Posted on Jul 20, 2017
The July Bomb Plot *very rare footage* of aftermath
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On July 20, 1944, during World War II (1939-45), a plot by senior-level German military officials to murder Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and then take control of his government failed when a bomb planted in a briefcase went off but did not kill the Nazi leader. The assassination attempt took place at the “Wolfsschanze” (“Wolf’s Lair”), a command post near Rastenburg, East Prussia (present-day Poland). Hitler’s would-be assassins were executed after being discovered.
JULY PLOT: BACKGROUND
Since the late 1930s, there had been repeated attempts by various groups in the German resistance to assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazis. As time went on, Hitler became increasingly suspicious and more heavily guarded, and often changed his schedule at the last minute.
Did You Know?
In the 2008 movie “Valkyrie,” about the July plot actor Tom Cruise portrayed Claus von Stauffenberg.
The men behind the July Plot were a group of high-level German military leaders who recognized that Hitler was leading Germany in a suicidal war on two fronts. They decided to assassinate him then stage a coup d’état, with the belief that a new government in Berlin would save Germany from complete destruction at the hands of the Allies.
The July Plot leaders included Colonel General Ludwig Beck (1880-1944), former chief of the army general staff, Colonel General Friedrich Olbricht (1888-1944) and Major General Henning von Tresckow (1901-44). Lieutenant Colonel Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (1907-44), chief of staff of the reserve army, also played a central role in the conspiracy.
JULY PLOT: JULY 20, 1944
During a July 20 meeting in a Wolf’s Lair conference room with Hitler and more than 20 German officers and staff, Stauffenburg planted an explosives-packed briefcase under a table that the Nazi leader was using. Stauffenberg then said he had to make a phone call and left the room. Another officer subsequently happened to move the briefcase out of place, farther away from Hitler. The bomb detonated at 12:42 p.m. One person died instantly as a result of the powerful explosion and three others were mortally wounded; however, Hitler suffered only minor injuries. He was even well enough to keep an appointment with Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) that same afternoon, and gave the Italian dictator a tour of site where the blast occurred.
After the bomb went off, Stauffenberg, believing Hitler was dead, flew to Berlin to initiate Operation Valkyrie, a plan to use Germany’s reserve army to stage an uprising against the Nazi regime. However, with no official confirmation of Hitler’s demise, the plan stalled. When the news came through that Hitler was alive, General Friedrich Fromm (1888-1945), commander of the reserve army and someone who condoned the July Plot, turned on the conspirators in order to have his association with them covered up. Stauffenberg and Olbricht were arrested and executed on July 21.
Hundreds of people thought to be involved in the conspiracy also soon were arrested, and around 200 eventually were executed. Beck was arrested and chose to commit suicide rather than stand trial. Tresckow committed suicide after he learned the July Plot had failed. Erwin Rommel (1891-1944), a highly respected field marshal also linked to the plot, was given the choice of facing trial or committing suicide in order to spare his family. He opted to take his own life. (Because Rommel was a renowned figure, the Nazis covered up the true cause of his death and gave him a state funeral.) Fromm also was executed by firing squad in 1945.
JULY PLOT: AFTERMATH
In the aftermath of the July Plot, Hitler and his top officials took an even firmer grip on Germany and its war machine. The Nazi leader became certain that fate had spared him. “Having escaped death in so extraordinary a way,” Hitler stated, “I am now more than ever convinced that the great cause which I serve will survive its present perils and that everything can be brought to a good end.”
On April 30, 1945, shortly before Germany surrendered to the Allies, Hilter committed suicide. The Wolf’s Lair compound, where the Nazi leader spent more than 800 days between 1941 and 1944, was blown up by the Soviet army in January 1945.
http://www.history.com/topics/july-plot
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/operation-valkyrie-the-quot-july-plot-quot-to-assassinate-hitler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ maj william Maj William W. "Bill" Price @ maj stephen LTC (Join to see) @ capt tom Capt Tom Brown @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ ssgt larry SSgt (Join to see) @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc joe SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL @ ssg pete SSG Pete Fleming @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski SCPO Morris Ramsey
JULY PLOT: BACKGROUND
Since the late 1930s, there had been repeated attempts by various groups in the German resistance to assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazis. As time went on, Hitler became increasingly suspicious and more heavily guarded, and often changed his schedule at the last minute.
Did You Know?
In the 2008 movie “Valkyrie,” about the July plot actor Tom Cruise portrayed Claus von Stauffenberg.
