Chapter 54: The Oath of Loyalty (1)
Translated by Vine | Proofread by Lust
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< German Civil War – The Oath of Loyalty (1) >
October 6, 1939
Central Germany, 9th Military District, Kassel, Frankfurt, New Government Headquarters
Following the failed diplomatic talks, despite his personal involvement, French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier resigned, and Paul Reynaud succeeded him.
La Rocque’s French Social Party seized the opportunity to lambast the Radical-Socialist Party’s failure, further fueling the chaos within the French Third Republic.
While unfortunate for them, the German people, witnessing France’s turmoil, felt a sense of schadenfreude, viewing it as payback for Versailles and the Ruhr occupation. My return, along with the Foreign Ministry staff, was met with enthusiastic celebration.
We had succeeded in satisfying the public, who desired neither war with Britain and France nor another humiliating surrender.
The New Government, which had teetered on the brink of collapse due to the monarchist coup, quickly recovered.
“Good work. You handled it rather well.”
My father, Hjalmar Schacht, offered his praise with a characteristically stoic expression, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards ever so slightly.
Even I had to admit I had done a good job. Was that all the praise I was getting?
Hjalmar, as if the matter were concluded, moved on to commend Weizsäcker and Kort.
It was my fault for expecting more from him…
“Well, at least we have some breathing room diplomatically. What’s the situation with Italy?”
“Well, about that…”
Ludwig Beck, now Minister of Defense instead of Regent, hesitated, his expression uneasy.
“Don’t tell me they broke through?”
Surely those Italians, who had been so incompetent against me in Guadalajara, weren’t suddenly benefiting from some strange buff that made them strong only when they were our enemies?
“They were attacked and routed by the Austrian army, and now they are engaged in fighting at the border.”
“Excuse me?”
Why were the Austrian and Italian armies fighting each other? Most of the Austrian army had been integrated into the Wehrmacht and deployed for the invasion of Poland.
“Apparently, the Italians declared their intention to annex Tyrol. The enraged Austrian border guards attacked and routed them, and now the Italians are counterattacking.”
Routed by border guards? What was going on? And annex Tyrol? Seriously?
“Isn’t Mussolini supposed to be fighting on the Nazis’ side?”
“That’s right.”
I was speechless. All that time I spent on the plane agonizing over what to do if Bavaria was invaded had been a complete waste?
“Haha…”
This was absurd. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what Hitler must be thinking.
Still, I couldn’t miss this golden opportunity.
Having overcome both internal and external crises, it was time to bring this to an end.
–
October 7, 1939
Northern Germany, Berlin, New Reich Chancellery
[The Führer, who claimed to act for the German nation and people, is selling his own homeland to foreign powers and denouncing us as rebels! Germany, awaken! What is this Germany that Goebbels urges us to awaken for?!]
“Schacht, Schacht! That traitor! Turn it off! Turn it off now!”
Hitler screamed, clutching his head after hearing the radio broadcast.
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[Open your eyes! Don’t be blinded by their propaganda, and see the truth with your own eyes! The Germany they speak of is not our Fatherland, but a nation enslaved to—]
Wilhelm Keitel, sweating profusely, turned off the radio as Hitler clutched the back of his neck.
“Give it to me! Now!”
Erwin Rommel sighed quietly, observing Hitler.
Rommel, having saved Hitler during the Reich Chancellery attack, had become the Führer’s most favored Wehrmacht general and had been promoted to Lieutenant General. However, lately, he had been doing a lot of sighing.
“Here you are, mein Führer.”
Hitler swallowed the medication offered by Morell and gulped down some water.
Even to Rommel, who knew little of medicine, it was evident that Theodor Morell’s prescriptions were worsening the Führer’s condition.
However, Hitler, suffering intensely from the aftereffects of his injuries, trusted Morell implicitly and demanded medication whenever the pain flared up.
“Huff, huff. Mussolini, that damned fool! What in God’s name is he doing?!”
His supposed ally had demanded Austria as compensation and then, during the Military Junta coup, had reached out to Britain and France.
Only after being rebuffed by them had Mussolini returned, offering his support but again demanding southern Austria.
