Chapter 175 Chapter 28 The Army’s Explosion Plan (6)

Although the Bendlerstraße was finally fully controlled by the conspirators, General von Haas, who was working "Under the Linden Tree", was in trouble. An hour ago, in the name of the commander of the Berlin garrison, he ordered the guard battalion to seal off the government area, and no one was allowed to go out, whether it was a general or a minister.Major Otto Rehmer, the commander of the Guard Battalion, one of the leaders of the "Hitler Youth", asked first to confirm that the Führer was indeed dead. Haas said he was indeed dead, murdered by the SS.Who succeeded Hitler?Remy asked—because he thought "things were a little fishy."Haas asked him to stop asking silly questions and let the guard battalion act quickly.

Schermer's partner, Lieutenant Hans Hagen (the National Socialist who was speaking to the Guard Battalion in Berlin), was similarly suspicious.It looked like a military coup, Hagen told Remy when no one else was around.Remy believed it.Hagen asked permission to go to his old boss, Goebbels, to clarify the situation.Lei Mai found him a motorcycle and asked him to report the situation immediately.While Rehmer was checking the blockade of the inner city, Hagen (a writer before enlisting in the army) was already on his motorcycle and heading straight for the official residence of the Minister of Propaganda.He heard Goebbels shouting from time to time, like Paul Revere of the Teutons: "Military coup!"

Goebbels' mansion had become a center of chaos.The mayor of Berlin, accompanied by a city councilor, also approached Goebbels; conflicting rumors confused the two.The same goes for Speer.Just now Speer saw a group of Rehmer soldiers running towards the Brandenburg Gate with machine guns on their shoulders; some were standing guard at the entrance of the Propaganda Department. Goebbels, who was sweating profusely, was calling party officials and military commanders to inquire about the situation.It appeared that the troops stationed in Potsdam and the troops of the provincial garrison were moving towards the city.The situation was critical, but Goebbels saw a glimmer of hope: the rebels had yet to announce the success of the coup on the radio.He therefore hastily drafted his proclamation, which was a difficult matter, for a few words of fact would cause panic.

At this moment, Hagen, who had been bumped enough by the motorcycle, pushed away from the crowd and squeezed in front of Goebbels.The soldier and writer gave a breathless account, which Goebbels listened to impatiently.Finally, Goebbels asked, can Remer be trusted?Absolutely believable!Wasn't he wounded eight times on the battlefield?Goebbels was still suspicious, so Hagen called Rehmer.If the two did not return within half an hour, then, Goebbels said, Major Rehmer would either be a traitor or be taken into custody by armed forces—and he would send the SS to seize the garrison headquarters "Under the Linden".

A few moments later, at 5:30 p.m., Goebbels was again called to answer the phone.The call was from Hitler.He urged Goebbels to broadcast immediately to let the people know that he was still alive.Goebbels immediately telephoned the broadcast to the radio station.The radio station had been taken over by rebels from the infantry school, but Goebbels' voice confused—or terrified—the rebel commanders.He hastily promised not to interfere with the broadcast of the announcement. Meanwhile, Hitler had been swayed by fidgety advisers who suspected that Propaganda Minister Goebbels was also a traitor.He called Goebbels again and severely reprimanded him for the long delay in not broadcasting the announcement.Goebbels vehemently retorted that the matter was not his responsibility, but that of the Radio Broadcasting Service.Hitler believed him—or at least he said he trusted him—and hung up.

The initial rumors of Hitler's death brought hysteria and tears to dozens of female telephone operators.When it spread, people were stunned and terrified.News broadcasts proving the Führer was alive brought tears again—tears of joy. Congratulatory telegrams and congratulatory letters flew to the "Wolf Cave" one after another.Field Marshal Milch said in his telegram that he was "rejoiced from the bottom of his heart, because the merciful God has saved you and spared you. You have been saved from cowardly assassins for the German people and army."These words of comfort are not all for ego.The vast majority of Germans feel that the future of the nation depends on the Führer.

