miRS-tonpon - Sturmpanzer.com

g> ;£ # £..- '^ -* £- j# .£ ? »After blueprints had been drafted and estimates of totalrequirements had been prepared in PARIS, responsibility for theactual' construction was divided amongst the various Oberbauleitungen.Each OBL was allotted the amount of -material considered adequatefor the construction of the fortifications in their sector.A certain latitude in the tactical arrangement of the defenceinstallations was allowed, inasmuch as local engineers were betteracquainted with local terrain. They were also expected, ifnecessary, to draft specific blueprints (Sonderzeichnungen) forspecial types of bunkers and similar projects, for which noprovision had been made in the standardised plans. For thispurpose, there were sittings of a Wehrmachtausschuss (Armed ForcesCommittee) composed of Army, Air Force, Naval Engineers of Corpslevel, and OBL technicians.Once detailed blueprints were drafted and construction hadbegun, the Fortification Engineers were charged with supervisingthe satisfactory completion of that part of the fortificationswhich they eventually had to take over. For this purpose, eachOBL established liaison with the Fortification Engineer staffstationed in their sector. Iheir authority was confined tosupervision; modifications of the original specifications hadto have the approval of TC2ISS. Abteilung (at present Eeferat)Technik (Technical Section) of each OBL administrative HQmanaged the entire building programme for its own (OBL) sector.Referat Statistik (Statistics Section) planned the buildingschedule according to priority ratings and tijne limits. Theschedules covered approximately a six months 1 period. Estimatesof requirements of material, as well as machines and manpower(as represented by the firms), were figured on that time basis.It was the Statistics Section which kept the records ontechnical matters which firms were required to furnish in theform of periodic reports. 2fee link in this respect between OBLand firm was the Betriebsffihrer (Executive Manager, very oftenidentical with the owner) of the firm who co-ordinated thereports of the various construction supervisors employed by thefirm on its building sites. He also sent in the reports ofthe firm's bookkeeper on all construction expenditure.While the above outline gives the basic picture of theechelons involved in the planning and building of OT projects,it should be pointed out that the picture as presented is thatof the EGW. (The reasons for this are given in HAa26).Deviations, however, will be found even in the EGW. The GermanAir Faroe in France, at least, preferred (until July 1944) tocontrol Air Force installations, which were being built byGennan firms through its own administrative bureau for Air Forceconstruction - Luftwaffe Feldbauamt. Firms working directlyfor the Air Force were consequently not OT Firms. Ohe GermanNavy (until July 1944) through its local administrative bureau,]v!arine-Bauamt, would furnish plans for such projects as forexample emplacements for naval guns to the HQ of the ArmyFortress Engineers (Pionier Festungs Baustab) which would take overthe work, in conjunction with the OT. On small local jobs, theArmy Engineers sometimes "borrowed" OT supplies and manpower onan unofficial basis, and thus avoided "red tape". The Army,sometimes, and apparently for the same reasons, hired locallabour directly, and had work performed without any controlby the OT. This practice fell into gradual disuse in Francepartly because of objections made by the OT authorities,mostly, however, because the shortage of manpower in Francefinally became so acute that there was hardly any manpoweravailable which had not already been allocated* Ine lastevidence in the West of this practice, was in Zee land (Netherlands)in April 1944, ^^n *** local population was conscripted directly