Countdown to D-Day

by Peter Margaritis

  With the unsettling details mapped out, they go on to discuss the military aspects of the occupation. Hopefully, the Hungarians will not know what has hit them until it is too late.

  They eventually get to the relatively unimportant details of the upcoming conference with the Western commanders.

  1A military expression originating in the 19th-century colonial British Middle East, referring to any civilian attire worn by a man who normally wore or was entitled to wear a military uniform. It often alluded to soldiers on leave who no doubt enjoyed being able to relax in informal (and sometimes outlandish) attire and forget the stresses of war. Equivalent to the American “civvies.”

  Saturday, March 18

  It is 3 a.m. in the Balkans. German forces, many just arrived from France, wait patiently, just over the Hungarian borders, getting final deployment briefings for Operation Margarethe I. A big part in the operation will be the Panzer Lehr division and several mobile assault units from the West. A number of SS security and police units will be involved as well—all poised to strike when they are given the word.

  ***

  Predawn in Paris. The entire Wehrmacht senior command for Western Europe is aboard a specially outfitted train in the Parisian railway station, about to leave for a grand conference with the Führer. Most of the generals expect that strategic defense policies will be finalized and set in stone.

  The train pulls out of the station in the dark and slowly begins to head southeast across France. It is bound for the far-off city of Salzburg in Austria, and from there it will travel southward down a rail spur to the town of Berchtesgaden in lower Bavaria. The passengers will be given special rooms for the night in the local Hôtels. Tomorrow, they will travel by car up the Obersalzberg mountain to the Führer’s retreat—the Berghof. There they will attend this obviously elaborate conference that has been planned for the Western Theater commanders.

  During the day’s train ride, Rommel goes over his notes several times and confers with von Tempelhoff on several key points. He wants to be sure that he makes the best impression upon the Führer and that his argument is the most persuasive. No doubt, von Rundstedt will present his inland-defense case with great aplomb and sophisticated authority. Still, there is a good chance the old man will not sway the Führer much. Hitler, with his commoner background, has like Rommel always had a natural resentment of the aristocratic Prussian Generalstab caste. Anyway, the Führer for once is thinking the same way Rommel is thinking (or vice-versa)—stop them in their tracks. Rommel certainly hopes so…

  ***

  In the meantime, a different drama is going on at their destination.

  The leader of the Third Reich is on his way off the Obersalzberg, headed down the muddy trail toward the Berchtesgaden railway station. He wants to be sure to be that he is there on time to meet Admiral Horthy’s train when it pulls in to the station.

  Now that Hitler’s elaborate plans for this have been set in motion, he has been nervous about this meeting all morning. He has no idea how Horthy will react to the news that his country is about to be occupied. How furious will he be, and more importantly, how will the Hungarians respond?

  Hitler has time to think again about this going down the mountain. Sitting in the front passenger seat of his special Mercedes convertible, he impulsively opens the glove compartment in front of him and removes the revolver in there. His mind lost in thought, he examines it, checking to see that it is loaded. He puts the gun down in his lap for a while, before finally deciding to return it to the glove compartment.

  Trying to play out today’s possibilities, he turns around to Dr. von Sonnleithner1 and asks him, “Will the admiral have eaten?”

  The liaison nods affirmatively. Hitler in response nods his own head.

  Soon thereafter, 75-year-old Admiral Miklós Horthy, having started out for Bavaria with his staff by rail the day before, stares at the looming Berchtesgaden railway station as his train slowly pulls in. He sees just inside the station the figures of the Führer, Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, and several other senior German officers and officials. Hitler seems much older than he did on their last visit, as he stands, staring at the train. The cost of waging war on the world, no doubt.

