Chapter 22: Interwar Period – Anschluss (3)
Translated by Vine | Proofread by Lust
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March 11, 1938
Regensburg (near the German-Austrian border), XIII Military District, Germany
He had barely slept on the overcrowded train. Exhausted, he arrived in Regensburg, only to be greeted by even greater chaos.
“30th Infantry Regiment! Where is the 30th Infantry Regiment?!”
“Out of the way! We need to unload the tanks!”
“How can we move?! There’s no space!”
It was like a marketplace.
The normally quiet and charming streets of Regensburg, a historic city in Southern Germany, were overflowing with soldiers and military equipment.
“We’re requisitioning this vehicle on the orders of General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian for the 1st Panzer Division!”
“Hey! That’s my car!”
“We’re just following orders, old man! We’re not stealing it! It’ll be returned later. Complain to someone higher up!”
They were confiscating civilian vehicles. A mechanized unit relying on requisitioned civilian cars? Was this really happening?
He let out a hollow laugh and grabbed a nearby soldier, “What unit are you with?”
“Uh… what the… I apologize, Captain! 46th Infantry Division!”
Where did the 46th belong? IV Army Corps?
“Do you know where the XI Army Corps is?”
“I… I’m sorry! I’m with XIV Army Corps! I don’t know where XI Corps is! Do… do you know where IV Corps is?”
“I’m sorry, I just arrived. Good luck, Private.”
The operation was supposed to start tomorrow… was this really happening?
He sighed, feeling overwhelmed by the chaos.
“Excuse me, Captain! Do you know where the XI Army Corps is?” A lieutenant colonel asked him.
He didn’t know either. He noticed the General Staff insignia. Enviable. Wait, XI Army Corps?
He saluted, “I apologize, Lieutenant Colonel! I’m with XI Corps, but I haven’t found them yet. Captain Dietrich Schacht.”
The lieutenant colonel chuckled ruefully and returned the salute, “What a mess. Lieutenant Colonel Henning von Tresckow.”
Henning von Tresckow. He knew that name. He couldn’t not know it. Tresckow was a key figure in the anti-Hitler resistance, having planned several assassination attempts before Stauffenberg’s.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Lieutenant Colonel. I’m with the 18th Infantry Division…”
“Excellent. Me too. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the field. I’ve been stuck in the General Staff. Good to have you, Captain Schacht.”
So, Tresckow was another Beck supporter who had been sidelined. He hadn’t known that.
It wasn’t surprising, considering Tresckow had been involved in the July 20th plot with Beck and Stauffenberg.
“Likewise, Lieutenant Colonel! We should find our unit.”
“Indeed.”
They wandered through Regensburg, finally locating the XI Army Corps. They even picked up Leutnant Winrich Behr, who had been assigned to the same division. What a state of affairs.
“Reporting for duty, Division Commander! Lieutenant Colonel Henning von Tresckow!”
“Captain Dietrich Schacht!”
“Lieutenant Winrich Behr!”
The Generalmajor returned their salutes with a wry smile, “Welcome. We’re… missing 13 officers. Generalmajor Friedrich Karl Kranz. I’ve never seen such a disorganized operation in my entire career.”
They chuckled. It was truly a mess.
“Tresckow, you’re the commander of the 30th Infantry Regiment? Get moving. Schacht, you’re in charge of the 3rd Company, 30th Regiment. Behr, you’re the adjutant of the 3rd Company.”
3rd Company? That wasn’t what his orders said.
“But General, my orders…”
Kranz scoffed, “Ha! High Command is demanding we launch the offensive as planned, but who knows when the other officers will arrive? We need to make do with what we have.”
“…Yes, sir!”
So, they were abandoning the original plan and improvising.
It was fortunate that the German army had a tradition of mission-type tactics, allowing for such improvisation. Otherwise, launching the offensive within three days would have been impossible.
“Off you go. You’ve had some time to coordinate, so you’ll manage. Dismissed.”
“Yes, sir!”
They left the makeshift headquarters and headed to their regiment. He was immediately bombarded with complaints from his new company, before he even had a chance to introduce himself properly.
“Captain! Our platoon has a mix of rifles!”
“The Gewehr 98 and Karabiner 98 are similar enough, and they use the same ammunition. Just issue whatever you have!”
“Captain! We’re short on tents!”
“Lieutenant Behr, send a runner to headquarters. No, go yourself! All the other units are probably in the same situation, so go and see what you can get.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Captain…!”
He didn’t know! He had just arrived! He couldn’t magically conjure up supplies!
He wanted to cry.
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March 12, 1938
Regensburg (near the German-Austrian border), XIII Military District, Germany
Chancellor Schuschnigg, unable to contain the Austrian Nazi uprising, had announced a plebiscite on unification with Germany for March 13th. He had even tried to manipulate the vote by restricting suffrage to older citizens, excluding the younger generation, who were more likely to support the Nazis.
