Chapter 170 Chapter 28 The Army’s Explosion Plan (1)

1943.11-1944.7.21 On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the Beer Hall Uprising, General Jodl frankly disclosed Germany's strategic position to a hundred or so Reich and local governors. At a top-secret meeting in Munich, he spoke of the crushing defeat of the German army in Russia, of the failure to bring Spain into the war, and therefore of Gibraltar (the "Jesuit foreign minister Serrano Sunier at work") and "the greatest treachery in history"—the treachery of the Italians. Yodl improvises about the future.He admitted that the West has air superiority, such as a large-scale landing in Germany, according to the current German defense force, the German army cannot stop it.This way of speaking surprised the audience.He concluded that there was only one solution: the mobilization of every German who could handle a gun.He said it was impossible to draw troops and supplies from the east, where things "are getting warmer".In order to solve the difficulty of insufficient manpower on the Western Front, they had to find new ways. "I think the time has come, with fortitude and determination, to force thousands of idlers in Denmark, Holland, France and Belgium to build fortifications -- more important than any job. About this An order for the work has been issued."

The current situation he described can be said to be a gloomy picture.He concluded by acknowledging that the "greatest pressure at home" was terrorist air strikes from the West, and that opportunities for retaliation by submarines had been greatly reduced because of the enemy's air superiority in the Atlantic.At the same time, he said, confidence in the final victory should be firm.There are several reasons: they were fortunate to have a leader who "was the soul of how war was conducted not only politically but also militarily" and whose will alone "made the whole of Germany's armed forces strategically, Organizationally and weapons" can be activated. "Likewise, so important a unity of command, political and military, was embodied by him in a manner not seen since Frederick the Great." In the end, he used hyperbole worthy of Hitler.

What lurks in the darkness of the future is anyone's guess; but one thing is certain: Germany will never stop fighting for culture and freedom on the European continent. "Europe under the whip of American Jews or under Soviet commissars is unimaginable." Politicians cheered loudly.Jodl's speech can be said to be a masterpiece combining justice and hope.Two days later, Hitler gave a purely inspirational performance.The speech was given at the Rowan Blau Hotel; his fiery confidence inspired not only the audience but also the audience in front of the radio. Weeks later, these performances, intended to inspire both the party and the people, were somewhat overshadowed by the deteriorating political and military situation.The Hungarians viewed the Italian desertion with envy; the Rumanians were bitter at the destruction of 18 divisions on the Don and the Volga.In the past 12 months, the number of casualties in the German Army itself has reached as high as 1.686 million.Due to the lack of military resources, the lack of personnel could not be replenished, and the original conscription law that exempted the youngest son or the only child in the family from serving was also suspended. Even the elderly at the age of 50 and the veterans of the First World War were considered suitable for military service.

The prospect of a catastrophic winter on the Eastern Front turned gloomy again in the Wolf's Lair.The Führer turned a blind eye to the holiday and completely ignored it. Celebrate this holiday of peace and love without a Christmas tree and without a single candle. On January 26, 1944, he summoned hundreds of naval and army generals to Rustenburg.After explaining the ideological basis of the war, he clearly declared that his generals must take an unwavering stand against National Socialism and must support the principles of National Socialism from their inner convictions.He said these words with such calmness and seriousness that when he said the following with uncommon sincerity, his listeners were completely taken by surprise. "We generals," he said, "in this life-and-death battle, if Heaven does not allow us to win, if it is the will of Almighty God that the German people end this war in catastrophe, then you, as my The generals of the three armies should raise their swords, unite around me, and fight to the last drop of blood for the honor of Germany! I said. Everyone, this is the only way, there is no choice!"

There was a dead silence in the room.Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.The silence was finally broken by an officer sitting in the first row - he felt insulted.Field Marshal von Manstein said in a sarcastic tone: "My Fuehrer, it will be like this!" The sentence is said in a sarcastic manner.But what followed was another silence, a terrible silence.There was no sound, no movement.Standing on the stage, Hitler's face turned pale.His eyes searched the room like a searchlight, and finally landed on Manstein who was sitting in the first row. "Marshal," he said gruffly, "I have every reason to doubt the allegiance you implied in your answer." Again there was a long, embarrassing silence in the room.Finally, he said he was well aware of the anti-Hitler movement in the Army and the vehemently negative attitude of many officers.He had convincing evidence that some gentlemen refused to carry out certain orders of the Führer.Yes, he is fully aware of the "Free Germany" movement carried out by certain officers captured by the Soviet Army!

