In a village called Sterley Konsteinbr on the North Norfolk Waterfront in England, there is a stone tablet in the cemetery behind the church, which reads in German: "Here lies Lieutenant Colonel Kolt Steiner and 13 German paratroopers." The time of death was November 6, 1943. Later, a reporter investigated and found that there was a shocking secret hidden here - Hitler had tried to kidnap Churchill! And buried here are the members of the German Einsatzgruppen who carried out this task that year!
Hitler shouted: Get Churchill out of England!
In 1943, the Allies successfully landed in Sicily, and under the enormous pressure of fighting on the mainland, a rebellion broke out in Italy. On September 3, Italy announced its surrender, signed an armistice with the Allies, and the fascist leader Mussolini was imprisoned. But hitler, the "war maniac", was unwilling to stop there, and he sent a German einsatzgruppen to miraculously rescue Mussolini.
Hitler proudly rewarded Captain Skolzner for his excellent rescue mission, while expressing great dissatisfaction with the head of his Military Intelligence Service, Admiral William Canalis. Hitler shouted, "You didn't do anything!" On your terms, you should get Churchill out of England! The head of the secret police, Himmler, added to the fire with malicious intent: "Why not?" Fuehrer, I think that as long as His Excellency the General is willing to use his brain, this will certainly be possible! "Yes, that's it!" Finally, Hitler ordered in an unmistakable tone. An incredible plan to kidnap Churchill was thus born on Hitler's whim.
A German female spy spies on Churchill's whereabouts
Admiral Kanaris ordered his subordinate, Lieutenant Colonel Rader, to draw up a thorough plan of action, and to deal with it if the fickle Hitler pressed the matter again. As for whether to implement it, he didn't think about it at all.
One day, Lieutenant Colonel Radel received a report from Mrs. Joanna Gray, a German female spy lurking in Britain, mentioning that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill would visit a Royal Air Force base near her village of Steley-Constambr on November 6 and would visit a factory in the evening to spend the weekend on the farm of Henry Wellope, a retired naval commander 8 kilometres from the village.
Lieutenant Colonel Radel immediately found on the map the village of Stellakonstembull, which Mrs. Grey had described, and found that it was located in a remote coastal area of England, along the coast of a large deserted sandy beach and swamp, very suitable for airborne landing. Mrs. Grey soon reported new information: there were often Allied troops of different nationalities who practiced in the village of Streekonstembull, including a British Air Force special forces unit that was inaccessible to ordinary people. After careful study, Lieutenant Colonel Radel decided to have a German paratrooper impersonate the Polish Paratroopers of the British Air Force Special Forces to carry out this special mission, with Lieutenant Colonel Steiner directing the operation.
Hitler's Secret Order: Provide all convenience for kidnapping
Radel drafted a very detailed plan and gave it to his superior, Admiral Kanalis, but Kanalis just took a cursory glance, which disappointed Rader. But the head of the secret police, Himmler, was intrigued by the matter, and he handed Radel an envelope. Radel took out an envelope with a letterhead symbolizing Nazi Germany's majesty and golden cross, and was stunned when he saw the contents. It turned out to be a secret order from Hitler that read: "The Head of State and Chancellor's secret order: Lieutenant Colonel Radel is on a mission under my direct instructions." He was only responsible for reporting to me. We hope that all departments will fully assist and provide all conveniences. With Hitler's support, Radel's confidence grew and he was able to complete the preparations smoothly.