The men behind the July Plot were a group of high-level German military leaders who recognized that Hitler was leading Germany in a suicidal war on two fronts. They decided to assassinate him then stage a coup d’état, with the belief that a new government in Berlin would save Germany from complete destruction at the hands of the Allies.
The July Plot leaders included Colonel General Ludwig Beck (1880-1944), former chief of the army general staff, Colonel General Friedrich Olbricht (1888-1944) and Major General Henning von Tresckow (1901-44). Lieutenant Colonel Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (1907-44), chief of staff of the reserve army, also played a central role in the conspiracy.
JULY PLOT: JULY 20, 1944
During a July 20 meeting in a Wolf’s Lair conference room with Hitler and more than 20 German officers and staff, Stauffenburg planted an explosives-packed briefcase under a table that the Nazi leader was using. Stauffenberg then said he had to make a phone call and left the room. Another officer subsequently happened to move the briefcase out of place, farther away from Hitler. The bomb detonated at 12:42 p.m. One person died instantly as a result of the powerful explosion and three others were mortally wounded; however, Hitler suffered only minor injuries. He was even well enough to keep an appointment with Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) that same afternoon, and gave the Italian dictator a tour of site where the blast occurred.
After the bomb went off, Stauffenberg, believing Hitler was dead, flew to Berlin to initiate Operation Valkyrie, a plan to use Germany’s reserve army to stage an uprising against the Nazi regime. However, with no official confirmation of Hitler’s demise, the plan stalled. When the news came through that Hitler was alive, General Friedrich Fromm (1888-1945), commander of the reserve army and someone who condoned the July Plot, turned on the conspirators in order to have his association with them covered up. Stauffenberg and Olbricht were arrested and executed on July 21.
Hundreds of people thought to be involved in the conspiracy also soon were arrested, and around 200 eventually were executed. Beck was arrested and chose to commit suicide rather than stand trial. Tresckow committed suicide after he learned the July Plot had failed. Erwin Rommel (1891-1944), a highly respected field marshal also linked to the plot, was given the choice of facing trial or committing suicide in order to spare his family. He opted to take his own life. (Because Rommel was a renowned figure, the Nazis covered up the true cause of his death and gave him a state funeral.) Fromm also was executed by firing squad in 1945.
JULY PLOT: AFTERMATH
In the aftermath of the July Plot, Hitler and his top officials took an even firmer grip on Germany and its war machine. The Nazi leader became certain that fate had spared him. “Having escaped death in so extraordinary a way,” Hitler stated, “I am now more than ever convinced that the great cause which I serve will survive its present perils and that everything can be brought to a good end.”
On April 30, 1945, shortly before Germany surrendered to the Allies, Hilter committed suicide. The Wolf’s Lair compound, where the Nazi leader spent more than 800 days between 1941 and 1944, was blown up by the Soviet army in January 1945.
http://www.history.com/topics/july-plot
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/operation-valkyrie-the-quot-july-plot-quot-to-assassinate-hitler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ maj william Maj William W. "Bill" Price @ maj stephen LTC (Join to see) @ capt tom Capt Tom Brown @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smsgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ ssgt larry SSgt (Join to see) @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc joe SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL @ ssg pete SSG Pete Fleming @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski SCPO Morris Ramsey
WWII World War Two
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YouTube
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Thanks SGT John " Mac " McConnell for reminding us and sharing the video of the aftermath of the attack on Hitler's life.
Decorated and service-disabled war-hero Wehrmacht Lieutenant Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army shuffled into the “Wolfsschanze” (“Wolf’s Lair”) command post near Rastenburg, East Prussia carrying a bomb in a briefcase which he set down near the conference table and then he made his way out the fortified bunker area.
FYI Count von Stauffenberg was a Wehrmacht officer assigned as Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Wehr Kreise - [Replacement Army] not a reserve officer.
He was a devoted family man. Image: Count von Stauffenberg and family; Map of the German Replacement Army - wehr kreise.
When he flew back to Berlin he tried to mobilize the Wehrmacht "to stage an uprising against the Nazi regime."
Background on Wehrmacht Lieutenant Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
"Claus Von Stauffenberg summary: Claus von Stauffenberg was an officer of the German army during World War II. Despite his role as an army officer, von Stauffenberg was horrified by the actions of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party. Von Stauffenberg is known for his failed assignation attempt of Adolph Hitler as part of Operation Valkyrie, a mission planned by von Stauffenberg and other anti-Nazi Germans. The goal of the failed mission was to assassinate Hitler and overthrow the Nazi party during the ensuing chaos.
