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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mumm-Ra" data-source="post: 13575620" data-attributes="member: 182893">On 17 February 1943, Adolf Hitler narrowly escapes capture by the Soviets and his own men. Over the past weeks, we have seen how the Red Army broke through to Kharkov on a wide front. Hoping to turn the tide, Hitler ordered Hubert Lanz's detachment to make a stand at the city: a probable death sentence. However, it does not come to this. Paul Hausser orders his SS Panzer Corps to withdraw on his authority, and the Soviets capture the city on the 16th. With the Wehrmacht in retreat from Orel down to Voroshilovgrad, Hitler deems the crisis severe enough to visit the front, something he did not do during the Battle of Stalingrad. His first stop will be Lanz's headquarters at Poltava, but he has no idea what danger lays ahead there. Like in the headquarters at Army Groups Center and B, Lanz and much of his staff have grown disillusioned with Hitler's leadership. While the Night of the Long Knives, the first atrocities in Poland, and the daily interference during Operation Barbarossa gave rise to the first doubts, the large majority of the armed forces still stood firm behind Hitler. Now, after the defeat at Stalingrad, overthrowing Hitler is once again becoming a hot topic in the senior officer corps, although few are prepared to take the risk. Lanz decides to take the gamble. Using a regiment from the elite Grossdeutschland Division, Hitler is to be arrested either immediately when his plane touches down or during a conference in the headquarters. Violence is to be avoided, but if Hitler's personal SS bodyguards resist, the plotters must shoot to kill. But it is not to be. In a last-second change of plans, Hitler flies to Zaporozhye instead to visit Erich von Manstein's Army Group Don. To make things worse for Lanz, he is relieved from his command for losing Kharkov. Help comes from an unexpected quarter when the Soviets break clean through toward Zaporozhye. Less than two hours separate the 25th Tank Corps and Hitler's plane when he takes off in a hurry, narrowly avoiding capture for the second time. Photo: Von Manstein welcomes Hitler during his visit to Zaporozhye, 1943. Source: Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1995-041-23A<a href="https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxfGPyrYhl0glBKpfVzq8a0sjsvz30ZKON" target="_blank"><img src="https://yt3.ggpht.com/up0_pK1R077bALmgyje3g4a2FtA9o7X5i4WCvtmzIGahf5_vJSQ8b7gzhV8S1-k96ERbNjh7a6cIjYk=s640-c-fcrop64=1,00000000ffffffff-nd-v1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></blockquote>

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