In Berlin, Major Rehmer had just completed the blockade of the government district.He is unhappy because he has not heard the news that the Führer is still alive.He carried out his mission with fear.After the mission was completed, he reported to Haas.Haas's vague answers to his questions only deepened his fear.Remy was very dissatisfied.Later, Hagen came to him and said that Minister Goebbels wanted to see him immediately!At this point, he already had the heart to rebel against them.Remy thought to himself, this is a civil war.So he went upstairs with Hagen to Haas and repeated what Goebbels had said.General Haas feigned surprise, and when Remer said that Haas must see the Minister of Propaganda immediately, Haas ordered him not to leave the living room.Another major, also a conspirator, intervened—with a tacit wink at Haas.He said it was Rehmer's duty to see Goebbels—and to arrest him.Lei Mai left the building, feeling very disturbed. "Well, I have to gamble with my life," he said to the adjutant.After that, he took 20 people and went straight to the Propaganda Department.

Goebbels is checking the time.He called Lei Mai several times, but without success.Now, the deadline—7 p.m.—is only two minutes away.Remy came in.He did not tell Goebbels that he had been ordered to arrest him, nor did he believe what Goebbels said—Goebbels said he had just spoken to the Führer.He said that only when he heard the Führer speak with his own ears did he believe that the Führer was still alive. "You are welcome, Major." Goebbels hung up Rastenburg while speaking.In less than a minute, he said to Hitler: "Major Rehmer, the commander of the Guard Battalion, is talking to you." Rehmer took the receiver alertly.The voice inside may be a recording, or it may be someone imitating the voice of the Führer speaking. "Is that you, Major Remer?" said the voice he heard. "What are you doing now?" The voice certainly sounded like Hitler's, and Remer told him what he had done so far.But there must have been an edge of suspicion in his words. "Do you believe that I'm alive?" Remer replied, and he did—actually, he didn't quite believe it.

Hitler said he had given Rehmer full powers to ensure the security of the government. "What you think needs to be done, you do. Every officer, regardless of rank, is under your command." He ordered Remy to restore order in general at once. "Violence may be used if necessary." The word "brachial" convinced Rehmer that the other party was indeed Hitler.He came to "stand at attention" with a swish. "You are responsible only to me," Hitler repeated, and immediately promoted him to colonel. Rehmer turned the Propaganda Department into a headquarters.He first called General von Haas and said he had just finished speaking with the Führer, who had given him full command.He ordered Haas to report to him immediately.Haas angrily refused. "Since when did a major general report to a minor major?"

"General, if you don't want to come, I'll have someone arrest you." After Remy finished speaking, he sent people to occupy Haas's headquarters.He then informed the various troops in the Berlin area that they were now under his command.The commanders of the various units, regardless of rank, accepted his command without a single protest.This did not surprise him.In the end, Colonel Rehmer gathered the entire battalion in the garden of the Propaganda Department, and listened to Goebbels personally tell the details of the assassination. At this time, General von Haas, who was subdued, also came.He was no longer angry, in fact, as if he wanted to hug Remer.He was full of compliments and endlessly asking questions.Lei Mai had no choice but to dismiss him politely so that he could continue the work of restoring order.Goebbels treated Haas a little less, asking him a few short questions.Haas stammered a bit in reply.Would the minister mind if he called his wife and asked her to get something to eat? "That's our revolutionary," Goebbels said sarcastically after the general went out to eat. "All they think about is eating, drinking and calling women."

