The Heroes’ Day Plan
Little more than a week after the bomb hidden in a fake box of Cointreau bottles failed to bring down Hitler’s plane in Operation Flash, Col. Henning von Tresckow set in motion another assassination attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler, hoping to take advantage of Heroes’ Memorial Day, the annual ceremony that commemorated the spring offensive against the Western Front in WW I.
The 1918 Spring Offensive
Eric Ludendorff, Quartermaster General for the German Army under Chief of Staff Paul Von Hindenburg, was credited for victories over the Russians at Tannenberg in 1914 and at Masurian Lakes in 1915. In March, 1918, he initiated Kaiserschlacht, or the Kaiser’s Battle, an aggressive offensive aimed at defeating the Allies before massive numbers of American soldiers could be shipped overseas. (The US entered WW I in April, 1917.) (https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ludendorff_erich.shtml)
The principal operation, codenamed Michael, began in the early hours of March 21, 1918, when artillery units blasted more than 1 million shells over 150 square miles in five hours. Then 60 German military divisions from three separate army units bombarded Allies’ military headquarters and communications and destroyed artillery, infantry, and heavy armament defenses. In less than two days, Operation Michael pushed the British Fifth Army into full retreat and sent troops all the way back to ports along the English Channel. (Watson, Alexander: German Spring Offensives 1918, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.)
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/295196950577912174/
Kaiser’s Battle recaptured land the Wehrmacht had lost to the Allies in 1916-17, added new occupied territories, and accounted for the deepest military advancements they had made since 1914. While the offensive was the biggest crisis the Allies had faced since the start of the war, it did not achieve clear victory, and Wehrmacht advances came at a high cost. The Allies lost 255,000 men, 1300 pieces of artillery, and 200 tanks. Germans lost 239,000 men, most among the elite frontline Stormtroopers who were hard to replace, and the remaining infantrymen were exhausted, far away from supply lines, and in a matter of months in pitched battle with new British and Australian units. (1918: spring offensive and advance to victory, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/western-front-1918, (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 28-May-2024)
Heroes’ Memorial Day
A memorial ceremony had been held throughout Germany every year since 1919 to honor those who had served in the First World War. Between 1919 and 1934, the ceremony honored the dead; beginning in 1934, it became part of a national day of commemoration for war heroes and recognition of the initial success of the Ludendorff offensive on the Western Front. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkstrauertag#:~:text=On%2027%20February%201934%2C%20the,%22)%2C%20cementing%20the%20observance)
For March 21, 1943 Heroes’ Memorial Day, Adolf Hitler planned to make a speech, then inspect captured Soviet weapons in the Zeughaus Berlin Armory on Unter den Linden, along with Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel, and Grand Admiral Karl Donitz.
At Hitler’s side was Baron Rudolf-Christoph von Gersdorff, one of the organizers of the exhibition and a member of the German Army General Staff who, like Tresckow, had opposed the Nazi Regime since military officers were forced to pledge obeisance to Hitler, not the country of Germany in 1933, and agreed that “Hitler must be cut down like a rabid dog.” (Nigel Jones: Countdown to Valkyrie, Frontline Books, 2008, p 142)
The March 21, 1943, Plot
Gersdorff had hoped to be able to smuggle a bomb inside the Zeughaus and find a suitable site to hide it, under the platform from which Hitler would make his Heroes’ Day address, under the platform from which Hitler wound make his Heroes’ Day address, for example. However, security was heavy throughout the armory, especially around the speaker’s dais. So the plan became a suicide mission—Gersdorff would secrete a bomb in the pocket of his uniform, activate a timer that would trigger detonation in ten minutes, and blow up himself as well as Hitler. (Countdown to Valkyrie)
Late on the night before the ceremony, Gersdorff received two bombs from Tresckow’s aide Fabian von Schlabrendorff and placed one in each coat pocket. The next afternoon beginning at 1:00 pm, an hour later than originally planned, Gersdorff watched the ceremony and Hitler’s speech, triggered the fuses to the bombs, then approached Hitler and the Führer’s entourage, including Göring, Himmler, Keitel, and Donitz, ready to lead the group through the exhibit of Soviet weapons for what been planned as a 30-minute tour.
The visit was cut short, however, as Hitler moved quickly from one exhibit to the next. Attempting to keep Hitler and the other members of his group within the armory long enough for the bombs to activate, Gersdorff stood in front of one of the artifacts on display—the Napoleon Army’s eagle standard that had been found and recovered from a river bed in Russia—and recounted its history.