  Hopefully, they will resolve the issue about returning some Hungarian divisions from the Eastern Front to recuperate and to defend against any sudden Russian thrust against Hungary. Horthy though, is unsettled over any other purpose this meeting may have and wonders if he should take along his personal small-caliber pistol, just in case. He probably would be able to get away with carrying it. He knows that as a head of state, he will not be searched by the German guards. Twice he hesitatingly picks the loaded weapon up and puts it in his pocket, and twice he takes it out again and puts it back in his suitcase.

  Horthy slowly gets off the train. His host walks out of the station to meet him and gives him a lukewarm reception. The two of them climb into Hitler’s Mercedes and they roar off towards Klessheim Castle in Salzburg.

  Not much is said on the 30-kilometer ride. Horthy asks Hitler if he wants his accompanying Hungarian senior staff members to attend their meeting. Hitler shakes his head and stonily replies no. Clearly, he is not in a good mood. Horthy senses that Hitler is upset with him too.

  They arrive at Klessheim and enter the resplendent castle. Horthy precedes Hitler into the Führer’s study, followed by Schmidt, the Führer’s personal interpreter. Since no interpreter is needed for them to talk, Horthy asks if he needs to be there. Hitler nods at the interpreter, who leaves them alone in the study.

  Though Hitler is clearly upset, he hesitates to begin. He starts off grumbling about Italy’s betrayal and the difficult situation that has put Germany in. And, he adds in a determined tone, since according to his sources, Hungary also seems to be planning on going over to the enemy, he feels that he must take certain precautionary actions to avoid getting caught the same way again.

  He continues. Even in the best of times, Hungary had always been a reluctant partner. Now that the situation is worse militarily, according to reports by the SS, it seems like the Hungarian government wants to ease their way out of the Axis alliance by making contacts with the British.

  The admiral, now upset himself, hotly denies any such thing. He replies, “Without my consent, there can never be the change of sides that you have described. Should events force my hand one day so that, to safeguard our very existence, I have to ask the enemy for an armistice, I can assure you that I shall openly and honestly inform the German government of such negotiations beforehand. We would, in any case, never be the first to take up arms against our German comrades.”

  Hitler calls him a liar, and repeats that he thinks otherwise, and that is why he has to take precautionary measures to protect Germany.

  Horthy replies stiffly, “I do not know what you mean. If by that phrase you mean military measures, or in other words the occupation of an independent and sovereign state which has made many sacrifices on Germany’s behalf, that would be an unspeakable crime. I can only warn you against the execution of so ill-advised a step, which would cause unparalleled hatred for your regime to flare up.”

  Hitler replies that he must do what he must do. He declares that in 24 hours, a dozen German divisions will march into Hungary to occupy the country until a better-suited government is set up—one approved of by the Führer himself. Horthy’s initial shock quickly turns into anger. He gruffly replies that he would not stand for any such thing. Hitler over the next few minutes bluntly tries to convince him that he has no choice. Horthy threatens to resign, and they argue some more. Hitler finally threatens to take over all of Hungary’s economy for his own war effort.

  Horthy has heard enough. He barks, “If everything has been decided upon already, there is no point in prolonging this discussion. I am leaving.” He turns and storms out of the study. Hitler is still angry but also surprised and flustered at this unexpected act of defiance. He follows the prince-regent out the do
or.2

  With Hitler telling him that this is not a wise move, the Hungarian leader nevertheless marches upstairs to the room allocated to him and sends for his staff. He tells them what has happened and informs them that they are leaving immediately and departing as soon as they return to the Berchtesgaden station. Horthy is angry, but mostly worried about what is transpiring. He does not know if the occupying forces have already crossed his border.

  Von Ribbentrop, thinking fast, stages a fake air raid, even ordering a smoke screen to simulate a real air attack. With the sirens going off, he apologetically tells Horthy that, for his own safety, he must wait until the air raid is over. The prince-regent, disgusted, reluctantly agrees. Soothingly, von Ribbentrop hands Horthy a note. Hitler has invited him to stay and dine with him, to further discuss the matter that afternoon. With leaving at the moment out of the question, he again consents.

