Authors: James Holland
Tanner ran his hands through his hair.
So,
he thought.
It's all about oil.
'Tell me one last thing,
Professor,' he said. 'Wouldn't such a platform be vulnerable to attack from the
air and the sea?'
'You surround it with thick and deep minefields, and
it would be within easy reach of land. In any case, you're forgetting,
Sergeant, that the Nazis fully expect to control all of Europe. Or, at least,
they expect all of Europe will be compliant with their designs. And after the
way in which they have invaded our country, who is to stop them? Not the
British.'
'We're being defeated here, I know,' said Tanner, 'but
that doesn't mean we'll lose the entire war.'
'Maybe you won't
lose
.
But can you defeat the Nazis? No. Not at the moment,
at any rate. But I think Hitler is looking beyond Europe.'
'What do you mean by that?'
'I mean America and Russia.'
'But they're allied with the Russians and America
isn't even in the war.'
'Not yet, but it is only a matter of time. And when
that day comes Germany will need vast amounts of oil - which the Soviet Union
and the United States have in abundance.'
Tanner shook his head. 'What happens next month, next
year, is beyond me, Professor. All I want to think about at the moment is
getting us out of here. Getting you to safety.'
'But you see now why that is so important?'
'Yes - and thank you, Professor.' He shook his head
again. 'Oil - I would never have guessed. I thought it must be some secret
weapon.'
Sandvold chuckled. 'In a way it is. But take heart, Sergeant. Without
oil, the Nazis won't win. Not in the long term.'
In the dank confines of the
seter
, Tanner and Sykes prepared for their reconnaissance
mission. It was nearly half past ten. From their packs they took out the German
uniforms they had captured several days earlier, and put on the tunics, wind
jackets and field caps. Both men had lost their Mauser rifles at Tretten, but
they took two from the Norwegians, as well as several rounds of ammunition.
Their own uniforms and packs - including the explosives - they left with Lance
Corporal Erwood and their men.
'Heil, mein Fiihrer!
' said McAllister, standing up
and performing a mock Nazi salute, one finger pressed above his lip.
Tanner laughed, then turned to Chevannes and the
Norwegians. 'We'll be off, then, sir,' he said. 'We'll have a good look at the
town, but then we'll head west down the lake and try to find a good
crossing-place.'
'Yes,' said Chevannes. 'Now go.'
In the darkening light, they headed towards the
valley, Tanner explaining his plan. It was nearly dark by the time they reached
the lower slopes directly above the bridge into Vagamo, but there was still
just light enough for them to study it sufficiently. Two stone pillars jutted
out from the banks at either side, and across it there was a simple iron
construction much like the bridges they had already seen in the Gudbrandsdal
valley.
'What do you think, Stan?' said Tanner, from their
position among the trees.
'It can be as strong as it likes,' he replied, 'but if
it's got a wooden roadbed, we're going to be able to put it out of action.
Simple as that.'
There were, they noted, just two guards on the bridge,
both on the southern side. 'That'll make life easier,' said Tanner.
'What I want to know, Sarge, is why Jerry's here
anyway.'
'Because of that road, I should think,' said Tanner.
'It gives them another line of advance north towards
Andalsnes. And it might also be because
they're hoping to catch us. But it's clear they're not using it yet. I've not
seen any movement north.'
With the light now all but gone, they moved quietly
away through the trees until they were a safe distance from the bridge, then
dropped down on to the valley road. The night sky was clear. Millions of stars
twinkled above, reflected in the inky darkness of the lake. A thin crescent
moon stood high over the valley and, with the stars, cast a pale creamy light
across the landscape, enabling the two men to see the shape of the road, the
lake, the mountains.
A few miles
to the west the road forked. 'Where's that lead?' whispered Sykes. 'I'm pretty
sure back to Heidel and Sjoa,' said Tanner. 'It's quite a long way round,
though.' He paused to study its approach, then the valley. He could no longer
see the knoll in front of the
seter.
They walked on a short way through the silence, the
air cool and crisp, until they reached the small headland that projected into
the lake. There was a farmstead, but a small wooden jetty too - and, as Tanner
had hoped, a number of small boats.
It was a little after midnight. The dawn of a new day - and the last,
he realized, of the month. Twelve days they'd been in Norway. It felt like
eternity.
With the first streaks of dawn, the
s
eter
stirred into life. The dusty
floor was hard and uncomfortable, and although the soldiers were used to
sleeping wherever they had to, most had had enough rest over the past
twenty-four hours to ensure they now slept only lightly. As they woke, they
stumbled outside, some to urinate nearby, others to wander somewhat further.
Since Anna had joined them they had been more careful about such things.
One of their number, an agent of the
Sicherheitsdienst
wandered away from the hut, safe
in the knowledge that it was possible to break away from the others for a few
minutes without arousing any suspicion whatsoever. At least, it was now that
Sergeant Tanner and Corporal Sykes were away. It had been difficult during the
past couple of days with them watching every move; they suspected someone, that
was certain.
But not me,
the agent had decided. At any rate, with them out of the way for the
time being, there was now a clear chance for him to send another signal.
