ww2buff68
According to "Valkyrie" (2008):
On the morning of July 15, 1944, the Reserve Army was
called out a few hours early before the planned assassination, just as Stauffengerg was boarding his plane to the Wolf's Lair.
General Fromm was present at the meeting. Himmler was supposed to show up, but didn't. If the bomb(s) had detonated that day in the concrete bunker, General Olbricht, at that point, would've mobilized the Reserve Army with the Valkyrie orders and carried on with their plan(remember, Quirnheim assured them earlier that the blast in the concrete bunker would kill everyone instantly[which, naturally, includes Hitler AND Fromm]).
In reality, Fromm's death would've been collateral damage, but at the same time, make it easier for the conspirators to gain control of the Reserve Army.
Now, back to the movie. Let's look at it from the characters' perspectives. For this, let's assume the above description for July 15 is the actual history:
Strategically, it was best that Himmler didn't show up for the meeting because if they want to pin the blame on the SS, saying they're trying to take over the government, their leader would have to be alive to give more credibility to what they tell everyone(general population included) "what's going on"(by that time, Himmler was a possible successor to Hitler).
After standing for a few hours, Major Remer would've gotten the notice that Hitler was dead and proceed with Operation Valkyrie. If Remer(who WAS loyal to Hitler) was smart, would he have stopped to think: "Hhmm, I've been standing out here for a few hours, and I just NOW receive this notice! What's going on? It seems too convenient beging called out like that. Maybe I should check it out first before I act on the Valkyrie orders."(if I was Remer, I would stop to think.)?
It would've been better for the conspirators to call out and mobilize the Reserve Army after the blast in the concrete bunker. It would've been more believable considering the MUCH shorter time frame between the blast and when Remer received the notice. Just waiting until after the blast to call out the Reserve Army would've made the conspiracy more airtight and NOBODY would've given it a second thought, thereby, increasing their chances of success.
In the movie, on July 20, Olbricht didn't want to call out the Reserve Army until he heard that Hitler was dead. That was actually the smart thing to do. But, when the call came through from General Felgibel, and Quirnheim told Olbricht he wasn't sure what Felgibel said, Olbricht should've just assumed Hitler was dead and commence with the plan, instead of sitting there and arguing with Quirnheim. Olbricht squandered their best chances.
What are your thoughts about all this? Please let me know.
Thank You,
Dennis
On the morning of July 15, 1944, the Reserve Army was
called out a few hours early before the planned assassination, just as Stauffengerg was boarding his plane to the Wolf's Lair.
General Fromm was present at the meeting. Himmler was supposed to show up, but didn't. If the bomb(s) had detonated that day in the concrete bunker, General Olbricht, at that point, would've mobilized the Reserve Army with the Valkyrie orders and carried on with their plan(remember, Quirnheim assured them earlier that the blast in the concrete bunker would kill everyone instantly[which, naturally, includes Hitler AND Fromm]).
In reality, Fromm's death would've been collateral damage, but at the same time, make it easier for the conspirators to gain control of the Reserve Army.
Now, back to the movie. Let's look at it from the characters' perspectives. For this, let's assume the above description for July 15 is the actual history:
Strategically, it was best that Himmler didn't show up for the meeting because if they want to pin the blame on the SS, saying they're trying to take over the government, their leader would have to be alive to give more credibility to what they tell everyone(general population included) "what's going on"(by that time, Himmler was a possible successor to Hitler).
After standing for a few hours, Major Remer would've gotten the notice that Hitler was dead and proceed with Operation Valkyrie. If Remer(who WAS loyal to Hitler) was smart, would he have stopped to think: "Hhmm, I've been standing out here for a few hours, and I just NOW receive this notice! What's going on? It seems too convenient beging called out like that. Maybe I should check it out first before I act on the Valkyrie orders."(if I was Remer, I would stop to think.)?
It would've been better for the conspirators to call out and mobilize the Reserve Army after the blast in the concrete bunker. It would've been more believable considering the MUCH shorter time frame between the blast and when Remer received the notice. Just waiting until after the blast to call out the Reserve Army would've made the conspiracy more airtight and NOBODY would've given it a second thought, thereby, increasing their chances of success.
In the movie, on July 20, Olbricht didn't want to call out the Reserve Army until he heard that Hitler was dead. That was actually the smart thing to do. But, when the call came through from General Felgibel, and Quirnheim told Olbricht he wasn't sure what Felgibel said, Olbricht should've just assumed Hitler was dead and commence with the plan, instead of sitting there and arguing with Quirnheim. Olbricht squandered their best chances.
What are your thoughts about all this? Please let me know.
Thank You,
Dennis