These extemporaneous accusations scrambled his concentration and prevented him from finishing his speech as planned.He suddenly announced the end of the meeting and left the venue with his head held high.Moments later, Manstein was ordered to go immediately to the Führer's study.Hitler stared at him with staring eyes. "Marshal," he said, "I will not allow you to interrupt my speech. What will happen to you if someone interrupts you while you are addressing your subordinates?" In those dreary winter days.One of the joys of Hitler's life was the delicious meals cooked for him by the new cook.Marina von Exner was not only a Viennese, but also young and attractive.He enjoyed her company, often talking about Austria and her family, which supported National Socialism when the National Socialist Party was outlawed.Her only gripe was that Hitler's recipes were limited.She complained privately to Traudl Junger how monotonous it was to live on vegetable soup, carrots, potatoes, and soft-boiled eggs!She was afraid that Hitler would tire of her cooking and send her away—and she had fallen in love with a young SS lieutenant.There was another reason why she was destined to go.Bormann, who was obstructed by Miss von Exner because of her promotion, found out that her mother's family had Jewish blood, so she retaliated and pursued hard, so that Hitler, who originally wanted to suppress the matter, had to fire her.But he gave her an extra half a year's salary, and made the Exner family honorary Aryans.

In order to prevent Russian planes from attacking, the "Wolf Lair" needed to be reinforced, so Hitler returned to Obersalzburg in late February.However, life in the Berghof was less pleasant. "The forced smiles, the relaxed conversations and the visits of various guests," Traudel Jung recalled, "couldn't hide the inner unease we felt." Eva had not seen her lover for quite some time; his appearance took her by surprise. "He's grown so old and sad," she said privately to Jung, "do you know what annoys him?" The secretary was embarrassed by the question. "You know the Führer much better than I do. You can guess what the Führer hasn't said." She said that the military situation was enough to worry him deeply.Over tea later that day, Eva scolded him for being old and unable to straighten his back.

Hitler took the opportunity to turn it into a joke: "It's because I have too many keys in my pocket. Besides, I carry a bag full of trouble." He laughed comically. "You and I get along better now. You wear high heels all the time, and you're taller, so if I stoop a little, we're in harmony." At the end of February, an unexpected visitor came to Beckhof unexpectedly.The visitor was Hannah Reich, a pilot and glider, who was visiting to tell the Führer how to win the war.She said the new V-1 rocket was too inaccurate.The solution was: the rocket must be piloted; she volunteered to be the first to fly the rocket.Hitler refused on the spot.He said it was not the time, psychologically, for the German people to accept such a suicidal idea, and turned to jets, one of his secret weapons.Hannah knew that jet propulsion technology was still in its infancy.So, before Hitler had finished speaking, she interjected: "My Führer, you are still talking about a child in an embryo." He was too ill-informed about the jet situation, she said.She again brought up the issue of having the pilot kill himself.Oddly enough, he angrily agreed to start experimenting with it—on the condition that he would not be disturbed during the development phase.

The incessant snow in Obersalzburg cut off the Führer from the outside world, but this seemed to lift the Führer's spirits.At lunch he laughed at the tempera paintings he had done in Vienna, which now cost a fortune.He said that these are all amateurish works, and it is crazy to offer 200 marks. "I didn't really want to be a painter at the time," he admits, "I drew for living and studying." He had already disposed of the paintings, but he still kept architectural sketches—"my most precious Stuff is my mental wealth, which I will never want to lose. Don’t forget that many of my current ideas, my architectural plans, can be traced back to those years when I worked around the clock.”

Life in Berghof seems to have given him renewed confidence. In March, Goebbels came to the Berghof and expressed concern about the first daytime bombing of Germany by American planes.The Führer had to cheer him up with hope for the future.By the next day, however, it was he himself who was on the nerves.At a conference held on March 17 at the neighboring "Castle Kleischheim", he lost his temper with the Hungarian regent, Admiral Horthy, and accused Hungary of planning an Italian-style treachery.Schmidt, who was waiting outside, was shocked to see the aged Horthy come out in a hurry with a flushed face. Unexpectedly, there was Hitler behind him—he was angry and embarrassed, and called Horthy loudly to come back!

