81 years ago today, on July 20, 1944 (the first day of the sixth lunar month), the "July 20" assassination of Hitler took place.

In the early summer of 1944, the Soviet Red Army broke into Polish territory and forced its way across the Nymen River, approaching the old lair of the German invaders. The Allied forces also successfully landed in Normandy. Nazi Germany was caught in an embarrassing situation of being attacked from both sides, and its complete failure was irreparable. The development of the situation prompted Nazi Germany to attempt to overthrow Hitler, establish a new government, make peace with the United States and Britain, and prevent the Soviet army from invading Germany. The conspiracy group in Germany rushed to implement the action plan code-named "Valkyrie".

The Valkyrie is a beautiful and terrifying Muse under the god Worthy in Norse mythology. She is said to fly on ancient battlefields in search of those who should be killed. The plan codenamed by it is a pun. It is called how the domestic garrison will suppress the riots of foreign workers and take over the deployment of urban security. It is actually a plan for how to act after killing Hitler.

At the end of June, the conspiracy seemed to have had a good fortune. Its stalwart Count von Stauffenberg was promoted to colonel and appointed chief of staff to General Fromm, commander-in-chief of the domestic garrison. This position not only enabled him to issue orders to the domestic garrisons in Fromm's name, but also enabled him to meet directly and frequently with Hitler.

Stauffenberg was a nobleman born in a famous family in southern Germany. He was 37 years old at the time. He is talented, bold and meticulous. On April 7, 1943, during a battle, he was passing through the Kesseline Pass in Tunisia when he was strafed by a low-altitude aircraft. He lost one eye and one right hand, and two fingers on his left hand. Although he is disabled, his heroic spirit remains undiminished. At that time, he told friends who had visited him in the hospital that he was prepared to sacrifice his life to get rid of Hitler. At this time, he was the only one among the conspirators who had access to the heavily guarded Fuhrer's headquarters, so he was the only one to kill Hitler.

On July 7, 1944, Stauffenberg went to the Upper Selz Mountains to report to Hitler on the "Valkyrie" project. He hid a ticking time bomb in his briefcase. Because Goering and Himmler, whom he planned to kill at the same time, were not present and did not take action, another meeting was scheduled to be held at the Berghof on July 15. However, at the last moment when Stauffenberg had made contact with his Berlin comrades, Hitler suddenly flew to the "Wolf's Den". This not only lost another opportunity, but also aroused the suspicion of the Gestapo because his accomplices prematurely implemented the "Valkyrie" plan and mobilized troops. The number of plotters under surveillance and arrested is increasing day by day.

On the afternoon of July 19, Stauffenberg was called to report to the Führer's headquarters at 1 p.m. the next day. Determined never to lose this opportunity again, he immediately informed the members of the conspiracy group to prepare for a coup d'état after the assassination.

At 7 a.m. on July 20, Stauffenberg and his lieutenant, Lieutenant Hafden, flew from Rengsdorf airport near Berlin to the "wolf's den" in Rustenburg, East Prussia, where his friend, General Hermot-Stiff, handed him two time bombs. He wrapped one in his shirt and put it in his briefcase, and handed the other to his lieutenant.

This is a British-made time bomb weighing about two pounds. It is equipped with a glass tube containing an acid solution. After breaking it, it takes only 10 minutes to corrode a metal wire pulling the firing pin, causing the firing pin to pop out and fire the detonator. The advantage of this bomb is that there is no sound of mechanical rotation, and the acid solution has no smell.

At 10:15 a.m., Stauffenberg arrived at the airport near the "Wolf's Den" and transferred to an officer's car to drive straight to the base camp. The base camp is located in a dark, damp, wooded place. The building is divided into three floors, inside and outside, each surrounded by minefields, bunkers, and electrified barbed wire, and is patrolled by SS soldiers day and night. The "inner courtyard" where Hitler lived and worked was a restricted area, and no one was allowed to enter except for the authorized and most important people. But since Stauffenberg was summoned by Hitler himself, he and Hafden entered the "inner courtyard" without much effort. After breakfast, they successfully found General Fritz-Philkibel, the director of communications of the Supreme Command.