Because his position in the army gave him access to Hitler, von Stauffenberg was chosen to carry out the assassination attempt. Despite suffering serious injuries in 1943 that cost him an eye, a hand, and two additional fingers, von Stauffenberg was determined to carry out his mission. In 1944, the opportunity presented itself when he was selected as Chief of Staff of the replacement army, which put him in close proximity to Hitler and his offices.
Armed with two plastic explosives in his briefcase, von Stauffenberg managed to arm one and place it under a table where Hitler sat. The bomb was detonated moments after von Stauffenberg left the room. Four people were killed in the explosion, but Hitler was only injured slightly. Following the assassination attempt, von Stauffenberg and several others were executed by a firing squad.
After the failed assassination attempt, von Stauffenberg’s pregnant wife and other adult family members were rounded up, questioned, and sent to concentration camps. His children were, under Hitler’s orders, to change their names and be raised by an SS soldier’s family. Von Stauffenberg’s brother and uncle were later killed, but his wife was later liberated, as were his children."
From
Background on the Wehrmacht Replacement Army
"The German Replacement Army 1939 to 1945 by John Mulholland
Published: 29 December 2011; Last Updated: 02 August 2013
Introduction
During the course of the Second World War the Replacement and Training Divisions (Ersatzdivisionen), of the Third Reich, proved to be the lubricant that oiled the formidable German military machine.
Formed in the various German military districts (Wehrkreise), these divisions were tasked, after 27 August 1939, with “conscription, training and replacement of personnel including control of mobilization policies and the actual call-up and induction of men; all types of military training, including the selection and schooling of officers and non-commissioned officers; the dispatch of personnel replacements to field units in response to their requisitions; and the organization of new units.” (1)
Under control of the Replacement Army (Ersatzheer) (2), these Replacement and Training Divisions rose in strength from a total of 996,000 men at the start of WWII to a peak of 2,572,000 in December 1944. (3)
After the mobilization order was given by the Armed Forces High Command (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) (4) each Wehrkreis of the Replacement Army began forming Replacement and Training Divisions as set down by order of the Chief of Army Equipment and Commander of the Replacement Army (Chef Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber der Ersatzheer).
“The normal location of the Replacement (Ersatz) unit was the home station of the affiliated field unit, to which the soldiers expected ultimately to return for their discharge or for reassignment. For example, a soldier who was wounded and went to a reserve hospital in the Zone of the Interior (i.e. Germany) would be sent, upon leaving the hospital, to his affiliated Ersatz unit before being returned to the field.” (5)
“In order to understand the intricacies of the Ersatz system it is well to trace the successive stages of its development. Originally, each infantry regiment which took to the field at the beginning of the war left behind at its home station a battalion cadre bearing its own number and known as its Ersatz battalion. The primary purpose of this battalion was to receive recruits, train them, and dispatch them as replacements to the field regiments. At any given time it included reception (cadre) companies, training companies, convalescent companies and transfer companies. Typically the trained inductees combined with the convalescents into transfer companies for movement to a field unit. ………. The regimental staff also controlled from three to five infantry specialist replacement training companies which provided the personnel for the infantry howitzer companies, antitank companies, signal sub-units, engineer platoons, and mounted platoons or the three infantry field regiments.” (6)
“The number of replacement division staffs in each Wehrkreis was regulated by the Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres). They were responsible for the uniformity of training in their subordinate replacement training units and were to be kept free from all administrative duties.” (7)
From 01 September 1939 through to October 1942 the Replacement Army (also, sometimes, referred to as the Home Army) kept up a steady flow of new divisions and their trained replacement personnel to the far flung battlefields of Europe, Africa, and almost to the very gates of the Russian capital city of Moscow.
