Authors: James Holland
'Which, so far, has left much to be desired.'
Von Poncets paused to light his cigarette. 'We have
been unfortunate, but this time we have firm intelligence. It is no longer a
guessing game.' He drew on his cigarette, then said, 'Herr Reichsamtsleiter,
with the greatest respect, let's not dwell on what has already happened. Let's
concentrate on making sure we get Odin this time.'
'Quite so, Herr Oberstleutnant,' said Kurz. 'My team
are, of course, on standby waiting for any further signal. They'll send through
anything they receive the moment it arrives.'
'Yes, Kurz, we know that,' said Scheidt. He felt
annoyed that the operation appeared to have been left to von Poncets and
Zellner, of all people, men who had lost his respect. He wished General
Engelbrecht would join them. It was as though no one but he truly understood
the importance of capturing Odin. Turning back to the major, he said, 'So, what
are your thoughts?'
Sunlight was already pouring through the window,
highlighting the thousands of dust particles suspended in the air. Von Poncets
exhaled again, sending a cloud of tobacco smoke swirling in front of the map.
'We have to assume,' he said, pointing airily to the
mountains south of Vagamo, 'that they will be able to observe the town at the
very least.'
'Is there a case, then,' said Scheidt, 'for attacking
up through the mountain rather than waiting until tonight?'
'No,' said von Poncets, his tone emphatic. 'None at
all. We don't know precisely where they are, and attacking uphill makes little
tactical sense. Fighting in dense forest offers many hazards and leads to
confusion. Experience, I think, has shown us that it would be difficult to
capture Odin alive in such circumstances. No, we must wait for them to come to
us.'
'So the difficulty,' said Scheidt, 'is laying the trap
without the enemy spotting it first.'
'Exactly,' said von Poncets, 'which is why a large
number of troops is not necessarily the key.'
'So have you had thoughts about this?' asked Scheidt.
'Yes. Of course, I need to confer with the general and
also with Hauptmann Frick in Vagamo, but I suggest we use this route - here.'
He pointed to a road that ran west of Sjoa, linked with another that ran
roughly north-south until it joined the valley road several miles west of
Vagamo. 'They can approach by truck and debouch in the valley out of sight of
the town or of anyone in the mountains, for that matter. We won't have reconnaissance
pictures for a few hours yet, I'm afraid, but a request has been made. Assuming
there's good cover, I see no reason why this movement should be seen at all.'
'And what about the troops in Vagamo?'
'It's important the enemy believe it's still strongly
held, so I propose we leave most of the company there.'
'Isn't that rather a waste of these men?'
'I don't think so, but don't worry, Herr Reichsamtsleiter, we shall
show the plans to the general. And in any case, we may receive another signal.'
They did, just after ten o'clock that morning.
'
Still above Vagamo.
Crossing tonight at midnight 6 kms west of town after fork in road
'.' Scheldt's spirits rose, and
he was invigorated by the activity at Engelbrecht's headquarters. Outside,
soldiers arrived in trucks, awaiting the order to pull out. Just before midday,
a Luftwaffe despatch rider hurried into the building and deposited the
morning's reconnaissance photographs. Poring over them in the briefing room
with von Poncets and Engelbrecht's divisional staff, Scheidt had shared the
mounting excitement when the pictures showed, as von Poncets had suggested they
would, that the proposed approach for the ambush was indeed densely forested.
A brief conference followed, attended by company and
platoon commanders of both von Poncets' battalion but also from the 324th
Infantry who had been called back to Vinstra for the briefing. The mood in the
room was buoyant, a haze of cigarette smoke rising to the rafters, the officers
laughing and joking. And why wouldn't they be? thought Scheidt. Flush with
victory, ahead lay another operation that would end successfully. Through the
windows, the sun continued to shine. The greatcoats and jackets had gone;
summer was on its way.
This time,
thought Scheidt. It had to be.
When the general arrived, the assembled officers stood
up, scraping chairs across the wooden floor. He strode in, movements crisp,
back erect, then casually waved at them to sit down, as though this was not a
time to stand on ceremony. Then he, too, was seated, his head smooth and
gleaming, the red and gold tabs of his general's collar and thick red stripe
down either side of his breeches standing out vividly in the room of field
grey. Scheidt was struck by his effortless air of authority.
Von Poncets stood to explain his plan, first pointing
out key features each officer should memorize. They would be leaving directly
after the briefing and would disembark from their trucks three kilometres south
of the junction. They would then make their way to lying- up positions. Scouts
would be sent forward to reconnoitre their ambush positions, and to mark where
they would place spotlights. The men would move into these positions at 2300
hours.
Hauptmann Dostler of the 324th Infantry stood up. One
platoon was to drive along the opposite bank of the lake. A potential problem
was that the area to the west of Vagamo was well cultivated and the road could
easily be seen from the mountains opposite. They were thus to drive beyond the
crossing-point, after which the road was hidden by forest. They would then
leave the trucks and head back through the trees, close to the crossing-point
where they would set up another spotlight. The remaining three platoons would
remain in Vagamo to give the impression that the town was still heavily
occupied.
At this point, Scheidt raised his hand. 'Surely, Herr
Hauptmann,' he said, 'the town will be heavily occupied if there are three
whole platoons there?'
'Not particularly,' said Dostler. 'We've been fighting
up through the Gudbrandsdalen and all our units are now under strength. There
will be about sixty men.'
The general cut in. 'Which is more than enough, Herr
Reichsamtsleiter. Don't forget there will be vehicles, artillery pieces and
other equipment in the town as well. Let's get on with the briefing.'
