The Third Empire Chapter 29: Ethnic Unrest (2)

  Streicher had changed into an SS-Sturmbannführer uniform, stood at attention and saluted: "Heinrich, sir, the special action team is assembled!"

  This is the secret training ground of the Jungm?delbund, located in a forest area east of Munich's holy district Weihenstephan. The camp was built very secretly and was initially used for small-scale confrontation exercises, now it is the base for the students and teachers of the Jungm?delbund to evade the secret police pursuit.

  Behind Strasser stood 128 young cadets, fully armed and dressed in SS uniforms, standing at attention waiting for the order to depart.

  The entire Munich has been taken over by the Nazi Party, which is currently the only province that the Nazi Party does not control. Munich is the birthplace of the Nazi Party and has a large number of supporters in Munich. Although this is the traditional sphere of influence of the Strasser family, unfortunately, the Strasser family has lost its dominance over most of Munich.

  Heinrich told the assembled students frankly: "Munich's traffic has been taken over by Hitler's SS bodyguards, and our trip is extremely dangerous. Students who do not want to participate in this action can withdraw."

  128 young students maintain a motionless posture, and no one is willing to be a coward among the brave young people.

  Heinrich is like an ancient dead soldier, knowing he will die but still choosing to be loyal to the lord of the house. "I ask again, does anyone choose to withdraw?"

  Young men have the right to choose to continue living. However, they slightly raised their heads, indicating that they were glorious Junker descendants and would never retreat in the face of any danger.

  "My young master, your predecessor; Count von Stauffenberg has been taken hostage by the despicable Hitler to coerce the Stauffenberg family into abandoning their armed uprising. He is currently under house arrest at Prinzregentenplatz 16 and needs our rescue!"

  No one spoke, they remained at attention. Only a few people would wonder in their hearts: Why did the commander of the 3rd Armored Division, who was supposed to appear in Sudetenland, appear in Munich and become Hitler's hostage?

  No one asked, but it's a good tradition in Germany that the subordinate never asks what the superior wants to do. As a subordinate, you don't need to think, just obey.

  "General von Stahl, my host, your leader has already prepared to refuse Hitler's impudent demands and stand with the Defense Forces and the people in resistance to the end. Our great leader is resolutely prepared to defy Hitler for the sake of our German fatherland; he hopes that we can do everything possible to save his only son..."

  Heinrich stood up straight, pulled out a folded telegram from his pocket and shouted "Supreme Command Order!"

  The 128 students were shocked and immediately changed into a rifle salute posture.

  "The cadets of the Junker military academy were officially incorporated into the 3rd Armored Division, under the command of Generalleutnant K?rner von Staadeck. The mission of the second and third squads was to secretly occupy the Toniwi railway station and wait for the arrival of the vanguard infantry reinforcements of the 3rd Armored Division. I personally led the first squad, our mission was to rescue Generalleutnant K?rner von Staadeck who had been taken hostage."

  Without fanfare, under Heinrich's orders, 128 students boarded the trains. This was their first mission and it was a difficult one; the second and third teams had to occupy the Tonhalle in eastern Munich by 4 am on the 23rd.

  At this time, the special train carrying the 3rd Armored Division had already arrived in Nuremberg, where they were ordered to cooperate with Leeb's Defense Army Group 2 from the Western Front to occupy Munich.

  It's extremely strange and also extremely cruel. Apart from Hal, it seems that most people have 'deliberately' forgotten the fact that Xuyang was in Hitler's hands.

  ……

  Berlin.

  The civilian personnel of the General Staff of National Defense were busy sorting out telegrams from all over the country and selecting urgent documents for priority processing.

  The core office of the General Staff Headquarters, a group of senior generals were divided into two factions and were in dispute.

  "We can't just give up on that little guy, I strongly demand that a special task force be sent to rescue him!" General Fritsch of the Army was jumping with rage, he refused to abandon Stark's only son. His reasons were simple: firstly, the Stark family was an important force against Hitler at present, abandoning Stark's only son would hurt Hal and Liliana's feelings too much. Secondly, the Stark family was a banner at present, losing any member of the Stark family would be a blow to the image of the National Defense Army for the people who trusted the Stark family. For both public and private reasons, the National Defense Army had an obligation to rescue Kahn von Stark.

