The Führer visited the Eagles Nest very rarely, and never stayed for more than an hour at a time.
But this by no means implied that the Eagles Nest was backward or outdated; on the contrary, as a fiftieth birthday gift to the Führer from the Nazi Party, the Eagles Nest, supervised by Bormann and built through the intensive labor of over 6,000 workers over 13 months, could truly be called "magnificent and imposing."
Furthermore, with its fresh air and beautiful scenery, it was a highly livable alpine villa, forming a stark contrast to the dark and damp Wolf's Lair, not to mention the cramped conditions of the wartime Stavka in Vinnitsa.
Its only drawback was that it was a bit far from the Eastern Front—though if the focus of operations were shifted to the Southern Front, it would be the most suitable command center.
The operations conference room at the Eagles Nest spanned over three hundred square meters.
Junior staff officers from the General Staff had prepared everything; the walls were a standard pale green, identical to the color used at the Army High Command, and the floor was covered in field-gray artificial carpeting, making it very quiet to walk on—perfectly suited for the requirements of the meeting.
Overhead, crystal chandeliers arranged in a cross shape illuminated the room brightly.
The only thing that might have felt uncomfortable was the walls with their sealed windows and drawn curtains, but for the sake of safety and security, this was understandable, and thanks to a well-functioning ventilation system, it did not feel stuffy.
On one of the longer walls hung a huge Third Reich swastika flag, while the other displayed the service flags of the Imperial Army, Navy, and Air Force.
On one of the shorter walls was a massive full-length portrait of the Führer, and on the other hung an oversized map—densely marked with troop distributions and enemy tactical situations, allowing one to grasp the current battlefield dynamics at a glance.
Following the shout of "The Führer arrives!" from the Leibstandarte SS guards, Hoffman walked into the venue with a steady gait.
The originally slightly noisy conference room fell silent at once, and everyone stood up from their seats, issuing a synchronized "Heil Hitler."
Looking at the glittering array of generals in the conference room and the uniform salutes, Hoffman was extremely nervous; his heart was almost in his throat.
He had felt embarrassed when talking with Bormann, Guderian, Zeitzler, and others in a small group yesterday, and only slowly overcame that emotion later.
He had thought today would be better, but he hadn't expected that the deafening shout just now would almost make him tremble and collapse.
If he were still the scholar he once was, these generals—with red stripes on their trousers and the cornflower patterns on their collar tabs gleaming brightly—would all be figures he should look up to.
Getting an autograph would be a minor matter; one could write an academic masterpiece about any one of them.
Unexpectedly, through a twist of fate, these men had become his subordinates, and he had to command them to go to war, which felt like a nearly impossible goal.
He waved his hand slightly, his joints and wrists stiff; if anyone were standing nearby listening carefully, they might even hear his teeth "chattering" as he clenched his jaw.
"Gentlemen, please sit."
Having finally calmed his nerves, Hoffman walked to his seat.
He spoke in a steady, impeccable voice, very much in the style of the Führer, though only a careful observer could notice the slightly distorted expression on his face caused by nervousness, or perhaps one could call it a grimace.
However, the focus of everyone's attention was soon shifted.
In his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Hoffman announced: "The main content of today is to discuss the war on the Eastern Front. First, there are several personnel adjustments... General Halder is relieved of his post as Chief of the General Staff and will go to the Berlin Military Academy to serve as Inspector of Education, focusing on the training of staff officers at all levels of the Army. General Zeitzler will succeed him as Chief of the General Staff."
Hearing this, Halder's expression became very unpleasant.
He held no personal grudge against Zeitzler, who was replacing him, but he felt that being Chief of the General Staff for someone who wouldn't listen to advice was truly a thankless job, and returning to Berlin in such a dejected manner was a great loss of face.
However, he suppressed the urge to flare up, wiped his spectacles, and silently turned to leave—the rest of the meeting was meaningless to him anyway.
Following Halder's departure, there was a buzz of whispering among the crowd, with expressions varying.
