Chapter 29 04. Operation "Valkyrie"

After the Allied forces successfully landed in Normandy, Germany fell into the embarrassment of being attacked from the east and the west.The history of World War I has proved that the German army's two-front battle cannot last long, and the outcome of failure is already doomed.The deterioration of the war situation prompted the emergence of an organization in Germany that attempted to overthrow the Nazi rule, establish a new government and negotiate peace with the United States and Britain. This organization had a loose structure, complicated members, and no core leadership.Many of them were active participants in the war waged by Germany, and some even made outstanding achievements.However, when Hitler drove the tank that bound the whole of Germany to the cliff, they decided to join forces to stop it and prevent Germany from bleeding dry.

To prevent this war, the dictator who holds the administrative power of the country must be removed, and only the military can do this.So, this group of clear-headed soldiers started to act, and the code name of the operation was "Valkyrie". In the end, the one-eyed Colonel Stauffenberg, the chief of staff, was chosen to take on the task of assassinating Hitler.It is not easy for German soldiers to do this kind of thing, because they all face the military flag and swear allegiance to Hitler in front of God.The Germans keep their oath, and the betrayal of the soldiers is even more shameful.This point, Stauffenberg is also very clear, he said before the action: "Now is the time to do something. But those who dare to act must be cleared, he may be regarded as a traitor recorded in German history. But if If he gives up his actions, he will be regarded as a traitor by his own people.” It can be said that Stauffenberg is a fighter who is willing to save Germany at the cost of life and honor.

At 7 o'clock in the morning on July 20, 1944, Stauffenberg took his adjutant, Lieutenant Halfden, from Lengersdorf Airport near Berlin to the "Wolf's Lair" in East Prussia.He put three items in the briefcase: two bombs, a timed detonation device and a shirt. At 11 o'clock, Stauffenberg arrived at the "Wolf's Lair" on time. After 12 noon, Stauffenberg walked into the office of Supreme Commander Keitel.Keitel told him that because Mussolini was coming at 2:30 p.m., the Führer's first daily briefing would be held earlier from 1:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.With little time left, Stauffenberg, who is blind in his left eye and has only three fingers on his left hand, hastily hid in the toilet and began assembling the bomb.The high temperature in midsummer and the excessive tension made Stauffenberg's movements sluggish.He had to reduce the original two bombs to one, and the timing device was set to 12 minutes.

The meeting has already started.Hitler was sitting in the middle of one side of the table, with his back to the door, listening to the report of General Hausinger, the Deputy Chief of the Army General Staff and Chief of Operations, while fiddling with his magnifying glass.About two dozen officers stood around the table.When Stauffenberg stepped into the conference room, Hitler looked up at him and answered his greeting.Stauffenberg stood by the table and put the bag on the inner side of the solid oak base under the table, about two meters away from Hitler's legs.It was 12:37, and in 5 minutes, the bomb in the purse was about to explode.

Hausinger continued talking, pointing to the battle map spread out on the table from time to time.Hitler and the officers leaned over the map and looked at it carefully.Stauffenberg took the opportunity to sneak out.Brandt, who was just next to Stauffenberg, leaned over the table to look at the map more clearly, but found that Stauffenberg's bulging leather bag was in the way, so he picked it up and put it on the thick base of the table. to the outside.In this way, there is a thick base between the bomb and Hitler.It was this seemingly insignificant act that saved Hitler's life and made Stauffenberg's actions fall short.

At 12:42, the bomb exploded on time.After a loud bang, four of the 24 attendees died instantly.Hitler, the target of the assassination, escaped with only a burnt thigh, singed hair, and a damaged eardrum. Standing 100 meters away, Stauffenberg saw the smoke and fire caused by the explosion, and thought the assassination was successful. He hurriedly got into a car waiting there with his adjutant, passed three guard posts in disorder, and drove to the airport. . After Stauffenberg flew three hours back to Berlin, the coup had just begun.However, it was too late, and Hitler, who had just calmed down, immediately controlled the situation.

Himmler rushed to Berlin an hour after the bomb went off, and Hitler's bloody crackdown began that night.Stauffenberg and the leaders of the operation were arrested and shot, their bodies were cremated, and their ashes were randomly scattered on the farmland.According to statistics, about 6,000 people were arrested during the purge, and more than 200 people were sentenced to death. What is especially important is that Rommel, Marshal Kruger and others were forced to commit suicide because of their involvement in the "7.20 Incident". It is said that on the list of the new government drafted by Stauffenberg, Rommel was the first candidate for the commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht.As early as when Rommel withdrew from Africa in March 1943, he saw that there was no hope of victory in the war and advocated negotiating an armistice with the belligerent countries, but Hitler firmly rejected his idea of ​​peace talks.After the Allied forces landed in Normandy, Rommel wanted to open the Western Front after the "July 20 Incident" was successful, so that the Allied forces could enter German territory in July, so as to prevent the Soviet Union from encroaching on German territory, so as to preserve the unity of Germany.But in fact, Rommel had no time to do anything. He still remained loyal to Hitler. Knowing that the defeat was a foregone conclusion, he couldn't betray Hitler, and he died in the contradiction.

The "Valkyrie" operation failed, and Stauffenberg himself died heroically.However, if the assassination operation is successful, the Germans will not see the end of Hitler's defeat and suicide, and the resistance elements in the army will take the blame for leading Germany to failure. Considered an eternal hero.From this point of view, although the assassination failed, it clarified right and wrong and let history prove who is the enemy of the German nation.