Passing within clear sight of the sentry, the agent
smiled - morning ablutions - and then headed into the woodland until the
seter
was out of sight. Finding as
wide a tree as possible, the traitor squatted and took two small metal boxes
from a haversack, both no more than five and a half inches long, four and a
half wide. One was a transmitter, the other the accumulator. From a pocket,
three leads were produced, each with crocodile clips. The agent attached the
two boxes together, then turned a small black knob at the front of the
transmitter until it clicked, causing a faint light within the box to glow. From
another pocket, a long length of wire was produced, which was then connected to
the back of the box with trembling fingers. This done, the person took the
weighted end and threw it high into the tree above. With a hammering heart, the
agent glanced round, even though it would have been possible to hear anyone
approaching. Then a quick look back down at the transmitter. The light was
glowing brighter now, as the valves warmed up.
Half a minute more.
The agent prayed this message would get through.
Instructions had been to send as many as was possible without jeopardizing the
mission. The transmitter that was to be used was just that - a device for
sending Morse signals - not a receiver. There was no way of telling whether the
messages that had been sent had been read or not. Until the Stukas had arrived
two days before, the agent had begun to think that the transmitter could not be
working at all: a specific message from the Rostads' farm had been sent and
several from the j0ra valley, yet despite troops arriving at Uksum Farm, they
had made no attempt to act on his information.
'No one will suspect you,' Kurz had said, 'because we
will swoop down and whisk Odin away before anyone has the chance.' Perhaps that
would have been so, had it not been for Tanner and his men turning up.
Tanner.
The agent cursed him. Despite
repeated efforts, the sergeant was still alive, still jeopardizing the mission.
Thanks to Tanner, several golden opportunities for Odin to be captured had been
foiled. Now perhaps all would be well. For once, the sergeant appeared to have
let down his guard.
The agent leant back against the tree, eyes briefly
closed, then checked the time once more.
Nearly there
, he thought.
Just a few more seconds.
As soon as a minute had passed, the agent turned the
middle knob to number seven, tuning the oscillator of the transmitter
frequency, and then adjusted the aerial load, the last of the three knobs at
the front of the tiny S108/10 transmitter, until the light was at its brightest.
Taking a deep breath, the crouching figure held a still quavering finger above
the Morse button and began to transmit.
Less than a minute later, the message was completed.
Having rolled up the wire and put the boxes back into his pack, the agent stood
up and walked steadily towards the
seter
.
Reichsamtsleiter Scheidt was
shaken awake, and rolled over to find Sturmbannfuhrer Kurz leaning over him.
'What the devil is it?' he croaked.
'A message - good news!'
Scheidt
sat up now, the remnants of sleep gone. He snatched the typex from Kurz and
read: '
In
mountains above Vagamo. Crossing
planned over lake west of town when dark 30 April. More details later.'
Scheidt's face broke into a grin. 'Excellent,' he said. He looked at
his watch. It was only half past four, but he knew there could be no more
thought of sleep. 'Well done, Kurz,' he said. 'We've got him this time.'
Soon after, having shaved and dressed, he hurried downstairs to the
conference room of Generalmajor Engelbrecht's spacious headquarters in Vinstra.
Three men were standing by the map pinned to the wall - Major von Poncets,
Sturmbannfuhrer Kurz and Hauptmann Zellner.
'Ah, good morning, Herr Reichsamtsleiter,' said von Poncets. 'Good to
see you again.'
Scheidt nodded, then looked at Zellner. A white bandage
had been strapped across his nose, his cheek had blackened, while his eye,
purple last time Scheidt had seen him, had turned yellow. 'Hauptmann Zellner,'
he said, 'what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in hospital?'
'I'm well enough, thank you, Herr Reichsamtsleiter,'
he replied.
Scheidt stared at him with contempt. 'You have come
off worst against those men no less than three times, which should have put
paid to your chances of taking any further part in the operation. However, far
be it from me to make such decisions.'
'We suspect the men will be wearing German uniforms,'
said von Poncets. 'The Hauptmann will be of help in identifying them.'
'I suppose there's something in that. And what forces
has the general given us for this?'
'There's a company of the 324th Infantry Regiment,'
said von Poncets, 'and two companies from my own battalion of Gebirgsjager.' He
pointed to the map. 'The 324th boys are already based at Vagamo. They moved in
two days ago after the fall of Otta. They were hoping to catch any British
troops retreating that way, but as it happened the Tommies hadn't used that
route.'
'As you know,' put in Kurz, 'the general agreed to
leave them there in case there was any sign of Odin.'
Scheidt nodded. 'Will that be enough?'
'More than enough.' Von Poncets smiled.
'I only ask because I recall that we had the same conversation
some days ago, Herr Major, and it seems both
you and the Hauptmann
underestimated the enemy.'
Von Poncets took out a cigarette, and tapped the end
against his silver case. 'We're talking about the best part of five hundred men
being available for this operation, which is far more than we either need or
will use. Numbers are not the issue here. Execution is what counts.'