Help on a researching a quote

[coe]

Hi all, I seem to remember reading somewhere that a german general said late in the war something on the lines that after a meeting he boarded the train for a short visit to the western front (i.e. the eastern and western fronts were so close together that all you needed was a short train ride). Is there an actual quote (and can someone provide the reference) or am I just dreaming it up?

Conan

[Cuirassier]

It could have been Guderian, who was Chief of the OKH from July 1944 until March 1945. But that is just based on my memory, which very well could be incorrect. I'm just curious, what is your interest in this quote?

[coe]

My interest is purely intellectual at this point... it's been kind of nagging at me at the back of my mind so to speak

[Zarquon]

I think there was a popular joke in Berlin at the time, "when it goes on like this, we can take the tram from the eastern to the western front".

[Sergei]

Most likely it would have been purely anecdotal, since at that point the German railroad network would have been too shot up and vulnerable to air attacks.

[Joachim]

It could have been Guderian, who was Chief of the OKH from July 1944 until March 1945. But that is just based on my memory, which very well could be incorrect. I'm just curious, what is your interest in this quote?

My memory supports this....

OTOH:

"Einer seiner Adjutanten, der SS-Sturmbannführer Günsche, sagte: »Berlin ist sehr praktisch als Hauptquartier. Man kann dort bald mit der S-Bahn von der Ostfront zur Westfront fahren.«"

(http://www.kunefke.de/index.php/von-baranow-nach-berlin.html) supports Zarq.

[Huron]

Hmm, don't know about train rides, Coe, but maybe you're thinking of a quote about it being only a day's march between the western and eastern fronts? It's a comment made by a battalion commander as Wenck's 12th Army sets off eastward from the Elbe river to rescue Busse's 9th Army from the encirclement near Halbe.

"In einem Fussmarch von einem Tag von der West- zur Ostfront! Wer hätte daran einmal gedacht? Es sagt alles über unsere Lage!" (from the diary of Peter Rettich in the Reichhelm archive)

The quote is found in Antony Beevor's "Berlin - The Downfall 1945". I only have that book in Swedish, so don't quote me on the exact English translation used (hopefully someone can provide it), but the diary entry means:

"From the west front to the east front in a day's march! Who would have thought so once? It says everything about our situation!"