***
Hans Frank, the Governor General of the German-occupied Polish Territories, SS-Obergruppenführer, Reich Minister, leader of the National Socialist Lawyers Bund, and a close collaborator of Hitler’s, exited his mansion in Krakow. The sky was overcast with low, leaden clouds, threatening rain. He looked at the wide courtyard and was about to walk down the steps to his waiting Mercedes when a rocket slammed into him. The impact carried him back into the foyer, where the warhead exploded.
The rocket was a modification of a 21cm Wurfgranate for the Nebelwerfer 42. The modification was being worked on by the Luftwaffe under the code name Bordrakete 21 and carried 40kg of explosives. That was enough to partially collapse the building. The Governor General’s body was eventually identified by his wife. She recognized a mole on his left foot – the only part that was left intact.
The drone carrying the 150kg rocket had waited in the general area for several hours and after identifying the Governor it fired the rocket. Its on-board computer had to compensate for a strong side wind and for the rocket’s high ballistic fall but it was definitely up to its task.
***
Moshe Cohen, a veteran Mossad agent with experience operating in Nazi Germany, and two associates boarded a train in Venice. A couple of switches and several stops landed them in Potsdam, southwest of Berlin.
In Potsdam the three were met by another Mossad agent who provided them with a Mercedes and fake plates. The car had been stolen from the mansion of a Deutsche Bank executive in Berlin. It was his personal car, only used on weekends, so the theft wasn’t likely to be discovered before their mission was completed.
The three, now dressed in Wehrmacht uniforms, continued to Schwanenwerder Island, a residential enclave favored by the rich and high ranking Nazis. It was close to the Wannsee district and convenient to both the city and the surrounding forests. They arrived in the early hours of the morning, when the light was uncertain and deceptive.
A post with three SS guarded the bridge to the island.
Moshe, dressed as a Wehrmacht colonel, presented his orders, apparently signed by OKW Chief of Operations General Alfred Jodl.
The sergeant of the guard carefully read the orders: “Why are you coming to see the Reichsminister?”
“As my orders say, I have to hand him a package with secret documents.”
“Really?” The SS man smirked. “I have to call the OKW to verify that you are who you say you are and that the orders are genuine. Wait here.”
His call was intercepted by a little box spliced into the phone line. The Mossad agent who had provided the stolen Mercedes answered the call.
“Everything seems to be in order,” the guard said, coming back from the booth. “Do you know where the entrance to the house is?”
“Yes,” said Moshe. “I have been here before.”
The agents stopped on the driveway of 10 Inselstraße some distance from the house. First they unfurled a blanket-like object carried in a suitcase. It covered the width of the narrow driveway and extended ten feet along it. The blanket was made of a thin layer of RDX high explosive with a pre-fragmented metal mesh on top. It was less than one quarter of an inch thick and, after some gravel was brushed on top of it, blended perfectly with the rest of the driveway.
After this was done they drove to the double swing gates in front of the house. The driver flashed the lights summoning the guard from a booth not far from the gate.
“What do you want?” The SS guard was borderline rude.
“I have a letter from the OKW for Reichsminister Goebbels,” the colonel said. “You will hand it to him personally. Unopened.”
The guard saluted and departed.
Several hours later Goebbels’ chief of security handed him the manila envelope. “Reichsminister, for your eyes only, from General Jodl.”
Goebbels turned the envelope in his hands, read the ‘Top Secret’ stamps. “Put it on my desk. We are going out now. I’ll read it when we come back.”
The family had plans for the day - shopping and lunch in Berlin.
When Goebbels’ car drove over the hidden “blanket” an explosion lifted the car several feet into the air, piercing it with thousands of steel fragments from the blanket’s cover.
The drone operator in Brindisi had spent hours watching the images sent by the circling drone. He waited for one of two events: either an explosion inside the house, in which case the drone would return to base, or a car driving out the house gate, in which case he had to activate the radio detonator embedded in the explosive blanket. The car he saw was now broken into several pieces and burning on the driveway.
