“That’s true, General,” Munro admitted because there wasn’t really anything else he could say.
Eisenhower walked to the window. Rain dashed against the pane. “What a day,” he said morosely. “One thing’s for sure. I can only think of one man who’ll have a smile on his face this morning.”
At that very moment Adolf Hitler was reading a report on the Slapton Sands affair in the map room of his underground headquarters known as Wolf’s I^air, near Rasten-burg, deep in the forests of East Prussia.
Most of those Important in the Nazi hierarchy were present. Heinrich Himmler, Reichsfiihrer of the SS and Chief of both State and Secret Police, Josef Goebbels, Reichsmin-ister for Propaganda, Reichsleiter Martin Bormann, Secretary to the Fiihrer among other things, and Oberfiihrer Rattenhuber, Himmler’s Chief of Security and Commander of the SS guard at Rastenburg.
Hitler almost danced with delight and crumpled the thin paper of the message in one hand. “So, our Navy can still strike, and hard, right in the enemy’s own backyard! Three ships sunk, and hundreds of casualties.” His eyes sparked. “A bad morning for General Eisenhower, gentlemen.”
There was general enthusiasm. “Good news indeed, my Fuhrer,” Goebbels said and delivered his usual high laugh.
Bormann, who had been the first to see the message, said quietly, “If we can do this to them off the coast of Devon, my Fuhrer, all things are possible off the coast of France.”
“They won’t even get ashore,” Himmler put in.
“Probably not,” Hitler said, in high good humor. “But now, gentlemen, to the purpose of our meeting.” They grouped around the circular table and he tapped the large-scale map of France. “The Westwall proceeds, I think.” He turned to Bormann. “The report on Army Group B which I asked for? Has it arrived?”
Bormann turned inquiringly to Rattenhuber who said, “IVe just had a report from the airfield. The courier, a Captain Koenig, landed five minutes ago. He’s on his way.”
“Good.” Hitler seemed abstracted now, as if somehow alone as he stared down at the map. “So, gentlemen, where do we start?”
On December 26,1943, a remarkable and gifted young German officer, Colonel Klaus von Stauffenberg, reported for a meeting at Rastenburg with a time bomb in his briefcase, Unfortunately, the meeting did not lake place, as the Fuhrer had already departed for Bavaria for the Christmas holiday. In spite of having lost his left eye and right hand in action, von Stauffenberg was Chief of Staff to General Olbricht of the General Army Office and the center of a conspiracy of army generals whose aim was to assassinate the Fuhrer and save Germany from disaster.
His own abortive attempt at Christmas 1943 was only one of many that had failed. Yet there was no shortage of volunteers to the cause, as witness Captain Karl Koenig traveling in the rear of the military car from the airfield to Wolf’s Lair on that gray April morning with the papers from Berlin that Hitler had requested. He was in a highly nervous state, which was hardly surprising when one considered the time bomb carefully placed in the false bottom of the briefcase. He had told the pilot at Rastenburg airfield to be ready for a quick turnaround and his fingers trembled as he lit a cigarette.
The SS driver and guard in front stared woodenly ahead, and as time passed, Koenig’s nervousness increased. There were minefields on either side in the gloomy woods, electric fences, guards patrolling everywhere with savage dogs and three gates to pass through to reach the inner compound. Still, time to arm the bomb. Once done, it would give him exactly thirty minutes, they had told him.
He reached for the lock on the left-hand strap of the briefcase and depressed it. There was an immediate and very powerful explosion which killed Koenig and the two guards instantly and blew the car apart. ‘
Hitler was beside himself with rage, pacing up and down in the map room. “Again and yet again they try.” He turned on Rattenhuber. “And you, Oberfiihrer? What about you? Sworn to protect my personal safety.”
“My Fuhrer,” Rattenhuber stammered. “What can I say?”
“Nothing!” Hitler stormed and turned on the rest of them. “You say nothing of use to me-not any of you.”