Devizes Plot

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Devizes Plot
Le Marchant Barracks, where the prisoners were held
Date1944
LocationLe Marchant Barracks, Devizes
OutcomeFailure, death of Wolfgang Rosterg

The Devizes plot was failed plan for 7,000 German prisoners of war held at Le Marchant Barracks in Devizes to escape and reach East Anglia for rescue. It was scheduled to take place on Christmas 1944, in the belief that there would be less guards at the camp and the remainder would be distracted due to festivities. American interrogators attached to XVIII Airborne Corps discovered the plot and reported it to British authorities, with two members subsequently awarded the bronze star medal for their roles in the investigation. Prisoners suspected of involvement were sent to the London Cage for further interrogation by Colonel Alexander Scotland and afterwards to the maximum-security Cultybraggan Camp in Comrie. Feldwebel Wolfgang Rosterg was incorrectly believed to have been an informant of the plans and was lynched by prisoners in Cultybraggan; five were subsequently hung at Pentonville prison for their role in his death in the largest mass-execution of Britain since 1883.

Plot[edit]

The Devizes plot was an escape attempt planned by prisoners held at Le Marchant Barracks.[1] The leadership behind the plot is disputed among sources. Many attribute leadership to Warrant Officer Erich Pallme-Koenig, including The Guardian and the Gazette and Herald in their descriptions of the plot.[1][2] However a 1996 account by Roderick De Normann names the prisoners Obergefreiter Wunderlich and Korporal Hermann Storch as the main conspirators.[3] Normann was only able to find official documents referencing Koenig upon his involvement in the lynching of Feldwebel Wolfgang Rosterg at Cultybraggan camp.[4]

The remains of RAF Yatesbury

A group of prisoners were initially sent to scout the surrounding area for usable airfields which could be seized after the escape. They successfully cut through the perimeter fence with homemade wire cutters. Upon their return to the Devizes two days later, the group claimed to have been lost in the local countryside due to the removal of roadsigns.[5]

The escape was planned for a date close to Christmas 1944.[1][2] The conspirators believed that there would be less guards in the camp, and those remaining would be distracted due to the festivities.[1] It was estimated that 7,000 PoWs could escape from Le Marchant, who would proceed to seize RAF Yatesbury and gain access to equipment including aircraft and armoured vehicles.[2] The prisoners would proceed to liberate more PoWs held at Lodge Moor (PoW camp 17) in Sheffield.[6]

The ultimate goal of the plot was to reach the eastern coast of Britain, around East Anglia, attacking military installations including a tank depot in the process. The prisoners would then make contact with German forces for rescue.[6][7] Some sources list an attack on London as another objective.[1][2]

Discovery and British response[edit]

The British first became aware of the plot through an American attachment to Le Marchant, part of XVIII Airborne Corps.[8][9]

Details of how the Devizes plot was first discovered are also disputed. One account states the Americans Frank Brandstetter and Joseph Hoelz overheard a prisoner say that "the arms store was the key." They reported this to the chief interperter of the camp, who ordered a re-interrogation of the prisoners in the scouting group.[9] Covert listening devices placed around the camp were re-activated, which gave away details of the plot to the camp's commanders.[2] Another account detailed by De Normann claims that Korporal Storch revealed the plot upon interrogation by another American officer, Lieutenant Vogeli, after being accused of instigating a separate escape attempt on 19 November. Brandstetter and Hoelz were subsequently involved in further investigations.[10] The bronze star medal was awarded to Brandstetter and Hoelz for their work in uncovering the plot.[11]

British authorities responded by increasing troop presence around Le Marchant. B company of the 8th paratrooper battalion were briefed on known details of the plot and sent to the camp.[12] Colonel Alexander Scotland of MI19 sent two interrogators to Devizes to assist in further inquiries.[10]

Aftermath[edit]

Nissen huts at Cultybraggan Camp

Suspected ringleaders of the Devizes plot were arrested on 14 December 1944. 32 prisoners were sent to the London Cage on coaches for interrogation, escorted by members of 6 platoon from the 8th paratrooper battalion.[13] The interrogations took place from 16 to 20 December, with Scotland identifying 7 as ringleaders of the plot and the other 25 as having little or no knowledge.[11]

27 of the interrogated prisoners were subsequently transferred to Cultybraggan Camp,[14] one of two maximum-security PoW camps in Britain at the time.[15] Among the people sent to Cultybraggan was Feldwebel Wolfgang Rosterg, who worked as an interpreter at Le Marchant.[1] Rosterg was a prisoner with known anti-Nazi views who had deserted in France and openly spoke out against the Nazi Party.[1][16] Rosterg was found to have no knowledge of the plot upon interrogation and it is likely that he was moved to Cultybraggan in error.[17]