“The most far reaching change in the organization of the Replacement Army took place in October 1942 when all basic replacement training units were broken up into their two elements – one to handle induction and replacement and the other to handle training. The induction and replacement unit retained the designation Ersatz, but henceforth it was concerned only with receipt of recruits ……….forwarding of recruits as speedily as possible to the sister training unit; receipt of convalescents and sending them back to a field unit; ……….The newly created training units [Reservedivisionen] bore the same number as and received the men from the Ersatz unit, gave them their training, and then dispatched them to an affiliated field unit.” (8)
“Training in ersatz companies was abbreviated both for new recruits and for men released from hospitals. Both received from three to eight weeks basic training, depending on the judgment of the company officers as to when the men were ready. After the men finished basic training, small percentages, usually those destined for the Russian front, were sent to Ausbildung companies for advanced training.” (9)
“Divisions had a Feldersatz-Bataillon (field replacement battalion) to provide final training for new replacements. Occasionally local short-term training was undertaken by the armies, although for major training/schooling, personnel (and units) were transferred to the Ersatzheer. Feldheer units, when within "Greater Germany" were stationed with the Wehrkreis, and attached for administration (rations, accommodation, etc), but not for command purposes.” (10)
“In addition to the regular mobile infantry division and the static division, a third class existed in 1943, the reserve division. To make more manpower available for the divisions in Russia, reserve divisions were formed from the training battalions in Germany and assigned to occupation duties in France and Russia. Twelve such reserve divisions were sent to France in 1943 to replace infantry divisions sent to the East.
The creation of the reserve divisions hampered the training of new men to a certain degree. If a new draftee were not selected to go into the air force or the panzer force, he received up to four months of basic individual infantry training in a replacement and training battalion located in a barracks near his home in Germany. He was then sent either to a reserve division in the occupied territories or to a training unit behind the lines in Russia, where he received another four months of training while performing occupation duties or fighting partisans. Finally, he was assigned to a division where he was taught more skills in the replacement battalion.” (11)
“The Replacement Army constituted a major portion of the armed forces. Its operations played a major role in bolstering the perseverance of the Field Army. Throughout most of the war, for every two or three field army soldiers there was a replacement army soldier readying to move to the front. The system functioned surprisingly well.” The Wehrkreis was also responsible for rebuilding and refitting shattered divisions, a responsibility that also took on more importance as the war continued. “It rapidly filled the gaps of Stalingrad and Africa in early 1943. In the summer of 1944 it even managed to plug the gaping holes left by an army group [Heeresgruppe Mitte] in central Russia and part of another [Heeresgruppe Sudukraine] in Rumania.” (12)
Sources quoted above:
(1) Page 50: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(2) Note: Quoted from personal correspondence from Dr.Leo (W.G.) Niehorster to this writer:
“The Ersatzheer had under it the Military Districts (Wehrkreise) and all schools, institutes, training grounds, etc. and was responsible for raising all new Army units as well as training and initially equipping them.
(3) Page 55: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(4) Note: Quoted from personal correspondence from Dr. Leo (W.G.) Niehorster to this writer:
“The OKW was supposed to be a coordinator between/over the three services. It never really was. In any event, it had never at any time had anything to do with the administration/housekeeping of the army. The most it ever had regarding the Army (and Navy and Airforce) was operational control of units in the field. Nothing else. Ever.”
(5) Page 58: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(6) Page 59: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(7) Page 59: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(8) Page 61: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(9) Page 148: “Second Front NOW – 1943” by Dr. Walter S.Dunn, Jr
(10) Quoted from personal correspondence from Dr. Leo (W.G.) Niehorster and this writer.
(11) Pages 149-150: “Second Front NOW – 1943” by Dr.Walter S.Dunn, Jr
(12) Page 68: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
Replacement and Training Divisions of the Ersatzheer
Chef Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber der Ersatzheer
[Chief of Army Equipment and Commander of the Replacement Army]
Generaloberst Friedrich (Fritz) Fromm (01 Sep.1939 to 20 July 1944)
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler (20 July 1944 to End)
Note: Any errors, omissions or “typos” are strictly the fault of this writer.
Sources and abbreviations can be found at the end.
