Chapter 41: The Journalist's Butcher Knife

“Read all about it! Read all about it!” a newsboy shouted in the middle of the street, waving the newspaper in his hand. “Former Crown Prince attends military exercise, observes as guest of honor! The military supports the restoration of the monarchy!”

In another direction, the young owner of a bookstall was also shouting at the top of his lungs, “Come and see! Come and see! The Kaiser sends his son! The Reichswehr’s Commander-in-Chief, General von Seeckt, publicly supports His Majesty the Emperor!”

From a high window, the curtains inside were drawn. A French officer wearing a round military cap turned his head and said to his Belgian colleague, “Is there really a need to fan the flames like this? Doing so might not necessarily be enough to oust Seeckt, who has been the Commander-in-Chief of the German Reichswehr for over three years.”

Colonel Grudo smiled faintly. “We have obtained a lot of intelligence. Germany is rearming on a large scale. We just lack the evidence for now. We all know that Germany has at least 10 divisions hidden away.”

“So what? The big shots above us are also well aware that the German Reichswehr is hiding its strength, but they all pretend not to know,” the French officer said with a shrug of his hands. “I’m not part of the Allied Military Control Commission. I’m just here visiting a friend.”

Colonel Grudo shrugged helplessly. “Lieutenant Colonel de Gaulle, you must know that besides us, no one regards the rising German Reichswehr as a threat. These great men think that Poland is much stronger than Germany. They believe Germany’s hidden strength is nothing to be afraid of. Once war breaks out, France can cross the Rhine in three days, and it will only take a few months to reach Berlin.”

“So are we just going to watch them violate the Treaty of Versailles?” Charles de Gaulle said with frustration. “Making small moves here? Can that really stop the Reichswehr from rearming itself?”

“This is no small move. You should know, the German Reichswehr has been secretly expanding its strength under the support of General von Seeckt. If we can get Seeckt to roll over this time, then the expansion of the German Reichswehr will suffer a setback,” Grudo said with a smile.

“But you still have no way to deal with Colonel Akado Rudolph,” de Gaulle said with a frown.

Colonel Grudo nodded. “So we have no choice but to start with General von Seeckt first. Besides, Colonel Akado’s power is not as great as we imagined. His promotion was blocked by Seeckt. This shows that this man Akado’s foundation in the military is not as terrifying as we estimated.”

“Has there been no further word from that anonymous phone call?” de Gaulle suddenly asked.

“No. Since President Ebert’s death, the phone hasn’t rung again. We haven’t received any intelligence of such high value since,” Grudo said, shaking his head.

“The intelligence suggests that one of President Ebert’s secretaries also disappeared at the same time. It seems we have lost a very good ally,” de Gaulle said with a sigh.

Colonel Grudo nodded. “We will be careful. We will be careful to protect the next ally who voluntarily comes over to our side.”

“Read all about it! Read all about it!” The newsboy on the street below shouted even louder.

The German capitalists were furious. They gathered together to demand that the German government severely punish General von Seeckt. They claimed that “this arrogant old man must be taught a lesson.” This morning, representatives from four old noble families and seventeen major financial groups had already sought out President Hindenburg, presenting the old field marshal, who had just taken his seat as president, with two completely opposite demands.

The capitalists and financial group representatives demanded that President Hindenburg severely punish General von Seeckt and relieve him of his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr, because Seeckt’s act of inviting a member of the royal family to observe a military exercise had exceeded the scope of his authority and threatened Germany’s national security.

But some of Hindenburg’s old colleagues and several old-guard nobles voiced a different opinion. They requested that Hindenburg support Seeckt and suppress the unreasonable demands of the capitalists. Some even directly asked Hindenburg to welcome His Majesty the Emperor back from the Netherlands to rule the great German Empire once again.

The next day, Hindenburg called the military barracks in Bavaria and quickly summoned his trusted young confidant, Colonel Akado Rudolph.

“Can I trust you?” Hindenburg asked, looking at Akado as soon as they met.

“I came here as soon as I got off the plane, Mr. President,” Akado said, standing before Hindenburg. “If you need, I can take control of the Berlin urban area at once.”

“Are the police and the Gestapo reliable?” Hindenburg continued to ask.

“Major Gascoigne is in his office. He can carry out any order for us. I contacted the chief of police at the airport. Berlin can be placed under martial law at any time,” Akado continued to answer.

Hindenburg nodded and asked the third question of their meeting. “Lieutenant Colonel Akado, does what I am doing count as a betrayal of the royal family? I have served them for decades.”

“President Hindenburg, are you willing to betray and sacrifice everyone who elected you as president, including sacrificing your own life, to fulfill your loyalty?” Akado did not answer, but asked a question in return.