The switchboard on Bendler Street was busy.Officers kept calling, asking for details about the news broadcast.The various units that received the "Goddess" alert also wanted to confirm from Fromm's mouth that the earlier reports about Hitler's death were true or false.The question was answered by Daufenburg.He insisted that Hitler was dead.If the interrogator is a conspirator, he says the plan is still being carried out.Broadcast news, he told them, was a trick.The Army is in power and all is well. Finally, one of the titular leaders of the uprising, Field Marshal von Wy Zleben, arrived in full uniform to take over.All day long, he was on top, but in order to make up for his late arrival, at about 7:30 in the afternoon, as the new commander-in-chief of the army, he issued a strongly worded instruction: Führer Adolf Hitler is dead.A group of unscrupulous, non-combatant party leaders took advantage of the situation in an attempt to stab the fighting forces in the back and seize power for their own purposes. At this critical juncture, in order to maintain law and order, the Reich Government has declared a state of military emergency and has appointed myself Supreme Commander of the German Armed Forces... The telegram brought new hope to another field marshal.Kruger, who was about to abandon the conspirators in Paris, shouted: "The historic moment has come!" He suggested an immediate armistice with the West.The new regime in Germany would agree to stop rocketing London if the Allies, in return, stopped bombing Germany. Kruger's enthusiasm was dampened by a telegram from Keitel: The Führer is still alive, do not heed orders from the Wetzleben-Beck rebel group on Bendererstrasse. Kruger's resolve wavered.He told their chief of staff to try to figure out what was going on in Supreme Command.But he couldn't find Vallimon by phone, nor yordles or Keitel.Their absence was so odd that it revived Kruger's hopes.Maybe Baker was telling the truth and Hitler was really dead!He hung up on one of the plotters at Wolf's Lair.But what he confirmed was the worst news: Hitler is alive!Kruger put down the phone in disappointment. "Well," he said, "the attempt to kill him has failed!" So far as the marshal was concerned, the matter was over. "Gentlemen," he said, "don't bother me any more!" In Berlin, the same man who had ordered the seizure of power abandoned the plot.Field Marshal von Witzleben, tired of the chaos in Bendlerstrasse, hurried out of the building, got into a car, and drove to the army headquarters in Zossen.Once there, he told the quartermaster, General Wagner, that the plan had all failed.After speaking, he got into the car again and returned to his farm. At Wolf's Lair, Keitel had just issued an order for Himmler to be commander of the replenishment army.Keitel added, "Only he and I must obey the order." The order was sent by telex at 8:20 p.m. Ten minutes later, Party Secretary Baumann sent an urgent telegram informing all local governors of "the attempted assassination of the Führer by certain generals."He made his men obey only the orders of the Führer himself. At 9:00 p.m., the radio station issued a notice to the whole country that the head of state would soon deliver a speech to the people of the whole country in person.However, because "Wolf's Lair" does not have live broadcast equipment, the broadcast is greatly delayed.The closest recording van to them could only be found in Koenigsberg, the capital of East Prussia, and that would take several hours. Hitler's favorite commando commander, Otto Skorzeny, also happened to be in Berlin.When he heard the news that the Führer was still alive, he immediately traveled to Vienna to inspect the school where he trained frogmen for sabotage.At dusk, just as he was boarding a train at Anhalt station, an officer came running along the platform.He shouted as he ran that there had been a military mutiny in the city and that Skorzeny had been ordered to restore order there. He hurried to the headquarters of the SS Security Service.There he received word that certain rebel army leaders were taking the capital. "The situation is unclear and dangerous," Schulenburg said.He was pale, and there was a pistol on the table in front of him.He made a dramatic gesture. "If they come here, I'll defend myself here!" That's ridiculous.Skorzeny couldn't help laughing.He advised Schulenburg to take the pistol away and not to commit suicide. After Skorzeny issued a warning to a company in a school specializing in training saboteurs on the outskirts of Berlin, he went into the city to inspect it himself.It was very quiet in the government compound.There were reports that the Waffen SS was also plotting.To check this, he went to Richterfeld to inspect the SS barracks.All very calm.Then he drove to a division headquarters of the SS to inquire about the news, and after hearing nothing, he drove fast to the headquarters of the Airborne Forces near Wannsee.Skorzeny found General Stutton on a mound next to his dacha.The general, in a nightgown, was absorbed in reading a pile of papers while his wife sewed.In a way, it was comical that one of Germany's leading commanders should be so at ease in the midst of a military insurrection.Stutton didn't take what Skorzeny said was true.It was not confirmed until Goering called.Goering said: Except for the orders issued by the Army Command, the rest will be ignored.When Stutton stopped and conveyed the order, Skorzeny ran back to Schulenburg's office.As