The foreign military delegations as well as foreign military attaches will be invited to attend the fall exercises of the I Army Corps.
Z [Initialled by ZEITZLER]
[Item 17] [Typescript]
Chief Section L
Written by General Staff Officer
MOST SECRET
Berlin, 24 August 1938
S.O. Only
Access only through Officer
1 Copy
TIMING OF THE X-ORDER AND THE QUESTION OF ADVANCE MEASURES
The Luftwaffe's endeavor to take the enemy air forces by surprise at their peace-time airports justifiably leads them to oppose measures taken in advance of the X-order and to the demand that the X-order itself be given sufficiently late on X minus 1 to prevent the fact of Germany's mobilization becoming known to Czechoslovakia on that day.
The Army's efforts are tending in the opposite direction. It intends to let OKW initiate all advance measures between X minus 3 and X minus 1 which will contribute to the smooth and rapid working of the mobilization. With this in mind OKH also demands that the X order be given not later than 1400 on X minus 1.
To this the following must be said:
Operation (Aktion) Gruen will be set in motion by means of an "incident" in Czechoslovakia which will give Germany provocation for military intervention. The fixing of the exact time for this incident is of the utmost importance.
It must come at a time when weather conditions are favorable for our superior air forces to go into action and at an hour which will enable authentic news of it to reach us on the afternoon of X minus 1.