“Take this document to Seeckt’s office. He is dismissed,” Hindenburg said after a few minutes of stunned silence. He then picked up a document from his desk and said to Akado with a desolate look, “Convey my words to all the merchants you know. Hindenburg will defend the democratic government to the last moment.”

“Yes, sir! Long live Greater Germany!” Akado stood at attention, saluted, and then turned and walked out of Hindenburg’s office.

After leaving the president’s office, Akado used the president’s secretary’s phone to call General von Seeckt’s secretarial office.

“Hello! This is the Reichswehr High Command, secretarial office. I am General von Seeckt’s secretary, Captain Grace. How may I help you?” On the other end, the newly promoted Ms. Grace picked up the phone and greeted him.

After she finished speaking, Akado gave his order. “This is Akado. You are to use Seeckt’s name to call General Hammon now. Tell him to take his guards to the 15th Division headquarters to find General Reo.”

“You’re going to make a move against General von Seeckt?” Grace whispered from the other end. “I won’t help you do anything to wrong General von Seeckt.”

“The one who wants to deal with Seeckt is not me! It’s President Hindenburg! If I make a move, General von Seeckt still has a way out. If it were someone else, Seeckt would be finished!” Akado said with a frown.

The other end of the line was silent for a long time. Finally, Grace’s voice came through. “Alright! I will help you. I want the rank of major.”

“No problem, Major Grace,” Akado said with a nod. He then hung up the phone.

He then picked up the receiver again and connected to the 15th Division command post. “General Reo, this is Colonel Akado Rudolph.”

“Long live Greater Germany! Mr. Chairman Rudolph, what are your orders?” On the other end of the line, Major General Reo stood at attention and asked without any hesitation.

“Hammon will be coming to your location! Detain him for me. Send men to cooperate with the party members in the 1st Division and take control of the 1st Reichswehr Division,” Akado ordered. “Without my command, not a single soldier is to leave the barracks.”

“Yes, sir!” Reo said, then hung up the phone.

…

Seeckt was pacing restlessly in his office. For two days, the newspapers had been attacking him without restraint. Some even called him the emperor’s running dog. Although he had the intention of helping the Kaiser’s restoration, he swore to God it was definitely not now.

The German newspapers were attacking him from all sides, and the foreign newspapers were also fanning the flames. For a time, Seeckt felt he had fallen into an incredibly awkward situation.

“Ring, ring, ring.” The phone on his desk rang. Seeckt snatched the receiver. “This is General von Seeckt. Who is this?”

“This is Crown Prince Wilhelm! I’m calling you from a friend’s apartment! You must act immediately! Mobilize the army to take control of Berlin! Otherwise, it will be too late!” An anxious voice came from the other end. “A friend of mine called and said Hindenburg has sided with the merchants!”

“What?” Seeckt was shocked. He stood up, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw two police cars parked outside his window, with many policemen gathering in the surrounding area.

He immediately hung up the phone, snatched the receiver again, and connected to the 1st Division command post in the suburbs of Berlin. “Hello, I’m looking for Major General Hammon.”

“General von Seeckt, what a coincidence! I am Major General Reo, commander of the 15th Division. General Hammon is a guest at the 15th Division command post. He and Colonel Hauck have many things to discuss,” the person on the other end said, and then hung up.

“Bastard!” Seeckt slammed the receiver down onto the carpet.

“That’s not good, General von Seeckt! You’ve broken public property,” Akado said with a smile. Without knocking, he pushed open the door to General von Seeckt’s office with Gehr and saw Seeckt throwing the phone.

“Was it you who lured Hammon to the 15th Division?” Seeckt stared at Akado and asked. “Did you also orchestrate this attack by the journalists?”

“I don’t have that much power. This incident was mainly the work of the Allied Military Control Commission. They planned to obstruct the revitalization of the Reichswehr, and you gave them the handle they needed. That’s why this attack happened,” Akado said. “I just asked some journalist friends to help report on this incident, just doing them a small favor.”

“Was Hindenburg also persuaded by you?” Seeckt asked, not giving up.

Akado burst out laughing. “My dear General, I have never persuaded President Hindenburg. You see, he is Mr. President now, not the Field Marshal. No one is willing to have someone else pointing fingers at them from above, especially a Mr. President who has been subjected to it before! I didn’t say a single word of persuasion. He made the choice himself.”

“I want to know, now that you’ve won, how do you plan to deal with the Reichswehr?” Seeckt stared at Akado, his words filled with unwillingness and desolation.

“I will not do anything. The Reichswehr will continue to execute Operation Pluto! It will become even stronger in my hands,” Akado said solemnly.