Chapter 193 Chapter Thirty-One Five Minutes After Midnight, or "The Captain Sinks with the Ship" (5)

The SS commander in Berchtesgaden took immediate action after receiving Bormann's telegram to arrest Göring and his family.In the dramatic career of Reichsmarshal Goering, the past two days have been the most violent: his Führer collapsed; was executed.That morning—April 25—several SS officers, in the presence of Frau Goering and his steward, persuaded Goering to sign a document declaring his resignation from all duties due to ill health.Goering refused; despite the three telegrams, he still believed that Hitler was insincere.The SS officer drew his gun, and Goering had to sign hastily.The ceremony was interrupted by the hum of planes approaching and far away.

Allied planes often flew over Berchtesgaden on their way to Obersalzburg, Linzburg and other targets.However, to this day, Hitler's lair has not been destroyed.However, the 318 Lancaster bombers that came here today intend to wipe it out.At 10:00 a.m., the first team of bombers passed over the hill and dropped high-energy bombs on the edge of the Supreme Command.Half an hour later, a larger group of bombers flew over again.One after another, high-destructive bombs were dropped directly on Obersalzburg.Throwing for a full hour.After the last bomber disappeared, Luftwaffe General Robert Ritter, von Graham (commander of the 6th Air Force Group in Munich) drove to the Berghof.He looked around for a while, dumbfounded.The Führer's house was hit directly; one side was blown up, and the damaged tinplate roof hung high in the air.

Graham was a loyal Nazi (Hitler first flew in his plane in 1920).He had received a call from Berlin asking him to report to the bunker; now, he was looking for Kohler, because he had heard that Kohler had also received a telegram with a similar content.Graham berated Goering, saying he should not have left Berlin, let alone acted "treasonously".Kohler defends his chief, but Graham dismisses it.He declared that Goering's behavior was inexcusable.After speaking, he went to Berlin. The double pincers of the Soviet Red Army surrounding Berlin are almost closing.The participants in the meeting scheduled for 10:30 awaited Hitler's arrival in a gloomy atmosphere.Hitler has lost his mind.Later, Heinz Lorenz of the official German news agency reported that he had just heard an announcement from a neutral country that there had been a quarrel between Soviet and American armies when they first met on the Mulder River, A disagreement arose over the occupied territories; the Russians accused the Americans of violating the agreement on the occupied territories reached at Yalta.Hearing this news, Hitler changed his mind.

He sat upright, his eyes sparkling, "said the gentlemen," he said, "this is yet another proof that our enemies are not united. If tomorrow the enemy could still fall out, and I asked for peace today, the German people and the History will definitely call me a sinner!" While speaking, he seemed to gain strength again. "Between the Bolsheviks and the Anglo-Saxons, because of the unequal distribution of spoils in the German question, there is the possibility of war breaking out not every - oh, every hour." He turned his face to Krebs, slightly Nodding his head, signaled him to start the meeting.The Chief of the Army General Staff began to report, which was interrupted twice by Hitler: Where did Wenk go?The answer was a coy "no report".

The intercepted news worried Hitler.For the next hour he was daydreaming again, dreaming that another miracle would happen at the last minute.The time had come, he said, for the Anglo-Saxons to defend themselves against the Reds. "If the Allies do divide in San Francisco (where the delegates to the first United Nations General Assembly are gathering) - and there will be - and I can strike him somewhere in the Bolshevik giant, a turning point is possible. It would be possible to convince others that only one person can contain the Bolshevik giant, and that person is the party I represent, which is now the Germanic state.” The report by the Deutsche Presse Presse is incorrect.There were no differences between the forward forces of the United States and the Soviet Union.In fact, they did not meet until the next day, the 26th. At that time, two American patrol sentries contacted the Red Army in Strela and Torgau on the Elbe River.The confluence of the two armies cut the shrinking empire in half.