Lynching of Wolfgang Rosterg[edit]

Prisoners involved in the Devizes plot incorrectly believed Rosterg had informed the British of their plans and that he had been sent to Cultybraggan to continue spying on them.[1] Their suspicions were further raised after he asked for a copy of "die Wochenpost", a PoW newspaper produced by the foreign office which was widely regarded by other prisoners as British propaganda.[17] Rosterg's was made to face a kangaroo court in hut 4 of compound B. His documents were seized and distributed amongst bystanders as evidence of treason.[18] He beaten to death by prisoners, some armed with iron bars, after failing to respond to questioning, and his body was hung in a toilet block.[19][20]

Conviction of murderers[edit]

Rosterg's body was discovered by authorities at the camp's 8:30 AM roll call. Medical staff at the camp believed they saw vital signs and attempted resuscitation, but were ultimately unsuccessful.[21] An autopsy of Rosterg's body determined that he had died of strangulation.[22]

Pentonville Prison

Twelve prisoners were initially indicted over the murder of Rosterg, but charges were dropped against four because of insufficient evidence. On 2 July 1945, the remaining eight were tried in a military court at the London Cage. All defendants pled not guilty.[23] The prisoners argued that Rosterg deserved to be killed for being a traitor to Germany, referencing a similar case where British PoWs held at Breslau had killed an officer they believed had betrayed escape plans to the German authorities. No action had been taken against the British PoWs involved in the Breslau lynching.[1] The judge preceding over the case accepted that Rosterg would have been seen as deserving of contempt from the Germans' point of view. Two prisoners were acquitted, one was sentenced to life imprisonment and the remaining five were sentenced to death.[1] The executions of prisoners Pallme-Koenig, Karl Zühlsdorff, Joachim Goltz, Josef Mertens and Heinz Brüling were carried out at 9 AM, 6 October 1945 by Albert Pierrepoint in Pentonville prison. This was the largest mass-execution in the United Kingdom since 1883, when the perpetrators of the Phoenix Park murders were hung,[24] and the last mass-execution in Britain.[1]

In literature[edit]

An American forces' newspaper reported on the awarding of the Bronze Star to Brandstetter and Hoelz.[25] The Devizes plot was first publicly described in "The London Cage" by Alexander Scotland.[26] Scotland's account of the plot in his book differed to what had been written by his staff at the time.[26] The death of Rosterg formed a main part of the storyline of "Black Camp 21", a 2018 novel by Bill Jones. Jones was inspired to write the book because he had slept in a Nissen hut at Cultybraggan as a child.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k McKie, David (23 December 2004). "A grisly Christmas tale". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Cowen, Lewis (10 July 2008). "Grisly tale of revenge". The Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  3. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. 84–85, 88–89. ISBN 9780750917261.
  4. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 9780750917261.
  5. ^ Campbell, Valerie (2017). Camp 21 Comrie. Whittles Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 9781849952279.
  6. ^ a b Campbell, Valerie (2017). Camp 21 Comrie. Whittles Publishing. p. 83. ISBN 9781849952279.
  7. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 9780750917261.
  8. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. 84, 98. ISBN 9780750917261.
  9. ^ a b Campbell, Valerie (2017). Camp 21 Comrie. Whittles Publishing. p. 82. ISBN 9781849952279.
  10. ^ a b De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 9780750917261.
  11. ^ a b De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 9780750917261.
  12. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. 90, 94. ISBN 9780750917261.
  13. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. 94–96. ISBN 9780750917261.
  14. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. p. 117. ISBN 9780750917261.
  15. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Comrie, Cultybraggan Former Cadet Camp, Huts 19 and 20 (Guard's Block) and 44, 45, 46 (Category A Listed Building) (LB50471)". Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  16. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 9780750917261.
  17. ^ a b De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. 118–119. ISBN 9780750917261.
  18. ^ Campbell, Valerie (2017). Camp 21 Comrie. Whittles Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 9781849952279.
  19. ^ Campbell, Valerie (2017). Camp 21 Comrie. Whittles Publishing. pp. 85–86. ISBN 9781849952279.
  20. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. 123–129. ISBN 9780750917261.
  21. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. 129–130. ISBN 9780750917261.
  22. ^ Campbell, Valerie (2017). Camp 21 Comrie. Whittle Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 9781849952279.
  23. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 9780750917261.
  24. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. 158–159. ISBN 9780750917261.
  25. ^ De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 9780750917261.
  26. ^ a b De Normann, Roderick (1996). For Führer and Fatherland: SS Murder and Mayhem in Wartime Britain. Sutton Publishing. pp. ix. ISBN 9780750917261.
  27. ^ Bryce, Tracey (22 October 2018). "Writer unravels mystery of Nazi's death behind the wire in little known Scottish prisoner of war camp". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
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