John Mulholland
Wehrkreis I - Köningsberg
Wehrkreis II - Stettin
Wehrkreis III - Berlin
Wehrkreis IV - Dresden
Wehrkreis V - Stuttgart
Wehrkreis VI - Münster
Wehrkreis VII - München
Wehrkreis VIII - Breslau
Wehrkreis IX - Kassel
Wehrkreis X - Hamburg
Wehrkreis XI - Hanover
Wehrkreis XII - Wiesbaden
Wehrkreis XIII - Nürnberg
Wehrkreis XVII - Wien
Wehrkreis XVIII - Salzburg
Wehrkreis XX - Danzig
Wehrkreis XXI - Posen
Wehrkreis Böhmen und Mähren - Prague (No Ersatzheer units formed in this Wehrkreis)
Wehrkreis Generalgouvernement - Krakow (No Ersatzheer units formed in this Wehrkreis)
Map of the Wehrkreise
The German Replacement Army (Ersatzheer) April 1944 (Military Intelligence Division, USA)
Abbreviations
Abt.– Abteilung [Detachment or battalion]
Ausb.– Ausbildungs [Training]
Bde. – Brigade [Brigade]
bo. – Bodenständige [static unit]
Btl. – Bataillon [Battalion]
d. – der [of]
Div. – Division [Division]
Div.Nr. – Division Number [Replacement and Training Division]
Div.Stb. – Divsionstab [Administrative Division Staff]
Div.Stb. z.b.V. – Divisionstab z.b.V. [Special Administrative Division Staff]
Ers. – Ersatz [Replacement]
Ers.H. – Ersatzheer [Replacement (or Home) Army]
Fld. – Feld [Field]
Fld-Ers. – Feldersatz [Field Replacement]
Geb. – Gebirgs [Mountain]
Gren. - Grenadier
HGrp. – Heeresgruppe [Army Group]
Inf. – Infanterie [Infantry]
Jag. – Jager [Light]
Kdr. – Kommandeur [Commander]
Kdr.d.Ers.Trpn. – Kommandeur der Ersatztruppen. [Commander of Replacement Troops]
Kdr.d.Pz.Trpn. – Kommandeur der Panzertruppen [Commander of Armored Troops]
Kdr.d.Schn.Trpn. – Kommandeur der Schnelletruppen. [Commander of Fast (mobile) Troops]
KGrp. – Kampfgruppe [Battle Group]
Ldschtz – Landesschutzen [Local Militia]
Luft. – Luftwaffe [Airforce]
(mot.) – Motorisiert [Motorized]
Mtn. – Mountain [Gebirgs]
Pz. – Panzer [Armored]
PzGR – Panzergrenadier [Armored Infantry]
R.A.D. – Reich’s Arbeits Dienst [Reich Labor Service]
Reiter – Rider, Cavalryman, Mounted
Rep. – Replacement [Ersatz]
Regt. – Regiment [Regiment]
Res.Div. – Reserve Division [Reserve (i.e. Training) Division]
Schn. – Schnellen [Fast]
Stb. – Stab [Staff]
Trg. – Training [Ausbildungs]
Trpn. – Truppen [Troops]
u. – und [and]
VG – Volksgrenadier [Peoples Grenadier (Soldier)]
Wkr. – Wehrkreis [Military District]
Wehr.Bef. – Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber [Armed Forces Commander]
z.b.V. – [for special purposes]
Sources used
Andreas Altenburger - Website: “Lexicon der Wehrmacht”
Command Magazine: “Hitler’s Army: The Evolution and Structure of German Forces 1933-1945”
Walter Scott Dunn, Jr.: “Second Front NOW – 1943”
Jan Linzmaier - Website: “Diedeutschewehrmacht”
W.Victor Madej: “German Army Order of Battle 1939-1945”, Volume I.
W.Victor Madej: “German Army Order of Battle 1939-1945”, Volume II.
W.Victor Madej: “German Army Order of Battle 1939-1945”, Supplement.
Samuel W.Mitcham, Jr.: “Hitler’s Legions – The German Army Order of Battle, World War II”
Dr.Leo (W.G.) Niehorster (correspondence with writer).
Dr. Leo (W.G.) Niehorster’s Errata (Bands 7 and 10) to Georg Tessin’s Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939 – 1945
Jason Pipes - Website: “Feldgrau”
Georg Tessin: “Verbande und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS, vol 7, Die Landstreitkrafte 131-200”
Georg Tessin: “Verbande und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS, vol 10, Die Landstreitkrafte 371-500”
Marcus Wendel - Website: “Axis Historical Factbook”
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Decorated and service-disabled war-hero Wehrmacht Lieutenant Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army shuffled into the “Wolfsschanze” (“Wolf’s Lair”) command post near Rastenburg, East Prussia carrying a bomb in a briefcase which he set down near the conference table and then he made his way out the fortified bunker area.
FYI Count von Stauffenberg was a Wehrmacht officer assigned as Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Wehr Kreise - [Replacement Army] not a reserve officer.
He was a devoted family man. Image: Count von Stauffenberg and family; Map of the German Replacement Army - wehr kreise.