Radel set up an airborne training base in the small village of Landsvoort, 32 kilometers north of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for Steiner and 13 of his men to skydive. At the same time, Mrs. Gray was sent a spy named Laem Davelin as an assistant to respond to the airborne operation. After completing all the preparations, Himmler instructed Radel: "In order not to violate the provisions of the Geneva Agreement that the warring troops shall not wear the enemy's uniform, let the paratroopers wear German uniforms on the inside, british uniforms on the outside, and in the official operation, wear the German uniforms; with regard to Churchill, catch as much alive as possible, and if you have to, you can die." ”
Accidents expose the action
On the evening of November 5, 1943, Steiner's squad was successfully parachuted in. After dawn, they began to practice shooting near the mill in the village of Steley-Konstanbul in British uniforms, and the villagers watched as they stood on the small bridge next to it, but the guardrail of the small bridge, which had fallen into disrepair, was overwhelmed and suddenly broke, and the two children fell into the river and were washed away by the current to the mill. The German soldiers in British uniforms next to them immediately ran to the news, and the two soldiers quickly jumped into the water and swam towards the children who fell into the water. Sergeant Slime, who was swimming in front, grabbed a little boy and handed him over to Sergeant Major Brandt behind him, and then struggled to rescue another little girl, but he himself was sucked into the huge wheels of the windmill. By the time the others found Sturm, his head had been crushed and blood stained the river red. Brandt hurriedly undressed Sturm to rescue him, but he was dead. At this time, the little boy who was rescued suddenly pointed to the clothes inside the Sturm, and the villagers found that the heroic man who sacrificed himself to save people was wearing a German military uniform! When Steiner saw that the incident had been revealed, he locked all the villagers in a church and sealed off the entire village, waiting for the arrival of Prime Minister Churchill.
The church priest, who estimated that the Germans had come for Churchill, ordered his sister to report through a secret passage to the headquarters of the U.S. Einsatzgruppen in Melmsch. Colonel Shatov of the U.S. Rangers immediately ordered his subordinate, Major Kane, to drive to stop the British Prime Minister's convoy and not enter the village again. Without informing the British troops, Shatov himself led more than 40 people in 8 jeeps straight to the church and surrounded the church.
Just then, Steiner and the others drove the priest's car to the main road leading to the beach. When it was dark, Steiner drove toward the headquarters of the U.S. Einsatzgruppen in Melmesh and was recognized at a checkpoint by the American soldiers on duty. Suddenly, a large number of American soldiers chased after them and kept shooting. Steiner's car was hit by a bullet and rolled into the valley, and he himself jumped out of the car to escape.
Dramatic ending
At 9 p.m., it began to rain heavily. Steiner eliminated a British signal soldier who delivered a letter to the U.S. Rangers. He changed into the costume of a British signal soldier and found a letter addressed to Colonel Shatov from his briefcase. Steiner drove straight to the headquarters of the U.S. Military Rangers on a signal corps motorcycle, and at the door, he took out the letter and shook it: "Official document for Colonel Shatov." The guard waved, and he entered the gate with ease.
At this moment, Kane was reporting to Shatov about Steiner's escape, when a sergeant who was acting as a guard came in and asked Kane, "Major, are you looking for me?" "Yes, what's going on at the door?" The sergeant replied that a few minutes earlier there had been a British signal soldier delivering a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Shatov. Kane and Shatov looked at each other, feeling that something was wrong, and drew their guns and went straight to the Prime Minister's residence. At this moment, Steiner's footsteps alarmed Churchill. The Prime Minister quickly turned and asked, "I suppose you are Lieutenant Colonel Steiner, a German paratrooper, right?" Steiner replied hesitantly: "I regret this, Mr. Churchill, but I must carry out my task." "So what are you waiting for?" The Prime Minister said very calmly. Steiner raised his pistol and put his finger on the trigger. Suddenly, Kane breaks through the window and shoots a string of bullets at the same time, and Steiner falls in response. The British prime minister, still showing no signs of panic, said: "It is strange that his finger has been pulled on the trigger, but at the last moment he hesitated." Anyway, he's a brave man, please bury him well. So Steiner and his 13 subordinates were buried together in the cemetery behind the church, and in order not to attract attention, a stone stele was placed on it, and an inscription was engraved as described earlier.
Ironically for the German intelligence apparatus, not only were the warriors on this ridiculous kidnapping mission buried on enemy territory, but Churchill did not go to the village of Steley-Konstable at that time. The one who was operating in the village of Steley-Constambr was Churchill's stand-in, George Howard Foster, and the German intelligence agencies had completely won the British's plan to move the tiger away from the mountain!
(Xie Jianjun/Wen)