Half a day later, General Wenk's troops appeared to be on their way to rescue Hitler.Berliners were cheered up by radio reports that he was making steady progress.The one who waited most anxiously was Hitler.He counted on Wenck to at least delay the campaign until May 5, so that he could die on the same day as Napoleon.This is delusional.Wenck had only one corps, the XX Corps, advancing towards the capital.And its task was limited to reaching Potsdam to open a retreat corridor for the Berlin garrison.Most of Wenck's forces were heading east—against the Führer's orders—to free the besieged Ninth Army.

Earlier in the evening, another loyal general risked his life to report to the Führer.He is Rieter von Graham.At this time, he was driving a small observation plane along the treetops, flying at low altitude in the war-torn city of Berlin.Overhead, a fierce battle was raging.Suddenly, a hole appeared in the floor of the cab, and Graham fell.Just as the plane lost control and plummeted toward the ground, the only passenger on board, Hannah Reich, leaned forward and grabbed the controls, stabilizing the plane.The plane landed safely on the broad avenue leading to the Brandenburg Gate.She took a car regardless, and got Graham into the car.

Graham's left foot was injured.After the wound was bandaged, he took a stretcher out of the bunker. On the way, they met Magda Goebbels.She opened her eyes wide in surprise, and said that anyone alive could find this place.She embraced Hannah Reich, though she had never seen her before.Still sobbing.Moments later they met Hitler in the narrow passage.He bowed his head, his arms were twitching constantly, and his eyes were dull.However, Graham's report brought new life to Hitler.He grabbed Graham's hands, turned to Reich and said, "Brave woman! After all, there is still some loyalty and courage in the world!"

Hitler told them about Goering's treacherous telegram. "An ultimatum! A veritable ultimatum! Now, there's nothing left. Just look at what I'm going through: No pledge of allegiance, no honor. There's no disappointment or betrayal I haven't ever Suffered—especially this time." He stopped talking, as if he couldn't continue.Then, looking at Graham with half-opened and half-closed eyes, he said in a voice slightly higher than a whisper: "I now announce that you are Goering's successor as Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. Greetings to you." The two newcomers were deeply moved and asked to stay in the bunker to make up for the loss caused by Göring's deception.Hitler, who was also moved, agreed to the request.He said that their decision will go down in the history of the Luftwaffe.

At dawn on April 27, Berlin was completely surrounded, and the last two airfields were also occupied by the Red Army.Still, when Wink telegraphed that the XX Corps was only a few miles away from Potsdam, there was a burst of optimism in the bunker.Goebbels' office immediately announced on the radio that Wenck had arrived in Potsdam and predicted that he would soon be in the capital.If Wink can do it, why can't others? "The situation has changed, certainly in our favour," he told the Berliners. "The Americans are marching on Berlin. A great turn in the war is at hand. We must hold Berlin until Wenck's troops come. Whatever the cost !"