When he flew back to Berlin he tried to mobilize the Wehrmacht "to stage an uprising against the Nazi regime."
Background on Wehrmacht Lieutenant Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
"Claus Von Stauffenberg summary: Claus von Stauffenberg was an officer of the German army during World War II. Despite his role as an army officer, von Stauffenberg was horrified by the actions of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party. Von Stauffenberg is known for his failed assignation attempt of Adolph Hitler as part of Operation Valkyrie, a mission planned by von Stauffenberg and other anti-Nazi Germans. The goal of the failed mission was to assassinate Hitler and overthrow the Nazi party during the ensuing chaos.
Because his position in the army gave him access to Hitler, von Stauffenberg was chosen to carry out the assassination attempt. Despite suffering serious injuries in 1943 that cost him an eye, a hand, and two additional fingers, von Stauffenberg was determined to carry out his mission. In 1944, the opportunity presented itself when he was selected as Chief of Staff of the replacement army, which put him in close proximity to Hitler and his offices.
Armed with two plastic explosives in his briefcase, von Stauffenberg managed to arm one and place it under a table where Hitler sat. The bomb was detonated moments after von Stauffenberg left the room. Four people were killed in the explosion, but Hitler was only injured slightly. Following the assassination attempt, von Stauffenberg and several others were executed by a firing squad.
After the failed assassination attempt, von Stauffenberg’s pregnant wife and other adult family members were rounded up, questioned, and sent to concentration camps. His children were, under Hitler’s orders, to change their names and be raised by an SS soldier’s family. Von Stauffenberg’s brother and uncle were later killed, but his wife was later liberated, as were his children."
From
Background on the Wehrmacht Replacement Army
"The German Replacement Army 1939 to 1945 by John Mulholland
Published: 29 December 2011; Last Updated: 02 August 2013
Introduction
During the course of the Second World War the Replacement and Training Divisions (Ersatzdivisionen), of the Third Reich, proved to be the lubricant that oiled the formidable German military machine.
Formed in the various German military districts (Wehrkreise), these divisions were tasked, after 27 August 1939, with “conscription, training and replacement of personnel including control of mobilization policies and the actual call-up and induction of men; all types of military training, including the selection and schooling of officers and non-commissioned officers; the dispatch of personnel replacements to field units in response to their requisitions; and the organization of new units.” (1)
Under control of the Replacement Army (Ersatzheer) (2), these Replacement and Training Divisions rose in strength from a total of 996,000 men at the start of WWII to a peak of 2,572,000 in December 1944. (3)
After the mobilization order was given by the Armed Forces High Command (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) (4) each Wehrkreis of the Replacement Army began forming Replacement and Training Divisions as set down by order of the Chief of Army Equipment and Commander of the Replacement Army (Chef Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber der Ersatzheer).
“The normal location of the Replacement (Ersatz) unit was the home station of the affiliated field unit, to which the soldiers expected ultimately to return for their discharge or for reassignment. For example, a soldier who was wounded and went to a reserve hospital in the Zone of the Interior (i.e. Germany) would be sent, upon leaving the hospital, to his affiliated Ersatz unit before being returned to the field.” (5)
“In order to understand the intricacies of the Ersatz system it is well to trace the successive stages of its development. Originally, each infantry regiment which took to the field at the beginning of the war left behind at its home station a battalion cadre bearing its own number and known as its Ersatz battalion. The primary purpose of this battalion was to receive recruits, train them, and dispatch them as replacements to the field regiments. At any given time it included reception (cadre) companies, training companies, convalescent companies and transfer companies. Typically the trained inductees combined with the convalescents into transfer companies for movement to a field unit. ………. The regimental staff also controlled from three to five infantry specialist replacement training companies which provided the personnel for the infantry howitzer companies, antitank companies, signal sub-units, engineer platoons, and mounted platoons or the three infantry field regiments.” (6)
“The number of replacement division staffs in each Wehrkreis was regulated by the Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres). They were responsible for the uniformity of training in their subordinate replacement training units and were to be kept free from all administrative duties.” (7)
From 01 September 1939 through to October 1942 the Replacement Army (also, sometimes, referred to as the Home Army) kept up a steady flow of new divisions and their trained replacement personnel to the far flung battlefields of Europe, Africa, and almost to the very gates of the Russian capital city of Moscow.
