So begins one of the most infamous moments in the war, and a turning point in multiple respects. I think this is one of the first times in the manga though where I'm not so sure about the portrayal vs what I remember of the anime. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong because it's been a long long time, but my recollection is that the anime depicted Reinhard as significantly more conflicted over it, and that he basically asked what the decision deadline was and decided to put it off until then while turning it over in his mind. But Oberstein didn't tell him the correct time, effectively taking the decision out of his hands, and then he felt anguished over his hesitation all around. Arguably the outcome did work and may well have saved lives in the short term, but it wasn't cost free at all for Reinhard, he lost something critical. Oberstein is extremely coldly logical and extremely intelligent, but the human element matters a lot and was always a blind spot for him.
