< World War II - Our Fatherland (6) >
May 31, 1940
Berlin, Northern Germany – Berlin Replacent Army Headquarters Almost completely sidelining the Army General Staff, there was Beck, Richthofen, and General Tresckow, a General Staff Officer I trusted absolutely.
As I put our heads together with these three to plan this operation, one question had been nagging at
the whole ti.
'To what extent is self-defense, justified by the reason that 'they might beco a threat,' permissible?'
As the sun was setting, I arrived at the Replacent Army Headquarters and got out of the car. Then, I imdiately turned and blocked Claudia, who was about to get out.
"Claudia. Would you rather go down to Frankfurt?"
"No. I'll stay with you."
Her imdiate answer brought a bitter smile to my lips.
This was her usual self, but right now, I felt a bit troubled.
With no idea how far the reach of the Nazi stooges extended, staying in Berlin right before the operation was anything but safe.
No, to be honest, I was certain that I was at the top of the Nazi remnants' elimination list.
"…What if I make it an order, Aide?"
"I would follow it, but you would be resented for it, Vice-Chancellor."
As I let out a small sigh, Claudia added.
"You're not going to send
off alone, are you? If you're going to split the escort, I think it's better to concentrate it in one place. You're in more danger than I am, aren't you?"
…When she put it like that, I was convinced.
Her ability to make such a rational judgnt even at a mont like this was, as always, incredible.
"…You're wise."
"Honestly, I'm wondering if I just attached a plausible reason to my own feelings."
Just as I thought that, she added in an unsure tone, making
burst into laughter, dispelling the tension.
"Hah, very well. Please follow , Aide."
As I entered the Berlin Replacent Army Headquarters, with my bodyguards and Claudia in tow, well after working hours, all eyes imdiately focused on us.
Among them were people in military uniforms who saluted , with my lieutenant colonel's rank insignia, and I gave a modest acknowledgnt as I walked inside.
Walking into the Berlin Replacent Army Headquarters with the operation order felt like a scene from a movie I'd seen in modern Korea.
But the commander of the Berlin Replacent Army was not Friedrich Fromm. He had been punished as a collaborator of the Nazi regi.
Instead, I faced General Friedrich Olbricht, who, in the original history, had arrested Fromm alongside Stauffenberg during Operation Valkyrie.
"My apologies for the late hour, General Olbricht. I am Vice-Chancellor Dietrich Schacht."
General Olbricht had surrendered along with the 8th Army, then distinguished himself during the Civil War and was promoted to General of the Infantry, taking command of the Berlin Replacent Army.
"Welco, Vice-Chancellor Schacht. There are few in Berlin who do not know your face.
What brings you to the Berlin Replacent Army Headquarters?"
I handed General Olbricht the envelope sealed with the order, and he imdiately tore it open, read it, and then spoke.
"…The issuer of the order is Minister of Defense, Field Marshal Ludwig Beck.
…Is this a direct order from the Ministry of Defense, not the Army High Command?"
"That is correct, General. So personnel in the Army are plotting a coup d'état with the Nazi remnants. We must convene the Berlin Replacent Army at dawn today to neutralize the Nazi remnants in Berlin and prepare for a potential clash with the coup forces."
There were confird Nazi remnants in Berlin that needed to be secured, and in the unlikely event that we failed to suppress the 3rd Army, we were mobilizing the Berlin Replacent Army in advance.
However, neither the suppression of the 3rd Army nor the mobilization of the Replacent Army could happen first and alert them, so to execute them simultaneously, things were proceeding rather urgently.
And for security, I had to deliver it myself.
Thanks to that, General Olbricht seed to have imdiately understood the gravity of the matter.
"This is a very sudden order, and I am a bit flustered, but since the Vice-Chancellor himself has co and Field Marshal Beck's order is authentic…"
General Olbricht looked down at the order before speaking again.
"Operation Valkyrie, I will activate it."
-
June 1, 1940
Northeastern Germany, Posen – 3rd Army Garrison In the deep of dawn, when most people were asleep.
Dozens of Ju 52 transport aircraft passing through the dark sky over the 3rd Army garrison signaled the start of the operation.
Quite regrettably for the 3rd Army, there were also plenty of clouds in the sky, so the countless parachutes descending upon the garrison were not clearly visible.
The 3rd Army sentries, on their usual boring and leisurely duty, were startled by the silhouettes that suddenly appeared in the dark streets.
"What the, halt, halt! Hawk!"
"Frog!"
The sentries lowered their guns with a sigh of relief at the correct countersign, but the opponent was looking around at the ground as if searching for sothing, and found sothing spread wide on the floor.