“The most far reaching change in the organization of the Replacement Army took place in October 1942 when all basic replacement training units were broken up into their two elements – one to handle induction and replacement and the other to handle training. The induction and replacement unit retained the designation Ersatz, but henceforth it was concerned only with receipt of recruits ……….forwarding of recruits as speedily as possible to the sister training unit; receipt of convalescents and sending them back to a field unit; ……….The newly created training units [Reservedivisionen] bore the same number as and received the men from the Ersatz unit, gave them their training, and then dispatched them to an affiliated field unit.” (8)
“Training in ersatz companies was abbreviated both for new recruits and for men released from hospitals. Both received from three to eight weeks basic training, depending on the judgment of the company officers as to when the men were ready. After the men finished basic training, small percentages, usually those destined for the Russian front, were sent to Ausbildung companies for advanced training.” (9)
“Divisions had a Feldersatz-Bataillon (field replacement battalion) to provide final training for new replacements. Occasionally local short-term training was undertaken by the armies, although for major training/schooling, personnel (and units) were transferred to the Ersatzheer. Feldheer units, when within "Greater Germany" were stationed with the Wehrkreis, and attached for administration (rations, accommodation, etc), but not for command purposes.” (10)
“In addition to the regular mobile infantry division and the static division, a third class existed in 1943, the reserve division. To make more manpower available for the divisions in Russia, reserve divisions were formed from the training battalions in Germany and assigned to occupation duties in France and Russia. Twelve such reserve divisions were sent to France in 1943 to replace infantry divisions sent to the East.
The creation of the reserve divisions hampered the training of new men to a certain degree. If a new draftee were not selected to go into the air force or the panzer force, he received up to four months of basic individual infantry training in a replacement and training battalion located in a barracks near his home in Germany. He was then sent either to a reserve division in the occupied territories or to a training unit behind the lines in Russia, where he received another four months of training while performing occupation duties or fighting partisans. Finally, he was assigned to a division where he was taught more skills in the replacement battalion.” (11)
“The Replacement Army constituted a major portion of the armed forces. Its operations played a major role in bolstering the perseverance of the Field Army. Throughout most of the war, for every two or three field army soldiers there was a replacement army soldier readying to move to the front. The system functioned surprisingly well.” The Wehrkreis was also responsible for rebuilding and refitting shattered divisions, a responsibility that also took on more importance as the war continued. “It rapidly filled the gaps of Stalingrad and Africa in early 1943. In the summer of 1944 it even managed to plug the gaping holes left by an army group [Heeresgruppe Mitte] in central Russia and part of another [Heeresgruppe Sudukraine] in Rumania.” (12)
Sources quoted above:
(1) Page 50: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(2) Note: Quoted from personal correspondence from Dr.Leo (W.G.) Niehorster to this writer:
“The Ersatzheer had under it the Military Districts (Wehrkreise) and all schools, institutes, training grounds, etc. and was responsible for raising all new Army units as well as training and initially equipping them.
(3) Page 55: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(4) Note: Quoted from personal correspondence from Dr. Leo (W.G.) Niehorster to this writer:
“The OKW was supposed to be a coordinator between/over the three services. It never really was. In any event, it had never at any time had anything to do with the administration/housekeeping of the army. The most it ever had regarding the Army (and Navy and Airforce) was operational control of units in the field. Nothing else. Ever.”
(5) Page 58: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(6) Page 59: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(7) Page 59: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(8) Page 61: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
(9) Page 148: “Second Front NOW – 1943” by Dr. Walter S.Dunn, Jr
(10) Quoted from personal correspondence from Dr. Leo (W.G.) Niehorster and this writer.
(11) Pages 149-150: “Second Front NOW – 1943” by Dr.Walter S.Dunn, Jr
(12) Page 68: “German Army Order of Battle 1939 – 1945”, Volume I. by W.Victor Madej
Replacement and Training Divisions of the Ersatzheer
Chef Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber der Ersatzheer
[Chief of Army Equipment and Commander of the Replacement Army]
Generaloberst Friedrich (Fritz) Fromm (01 Sep.1939 to 20 July 1944)
Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler (20 July 1944 to End)
Note: Any errors, omissions or “typos” are strictly the fault of this writer.
Sources and abbreviations can be found at the end.