Long before the meeting, news that Zeitzler would replace Halder as the new Chief of the General Staff had already spread.
Everyone even knew clearly that last night, Zeitzler had skipped the rank of Lieutenant General and was promoted directly to General of Infantry.
Many were not surprised by Halder's departure, but they had not expected this position to fall into the hands of the junior Zeitzler.
Envy and jealousy were revealed in their eyes.
They also saw Guderian, but beyond surprise, there were no other expressions—after all, Guderian's relationship with them was quite poor.
If that statement was still within their acceptable range, Hoffman's subsequent remarks left them shocked—a level of shock no less than a 500-pound aerial bomb being dropped into the conference room: "General Paulus is relieved of his post as Commander of the Sixth Army and will go to the Western Front to serve as Chief of Staff of the Western Front High Command, concurrently serving as Chief of Staff of Army Group D."
The crowd whispered to one another.
What was the meaning of this appointment?
The Sixth Army, commanded by Paulus, was fighting on the front lines at Stalingrad; this was a strategic direction personally designated by the Führer.
How could he be replaced so suddenly?
Moreover, Paulus was a favorite general of the Führer, having steadily risen through staff positions; the Barbarossa plan was his work.
It stood to reason that he should continue to be heavily used, yet he was being moved to the Western Front?
Although it seemed like a promotion from Army Commander to Chief of Staff of the Western Front, there was currently no fighting on the Western Front at all.
What was the point of transferring Paulus there?
Had Paulus committed an unforgivable error that angered the Führer?
But no one had heard any rumors to that effect.
Hoffman scanned the crowd with a cold gaze and, quite rarely, began tapping his fingers on the table.
The crowd immediately stopped discussing and returned to a state of deathly silence.
Removing Paulus was the result of Hoffman's careful consideration yesterday: Paulus was an excellent staff officer, but clearly not a qualified field commander.
The hundreds of thousands of troops of the Sixth Army were buried by him at Stalingrad.
More fatally, after being urgently awarded the Marshal's baton by the Führer, he neither fought to the end nor committed suicide, but instead surrendered to the Russians.
That was not all; in 1944, he even called for his troops to revolt and finally became a witness for the prosecution at Nuremberg—this made Hoffman despise his character.
It was better to use the method of a nominal promotion but actual demotion to transfer him to the Western Front to exercise his strengths as Chief of Staff under the old Marshal Rundstedt.
This guy would be like this for the rest of his life; he should stop dreaming of a Marshal's baton.
Colonel General Weichs, Commander of Army Group B, decided to stand up and speak for Paulus.
Although the Führer had directly retained command of the Sixth Army after the start of the Southern Front campaign, and there was no great personal friendship between Paulus and him, the Sixth Army was at least a subordinate unit of Army Group B.
While Paulus was still fighting on the front lines, a transfer order for him arrived from the rear for no apparent reason, which he could not accept under any circumstances.
He decided to ask the Führer for an explanation.
Just as he stood up and before he could question the Führer's decision, Hoffman's order came down: "Colonel General Weichs, your position is also being adjusted. You will go to Army Group Center to take over Kluge's position, and the position of Commander of Army Group B will be succeeded by Field Marshal Manstein."
"Me?"
Weichs was clearly not mentally prepared; his mouth was wide enough to fit an apple.
What on earth was going on?
On the other side, Kluge, who had been relieved of his post, also stood up.
His old face flushed red, and he said indignantly: "Führer, why are you relieving me of my post? I need an explanation!"
"An explanation?"
Hoffman scanned him with contempt and suddenly raised his voice, shouting: "Guards!"
With a rush, a full squad of Leibstandarte SS soldiers armed with MP38s charged in from outside.
Leading them was the tall, blond, blue-eyed Major Otto Günsche—commander of the Führer's personal bodyguard.
A dozen submachine gun barrels were aimed directly at Kluge; if Hoffman gave the order, he would be riddled with bullets instantly.
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