Did an Irishman talk a German unit out of a bridge in World War 2?
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Since no date or place is given, no definite answer can be given.
The general order of the day was of no retreat at all, in the last month's a scorched earth policy was in effect. Any claim of 'ceding' a position would not have been believed.
After Joseph Goebbels Werwolf speech, roaming stand courts and execution commandos (sometimes called "Wehrwolf-Kommandos") of the SS existed that were still active during the last days of the Battle of Berlin.
In both cases, leaving an intact bridge in place would have had lead to a summary execution of the officer when he returned to his commander and explained what he had done.
In the last days, a surrender would be more plausible. But never a withdrawal where the officer (and very likely his men) would have had to answer themselves for their actions
Joseph Goebbels Werwolf speech of March 23 1945
Ende März 1945 rückte Joseph Goebbels als "Generalbevollmächtigter für den totalen Kriegseinsatz" vom ursprünglich geplanten Konzept eines Guerilla-Kriegs durch Kleingruppen ab. Er proklamierte eine neue "Werwolf"-Ideologie, die einen rücksichtslosen Kampf eines jeden Deutschen bis zur "Selbstvernichtung" forderte. Der "Werwolf", so Goebbels in einer Rundfunkansprache, "hält sich nicht an die Beschränkungen, die dem innerhalb unserer regulären Streitkräfte Kämpfenden auferlegt sind [...]. Für die Bewegung sind jeder Bolschewist, jeder Brite und jeder Amerikaner auf deutschem Boden Freiwild. Wo immer wir eine Gelegenheit haben, ihr Leben auszulöschen, werden wir das mit Vergnügen und ohne Rücksicht auf unser eigenes Leben tun [...]. Haß ist unser Gebet und Rache unser Feldgeschrei. [...] Der Werwolf hält selbst Gericht und entscheidet über Leben und Tod."
Diese von Goebbels propagierte "Werwolf"-Mentalität und die aus ihr geborenen Aktivitäten richteten sich auch gegen die deutsche Bevölkerung. Eine unbekannte Zahl "wehrunwilliger" Soldaten und Zivilisten fielen noch in den letzten Kriegstagen Exekutionskommandos zum Opfer. So wurden am 28. April 1945 im oberbayerischen Penzberg 16 Männer und Frauen von einem "Werwolf"-Kommando unter der Führung des Schriftstellers Hans Zöberlein (1895-1964) hingerichtet: Sie wollten die Stadt nicht gegen die Alliierten verteidigen.
At the end of March 1945 Joseph Goebbels withdrew from the originally planned concept of a guerrilla war by small groups as "general representative for the total war effort". He proclaimed a new "werewolf" ideology, which demanded a ruthless struggle of every German to "self-destruction". The "werewolf," according to Goebbels in a radio address, "does not adhere to the restrictions imposed on those who fight within our regular armed forces ... For the movement, every Bolshevist, every Briton and every American on German soil is fair game Wherever we have an opportunity to wipe out their lives, we will do so with pleasure and without regard for our own lives [...] Hate is our prayer and revenge our field-crying [...] The werewolf holds court himself and decide about life and death. "
This Goebbels propagated "werewolf" mentality and the activities born of it were also directed against the German population. An unknown number of "defenseless" soldiers and civilians fell victim to execution commandos in the last days of the war. Thus, on April 28, 1945 in Penzberg, Upper Bavaria, 16 men and women executed by a "werewolf" command under the leadership of the writer Hans Zöberlein (1895-1964): They did not want to defend the city against the Allies.
Sources: (in German)
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