  Soon afterward, everyone sits subdued at the well-laid table. Hardly anyone speaks, and if they do so, it is in a very low voice. As the Führer picks unenthusiastically at his vegetarian plate, those around wonder what he is thinking.

  After lunch, Hitler sadly tells one of Horthy’s aides that he truly regrets the actions he has had to take. He even makes a show of calling for Chief of Staff Keitel and asks him if the occupation order can somehow be called off. Keitel of course plays his part and replies that it cannot. The troops are already on the march.

  Hitler and the prince-regent soon have another meeting. Horthy tells him that based on the current situation, he must resign. Hitler surprisingly becomes distressed. Is it an act? Horthy cannot tell. The Führer begins to plead with him. He tells Horthy that he has always loved his country. “And I would not dream of interfering with Hungary’s sovereignty.”

  Hitler pauses again and continues. His military actions, he says apologetically, are only being undertaken to safeguard Hungary and its future. “I give you my word that the German troops shall be withdrawn as soon as a new Hungarian government that has my confidence has been formed.”

  Horthy replies stiffly that he will have to reserve judgment on that point. Changing tack, Hitler becomes acrimonious. If Horthy resigns, he states coldly, he will install in his place a radical right-wing puppet government. The veiled threat to the personal safety of Horthy and his staff is implied. And if anyone tries to organize any resistance to the new government, Germany will enlist the aid of Hungary’s hated neighbors to subdue them—those damned Romanians and the Slovaks.

  On that note, the meeting ends and the prince-regent returns again to his own quarters. Now that the air raids are over, the all clear has sounded, their departure can be made. They might as well stay for dinner though, because their special train (they are told) will now not be ready for them before 8 p.m.

  Sometime later, after Horthy has had a chance to cool down and is preparing to leave, von Ribbentrop goes to him. He tells Horthy that he has had a chance to reason with the Führer. If the prince-regent cooperates with the takeover and remains in office, the government changeover will go smoothly. German troops will stay in the country only until a suitable government is installed. The occupational force will then leave—assuming that there is no unrest. Or violence.

  Horthy sees that this is probably the best deal he is going to be able to get, and consents. A short time later, von Ribbentrop returns with a draft of the public announcement that he will put out covering the Admiral’s visit. He says that the Führer, in a show of solidarity, “wants you to sign this draft communiqué, stating that the decision to occupy Hungary is being made by mutual consent.”

  Horthy again gets angry at this coercion. He barks, “You might as well have added that I begged Hitler to have Hungary occupied by Slovak and Romanian troops, which is another one of the threats he made!”

  The German foreign minister is moderately distressed at Horthy’s reaction. Clearly, the deal he is trying to barter for the Führer is not going well. He replies, “Your Majesty, in life, minor untruths are often necessary.”

  Disgusted, Horthy looks over the communiqué again. Despite the mutual consent phrase, the text is diplomatically worded, of course to lessen the impact of the impending occupation. Still, Horthy insists that the mutual consent part be removed. Ribbentrop, realizing that this is an ultimatum, reluctantly agrees to strike the words.

  Horthy, resigned to Hungary’s fate, cables his cabinet and instructs them to allow German troops in. In return, Hitler in turn agrees to order his troops not to occupy Budapest—except of course, for a special “honor guard,” to protect the prince-regent.

  The Hungarians are finally given clearance to depart, and Hitler politely accompanies the coldly silent prince-regent back to the railway station. The special train departs the station at 8 p.m. Horthy does not know it, but his return trip will be delayed for hours, first at Salzburg, and then at Linz. The Germans will still be able to snatch him, in case his cabinet refuses to obey his orders and resists.

  The drama over, Hitler returns to the Berghof now to receive his generals.

