Countdown to Valkyrie: The July Plot to Assassinate HitlerAlthough there were more than 40 plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler, none came closer to success than the July Plot of 1944. The attempt was masterminded by Count von Stauffenberg, a member of the German General Staff, who had been rushed back from Africa after losing his left eye and right hand. For his injuries, he had been decorated as a war hero. Never a supporter of Nazi ideology, he was increasingly attracted by the approaches of the German resistance movement. After an attempt to assassinate Hitler in November 1943 failed, Stauffenberg developed a new plot to kill him at the Wolf's Lair Headquarters on 20th July 1944. Besides the Fuhrer's assassination, Stauffenberg organized plans to take over command of the Germany forces and sue for peace with the Allies. The attempt ultimately failed. Only one bomb was detonated and Hitler was only injured: his life was probably saved because the bomb, hidden in Stauffenberg's suitcase, had been placed behind a heavy table leg which reduced the impact of the black. In remarkable detail, with photographs, explanatory maps and diagrams, author Nigel Jones dissects the lead up to the attempt, the events of the day in minute-by-minute detail, and the aftermath in which the conspirators were hunted down. No other work on the July Plot contains such accessible detail and full explanation of this attempt on Hitler's life. In addition to a forensic analysis of the day, the book includes short biographies of the key characters involved, the first-person recollections of witnesses, and a 'what if' section explaining the likely outcome of a successful assassination. |
Contents
High Summer in the Wolfs Lair | 1 |
The Early Life of Count Claus | 11 |
The Irresistible Rise of Hitlers Nazis | 24 |
Copyright | |
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20 July Abwehr Allies Army Group Centre army's arrested arrived assassination attack attempt Beck beerhall Bendlerblock Bendlerstrasse Berlin Berthold Berthold von Stauffenberg Blomberg Brauchitsch British Bürgerbräukeller Canaris Chamberlain Chancellery Chief of Staff Claus von Stauffenberg Colonel commander Communist concentration camp conspiracy conspirators coup Czechs death Dohnanyi Eastern Front Elser Erich executed explosive Fellgiebel fellow Field Marshal force France Freikorps Freisler Fritsch Fromm Führer German Germany's Gersdorff Gestapo Gisevius Goebbels Goerdeler Goering Haeften Halder headquarters Heinz Helldorf Henning von Tresckow Heydrich Himmler Hoepner Hofacker Keitel kill Hitler Kleist-Schmenzin Kluge Kordt Lautlingen leaders Luftwaffe Mertz military Munich Nazi night November officer Olbricht orders Oster Paris party People's Court plans plot plotters police prisoners putsch Rastenburg regime Reich Remer Reserve Army resistance Röhm Rommel Russia Schlabrendorff soldier Soviet Stauffenberg's bomb Stieff Stülpnagel survived Swabian told torture Tresckow troops Valkyrie Wehrmacht Werner von Haeften Witzleben Wolf's Lair Zossen