Hitler, enraged, had ordered the invasion of Austria by the 12th. Schuschnigg, panicking, had resigned and broadcast a message of capitulation, hoping to appease Hitler, but it was too late.
Hitler, having secured his pretext, had obtained a ‘request for intervention’ from Seyss-Inquart and ordered the invasion.
That was why they were in this mess. They had cobbled together their units and departed early that morning, but only Kranz’s 18th Infantry Division of the XI Army Corps had managed to depart on schedule.
The 19th Infantry Division, under Generalleutnant Schwantes, was still preparing and would depart later. And even within the 18th Division, the 18th Artillery Regiment was still unloading its equipment and couldn’t move.
Basically, they were sending in the infantry to plant the flag, while the heavy equipment caught up.
Their objective was Linz, Hitler’s hometown. Fortunately, it was north of the Danube, so they didn’t have to worry about other units converging on the same target.
They crossed the Danube over the Steinerne Brücke, a historic medieval bridge, and marched along the riverbank. The chaos on the other side was evident. The roads were clogged with requisitioned civilian vehicles and tanks, many of which had broken down, causing massive traffic jams. A long column of infantry stretched all the way back to Regensburg.
Would they even all manage to depart today? They were lucky to have left early.
His men looked exhausted. They had crammed as many as possible into nearby houses, but they were still short on tents, and many had slept in cramped conditions. It was a good thing it was spring.
“Captain Schacht, how are things? I assume there are… issues. Can you march?” Tresckow asked, surveying the regiment from his car.
He saluted, “Yes, Lieutenant Colonel. We’ll manage.”
Tresckow looked like he had aged five years overnight. The chaos of the previous day must have been exhausting for a man used to the relative comfort of the General Staff.
He only had to worry about his company, but he could imagine how much Tresckow, newly appointed to command the regiment, had suffered.
“…The trench warfare of the last war was a nightmare, but this is a nightmare of a different kind.”
“Hahaha…”
“Carry on.”
“Yes, sir!”
He watched Tresckow drive away and sighed, looking at his men, who were marching in a disorganized mess.
He remembered reading about the Italian military attaché in Austria mocking the state of the German army during the Anschluss. He had dismissed it then, but now…
He had to admit, it was a mess.
These disorganized rabble were the same German army that would achieve seemingly invincible feats in the early stages of World War II? Unbelievable!
At this point, wouldn’t it have been easier to overthrow the regime by spreading anti-Nazi propaganda in Austria and intentionally losing the war?
Of course, the Austrian Nazi Party was too strong for that to work, and even if it had, Germany would have descended into chaos. He missed the Condor Legion.
—
March 15, 1938
Linz, Austria
Contrary to Tresckow’s worries, they had reached Linz without firing a shot.
The Austrian army hadn’t resisted. They had cheered them on and even opened the roads for them. The streets of Linz were already adorned with swastikas, and the citizens greeted them enthusiastically, showering them with flowers.
The exhausted soldiers, having endured the chaotic march, called it the Blumenkrieg (War of Flowers) and were overjoyed.
Even he, knowing what the future held, couldn’t help but feel a sense of elation at the enthusiastic welcome.
These Austrians, now cheering for the Nazi German army, would later suffer during World War II and then rewrite history, blaming everything on Germany and the Nazis.
The welcome was so overwhelming that even Hitler and Göring, who had stopped by Linz on their way to Vienna, Hitler’s supposed ‘homecoming,’ had been surprised and delighted by the enthusiastic reception.
They listened to Hitler’s speech, broadcast throughout Austria, from Linz,
[As Führer and Chancellor of the German Reich, I announce with great joy the entry of my homeland into the German Reich! The oldest eastern province of the German people (Österreich) has now become the newest bastion of the German Reich!]
As the citizens and soldiers celebrated and listened to the speech, he noticed some houses and shops marked with the word “Jude” (Jew) in red paint.
[Some foreign press believed the Nazis would annex Austria through brutal means! But the Austrians would have demanded reunification with Germany, even if it meant death!]
He saw a family looking anxiously out of a marked window, as the crowds cheered Hitler’s words, praising his decisiveness and greatness, oblivious to the ominous undertones.
[My political struggle has been won by the love of the people! I felt this love the moment I crossed the border! We have come not as conquerors, but as liberators!]
A group of Nazi Party members stood in front of the marked house, pausing to listen to their beloved Führer’s speech.
[No one can deny that Austria is German! Germany will rule the world! (Deutschland über Alles!)]
““Deutschland über Alles!”” The citizens of Linz, the soldiers, and all of Austria, now unified with Germany, chanted, believing in Germany’s greatness and Hitler’s promise of world domination. The Nazi Party members, sharing the same belief, began attacking the houses marked as Jewish, lynching their occupants.
As the crowds cheered and celebrated, he walked towards Tresckow, who was watching the brutal scene unfold, his gaze fixed on a Jewish family being dragged bleeding from their home.
“…Our great nation can be a disaster for some, can’t it, Lieutenant Colonel?”
It was time to act.
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