Assassination Attempts on WWII Leaders and Officials
World War II saw numerous plots to assassinate top leaders and senior officials on both Axis and Allied sides, driven by espionage, resistance, and internal dissent. These schemes ranged from bombs and snipers to elaborate infiltrations, mostly failing due to security, malfunctions, or betrayal. Below is a comprehensive list of major attempts, detailing plans, outcomes, and key facts drawn from historical records.
Axis Targets
Adolf Hitler (Multiple German Resistance Plots, 1943-1944): German officers, including Henning von Tresckow, planned a bomb on Hitler's plane in March 1943 (failed to detonate); Rudolf von Gersdorff strapped explosives to himself in March 1943 but couldn't trigger them before Hitler left; the July 20, 1944, 20 July Plot (Valkyrie) by Claus von Stauffenberg placed a briefcase bomb at Wolf's Lair, which exploded but only wounded Hitler due to table shielding—leading to 5,000 executions. All failed.
Benito Mussolini (RAF Precision Bombing, 1943): British Bomber Command under Arthur Harris proposed massive airstrikes on Mussolini's Gran Sasso villa after his rescue; raid occurred July 1943, freeing him instead—plan failed as he survived until 1945 execution by partisans.
Reinhard Heydrich (Operation Anthropoid, 1942): Czech resistance agents (SOE-trained) ambushed Heydrich's car in Prague with grenades and Sten guns; he died of sepsis from wounds—successful assassination, sparking Lidice massacre.
Allied Targets
Franklin D. Roosevelt (Various Axis Plots): Nazis planned sniper or bomb attacks during 1942-1943 travels; a vague German-American plot in 1943 aimed at poisoning but fizzled due to informant betrayal—none succeeded.
Winston Churchill (Operation Foxley, 1944-1945): British SOE assessed German plans, including sniper teams near his train or poisoning his tea at a 1944 meeting; one scheme used Polish agents to bomb his residence—aborted due to Hitler's erratic schedule and security. Failed.
Joseph Stalin (Kremlin Infiltration, 1944): German commandos (two turncoats on motorcycle with forged papers) aimed to shoot Stalin at the Kremlin; advance team captured by Soviets en route—failed.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin (Operation Long Jump, 1943): Otto Skorzeny-led SS team planned machine-gun ambush at Tehran Conference; Soviet NKVD foiled it via spies—never executed. Failed.
Other Notable Officials
Erwin Rommel (Implicated in Valkyrie, 1944): Forced suicide by Nazis after Valkyrie links, not a direct attempt but tied to anti-Hitler plots—successful in removing him.
Heinrich Himmler (Unrealized Allied Plans, 1944): SOE considered sniper or bomb at SS sites; no major execution—failed to materialize.
Most plots failed due to tight security, technical glitches, or intelligence leaks, underscoring leaders' paranoia and the era's espionage prowess.
發表文章