Horthy, who was violated, hurriedly called the special train, but before the train started, Ribbentrop carried out a fake air strike.This fake air raid was very similar, and even smoke bombs were placed over the fortress.Thus the regent was taken captive.After he had calmed down, Ribbentrop told him he could go, but asked him to read a joint communiqué, which stated that German troops could enter Hungary by mutual agreement, but that arrangements had been made. "You can add this," protested the admiral, "that I begged Hitler to send Slovak and Romanian troops to occupy Hungary! In fact, it's another threat from him!" This sentence was deleted go.When Horthy arrived in Budapest, he found that his country had been occupied by the German army with 11 divisions! This gave Hitler a small spiritual consolation, but it was a big mistake both militarily and politically, because he had to divert troops from the east and west fronts, which, by all indications, were about to be attacked. On the Eastern Front, according to intelligence expert Glenn, the enemy is about to launch a large-scale counteroffensive in Ukraine, which "will have far-reaching political, military, and economic repercussions on the rest of Europe's battlefields."Glenn said his only hope of regaining the initiative was a bold strategic retreat.The head of state rejected this proposal and stubbornly implemented its policy of "not giving up an inch of territory in the occupied areas". His decision may have been influenced by his deteriorating health.Eva and others noticed that if he stood for too long, his knees would shake; his left hand would shake, and especially the cups on the tea tray would rattle. In early May, his stomach cramps recurred, causing him unbearable pain.Dr. Morell had suggested light massages and long walks, but he ignored them, agreeing only to take cadizole and two other anti-fatigue injections (glucard and testoviron).Morel advised him to go to bed early, but he said it was impossible.He could not sleep until the last British bomber had left the Reich. That spring, enemy planes bombarded Bavaria indiscriminately.The screeching siren sounded almost every day; Hitler had to go down the 65 stairs and hide in the air-raid shelter under the Berghof.But no bombs were dropped on Obersalzburg—the planes headed straight for Vienna, Hungary, or other populated areas.When the weather is clear, people can see the red light of the Munich fire.Eva begged to be allowed to drive to Munich to see if the house on Wasserburg Strasse was safe.The head of state refused at first, but she insisted on going, so he had to agree.After she came back, she was shocked, and Hitler vowed to avenge her. "Britain will panic!" he assured.Then he told her about the rocket. "The effect of this weapon. No one's nerves can bear it. I must fight back against the barbarians who are killing women and children and destroying Germanic culture!" Some of the Berghof's guests had begun to ignore the air-raid siren because it sounded so often.One morning, Traudl suddenly got up from the bed and went to the back of the air-raid shelter, but there was no one there.She turned back to check what happened, and found Hitler standing at the door, looking anxiously at the sky like a three-headed guard dog of the underworld.He pointed at her with his fingers and gave her advice: "Don't be careless, little girl. Go back to the bunker, the alarm is still on." She obediently walked down the long stairs without telling him that the other guests hadn't gotten up yet .At lunch, Hitler made another round of remarks about the folly of not going into a dugout. "The people I work with, some of whom are irreplaceable, have an obligation to go to the bomb shelter," he scolded. Stupid approach." However, he himself was putting himself at risk—he refused exercise, rest, or massage, only to become increasingly reliant on drugs.In addition to taking other medicines and other injections, he also took a heart liver essence and 4 multivitamin tablets a day.His health seemed irrelevant; he kept himself alive to fulfill his life's task.However, he also threw away his depression and re-proclaimed his hope to everyone.One day he assured his valet that the whole situation would change.The Anglo-Saxons would finally understand that their interests were at stake in his crusade against the Bolsheviks.This is true! The Allies responded with a combined concentration of strategic bombing.By the first ten days of May, Hitler's entire armament plan was seriously affected due to the daytime bombing of oil plants in the central and eastern regions by American planes.Gasoline production dropped sharply from 5,850 metric tons to 4,820 metric tons. "The enemy has struck at our weakest link," Albert Speer reported to Hitler. "If they persist in this way, we will soon be out of oil. Our only hope is that the enemy The General Staff of the Air Force is as negligent as ours!" Keitel quickly protested, saying that the fuel reserves were still large.Hitler was more realistic and called a meeting a few days later to discuss the fuel issue.Four industrialists agreed that the situation was hopeless if enemy air raids continued in this way (at a similar conference the previous autumn, industrialist Paul Pryger claimed that there was not enough Coal and coke were used to expand steel production. "To my great surprise," recalled one witness, "in the course of the conversation, Hitler said dryly that unless more coal and steel were produced, the war would be lost. ”), at first, Hitler only answered with the usual reasoning, saying that no matter how difficult the crisis was, Keitel and Goering both nodded at the same time. At the conclusion, Hitler immediately made a U-turn.It seemed to Speer that the Führer was eager to "hear the unpleasant truth"; he hoped that the Führer would finally understand that this was the beginning of the collapse of Germany's economy.