Philkiebel was one of the pointed persons in the conspiracy group. Stauffenberg made an appointment with him to be ready to quickly spread the news of the explosion to the conspirators in Berlin so that they could act immediately.

After 12 o'clock, Stauffenberg went into the office of the High Command commander, Keitel. Keitel told him that because Mussolini was arriving at 2:30 p.m., the Führer's first daily briefing had been brought forward from 1 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Time was running out. He gave Keitel a brief account of what he was going to report to Hitler, and then, under the pretext of convenience, went into Keitel's bathroom and hastily crushed the glass tube containing the acid solution with pliers.

When Keitel and Stauffenberg entered the conference room, the latter paused in the front room and told the sergeant in charge of the telephone switchboard that he was waiting for an urgent call from his office in Berlin, which would give him the latest materials and supplement his report.

The two of them walked into the conference room, and the meeting had already begun. Hitler was sitting in the center of one side of the table, his back to the door, listening to a report from General Hausinger, Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations, and fiddling with his magnifying glass. There were still about 20 officers standing around the table. When the new participant stepped into the conference room, Hitler looked up at him and answered his greetings. Stauffenberg stood next to the table and placed his bag on the inside side of the solid oak base under the table, about two meters away from Hitler's legs. It was 12:37, and in five minutes, the bomb in the purse would explode. Hausinger continued speaking, pointing from time to the combat map spread out on the table. Hitler and his officers leaned over the map and looked carefully. Stauffenberg sneaked out while people were concentrating. Brandt leaned down on the table next to him, wanting to see the map more clearly. Seeing Stauffenberg's bulging leather bag in the way, he picked it up with one hand and placed it on the outer side of the thick base of the table. In this way, there was this thick base between the bomb and Hitler. Perhaps it was this seemingly insignificant move that saved Hitler's life and changed future history.

Hausinger's report was almost over, and Keitel hurriedly looked along the table to where Colonel Stauffenberg had stood. He wanted to signal the colonel that he was ready to report next. However, what made him very angry was that Stauffenberg was not there. Keitel remembered what the colonel had said to the telephone operator when he came in, and quietly exited the room, intending to go and retrieve the clumsy young officer. But there was no sign of Stauffenberg by the phone. The sergeant in charge of the switchboard said he left in a hurry. Keitel returned to the conference room helplessly. At this time, Hausinger was finishing his report. He was saying,"The Russians are advancing north with strong forces west of the Duna River, and their vanguard is southwest of Dunabo. If we don't withdraw our army around Lake Bepas immediately, a disaster..."Before he could finish, the bomb exploded with a bang. The time was 12:42 p. M.

With a loud noise, the conference room was blown up, the roof collapsed, the wall skin peeled off, window frames flew, and the oak table was lifted into the air. Among the 24 people in the conference room, 4 died immediately and 3 were seriously injured. However, Hitler only burned his thighs, burned his hair, and damaged his eardrums.

Stauffenberg, who was standing 100 yards away, saw the smoke and fire caused by the explosion and thought everyone inside had been killed. He hastily got into a waiting car with his adjutant and drove through three guard posts towards the airport.

As soon as Hitler calmed down, he took control of the situation. The conspirators at the army headquarters in Berlin's Bandler Street learned from Philkibel that the murder had been carried out. But when they didn't know whether Hitler was alive or dead, they were paralyzed and dared not do anything. The "Valkyrie" operation plan was still locked in the safe, and much irreparable time was lost in vain. It was not until Stauffenberg flew back to Bandler Street for three hours that the wheels of the coup attempt began to slowly turn. However, it was too late. Himmler rushed to Berlin an hour after the bomb went off, and Hitler's bloody crackdown began that night. The wave of arrests came one after another. Four hundred members of the state secret police and criminal police from 11 agencies formed a "special committee for the events of July 20", which ruthlessly purged the army staff. None of the first victims survived. The bodies of Stauffenberg and his ringleaders were cremated, and their ashes were scattered indiscriminately in farmland. It is reported that about 7,000 people were arrested and 498 people were sentenced to death in the purge.