Rohrbach fallen into American hands; an advance north toward Saarbrücken anticipated following the occupation of Lembach; Americans only 2 km south of Bitche.
4:53: Alsace: German troops near Colmar preparing for final fight for undamaged Rhine bridges; Americans advancing from Schleinstadt, 8km to the north; Germans forced to evacuate Gema and Ostheim; in Colmar, cars filled with the wounded swarm toward the Breisacher bridge; escape route to the Rhine now less than 30 km wide.
5:40: Encirclement of 11.000 German infantry and SS soldiers expected within 2 days; these units ordered to hold out until the last man and bullet.
6:18: Düren und Ruhr-areas: Reports about attacks in the area; no reports from the Maas-Front.
6:46: Aerial war: Last night rapid bombers attacked Cologne with heavy bomb loads; railway hub near Osnabrück targeted with heavy attacks during the day.
7:02: Wehrmacht Reports: German losses on the Western Front for the first week of this month are 20,000 wounded, captured and killed. During the same period the Americans lost 200 tanks, while the Germans lost 110; the Americans suffered heavy personnel and materiel losses as well.
7:30: Radio 1212 announcement.
7:44: Sweet music (waltz, foxtrot; orchestra with piano)
12:49: News returns. Dillingen and Saargemünd about to fall into US hands.
13:32-14:00: Trojan Horse theme (signoff)
Date: 1944 December 08
Credit: Accessed at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives & Records Administration

Physical Details

Language: German
Genre/Form: Radio broadcasts. Propaganda.

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
Copyright: Public Domain
Conditions on Use: To the best of the Museum's knowledge, this material is in the public domain. You do not require further permission from the Museum to reproduce or use this material.

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: Propaganda, American. Radio broadcasting, American--Germany. Radio in propaganda--Germany. Radio, Military. World War, 1939-1945--Propaganda. Radio Broadcasting
Corporate Name: Radio Luxembourg Radio 1212

Administrative Notes

Legal Status: In Process
Recorded Sound Provenance: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum acquired digital copies of Record Group 165: from the National Archives and Records Administration in March 2019.
Recorded Sound Source: United States. National Archives and Records Administration
File Number: Source Archive Number: RG-165-43

Record last modified:: 2024-02-21 07:30:16
This page:: https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn722550

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Also in Operation Annie broadcasts

Operation Annie (also known as "1212", the frequency on which it broadcasts) was a covert Allied "black propaganda" radio station which began broadcasting in late 1944 from a secret location in Luxembourg and purported to be pro-German, playing patriotic traditional German songs. Over a period of 127 broadcasts, the station built up a loyal following of both German civilians and soldiers. By early 1945, the Allied forces were advancing on Germany and, under instruction from General Dwight Eisenhower, the radio station began broadcasting false information about Allied positions and implied a major assault into Germany was under way. This had the intended effect of making German civilians flee from their homes, which in turn hampered the retreat of the German army. Source: http://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Operation_Annie_(1946)

Date: 1944-1945

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