8,000 locomotives aimed at Berchtesgaden in April, 1945?
Jul 23, 2014 23:02:31 #
According to U.S. Army historians, in mid-March 1945 Adolf Hitler issued orders to build a massive Alpenfestung (Alpine Redoubt), a last-stand national fortress around his Obersalzberg mountain mansion high above Berchtesgaden in southern Bavaria. The Allies worried that this could result in a blood bath. Today numerous historians assert the announcement was designed as a ploy by Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler and propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to confuse the Allies and divert their armies from Berlin to Bavaria.
But it apparently confused other Nazi cohorts instead, who scrambled to satisfy their leader. Trying to outdo each other, they commandeered masses of materials, weapons, ammunition and food. filling hundreds of trainloads during March and April. All were aimed at the little station in Berchtesgaden. There was no coordination, so the Reichsbahn (German Railway System) became dramatically overloaded. When the dust settled on May 8th -- the day of surrender -- more than 8,000 locomotives were jammed south of the Main River, twice as many as normal. The Munich district alone had a 14,000-railcar traffic jam. Several months were needed to clear the tracks. You can imagine the looting of the stalled cars in all the towns where they were backed up.
On April 25th an Allied air raid smashed the Obersalzberg complex in 20 minutes, scattering the 2,000 SS troops and Nazi military staffs who believed their Führer was coming. On May 4th troops of the American Third Infantry Division entered Berchtesgaden and were met by the district Landrat (magistrate), who officially surrendered the town. All the top Nazis had fled, as was usual in towns before they fell (unless they committed suicide, like Hitler in Berlin). American military government officials arrived the next day. Two men were wounded when a time bomb exploded in an office, the only injuries in the "defeat" of the Alpine Redoubt.
It was a crazy idea, as phony as a Wagnerian opera's stage set. But the Berchtesgadners were happy -- their pretty town survived the insanity with hardly a scratch. And the Nazis on the hill were gone.
But it apparently confused other Nazi cohorts instead, who scrambled to satisfy their leader. Trying to outdo each other, they commandeered masses of materials, weapons, ammunition and food. filling hundreds of trainloads during March and April. All were aimed at the little station in Berchtesgaden. There was no coordination, so the Reichsbahn (German Railway System) became dramatically overloaded. When the dust settled on May 8th -- the day of surrender -- more than 8,000 locomotives were jammed south of the Main River, twice as many as normal. The Munich district alone had a 14,000-railcar traffic jam. Several months were needed to clear the tracks. You can imagine the looting of the stalled cars in all the towns where they were backed up.
On April 25th an Allied air raid smashed the Obersalzberg complex in 20 minutes, scattering the 2,000 SS troops and Nazi military staffs who believed their Führer was coming. On May 4th troops of the American Third Infantry Division entered Berchtesgaden and were met by the district Landrat (magistrate), who officially surrendered the town. All the top Nazis had fled, as was usual in towns before they fell (unless they committed suicide, like Hitler in Berlin). American military government officials arrived the next day. Two men were wounded when a time bomb exploded in an office, the only injuries in the "defeat" of the Alpine Redoubt.
It was a crazy idea, as phony as a Wagnerian opera's stage set. But the Berchtesgadners were happy -- their pretty town survived the insanity with hardly a scratch. And the Nazis on the hill were gone.
A peaceful mountainside church in Berchtesgaden - 1046
A view across Berchtesgaden, Occupied Germany - 1946
The little train station in Berchtesgaden - 1946
The American Military Government office in Berchtesgaden - 1946
Hitler's Eagle's Nest high above Berchtesgaden - a tiny Alpine Redoubt?
Jul 23, 2014 23:20:44 #
Jul 23, 2014 23:49:13 #
I do so enjoy your history lessons and of course your historical photos. Thank you for sharing.
Jul 24, 2014 00:48:09 #
GENorkus wrote:
Interesting! Thanks!
Thanks for checking it out, GENorkus. At times it was a little too interesting for a lot of people.
Jul 24, 2014 00:50:51 #
CEAA wrote:
I do so enjoy your history lessons and of course your historical photos. Thank you for sharing.
I'm glad you find my little vignettes and snapshots enjoyable, CEAA. It's my pleasure to dig these out and share them before they're all forgotten.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.