Forced to cede Tyrol to appease Mussolini, who had refused to help without territorial concessions, Hitler had planned to deal with him after suppressing the rebellion, but…
Even Hitler hadn’t imagined that the madman would declare the annexation of Tyrol in the middle of the civil war.
“Once I crush these rebels, I’ll deal with Mussolini, uuurgh!”
Hitler clutched the back of his neck again.
Nazi Party members and pro-Nazi Austrian generals had all been sent to the Polish front, in hopes of earning them glory. Major General Karl Eglseer, who commanded the Austrian border guards, was not affiliated with the Nazis.
Upon hearing the Italian declaration of annexing Tyrol, he had immediately rallied the local populace and the border guards and launched a fierce attack against the Italian troops.
Hitler had hastily ordered the Austrian Reichsgau (Nazi administrative region) to cease hostilities with the Italian forces, but the Austrian Nazi Party had already lost control of the situation.
The New Government seized this opportunity, launching a massive propaganda campaign accusing the Nazis of betraying their own people. Public and military opinion, which had briefly subsided after the Military Junta coup, flared up again.
That damned Schacht, he was the problem. Schacht, Schacht. Both father and son were the vilest of traitors.
The father constantly opposed him, and he should have recognized the son’s treacherous nature from the way he had pledged loyalty without actually saying the words directly.
“Mein Führer, with all due respect, we are receiving a constant stream of inquiries from the generals at Wehrmacht High Command, demanding confirmation of whether it is true that we ceded Austrian territory to Italy.”
Wilhelm Keitel spoke, sweating profusely, but Hitler yelled.
“How many times do I have to say it?! There was no such agreement! The Austrian troops have joined the rebels, and the Italian forces are merely suppressing them! Tell the Wehrmacht to launch an offensive against those traitors immediately!”
In the end, Hitler and the Nazi Party chose to abandon Austria. They announced that General Eglseer and some Austrian troops had joined the rebellion, forcing the Italian army to intervene.
While this had some effect for now, with the Nazis banning New Government radio and newspapers and cutting off communication with New Government-controlled areas, it wouldn’t last long. Many citizens, and even some Wehrmacht soldiers, were listening to New Government radio broadcasts using the frequencies published in the newspapers distributed on the first day of the coup.
Prolonging this situation was detrimental to the Nazis, who were pressuring the Wehrmacht to crush the rebels by any means necessary.
“With all due respect, mein Führer, we continue to issue orders, but the only response we receive is that an offensive is impossible without supplies.”
The Nazi Wehrmacht currently looked good on paper. As the main force prepared for the invasion of Poland, they possessed superior numbers and equipment compared to the New Government forces.
However, with the Ruhr industrial region, the heart of German war production, and the ball bearing factory in Schweinfurt (north of Bavaria) in enemy hands, they couldn’t produce essential equipment and parts.
What good were their armored divisions if their tanks could break down mid-operation with no spare parts available?
“Those damned bastards! That’s just an excuse! Who are they trying to fool, playing both sides?!”
Hitler blamed the Wehrmacht, and he was half-right, but the equipment situation of the Nazi Wehrmacht was indeed deteriorating rapidly.
The only armored vehicles Nazi Germany was currently producing were Czech tanks in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
They had been transitioning those production lines to Panzer III and IV tanks, deeming further production unnecessary, but after the civil war broke out and they lost the ball bearing factory, they had to revert to the Czech tank lines, which could be produced without German parts.
Furthermore, the Czech workers in the factories were uncooperative, resulting in abysmal production rates. The few tanks that were produced were being assigned to the Waffen-SS, not the Wehrmacht.
“Mein Führer, please send me to the front. I will lead the charge and prove my loyalty.”
Rommel, unable to stand by any longer, stepped forward, but Hitler approached him, shook his head, and said.
“Oh, no. General Rommel, you must stay by my side.”
Wilhelm Keitel glared at Rommel, whom Hitler clung to almost desperately, but Rommel felt conflicted.
He was ambitious, but his poor relationship with the influential generals of the General Staff had hindered his advancement, so he had made an effort to gain Hitler’s favor.