***
The Jerusalem Mufti, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, enjoyed his breakfast in Berlin. Life was good. He lived in a mansion taken from a Jew on the quiet and elegant Klopstock Street. And Hitler obviously liked him.
The Mufti was anticipating his weekly broadcast today to the Arab world on Berlin radio: another fiery call to kill the Jews and cleanse the land.
One of his guards entered the room. “Your Excellency a courier with an envelope from the Fuehrer has just arrived.”
The courier was a Wehrmacht sergeant, obviously not young and limping slightly. “Your Excellency, I have a packet for your eyes only from the Fuehrer.”
The sergeant handed him the envelope, saluted and left. When he was outside mounting his motorcycle he heard an explosion. He returned the motorcycle to the general transport depot of the Army, where a colleague of his put it back on the available list. They both belonged to a group supporting Carl Goerdeler, the former mayor of Leipzig who was opposed to the Nazis and cooperated with the British. The sergeant himself was, in fact, a member of British intelligence and now on his way back home.
Al-Husseini’s right hand was gone, along with several fingers on his left. His face was severely burned and he lost both eyes. The explosive in the envelope had been laced with aeromonas hydrophila – a flesh eating bacterium. In the absence of immediate antibiotic treatment it killed the Mufti, slowly.
***
At six in the afternoon Martin Bormann carefully knocked on the Fuehrer’s office door.
“Mein Fuehrer, Himmler and Goering are here for the meeting you called.”
“Good. You come in as well. We need loyal people here.”
After everyone was seated Hitler got up and started pacing – a sure sign of agitation. “Himmler, what are the results of your investigation into these attacks?”
“We now know that Reichsminister Goebbels and his family were killed by a bomb under their car. It seems to have been pre-positioned. We also discovered that the Wehrmacht colonel who went through the bridge checkpoint this morning left an envelope for Joseph. It contains a large explosive charge. He would have died if he opened it.
“Hans Frank was killed early this morning by a Nebelwerfer 42 rocket. We think that it was shot from an aircraft, probably a light one since no engine noise was heard at the time.”
Goering stirred in his seat. “I’m investigating this as well. The Luftwaffe is working on adapting those rockets to be carried under a plane’s wing. They might be very useful in disrupting bomber formations, especially at night. It is possible that someone stole the modification plans and used them to make some of these rockets.”
Hitler stopped in his pacing. “Himmler, set ‘Gestapo’ Mueller on this as well. We need to know where the evidence leads.”
Himmler continued. “The next attack was on the Jerusalem Mufti. An explosive envelope was delivered to him this morning by a Wehrmacht sergeant. The envelope had, as far as we can tell, stamps of the Chancellery and was marked for his eyes only. It exploded when he opened it. The Mufti is in serious condition at the Queen Elizabeth hospital.
“There were also attacks on the staff of three Waffen SS divisions: the ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’, ‘Totenkopf’ and ‘Wiking’.
“The attack on the ‘Leibstandarte’ killed the commander, General Otto Kumm, his battalion commanders,
chief of staff, and injured the rest of the division staff.
“The attack on the ‘Totenkopf’ killed the commander, General Helmut Becker, his deputy and a battalion commander. It also injured most of the junior staff.
“The attack on the ‘Wiking’ killed the commander, Oberfuhrer Karl Ulrich, and most of his staff.
“At first we thought that the attacks on the ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ and the ‘Totenkopf’ were done by the Russians. Both divisions are now at the Eastern Front, though not on the front lines. Regrettably, a cursory investigation turned up that both were bombed using the same type of rocket that killed Hans Frank. We are still working on the incident with the ‘Wiking’. They are positioned in northern France and the explosion looks like a pre-positioned bomb. It was an inside job aimed at removing the leadership of the three best Waffen-SS divisions.”