Battle reports, broadcast daily on the radio, leaked Wenk's exact location.He was shocked: "Tomorrow we will not be able to move an inch!" Wink shouted to his chief of staff.No doubt the Russians must have heard these broadcasts as well.They must concentrate all their forces against his position.He said it was almost a betrayal. At the military meeting at noon, Hitler expressed his complete confidence in Wenk - he called Wenk "a real man".But after a while, he seemed to feel that the hope of rescue was very slim again, and said: "I want to lie down and have a rest today, and be quiet and quiet. Unless the Russian tanks have already moved in front of the bedroom, don't wake me up and let me pretend Prepare.” But at once he hoped that the Russians would bleed to death in Berlin, and at once he concluded the meeting by quoting Richelieu’s philosophical quote: "What have I lost! The most precious memory! What do these mean? Sooner or later, this mess will all be left behind." After the meeting, Hitler pinned an Iron Cross to the chest of a small, sleepy-eyed soldier who had just blown up a Russian tank.The soldier turned silently and walked down the corridor.Once there, he collapsed on the floor and fell asleep instantly.Two of Krebs' adjutants complained loudly about the difficulty of the situation.Bowman walked behind them, stretched out his hands, and hugged their shoulders affectionately.There is hope, and Wink is on his way.Berlin will soon be relieved. "At the most difficult time for the Führer, you still stay here and maintain your trust in the Führer," he said glibly: in return, he will give you the big manor.The two adjutants opened their mouths wide in disbelief.As professional soldiers, they had always been subject to the greatest suspicion of Bowman and his right and left. Hannah Reich spent most of that day in Goebbels' residence.Goebbels seems unable to forget Goering's betrayal.He pointedly said that Marshal Goering is an incompetent person; because of his stupidity, he destroyed the motherland, and now he wants to lead the whole nation!This in itself proves that "in his heart he was always empty, always a traitor." Goebbels clutched the back of his chair like a preaching priest and declared that those who remained in the bunker were making history and were serving the Empire Glory, dedicated to the immortality of the name of Germany. Reich felt that Goebbels was too contrived.She admired his wife.In front of the six children, Magda was always happy; when she felt out of control, she would go out. "My dear Hannah," she said, "you've got to help me get the children out of this life. They belong to the Third Reich and the Führer. If neither of those exist anymore, they have no place to stand. "What she fears most is that she will be soft at the last moment.Reich told the children about her flight and taught them to sing.After the children learned it, they sang it to Uncle Adi.She also went to see Eva Braun.She felt that Eva was a shallow woman, busy with nails, changing clothes and combing her hair all day long.Reich must have been surprised to see the Führer openly cohabiting with a woman, because she admired the Führer, so to speak. At the second meeting that day, Hitler recalled the past.He spoke of the compromises made to gain power in 1933, and how the situation lasted until Hindenburg's death.This again made him pledge to stay in Berlin.By doing so, he said, he could deal harshly with the weak. "Otherwise I would not exercise this moral right. If I run away from the capital at a critical moment, I cannot always threaten others. Now, I must obey the orders of fate. Even if I can save my life, I will not Will do. The captain is going to sink with the ship." At the evening meeting, General Helmut Weideling, commander of the Berlin Military District, tried to make Hitler understand that the entire city of Berlin had been surrounded and the defensive circle was rapidly shrinking.He said it was no longer possible to rely on airdrops for supplies.He went on to talk about the suffering of the people and the wounded, but Hitler was not interested in the complaints of those who had betrayed him. "Many people don't understand my pain. I can't imagine that the leader of the party to whom I gave orders, doesn't carry out the orders. This ruins the whole result. As a person, also suffer. Personal responsibility The larger the scope, the more necessary it is to obey orders." He recalled that Field Marshal von Blomberg had told him that obeying orders was limited to the rank of general."This is a system that allows false reports to hide from bad situations, especially when difficulties arise," he said sarcastically. He began to worry about his fate.He didn't want Stalin to put him in a cage for an exhibition. "I must not let the Russians plot to capture me alive with tanks." At the same time, he could not leave Berlin.How can he ask people to die for their country when he himself refuses to fight in the heart of his country? Once, when the Führer was looking back on the past, Goebbels' aide Werner Naumann was called outside to listen on the phone. He was told that, according to American newspaper reports, "a group of high-ranking Nazis, without Hitler's approval, With the support of the Army General Command", just surrendered to the West.Word of Himmler's proposal, conveyed through the Swedish government, leaked, but the newspaper did not name it, nor did it disclose the source of the information. After Naumann returned to the conference room, he whispered something in Hitler's ear and told him the news.Hitler whispered a few words to Goebbels.Wendelin, commander of the Berlin Military District, was called out—he came to the living room and found Bormann, the Führer's adjutant, and two female secretaries chatting.Heckled in the conference room, Wendling (known to his troops as "Karl the Skinny Monkey") told everything Hitler refused to hear.Their only hope, he said, was to leave Berlin in time.Everyone agreed, including Bowman.This encouraged him.After returning to the meeting room, Wendelin raised this suggestion to Krebs again.Krebs also accepted this suggestion, promising to present a detailed breakout plan at the next meeting. Fifty miles away, at Wenck's XII Corps headquarters, a telegrapher was sending Wendling: "The counteroffensive of the Twelfth Army was frustrated south of Potsdam. The troops are desperately defending themselves.It is recommended to break out and come to my office.Wink. " The operator is waiting for the confirmation signal from the other party.There is no signal.