As a result, he had been promoted to Major General and then, after saving the Führer’s life as his chief of security, to Lieutenant General.
Initially, Rommel had been proud of saving the national leader’s life, a commendable act for a soldier.
However, his pride had been short-lived. While at Hitler’s side, listening to New Government radio broadcasts and Hitler’s orders to Nazi officials, he had become increasingly disillusioned.
It was agonizing to witness the deteriorating situation, the Führer’s declining health due to his injuries and medication, and to lose respect for him while being stuck in the rear.
“You are the only one I can trust in the Wehrmacht, General Rommel. The rest are traitors, schemers, and vile opportunists.”
Rommel forced a smile and replied to the Führer, who had become pathologically dependent on him since the attack.
“There must be others in the Wehrmacht who are truly loyal, mein Führer.”
“Of course, there must be. Yes. The problem is those opportunistic traitors…”
Rommel had simply offered a polite platitude, but he was startled by Hitler’s sudden outburst, as if struck by inspiration.
However, Hitler quickly retreated into his own world, muttering to himself. His eyes, glazed over with pain and medication, gleamed with a manic intensity as he quietly murmured.
“In that case, I have no choice but to make an example.”
–
October 9, 1939
Northern Germany, Potsdam, Headquarters of the 10th Army
The headquarters of the 10th Army, the first to pledge loyalty and rush to Berlin after the New Government’s coup, was in an uproar.
“W-What’s going on?!”
The Gestapo agents, barging into the XI Corps headquarters, declared boldly in front of the bewildered generals.
“General of the Artillery Emil Leeb! You are under arrest for colluding with Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, a member of the rebel forces, by order of the Führer!”
“You’re arresting our commander while we are facing the enemy?!”
Major General Friedrich Karl Cranz, commander of the 18th Infantry Division, protested in disbelief, but the Gestapo agents ignored him.
“Obstructing official duties will be interpreted as collusion with the rebel forces.”
“This is absurd…”
As his staff groaned, General of the Artillery Emil Leeb, commander of the XI Corps, sighed deeply.
“Yes, my brother joined the rebels. But I am a general of the Wehrmacht, and I pledged my loyalty. It seems that oath holds no value for the Führer.”
Emil Leeb gestured for his subordinate officers to stand down, then rose from his seat and followed the Gestapo agents.
“What is the meaning of this…?”
The remaining staff and division commanders could only mutter in disbelief as their commander was taken away.
Around the same time, similar events were unfolding in other units.
“General of the Cavalry Erich Hoepner! We have confirmed your communication records with the rebel leader Ludwig Beck! You are under arrest for collusion!”
“That damned Bohemian corporal…”
“He confesses to treason!”
The Wehrmacht, stuck in their garrisons without proper equipment or supplies, was thrown into chaos. The Gestapo agents, as if prepared in advance, swiftly apprehended the targeted generals.
“Commander-in-Chief! What is happening?! They are arresting frontline commanders while we are facing the enemy!”
Walther Model, Chief of Staff of the IV Corps, was on the phone with the Army High Command, furious.
[Calm down, Model. Those arrested are suspected of colluding with the rebels. This is a direct order from the Führer.]
Brauchitsch spoke calmly, but Walther Model wouldn’t back down.
“We were the first to rush to Berlin’s defense, loyal to our nation and its government! The army has fulfilled its duty to the government, but the government—”
[Model, your name was also on the arrest list.]
Brauchitsch interrupted Walther Model.
A brief silence followed, then Model spoke.
“Because I recommended Schacht?”
[Yes. Of course, I know you are innocent. But you should also know that I went to great lengths to remove your name from the list. You’re making things difficult for me.]
Walther Model sank into his chair.
[Cool your head and follow orders. You’ve done well so far. I’m busy, so I’ll end this here. Good luck.]
The call ended, and Walther Model stared blankly at the light fixture on the ceiling.
“A soldier does not question, he only obeys.”
He recited Seeckt’s teachings, which he had followed his entire life, but he couldn’t find the answer.
What was he even obeying for?
< German Civil War – The Oath of Loyalty (1) > End
ⓒ Carcassonne
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