Hitler went back to his chair. “This looks like an organized assault on the soul of the Fatherland. I have an idea where it came from but we need more accurate information to pinpoint the guilty. It shouldn’t be too hard to find. Such a huge conspiracy will be difficult to hide. Take into account that there is only one element in the Reich that would benefit from weakening the Waffen-SS. I’m sure that the Wehrmacht is involved.
“Martin,” Hitler turned to Bormann, “I want you to put the party apparatus on full alert. We need to be vigilant and not allow any future attempts to succeed.
“Goebbels’ death will be declared an accident. A grand state funeral will be arranged. We won’t mention the others.”
***
Soviet Ambassador Ivan Maisky shook hands with his Israeli counterpart and settled in the proffered seat. They were again in the cozy sitting room at the Israeli embassy. Tea was served.
Maisky began. “Ambassador, I have good news: my government agreed to your terms. You may send emissaries to try and persuade the Jews living in the Soviet Union to leave for Palestine. Jews held in detention will be released. They will be allowed to travel only after your emissaries formally ‘take possession’ of them.
“May I ask how you intend to transport the few that will agree to go?”
Avigdor Mizrahi smiled, “We would appreciate your assistance in moving them to one of the Black Sea ports. Batumi or Sochi will do nicely. From there we will load them on ships and they’ll be out of your hair.”
***
Jacob Hirshson was busy. He had been working very hard on a computer literacy course. In another week he would be transferred to the Combat Engineers for advanced training.
The Combat Engineers course was not going to be easy. Besides learning modern techniques he will also have to master doing accurate work under pressures of time and combat conditions. They also promised to train him in the use of heavy equipment. Jacob was confident that his training was making him more useful to Israel than if he’d joined a commando unit.
Chapter 6
July 1942
Ephraim Hirshson, newly promoted Major General and Commanding General of the IDF European Command, looked at the officers assembled in the auditorium of the Brindisi base. Next to him sat his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Uri Sadot, with IDF division commanders and their staff in front of them.
“Gentlemen, I want everyone to know what forces and at what strength we have available.” Hirshson looked at his Chief of Staff. “Uri, will you do the honors, please?”
Uri Sadot turned on the overhead projector. “We have close to fifty thousand troops at the base now. I’m referring to our troops only. The Brits are under a separate command and operating independently except for a couple of matters I will mention later.
“This diagram shows the distribution of forces. We have 480 tanks, mostly Merkava 5. Our support includes six artillery battalions, all of them self-propelled 155mm. Our air support includes 12 Cobra and 10 Apache helicopter gunships and a squadron of Kfir jets. Besides mechanized infantry in Namer Infantry Fighting Vehicles – IFV - we also have several infantry brigades with their support: Golani, Givati, Nahal and the Maglan Special Forces. Just to remind those of you who haven’t deal with infantry lately, all infantry brigades are equipped with Namer IFVs that carry 25mm automatic cannon instead of the usual .50 caliber machine gun.
“We also have the normal compliment of intelligence drones and anti-aircraft equipment. The only special addition is the short wave radio listening and decrypting unit. This unit will also provide strategic intelligence to the British-French armies.”
Hirshson got up and switched the display on the screen to a map of Northern Italy. “The general plan for this operation was developed taking into account two parameters: Our forces are much smaller than the troops Germany has available to oppose us, and we are much more sensitive to casualties than they are. This in conjunction with the fact that losses are always higher for the attacker dictated the strategy. Of course, we are also much more technologically advanced, which should give us a decisive advantage.
“If you look at the map of northeastern Italy, the part that borders on Slovenia and Austria, you will see that the terrain is rugged with only a few access roads….”
General Hirshson went on to explain the topology and then continued, “The Intelligence Command estimates that the Germans will advance on three roads in the Montefalcone area and will likely use the coastal road through Trieste. Another part of the German force, coming through Austria, is expected to take the Brenner Pass. I agree with that estimate. The German High Command will not expect much resistance from the Italians and so isn’t likely to consolidate their forces until they need them against the British and French.
