Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

THE BEER HALL PUTSCH 197It was a gray November morning. The Isar River separates the quarterin which the Burgerbrau is situated from the center of the city and thegovernment buildings. At the bridge stood the armed police squad underits benevolent commander. Goring, who for days had been possessed byblood lust, stepped forward, put his hand to his cap, and repeated: 'Thefirst dead man in our ranks means the death of a hostage.' He thoughtthe hostages were still in the column. At this moment the marchingmass fell on the policemen, tore their carbines out of their hands, spaton them, and struck them in the face. This was no fraternization, nohopeful beginning.In the inner city, somewhat to the north of the Feldherrn Halle, layLossow's headquarters, which Rohm had fortified with machine guns.Reichswehr troops had surrounded the building and set cannon in place.Neither of the two parties dared to fire. There were the closest comradesand friends on both sides. This drama had gone beyond all politics. Itwould have been easier for the officers to shoot into a band of unknownstorm troopers. But to fire on comrades — this was hard.And now advanced toward them, through the streets of Munich,leading three thousand more or less dubious figures, that extraordinarysoldier who, to the Reichswehr, still seemed the embodiment of allmilitary fame and greatness: the Quartermaster General of the WorldWar. Ludendorff led his troop through the center of the city towardLossow's headquarters near the Feldherrn Halle, apparently with theintention of liberating the besieged Rohm. He was convinced that thebesieging officers and soldiers would not resist the sight of his aquilineface. When he commanded them to fraternize with their adversaries,when he commanded them to disobey Lossow, they would do so.The column made its way into a narrow, gully-like street, opening outon the broad Odeonsplatz near the Feldherrn Halle. In the first rowmarched Ludendorff; to his right his personal adjutant, a former majorby the name of Streck. On Ludendorff's left side marched Hitler,holding the pistol with which he had sworn to shoot himself in the eventof failure. He had slung his left arm through the arm of Scheubner-Richter — an astonishing gesture of