John Mulholland
Wehrkreis I - Köningsberg
Wehrkreis II - Stettin
Wehrkreis III - Berlin
Wehrkreis IV - Dresden
Wehrkreis V - Stuttgart
Wehrkreis VI - Münster
Wehrkreis VII - München
Wehrkreis VIII - Breslau
Wehrkreis IX - Kassel
Wehrkreis X - Hamburg
Wehrkreis XI - Hanover
Wehrkreis XII - Wiesbaden
Wehrkreis XIII - Nürnberg
Wehrkreis XVII - Wien
Wehrkreis XVIII - Salzburg
Wehrkreis XX - Danzig
Wehrkreis XXI - Posen
Wehrkreis Böhmen und Mähren - Prague (No Ersatzheer units formed in this Wehrkreis)
Wehrkreis Generalgouvernement - Krakow (No Ersatzheer units formed in this Wehrkreis)
Map of the Wehrkreise
The German Replacement Army (Ersatzheer) April 1944 (Military Intelligence Division, USA)
Abbreviations
Abt.– Abteilung [Detachment or battalion]
Ausb.– Ausbildungs [Training]
Bde. – Brigade [Brigade]
bo. – Bodenständige [static unit]
Btl. – Bataillon [Battalion]
d. – der [of]
Div. – Division [Division]
Div.Nr. – Division Number [Replacement and Training Division]
Div.Stb. – Divsionstab [Administrative Division Staff]
Div.Stb. z.b.V. – Divisionstab z.b.V. [Special Administrative Division Staff]
Ers. – Ersatz [Replacement]
Ers.H. – Ersatzheer [Replacement (or Home) Army]
Fld. – Feld [Field]
Fld-Ers. – Feldersatz [Field Replacement]
Geb. – Gebirgs [Mountain]
Gren. - Grenadier
HGrp. – Heeresgruppe [Army Group]
Inf. – Infanterie [Infantry]
Jag. – Jager [Light]
Kdr. – Kommandeur [Commander]
Kdr.d.Ers.Trpn. – Kommandeur der Ersatztruppen. [Commander of Replacement Troops]
Kdr.d.Pz.Trpn. – Kommandeur der Panzertruppen [Commander of Armored Troops]
Kdr.d.Schn.Trpn. – Kommandeur der Schnelletruppen. [Commander of Fast (mobile) Troops]
KGrp. – Kampfgruppe [Battle Group]
Ldschtz – Landesschutzen [Local Militia]
Luft. – Luftwaffe [Airforce]
(mot.) – Motorisiert [Motorized]
Mtn. – Mountain [Gebirgs]
Pz. – Panzer [Armored]
PzGR – Panzergrenadier [Armored Infantry]
R.A.D. – Reich’s Arbeits Dienst [Reich Labor Service]
Reiter – Rider, Cavalryman, Mounted
Rep. – Replacement [Ersatz]
Regt. – Regiment [Regiment]
Res.Div. – Reserve Division [Reserve (i.e. Training) Division]
Schn. – Schnellen [Fast]
Stb. – Stab [Staff]
Trg. – Training [Ausbildungs]
Trpn. – Truppen [Troops]
u. – und [and]
VG – Volksgrenadier [Peoples Grenadier (Soldier)]
Wkr. – Wehrkreis [Military District]
Wehr.Bef. – Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber [Armed Forces Commander]
z.b.V. – [for special purposes]
Sources used
Andreas Altenburger - Website: “Lexicon der Wehrmacht”
Command Magazine: “Hitler’s Army: The Evolution and Structure of German Forces 1933-1945”
Walter Scott Dunn, Jr.: “Second Front NOW – 1943”
Jan Linzmaier - Website: “Diedeutschewehrmacht”
W.Victor Madej: “German Army Order of Battle 1939-1945”, Volume I.
W.Victor Madej: “German Army Order of Battle 1939-1945”, Volume II.
W.Victor Madej: “German Army Order of Battle 1939-1945”, Supplement.
Samuel W.Mitcham, Jr.: “Hitler’s Legions – The German Army Order of Battle, World War II”
Dr.Leo (W.G.) Niehorster (correspondence with writer).
Dr. Leo (W.G.) Niehorster’s Errata (Bands 7 and 10) to Georg Tessin’s Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939 – 1945
Jason Pipes - Website: “Feldgrau”
Georg Tessin: “Verbande und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS, vol 7, Die Landstreitkrafte 131-200”
Georg Tessin: “Verbande und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS, vol 10, Die Landstreitkrafte 371-500”
Marcus Wendel - Website: “Axis Historical Factbook”
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Greg Henning LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown CW5 (Join to see) SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT MSG Andrew White SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski LTC (Join to see)
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