Gratuitous Historickal Posting

It was sooooo close. On July 20, 1944, an assassination attempt on Adolph Hitler was put into action but ultimately failed.

Once the invasion of Normandy proved to be a success, a group of high-ranking officials in the German army decided to put an end to the Third Reich by taking out the man at the top. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg was given the task of personally bringing a briefcase bomb to a meeting of Hitler and his staff in a subterranean "Fuhrerbunker" in East Prussia. He placed the briefcase, with the bomb armed, as close to Hitler as possible under the conference room table and left the room.

While four were killed in the blast, the Fuhrer miraculously survived having been shielded perfectly by the solid oak table's leg which deflected the blast. As such, "Operation Valkyrie" failed and von Stauffenberg and others were executed for their actions. The incident provides one of the greatest "what-ifs" in military history.

For what it's worth, Tom Cruise is currently making a film about the plot. Titled "Valkyrie" (aka "Rubicon"), Cruise recently ran into problems with the German government which is opposed to his filming on certain military and government locations within the country because of his kooky scientology beliefs. Director Bryan Singer ("X-men", "Superman Returns") is currently doing his best to work around the limitations. Release is scheduled for next year.