soon as he entered the door, he was called to answer the phone. "How many people do you have?" Yoddle asked.There is only one company. "Good. Take the troops to Bendlerstrasse to support Major Rehmer's battalion. They have just been ordered to surround the building." On Bendlerstrasse, desperation grew.The guard battalion, which had been defending the Army General Headquarters, was marching to gather in the back garden of Goebbels' mansion under the order of the battalion commander.Only 35 soldiers stayed at the main gate.Inside the building, General Albricht summoned the officers for the third time at 10:30 p.m. and said that the guard battalion had been withdrawn and they should take over the task of protecting the building.He said that each of the six exits must be guarded by officers of the General Staff. No objection.However, a group of armed loyalists secretly made up their minds to be loyal to the oath they made to the head of state. At about 10:50 pm, these people (8 people in total) with grenades hanging from their waists and submachine guns or pistols in their hands suddenly broke into the city. Go into Albricht's office.Just as Albricht was telling them to calm down, Stauffenberg entered.He hurriedly turned and fled, rushing into the living room.There was a burst of fire.Stauffenberg staggered as if shot, and scurried into an adjoining office.However, he was captured alive a short time later, along with Beck, Albricht and the other conspirators.After a while, they saw Fromm who had been released. "Ah, gentlemen," said the tall General Fromm, brandishing his pistol, "I'm going to do to you now what you did to me." He told them to put down their loaders. "You are not qualified to ask me to do this, you were originally under my command," Baker whispered. "I am responsible for the consequences of this unfortunate situation," he said, reaching for the pistol from the suitcase. Fromm warned him to turn the gun on himself.The aged Baker recalled the past. "At a moment like this, I can't help thinking about the past..." "We don't want to hear that now," Fromm interrupted. "I told you to stop talking and to act." Baker mumbled something to himself and fired.The bullet tore through his scalp, and he staggered back, plopping down on a chair. "Help the old gentleman," Fromm said to the two young officers.They walked up to Baker and tried to wrest his gun from him.Baker refused and wanted to ejaculate again, but fell down on the chair again.Fromm said to the other conspirators: "Listen, gentlemen, if you have a letter to write, you still have a few minutes." Albricht, Stauffenberg and their two aides were executed.Stauffenberg, whose cuffs were covered with blood, was led to the yard together with three of his colleagues, and stood upright. Baker's face was covered with blood.He wants a pistol.After the gun was given to him, he was alone in the living room.People outside heard him say: "If it doesn't work this time, please help me." A shot was fired, Fromm looked in and saw Baker failed again this time. "Help the old gentleman," he said to an officer.The officer refused.A corporal dragged the unconscious Baker outside and shot him in the neck. Outside, the headlights of a military vehicle illuminated the courtyard, which was not very bright because the headlights were shrouded.It was late at night.Four people sentenced to death stand in front of a pile of sand—sand is used for air defense.Albricht was calm.On hearing the order to fire, Stauffenberg shouted: "Long live our holy Germany!".He died (Bendlerstraße is now called Stauffenbergerstraße). Fromm's massive form appeared on the porch of the building.He walked across the yard and inspected the firing squad.He spoke briefly, ending with "Heil Hitler!"Then, with a bit of posturing, he walked towards the gate, called the car, and disappeared into the darkness.In the Telegraph Center on Bendler Street.A telex is being sent out: "The coup attempted by irresponsible generals has been bloodily suppressed. All the culprits have been shot..." Just as Fromm stepped out of the gate, a white racing car stopped in front of the gate with a bang.The driver was Speer, and the passenger was Colonel Rehmer. "An honest German after all!" said Fromm, as if he were an innocent himself. "I just finished executing some criminals," Fromm growled when Remm said he wouldn't. "Do you want to give me an order?" "No. But you are responsible for your actions." Rehmer advised Fromm to report to Goebbels immediately.After Fromm left with Speer, Otto Skorzeny arrived with his men.He didn't understand how such an important general could leave at such a moment.He asked Lemmel: "What happened?" Lemmel didn't know anything, he was just ordered to surround the building. Skorzeny said he was going inside.After setting up the company in the courtyard, he strode upstairs to the office of the chief of staff.In the corridor, he ran into several staff officers he knew.They briefed him on the situation.These sound presumptuous, but confirmed his guess.He tried to call the High Command, but couldn't get through, so he decided to go his own way. Restoring peace and order "to this disturbed hornet's nest".To do this, there is no better governance than getting people back to work.He called together the staff he knew and asked them to continue their original work.The frontlines are still in dire need of reinforcements and supplies. The staff members unanimously agreed.But who will sign the order?Those who