"What's your affiliation? Why are you wandering around at this hour…"
It was sothing that would have been impossible on the tense front lines, but the sentries, accustod to tedious duty, approached the person who had given the correct countersign and asked without much thought.
So when the opponent, who had been clearing away a parachute on the ground, suddenly raised a submachine gun and aid it at them, they could only freeze in shock.
"Wh-What? Hey!"
"Sorry, pal. That's not our countersign."
Before the sentries could even react, the opponent lunged forward and struck them on the head with his gun, knocking them down.
The other sentry, seeing his comrade fall, was struck from behind by soone else and collapsed before he could even shout.
"Hawk?"
"yer."
The two n, who had exchanged a password only used in the Luftwaffe, dragged the pitifully fallen sentries into a corner with a smirk.
"Damn it, landing right next to the sentry post of all places."
"See the rifle crate?"
"Here."
The two n, mbers of the Fallschirmj??ger (German paratroopers), quickly cleared the parachute, opened the crate, and picked up their rifles.
"It's our first airborne operation, and it's already chaos. Where's the commander?"
"Don't know, but that's the paratroopers for you.
We already know what we have to do, right?"
The two n recalled their fierce-looking commander's words and, grinning, shouted in unison.
"Take down anything that gets in the way and crush their heads!"
-
The Fallschirmj??gers' operation, which began quietly by dropping into the 3rd Army garrison under the cover of the deep dawn and neutralizing the sentries, soon began to cause a disturbance throughout the garrison.
"What, what's going on!"
"Hawk!"
"Uh, huh? Fro-Frog- Ugh!"
The 3rd Army soldiers, who ran out not knowing what was happening, were often suppressed as soon as they answered the abrupt demand for the countersign.
They were virtually in an isolated situation in the middle of enemy territory, but the Fallschirmj??ger, filled with pride as the Luftwaffe's special forces—and n fiercely trained by the 'most dangerous man in Europe'—were not cowards who would be intimidated by second-rate 'grunts'.
Moreover, the Fallschirmj??ger had to morize the layout of the 3rd Army garrison, provided by the Abwehr, for days until they were sick of it, and they road freely between the barracks and buildings of the garrison, filled with the motivation to vent all their resentnt on the parties concerned.
Although they were incomparably outnumbered, the 3rd Army, thrown into confusion without knowing the enemy's scale or identity, couldn't control the situation at all and was being beaten, their superiority in numbers rendered aningless.
There were so personnel among the 3rd Army commanders who quickly grasped the situation and reacted imdiately.
"This is Lieutenant General Petzel's order! Panzer Division Kempf is to return to their respective barracks and hold their positions! Do not engage!"
"The 11th Infantry Division receives its orders from the Fourth Reich governnt! We are not involved in this incident!"
I Army Corps Commander Lieutenant General Walter Petzel, who had been lukewarm from the start and only said he would think about it, began shouting and running around as soon as he got a rough idea of the situation, gathering his subordinate commanders one by one, and soon began to spread a verbal declaration of non-resistance throughout the entire corps.
Thanks to this, the Fallschirmj??ger quickly cut through the already chaotic 3rd Army, aiming for the high command.
anwhile, the 3rd Army's Commander-in-Chief, General of the Artillery Georg Küchler, was completely unaware of the 3rd Army's situation, unable to contain his panic with his high command in the command room, relying on a flashlight with no lights on.
"What, no radio, no lights, nothing is working?"
"Yes, sir! It seems all the electrical and communication lines have been cut!"
To achieve this, Count Blunthal and Clens Fleck's battalion, stationed in the city of Posen, had to mobilize engineers and troops to dig with shovels all night.
Though they could have been discovered, the 3rd Army, whose discipline had grown lax from a long joint garrison and who was familiar with the stationed battalion, either didn't notice at all or simply accepted the flimsy explanation that they were doing repair work.
Of course, Clens, who was doing it himself, had to go through several heart-stopping experiences, but that wasn't important.
"Damn it, what the hell were the sentries doing!"
Küchler felt like he was about to explode.
They were hit by a surprise attack in the deep of dawn, and the enemy was roaming the middle of their camp as if it were their own ho, brazenly tearing through the garrison under the cover of darkness.
In the first place, since they were all German Army soldiers, there was no way to tell them apart in the dark without any lights, and it was obvious that if they started shooting at anyone, only the larger 3rd Army would suffer a disaster from friendly fire.
Moreover, the high command didn't know the exact situation in the first place, but even if they did, there was no way to convey orders to the troops under their command.
In the middle of the night, with no ans of communication, how on earth could they give orders to a massive field army?
