Chapter II: Part IV
Chapter II: The Gambit of the West
Chapter IV
February 10, 1936
In the conference hall of the Reichschancellery, Cristoph Scholl yawned broadly. It was only seven thirty in the morning in Berlin, but he had already been in the building for more than an hour. He had been summoned directly to the Führer’s private office. Entering, he had found him sitting at his desk reading something. The Führer had hastily returned whatever it was to a drawer and beckoned Scholl into the room.
When Scholl was seated, Hitler congratulated him on his excellent notes for the various meetings during Hossbach’s long illness. “I want you to know,” he had continued, “you have done such good work that I would like you to be my adjutant permanently.” When Scholl had recovered his wits, he thanked the Führer warmly. “Your first task as
permanent adjutant shall be to take the minutes for a meeting at eight with some of the general officers, is this agreeable?”
Thus, Scholl found himself sitting at the empty table, awaiting the arrival of the meeting’s attendees. Generals von Rundstedt, von Fritsch and von Amsberg were expected. According to one of Scholl’s friends on General Staff Heeresgruppe A, von Rundstedt was furious over the impending force reductions in occupied Belgium. The Grand General Staff, meanwhile, was pushing for reinforcement and fortification of the Franco-German frontier.
At last, the front doors were thrown open and von Rundstedt entered, followed by von Fritsch. They were speaking quickly in hushed tones, seemingly in agreement. There was no sign of Acting Chief of the General Staff von Amsberg. Scholl stilled his breathing, trying to make out the content of their conversation, but the two generals were seated just out of hearing.
The statue-like SS guard at the back of the room clicked his heels and opened the door at the back of the room. Adolf Hitler entered. The generals rose. “Heil.”
“Heil.” Hitler took his seat. Scholl found the gesture considerably less inspiring when performed by only two people. “Good morning, gentlemen. To the heart of the matter: I understand that you are displeased with the partial withdrawal from Belgium.”
von Rundstedt began. “Mein Führer, I must protest that such a move would be altogether too dangerous. France has twenty-five of its best divisions deployed opposite us along the Belgian frontier. While it seems unlikely that they would attack Germany, the only reason that they have not is the threat of force. To weaken that threat would be to invite war with France.”
“How many times have I told you, General? France will not attack. Of this I am as certain as I am that I have five fingers!”
von Rundstedt paused, with a strange expression across his face. “You have ten fingers, Führer.”
Hitler stared at his senior field commander. Scholl gulped.
Has he gone too far?
“I meant,” the Führer began calmly, “five fingers on each hand.”
The front doors again opened, and a man whom Scholl recognized from the newspapers hurried into the room out of breath.
He was dark and uncommonly handsome, with parted black hair and a powerful chest. Several of the newly authorized medals hung askew from his uniform. He attempted to straighten them while panting out an apology for his tardiness. From the crimson piping on his uniform, Scholl realized that he must have been sent in von Amsberg’s place.
Thirty-seven year old general staffer Fritz Bayerlein had risen rapidly in the ranks in recent years, from the rank of Oberleutnant two years earlier to a lieutenant-colonel. Bayerlein had been one of only six men awarded the Knight’s Cross during the recent war -- for almost single-handedly fighting off a Belgian ambush sprung on General von Rundstedt’s train of staff cars on the road to Brussels. The exploit had become legendary, both to the public and within the Officer Corps.
Oberstleutnant Fritz Bayerlein (pictured immediately after receiving the Knight's Cross) quickly found favor with the Führer.
Bayerlein laid a folder on the table and took a seat, avoiding disapproving looks from the two generals. The Führer, however, did not seem put off. He had been quite taken with the reports of Bayerlein’s heroism, as evidenced by the coveted neck order that the man now wore. He shook Bayerlein’s hand and accepted the thick folder that he had brought.
“Mein Führer, I apologize for my lateness. My report was delayed by last-minute information. May I begin?”
von Rundstedt began to interject, but Hitler held up a hand to silence him. “Yes, please proceed.”
“In preparing the General Staff’s report, I have studied Army Intelligence reports on French troop dispositions and readiness. It seems that their force concentrations reflect more than a show of strength, but rather that they are planning to launch an attack against the Reich.”
“Have they mobilized yet, Oberstleutnant?”
“They have not. Yet I believe that this may be part of a larger --”
“The French will not attack, Oberstleutnant Bayerlein. I have told this many times to higher officers than yourself. Each time, I have been proven right.”
“Mein Führer, I do not doubt your wisdom in this area, but the General Staff is tasked with planning for all possibilities. Have its responsibilities changed?”
“No. Proceed with what you are saying, as long as you keep in mind what I have told you.”
“Thank you. As I began, if France attacks, the risk to the southern part of --”
von Rundstedt talked over him. “Mein Führer, if France attacks, it would be an offensive along a wide front with the aim of retaking Belgium.”
“With respect, General, I disagree.”
“How?” von Rundstedt was calming.
“You have seen the same reports I have, General. French divisions are being shifted south towards the German frontier.”
“So?”
“If I were France, I would shift southwards to threaten Germany itself. There, France would have the defensive advantage of the Maginot Line, allowing for offensive power to be concentrated much more closely than would be possible in Belgium. Thus, if I was planning an attack at all, it would be directed into the heart of Germany.”
Hitler opened Bayerlein’s folder. “What would you have Germany do, then?”
“I would have part of Heeresgruppe A remain in position and mobilized for the time being. This will threaten Northern France continuously and at the same time discourage British intervention. At the same time, at least a third of our strength must be shifted to the vital defense of the south. For this, I would recommend VIII Armeekorps.”
“It cannot be so.” von Rundstedt shook his head firmly. “Because total French strength exceeds our own, to split our forces at all would spell disaster. The French would, I am sure, sit behind their Maginot Line while their army massed in the north.”
“Assuming,” Hitler said, “that the French did attack, how does the General Staff recommend that we counter it?” From his tone, he might as well have been asking for the General Staff’s contingency plans for a Tibetan invasion.
von Rundstedt was certain of his answer. “I would pursue a vigorous defense with the objective of simply bleeding France until public opinion turned against war. Under present conditions, that could be accomplished within a month of hard fighting.”
“With respects again, General," Bayerlein insisted, "you forget that such a tactic would allow France time to mobilize fully. In that case, French divisions would outnumber German divisions three to one. Instead, the General Staff would recommend numerous counteroffensives onto French soil. The French army could then either stand and be surrounded or double back on itself in attempt to defend its own territory, and in the process be overrun from the rear. In short, any French aggression must be met with swift, agressive thrusts into France itself to prevent stalemate and retain the initiative.”
“I do not know what they teach at the Academy now, but that is manifestly unsound, Oberstleutnant. Mein Führer, I must have Heeresgruppe A concentrated in full force along the Belgian border.”
“I do not know,” Hitler said, with a note of finality, “what any of this will come to. France will not attack and that is that. I will keep Oberstleutnant Bayerlein’s proposals and go over them at some point. If you would like me to consider your own proposals, Generals, I suggest you provide them to me before I depart for Berchtesgaden on Thursday.”
Though the meeting lasted another three quarters of an hour, the opening exchange burned in Scholl’s mind throughout the day. Clearly, Hitler had found in Bayerlein a favored son.