hold important positions in command are either dead or missing.Skorzeny said that he signed the order and all responsibility rests with him.Skorzeny got in touch with Jodl after Army Headquarters' machines started running again.Yoddle let him continue to command. "Send a general," suggested Skorzeny.Jodl insisted that he command in the name of the Führer.Skorzeny then ordered the cancellation of the "Goddess" alert and asked all commanders to wait for new orders. Speer dragged Fromm to the Propaganda Department.Fromm wanted to speak privately with Hitler, but Goebbels ignored it.Goebbels came to his office and ordered a guard to be placed at Fromm's door. Himmler was also in the ministry.He had just returned to Berlin from Rastenburg with Hitler's order authorizing the suppression of the rebellion. "Whoever dares to resist, no matter who they are, will be shot to death," Hitler once said to him.Despite all this power—plus the provisional rank of commander-in-chief of the reserves—he let Goebbels step in while he was as relaxed and poised as before.In the eyes of Goebbels' assistant Naumann, Himmler was even indifferent, while Goebbels was elated.What did he do that day, according to him, to give the impression that he actually crushed the rebellion in Berlin with his bare hands. "If they weren't so stupid!" he boasted to Himmler. "They'd have had a great time. How stupid! How childish! If it's up to me! Why don't they take over the radio and spread the biggest lie?" Himmler calmly nodded politely.What he did not reveal was that, before coming to Goebbels, he had begun to terrorize the counter-coup d'état and established a special agency to investigate the rebellion. At "Wolf's Lair," General Filkibel knew his fate was sealed, but he did not want to commit suicide because he intended to prove his motives in an official court. "If you believe in an afterlife," he said, saying goodbye to the young lieutenant, "we can say: 'Goodbye!'" Sitting in the tea room, Hitler waited anxiously for the recording van from Koenigsberg to arrive in order to address the nation.While he waited, he summoned his valets to listen to him read from a hastily written speech.A few secretaries and adjutants, Keitel and a bandaged yordle showed up, but the recording van still didn't come.Hitler used this time to add fuel to the murder. "These cowards!" he cried. "That's what they are! If they had the audacity to shoot me, I'd have a little respect for them! But, they don't want to risk their lives!" The recording van is finally here. At 1 o'clock in the morning on July 21, every radio station in Germany played military music. After a slight pause, Hitler began to broadcast his speech.He spoke of the plot, of the injuries and deaths of his close associates.He repeated his erroneous belief that the conspirators were a tiny minority who had nothing in common with the spirit of the German military and civilians.A handful of criminals will be executed immediately and mercilessly. "I have avoided a fate that was not terrible for me, but that would have dire consequences for the German people. In this fate, I see a signal from God, that is : I must, and therefore I will continue my work." After he finished speaking, Goering also made a short speech.On behalf of the air force, he expressed his loyalty and love to the head of state; on behalf of the navy, Dönitz said that the navy was "outraged by the criminal act of assassinating the head of state."Then, the officials officially announced that the chief culprits who launched this coup d'etat, those criminal officers, either committed suicide or were shot by the army. "There has been no incident anywhere, and there hasn't been. Those involved in this criminal act must be purged." Those words sent chills down the spines of the conspirators in Paris—they were listening to the radio in the officers' club of the Hotel Lafayette.Not long ago, they had managed to capture every SS barracks in the area and arrested two high-ranking SS officers in France, Karl Auberg and Helmut Kneussen.General von Sturnagel thought as he listened, feeling that this was also a sentence of death for them.However, there is still a glimmer of hope.Maybe Oberg and Knoxon will cover them up.Both were released and taken to the Lafayette Hotel.When Stühlnagel rose to salute, Oberg rushed to him.Ambassador Otto Abetz intervened. "What happened in Berlin is another story," he said. "Here, the Normandy campaign is in full swing, and that's what matters. We Germans here deserve a united front. Auberge calms down and agrees to join Knudsen in secret against Himmler's German Central Committee." The Security Service. They will falsely claim that the arrests of the SS men and the Security Service men are all a game played by Oberg and Stüllnagel in order to deceive the insurgents. As soon as the speech was over, Hitler returned to his bunker.Dr. Morel examined him again.The Führer wanted him to prove that his injuries were not serious.His confidants are waiting for the result in the tea room.On his return Morrel announced that Hitler's pulse was normal and all was well.The Führer himself, terrified by the events of the day, did not yet realize the scope of the conspiracy against him, and was still pleased with his miraculous escape from death, and decided to give the bombed trousers to the people in Beibei. In the custody of Eva Braun of Hittersgaden.It will be a historic artifact, proof that God really wanted him to fulfill his mission.