“We will wait for them in the town of Vipiteno near the Brenner Pass and at Palmanova down by the sea. Questions?”
The commander of the 7th Armored Brigade had one. “General, why not wait for them on the border or even across it if the terrain is favorable?”
Hirshson smiled a predatory smile. “Our objective is not just to stop and destroy the German forces. We want to break their spirit. To do that we need to give them the impression that they’re advancing and winning before they are destroyed. We could destroy most of them from the air but this is not effective as far as future combat with the same troops or breaking the morale of any others that might follow. We have seen it in North Africa – the Afrika Corps suffered terrible losses from our air attack but the units that survived kept fighting. This was much less apparent in our timeline when they were beaten up by the Russians. We want to destroy their fighting spirit and make the Germans expect defeat when they meet us the next time.”
***
Noam Shaviv’s reserve duty was close to its end. He had been in the Jordan valley for four weeks and expected to be released in another two.
At about six in the afternoon the tactical terminal in his dugout sounded an alarm. Several drones reported a number of columns approaching from the West. They were using barely visible trails and canyons.
From the drone images Noam estimated that his company was facing at least two, maybe three thousand fighters. They were going to come out of the hills in about an hour, unless they chose to slow down and rest before attacking after dark.
Another drone image showed a lot of activity in the Arab village of Zubaydat, just west of the main north-south road of the Jordan valley.
Noam used the network to alert the platoon commanders to what was happening and order the second platoon to move a machine gun crew forward.
The communications terminal blinked with a text message from battalion: “To all line units: Do not try to stop every single fighter. If they cross the river we will deal with them later.”
Noam’s second in command looked a bit puzzled. “Won’t they try to disperse and find a German agent to contact in Jordan?”
“I have no doubt that’s their plan,” Noam responded. “Their problem is that there are none within a hundred kilometers from our borders. They were eliminated early on. We couldn’t take the risk of a visual report getting back to the N
azis. The stupid Arabs will have to go deep into Syria to find one and even those will likely not have a radio. So for them it will be all the way to Turkey.”
Noam turned to the company sergeant major. “Remind everyone to put on their night vision goggles as soon as it gets dark.”
They didn’t need to wait for full darkness. Apparently the Palestinian Security Force was eager to roll over a few Jews and victoriously cross into Jordan. In fact, their commander figured that it would be a good idea to show the Jews how many Arab warriors were coming and so intimidate them into running away. Somehow he neglected to remember the training he underwent and the American instructor’s advice: Never expect the enemy to run away; do your best to attack in the dark and always assume that the enemy can see you even at night. He also consistently underestimated the Jews.
The terrain in front of him was rugged. The valley was divided in the north-south direction by a two lane paved road, Route 90. The Palestinian forces were approaching from the Judean hills, to the west of the road, where the foothills flattened out for about a thousand feet. On the same west side of the road was the Arab village of Zubaydat, a small village where some of the fighters were already setting up a command post and preparing defensive positions. They knew that the Jews avoided firing at civilians and so encouraged the inhabitants to stay put.
On the other side of the road, to the east, the terrain was flat for about fifteen hundred feet, becoming more rugged in the direction of the Jordan River and the border. According to the commander’s map the terrain looked like a comb with teeth ridges running to the river and meeting a backbone ridge running north to south. Just south of the village was a break in the difficult terrain. On the map it looked like a funnel: the wide part facing the road and the narrow part leading directly to the river and border. This was the only clear area where his forces could pass quickly.
The commander decided that his original plan was good: attack with most of his force into the opening of the funnel and send two small forces on top of the ridges to flank the defenders inside the funnel on both sides. The flat funnel area was about twelve hundred feet wide. The map showed that it narrowed down to about three hundred at the river.
Beyond the Shield Page 6