Regrettably, among the generals who had joined the coup plot, there were no general officers who reacted quickly with improvisation like Lieutenant General Petzel.
It might have been different in an era that relied on ssengers, but for those who had already grown accustod to convenient things, the sudden change in the situation was just confusing.
Furthermore, the generals who participated in the coup were in a panic, fearing they had been discovered, which prevented them from making calr judgnts.
"Wh-who, ugh!"
At that mont, a large silhouette that ran into the command post struck a staff officer, knocking him down, and as soon as that happened, soldiers poured into the command room and began to violently suppress the high command.
"Wha-What, who are you!"
Küchler imdiately drew his pistol, but when the enemy shone a flashlight directly in his face, he groaned, unable to even open his eyes properly, and was imdiately disard and suppressed.
"General of the Artillery Georg von Küchler. By order of the Minister of Defense, Field Marshal Ludwig Beck, I am arresting you on charges of treason."
"D-Damn it! I was for the fatherland-"
Küchler, who had been shouting, fell silent as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and the nacing face of the man standing before him ca into faint view.
"For the fatherland, what?"
"N-No, no."
As the large man, a head taller than him, asked with a nacing face, Küchler flinched and had to deny it.
"Commander! The signal flare. All teams have completed their mission!"
Otto Skorzeny grinned with his fierce face.
"Haha, you did a great job. Yes, this is it. Fieldwork really is the best."
It was a good thing the civil war broke out just when he was wondering where to go after failing his pilot application, giving him a chance to get noticed by Richthofen.
Of course, as soon as he was noticed, the Luftwaffe top brass was wiped out in one fell swoop, so Richthofen did give him an important position, but the looks of distrust towards Skorzeny, an 'unverified rolling stone,' had not disappeared.
That's why this operation was his first mission as the interim head of the paratroopers, and it was that important.
Both for the Luftwaffe, which needed to shed its label as an organization founded by the Nazis, and for his career.
"Congratulations, Commander! You can now officially beco the commander of the paratroopers!"
Otto Skorzeny smiled with satisfaction at his subordinate's words.
It seed he had definitely achieved the military gains that the Luftwaffe Chief of the General Staff, Wolfram von Richthofen, had demanded to have the paratroopers recognized as a fully independent special operations unit.
-
"Damn it, damn it all. To be discovered so futilely."
Walter Schellenberg, the head of the SD who had been hiding in a hotel in the city of Posen, was hurriedly packing his things.
The Replacent Army was suddenly mobilized in Berlin, and the Nazi underground organization that was preparing a coup and the spies in the prisons began to be arrested simultaneously.
The startled Schellenberg imdiately tried to go to the 3rd Army garrison, but seeing that the garrison was also being raided, he had to rush back to the hotel.
To be hit so one-sidedly without even knowing where the information leaked from. Where did it leak? Did the 3rd Army snitch? Or was there a turncoat agent?
Did Brauchitsch, who had t that damn Dietrich Schacht, leak it? Of course, at this point, it didn't matter either way.
"Damn it all, this is why I didn't want to co to Germany!"
There was no need for Schellenberg, the head of the SD, to co to Germany himself, but the personnel in Germany who had already seen the downfall of the Nazis once were lukewarm despite his persistent approaches.
Thanks to that, Himmler had half-forced him to go, saying they needed a big shot to reassure them, and in the end, this happened.
Schellenberg was haphazardly throwing piles of docunts into the fireplace to burn when he paused, about to throw in the list of collaborators for this grand undertaking.
Even if he returned to Italy from here, would he be safe?
With the Fourth Reich confiscating the assets of Nazi personnel with wide-open eyes, the secret funds he had painstakingly smuggled out and the budget Himmler had obtained from Mussolini with all sorts of sweet talk were gone, not to ntion the collapse of the remaining SD line in Germany.
His thoughts were cut short by a sudden knock on the door, and Schellenberg swallowed hard and drew his pistol.
"A guest? I'm sorry, but there are protests from guests in other rooms that it is too loud for this late hour."
Fortunately, it seed to be a hotel employee.
Of course, real agents wouldn't do sothing so foolish, but Schellenberg, who had been an office worker, let out a sigh of relief and opened the door.
"Ah, my apologies.
Urk!"
And as soon as he did, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and thrown against the wall.
"Keuk!"
Schellenberg's arm, which he had quickly tried to raise his pistol with, was kicked by an Abwehr agent, and Schellenberg looked at the pistol that had flown far away with a despairing expression before raising his gaze.
"Hello there, you son of a bitch?"
The Deputy Director of the Abwehr, Hans Oster, looked down at him and smiled like the grim reaper.
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