But when Hitler sighted a side door to the street, he and his entourage quickly slipped outside where he spied a Russian tank. After spending a few minutes clamoring aboard the tank and peering inside, Hitler entered his automobile, and he and his chauffeur drove slowly down Unter den Linden. (Eberhard Zeller: The Flame of Freedom, University of Miami Press, 1967)
The expected half-hour tour had been cut down by more than half. The timers on the bombs still had several minutes before they would spark explosions. Gersdorff had only one option—find a nearby toilet, pull the fuses away from the bombs, hide the explosives, and leave. (Joachim Fest: Plotting Hitler’s Death, Metropolitan Books, 1994)
Seeds of Valkyrie
Two failed assassination attempts in a matter of days, plus plans that never even saw the light of day in 1941, gave Tresckow four major insights about future action. To increase the likelihood of success, a plot to kill Hitler had to meet four criteria:
First: Timing
Although some leaders of the German military had tried to oust Hitler as early as 1934, others were loath to consider removing the leader of the Third Reich in the 1940s. Some were resigned, believing that Hitler was “Germany’s destiny for better or worse,” and “nothing can be done.” (Plotting Hitler’s Death, p 213)
Some felt compelled to remain in Hitler’s ranks after FDR vowed in January, 1943, that the war would “continue relentlessly” until the Allies secured “unconditional surrender.” To them, turning against Hitler at this point would be tantamount to betrayal of their own country. (Plotting Hitler’s Death, p 211)
Moreover, people in the country remained, for the most part, on Hitler’s side.
But as the course of the war turned, most prominently with the capitulation of the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad in February, 1943, high-ranking German military officers joined the military Resistance as well as an organized plan for assassination. (Maclndoe, Kathleen Michelle, "The Forgotten Faces of Operation Valkyrie: Major-General Henning von Tresckow and General Friedrich Olbricht in the July 20 Plot to Assassinate Hitler" (2016). Student Research Submissions. 58. https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/58)
To plotters, the coming year—1944—would be an opportune time to move ahead.
Second: Access
Security around Hitler had always been tight, but it steadily intensified after repeated attempts had been made on his life. Hitler’s residence at the Berghof, Obersaltzberg, was regularly patrolled by 2000 Waffen SS, and even high-ranking officials were routinely searched, aides were denied entrance to scheduled meetings and surveilled while waiting.
Anyone hoping to gain close enough access to make an attempt on Hitler’s life had to have a high enough security clearance to make sure he was not suspicious in the first place and would be allowed to meet with the Führer in person. ("The Forgotten Faces of Operation Valkyrie: Major-General Henning von Tresckow and General Friedrich Olbricht in the July 20 Plot to Assassinate Hitler"
The assassin had to be Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, Chief of Staff of the Reserve Army who reported directly to Hitler about troop status at military conferences, was not routinely searched, and did not appear to be threatening. He had steadily moved up military ranks, joining the German Army High Command in 1940. Moreover, he was not fully functional. He lost his left eye and had to have his right hand amputated after an American fighter-bomber swooped down and strafed him during a raid in the Mediterranean on April 7, 1943. (John Grehan: The Hitler Assassination Attempts, Frontline Books, 2022; Countdown to Valkyrie.
Third: Location
Security constraints, nevertheless, could be overcome only by making an attempt on Hitler’s life while he was in his own headquarters, where he would be more relaxed and meetings would be held according to schedule. ("The Forgotten Faces of Operation Valkyrie: Major-General Henning von Tresckow and General Friedrich Olbricht in the July 20 Plot to Assassinate Hitler"
Despite rings of security and heavy armaments, the most likely site for the Valkyrie operation was Wolfsschanze in the woods five miles east of Rastenberg where Hitler and German military leaders met to direct operations against Russia.
Fourth: Method
Security and Hitler’s own protective clothing—bullet-proof vest, metal-lined cap—made the success of a rifle or pistol attack neigh on impossible. It also made clear who the would-be assassin was and therefore implicated accomplices. An explosive device, however, could be secreted and kept the identity of the perpetrators anonymous. (“The Forgotten Faces of Operation Valkyrie: Major-General Henning von Tresckow and General Friedrich Olbricht in the July 20 Plot to Assassinate Hitler"
Thus, the audacious plan codenamed Valkyrie took shape.
Sources:
Maclndoe, Kathleen Michelle, "The Forgotten Faces of Operation Valkyrie: Major-General Henning von Tresckow and General Friedrich Olbricht in the July 20 Plot to Assassinate Hitler" (2016). Student Research Submissions. 58. https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/58
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ludendorff_erich.shtml
German Spring Offensives 1918, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
1918: spring offensive and advance to victory, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/western-front-1918, (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 28-May-2024
Joachim Fest: Plotting Hitler’s Death, Metropolitan Books, 1994
Nigel Jones: Countdown to Valkyrie, Frontline Books, 2008, p 142
Eberhard Zeller: The Flame of Freedom, University of Miami Press, 1967