  However, many generals argued that the Defense Army should concentrate its forces to capture the provinces occupied by the Nazi Party as soon as possible. In order to capture Munich, which was defended by 120,000 armed SS troops, they should not alarm them prematurely. If a rescue operation were to be carried out, it would be necessary to postpone the attack dates of the Second Army and the Third Armored Division, which the Defense Army could not afford to wait for. The longer the delay, the more unfavorable it would be for the Defense Army. Before intervening in international society, Germany must resolve its internal struggle. At present, the Defense Army has a great advantage, and it cannot affect the planned action plan because of one person who may have been killed.

  In fact, the Defence Force had just received Hitler's final warning that if the Defence Force did not abandon its armed coup attempt, Hitler would take necessary measures, with Kahr von Gustav first and foremost among the hostages in Munich, followed by important officials of the Bavarian government.

  Hitler promised that if the Defence Force abandoned the armed coup, the government would deal with the incident fairly and only severely punish those who incited national armed forces to stage a coup (actually, it was the Nazi Party traitors led by R?hm), and the Defence Force would not be implicated, and also promised many benefits.

  The high-ranking generals of the Supreme Command are not fools, and now that they have a great advantage, even if they fall behind, they will not have the opportunity to turn back. Who does not know that the beautiful promises of that person each time result in more bloody purges? The Defense Army had once fantasized about both sides doing their own things, but what did constant compromise bring? It brought even harsher conditions, and Hitler even planned a large-scale purge of commanders of various departments within the Defense Army system.

  Before Hitler came to power, he had signed the Saint Germain Plan with Junker and the Defense Army, which was written in black and white; Hitler would only manage administrative affairs and not interfere with the Defense Army; Foreign affairs would be discussed by Hitler and von Papen, and decided by a vote of parliament. Domestic construction would be handled by Hjalmar Schacht.

  The first time armed forces entered the Rhineland, Hitler would still consult with people from all walks of life and would find staff from the Ministry of National Defense to discuss and plan together.

  After Hitler successfully brought the Rhineland back into the bosom of the German Fatherland, his confidence swelled, taking all the credit for himself, ignoring the efforts of the General Staff and even more so the military occupation by the Reichswehr. After Germany's economic takeoff, he again hastily took all the credit for himself, boasting that the resurgence of the German economy was planned by him and executed by Hjalmar Schacht, resulting in today's achievements.

  At this time, the Junkers, financiers and military leaders had had enough, but they were still waiting quietly, secretly planning a counterattack. Hitler's 'Black Plan' brought their counterattack forward, the only surprise being that those who should have enjoyed the fruits of victory found themselves in Hitler's hands.

  If Hitler had completely grasped Germany, he could have taken all the credit for himself. But in fact, he did not fully grasp Germany, and there were Junkers, financiers, and the military who could influence his opinions, which was also unbearable for him, so he always planned to make Germany only exist with his own voice.

  Hitler knew what Germany needed at the moment, but he misjudged his own strength. The flattery of his subordinates, the good news and not the bad, the recovery of German industry, the prosperity of the market economy, the weakness of the Junkers, the cooperation of the financiers, and the goodwill of the Reichswehr - all this made him believe that he was an indispensable great man for Germany.

  Opportunities only belong to those who are always prepared at different times. Hitler was not the dictator who completely dominated German consciousness, and he had many weaknesses.

  Arrogance and self-admiration will only make a person with great talent become short-sighted.

  ……

  Hitler's luxurious special train left Munich Hauptbahnhof, its destination was Ansfelden in Austria.

  Xu Yang was led to a simply decorated room that looked like a rural restaurant. The Party Guard Colonel who had been following him closely said this was Hitler's dining hall. Xu Yang sat calmly at the prepared dinner table, looking out at the scenery outside, wondering why he hadn't died yet. Hitler was never merciful to traitors, and it seemed that Xu Yang was one of them.

  Rudolf Hess walked in, looking at Xuyang with a complex gaze, and opened his mouth bitterly: "The Führer wants to have lunch with you later."