  ***

  Vizeadmiral Ruge takes advantage of Rommel’s absence to visit several naval installations. Starting off at 6 a.m. with Kapitän Peters, they leave La Roche-Guyon in the thick, gloomy fog of the morning. With Hatzinger having to sometimes stick his head out his window to see where they are going, they make their way some 340km southwest to the naval engineering school in Angers. There they talk to the commander about various types of mines and mine detectors.

  From there, they head south across the Loire River at Le Pont-de-Cé and travel a few kilometers to the town of Murs Erigné, where they call on the naval commander for Western France, Vizeadmiral Schirlitz, 3 and his staff. They sit down for nearly an hour and a half and discuss various schemes to thwart the enemy. They talk about ways to destroy port facilities, mining techniques, concrete gun emplacements, and other issues. Ruge stresses to them once again Rommel’s main objectives of holding the enemy on the beaches and keeping them from getting a foothold ashore.

  That afternoon, they go west to Nantes, and then to St.-Nazaire. They eventually find and call on the fortress commander, Konteradmiral Mirow, 4 in his quarters by the shore and have another conference with him about the same issues.

  1Thirty-nine-year-old Dr. Edler Franz von Sonnleithner, von Ribbentrop’s adjutant in OKW. He was captured at the end of the war and interned for two years. He died April 18, 1981.

  2It is an entertaining notion to speculate just how Horthy might have reacted differently if he had picked up the pistol back on the train and carried it into the study. Of course, any attempt on the Führer’s life would have meant his immediate certain death. Still, how history would have been altered if he had.

  3Vizeadmiral Ernst Schirlitz; Kommandierender Admiral, Atlantik Küste. Later in August he was also designated Festungkommandant, La Rochelle until its surrender, May 9, 1945.

  4Forty-nine-year-old Konteradmiral Hans Mirow, who took command February 4, 1944.

  Sunday, March 19

  At midnight, Operation Margarethe I begins. At least half the units entering Hungary are from the West, including several mobile assault units, mobile infantry units, and Bayerlein’s new division, Panzer Lehr. The Hungarian leader, Admiral Miklós Horthy, is still en route to his capital in the early morning hours, delayed by Nazi intrigue. The German columns have of course long preceded him.

  By the time he arrives back in Budapest the next morning, his fears are confirmed. He is informed that the German occupying forces have been on the move since midnight. And he finds out later that day that he has been lied to by von Ribbentrop—one of those “minor untruths” often necessary. The offending phrase “mutual consent” has been left in the official German press announcement.

  ***

  The senior generals of the Western Theater are in Berchtesgaden today for their grand military symposium with the Führer. Having stayed the night in luxurious Hôtels, they spend the morning sightseeing, relaxing, and souvenir sho
pping.

  Early in the afternoon, the guests begin arriving at Hitler’s mountain villa. Rommel is driven by limousine from his hotel through the outskirts of Berchtesgaden, and from there up a steep mountain road that unfortunately has a number of potholes. The expanded country manor is situated atop a 1,950-meter mountain, called Obersalzberg, which overlooks and partially rings in the town far below. After some more sharp bends, the car finally reaches the courtyard in front of the Berghof entrance around 2 p.m.

  As he gets out of the limo, Rommel takes in the scenery down the mountainside and around the compound. The Führer’s villa is shrouded by large sections of camouflage netting, laid down to throw off the aim of any enemy bombers. There are also several smoke generators around, ready to create a thick smoke screen to cover the area during an air raid. And of course, there are several anti-aircraft positions and security guard posts. The place has certainly expanded since he last saw it. Rommel nods in approval.

  There have been a number of upgrades to the villa over the years. Some had been done by the Führer himself, often using instruments and tools that he had borrowed from Albert Speer. It is now a beautifully simple, three-storey block building with white walls. The lower floor has been lengthened to form an L-shape, and the roof includes some ornate eaves overhanging the building. The shutters to the petite windows are painted with wide, diagonal stripes.

  Standing at the main door of the villa is the Führer himself, personally receiving the guests as they approach. He looks tired, a bit more stooped over than before.