Chastened, Scheidt said no more, and after Kurz and
Zellner had briefed the room about Odin and the accompanying fugitives,
Engelbrecht stood up and addressed them. 'I can't stress enough, gentlemen,' he
said, 'how important it is to capture Odin alive. The fear, of course, is that
they will shoot him before you can get to him, which is why it is essential
that none of you makes a move until they are almost in the boats. They will
have travelled through the darkness and their eyes will be used to it. That,
gentlemen, is where the lights come in. Caught in the beams, these fugitives
will be momentarily blinded. That is the time to strike. The men must be killed
and Odin left standing. Major von Poncets will brief you further, but remember:
do not give away your positions until after the signal.' He eyed the officers
in turn. 'Understand? Good.' He clapped his hands together. 'Right, gentlemen,
off you go. And good luck.'
More scraping of chairs, and the men were on their way
out. Scheidt followed them, watching them get into the trucks and other
vehicles waiting in the streets outside. The sun still bore down between large
white summery clouds; the snow had now gone from the valley. Scheidt put his
hand on the balustrade outside the house and found it warm. A bark of orders,
and engines rumbled into life.
Kurz paused beside him and offered a hand, which
Scheidt took.
'Exciting, isn't it?' He grinned. 'If only we'd had
this kind of intelligence and preparation five days ago.'
Scheidt smiled thinly.
'See you later,' added Kurz. 'With Odin, of course.'
He waved, then trotted down the steps and along the road to von Poncets'
waiting Kiibelwagen.
Scheidt took out a cigarette. Exciting? He supposed so, although he did
not share Kurz's obvious relish; he would save that until Odin was sitting
before him. He struck a match, brought the cigarette to his lips and realized
his hands were shaking. 'It's out of my control now,' he muttered, then sighed.
Ahead lay long hours of waiting.
Sergeant Tanner was no less apprehensive as he watched the hours tick
by. He had left Sykes alone on a ridge overlooking the road from the south with
instructions to return only if he spotted any German troops, and had then waited
on the lower slopes observing the town before he returned to the
seter
around seven that morning.
Chevannes had accepted his story without question.
Even when he explained that he had left Sykes on guard above the bridge, the
lieutenant had merely nodded. 'Did you have a chance to see whether there were
enough oars this time?' he had asked.
'Yes, sir - there are.'
'Good.' Chevannes had ordered him to organize lookouts
on the knoll and dismissed him.
Tanner had spent most of the morning there himself,
and was still there, keeping watch with Lieutenant Larsen, when at around three
a staff car arrived from the direction of Otta. He followed it as it drove to
the centre of the town and stopped opposite the church. Four men got out. There
was no further movement of vehicles until after four when two trucks headed
west along the far shore of the lake. A couple of miles later, they disappeared.
Tanner was puzzled, yet relieved to see troop movement at last from the town.
He counted the remaining vehicles: five troop-carrying trucks, five medium
guns, two further lorries and two staff cars.
Shortly after, Hepworth arrived with Anna in tow.
Tanner was glad to see her. It was now nearly half past four and he wished
Sykes would reappear. The distraction would be good.
'Have you come to relieve me, Hepworth?' asked Larsen.
'Yes, sir,' said Hepworth.
'Cleaned your rifle, Hep?' asked Tanner, then grinned
at Anna.
'Yes, Sarge.'
'Checked your kit?'
'Yes, Sarge.'
'Here,' said Larsen, handing Hepworth his binoculars. 'Look
after them.' He got up, patted his sides, then picked up his rucksack and said,
'Let's hope the town stays as quiet as this, Sergeant.'
'Here's hoping, sir,' Tanner replied, then turned back
to Hepworth. 'Get the far side of the knoll, Hep,' he said. 'Make sure you've
cover behind you, that you're clear of
direct sunlight, then try to work out where those
troops are.'
With Hepworth gone he and Anna were alone. 'Everything all right at the
seter?’
he asked.
'The resting has done the professor good.'
'Is he up and about?'
'He's shaved off his beard in the stream.'
'He's not going to need the stretcher then?'
'No. And he's been eating too.'
Tanner continued to peer through his binoculars. Anna sat behind him on
a loose rock. A cool breeze drifted over the knoll but it was warm, even there.
A few small patches of snow remained, but otherwise tufty grey grass now
sprouted between the pines and birches.
'And Chevannes?' said Tanner at length.
'He's been quiet. Barks orders occasionally, but that's all.'
'As long as he doesn't get in my way, I'm not bothered,' said Tanner.
'He's done enough damage.'
'It's since the professor spoke up on your behalf. That undermined his
authority. He doesn't want to say anything now that might lead to another
clash.'
'Hm,' said Tanner. 'I'll still need to watch him tonight.'
They were silent for a while, then Anna said, 'Jack, do you think it'll
be all right? The crossing? We were lucky last time. I wonder whether we will
be again.'
'We'll be fine.'
'Good God,' she said, exasperation in her voice. 'Don't you ever get
frightened? How can you be so calm all the time?'
'It's just a front,' he said. 'But we will be fine, I
promise.' It was a promise he knew he was in no position to make. Where the
hell was Sykes? Over the years, he had learnt to trust his intuition but with
Sykes missing he was beginning to wonder if it had let him down. He looked back
at the town. Nothing stirred. How many troops were down there? It was hard to
say. Fifty? Eighty? More? So long as the enemy weren't expecting them there,
and so long as no more troops arrived in the meantime, all would be well. But
there was no Plan B. It was the town or nothing. He trained his binoculars on
the trucks parked next to the church, and in them he saw their chance for
freedom. Whatever happened, they had to take one. It was as simple as that.