Chapter 13 Section 12

A Ju-52 three-engine transport plane with swastikas painted on its wings jumped and stopped on the rain-soaked runway at Rastenburg in the East Prussian forest.A short, heavy-featured man stepped off the plane, walked briskly across the tarmac, and arrived in front of a waiting Mercedes. The car was driving through the dark and damp forest.Field Marshal Erwin Rommel took off his hat and ran a nervous hand along his receding hairline.He knew that in a few weeks another man would be walking that route, that man with a bomb in his purse—a bomb meant for the Führer himself.Germany's new leader—most likely Rommel himself—could then negotiate with the Allies on a tougher stance.

Ten miles later, the car reached "Wolf's Lair": the current stronghold of Hitler and the increasingly tense gang of generals around him. The drizzle was incessant, dripping from the tall conifers in the courtyard.In front of Hitler's private residence, Rommel put on his hat and got out of the car.SS Führer Guard Captain Laden Huber silently extended his hand and took Rommel's pistol. The meeting will take place in the basement, a cold, damp and airtight concrete shelter.Rommel walked down the steps and entered the house.More than a dozen people were already seated inside, waiting for the noon meeting: Himmler, Goering, von Ribbentrop, and Keitel were all present.Rommel nodded to them, sat down in a hard chair and waited.

When Hitler entered, everyone stood up.Hitler was wearing a gray jacket and black trousers, and Rommel observed that he was increasingly hunched.He went straight to the end of the basement, where a large map of northwestern Europe was nailed to the concrete wall.He looked tired and restless, and got to the point straight to the point. "The Allied forces will invade the European continent, just this year. The British and American coalition forces are going to start from England and land in France. We will wipe them out at the climax line. There is no room for negotiation." He looked around for a week, as if trying to figure out which subordinate would dare to raise objections.There was a silence.Rommel shivered: this cellar was cold as hell.

"The question is: where are they going to land? Von Roenney—tell me." Colonel Alexei von Roenney, who had successfully replaced Canaris, rose to his feet.When the war began, he was only a captain and rose to fame with an excellent report on the weaknesses of the French army - a report that was considered a decisive factor in Germany's defeat of France.In 1942 he became head of Military Intelligence, which merged with German intelligence after Canaris stepped down.Rommel once heard that this man was arrogant and bragging, but he did have skills. Ronnie said: "Our intelligence is extensive, but not complete. The codename for this Allied invasion is 'Overlord'. The troops assembled in Britain are as follows." He took a whip and went to the wall in front of the map.

"First, along the south coast; second, along East Anglia; and third, in Scotland. East Anglia is by far the largest massed army. We conclude that the invasion will be three-pronged. "First, diversionary attack in Normandy; second, main attack across the Strait of Dover on the coast of Calais; third, crossing the North Sea from Scotland to Norway to form a flank. All sources of information support this judgment .” He sat down. Hitler asked: "What do you say?" Rommel, speaking as commander of Army Group B, which controlled the northern coast of France, said: "I can report one definite indication: the port of Calais has been hit by the heaviest bombing hitherto."

Goering asked: "What sources of information support your judgment, von Roenney?" Ronnie stood up again: "There are three sources: aerial reconnaissance, listening to enemy radio signals and intelligence from secret agents." He sat down. Hitler folded his hands protectively in front of his stomach, a nervous habit that was a sign that he was about to make a speech. "I will tell you now," he began, "how I would think if I were Winston Churchill. I am faced with two choices: east of the Seine or west of the Seine. The east has an advantage: it is farther away. Close. Then there are only two distances in modern warfare - within fighter range and beyond fighter range. Both options above are within fighter range, so distance is not a consideration.

"There is a large port of Cherbourg to the west, but not to the east. And more importantly, the east is more heavily fortified than the west, and the enemy has aerial reconnaissance. "So, if I were Churchill, I'd choose the west, so what would I do? I'd try to lead the Germans in the opposite direction! For every bomber I send to Normandy, I send two bombers to Calais ...I'm going to try to blow up every bridge over the Seine. I'm going to send out false radio signals, send out false information, create false impressions when deploying troops. I'm going to fool fools like Rommel and von Roenney. I'm going to Hope to deceive the Führer himself!"

After a long silence, Goering spoke first: "My Führer, you are flattering Churchill by saying that he is as wise as you." In the uncomfortable basement, the tense air loosened visibly.Goering put it right, and he expressed his dissent with flattery.Others echoed him one after another, each saying more forcefully: the Allied forces will choose shorter sea routes for speed; the closer coasts will cover combat aircraft to refuel and return in a shorter period of time; the southeast has many bays and The port is a better place to launch an attack; it seems unlikely that all the information is wrong.

Hitler listened for half an hour, then raised a hand in silence.He picked up a stack of yellowed documents from the table, waved them in his hands, and said: "In 1941, I issued the instruction "Building the Coastal Defense Line", in which I predicted that the key landing of the Allied forces Will be in the salient parts of Normandy and Brittany, where good harbors would make ideal beachheads. That's what my instinct told me then, and what my instinct tells me now!" A few sheets of foam appeared on the Fuehrer's on the lower lip. Von Roenney spoke (he had more courage, Rommel thought, than I did): "My Fuehrer, our investigations are still going on - that's only natural. There is also a special pipeline, you probably know Yes. I sent an emissary to England a few weeks ago and got in touch with an agent called Needle."

Hitler's eyes lit up: "Ah! I know that person. Go on." "Needle's order was to ascertain the strength of the First U.S. Army under General Patton in East Anglia. If he finds that the information has been exaggerated, then we must reconsider my judgment. If he If the reports of that army are as strong as we are now believed to be, then there is no doubt that Calais was the target." Göring stared at von Roenney: "Who is this 'needle'?" Hitler answered the question: "The only decent agent that Canaris recruited - because I instructed him to recruit." He said, "I know his family - the pillars of the Reich. Strong, loyal, upright The Germans. Needle is a brilliant man, brilliant! I've read all his reports. He was in London before the British started this war. And before that, he was in Russia—"

Von Roenney interrupted: "My Führer one by one" "Huh?" Hitler glared at him, but seemed to understand that the spy chief was right to stop him. Von Roenney tentatively said: "So, you will accept the 'Needle' report?" Hitler nodded: "That person will find out the truth of the matter."

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