The Honor of Spies

by W. E. B. Griffin; William E. Butterworth; IV

  There was a tone in Canaris's voice that Otto von und zu Waching knew said: Pay me the courtesy of listening carefully to what I say.

  "Are you suggesting that I try to have him sent to Argentina?" Canaris then asked.

  "Admiral, if von Deitzberg is busy in Argentina, he can't be looking for Valkyrie here," Gehlen said.

  "General von Wachtstein?" Canaris asked, looking toward him.

  "Better that von Deitzberg is there than here, Herr Admiral, would be my judgment."

  "Otto?"

  "And better still, Herr Admiral, if he could be--if Cranz and he--could be eliminated over there," von und zu Waching said.

  Canaris looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before asking, "By the Americans, you mean?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "That would presume the Americans would be amenable to such a suggestion. Even relaying the suggestion to them would be difficult. And once that had been done, they might decline, for a number of reasons. For one, it might interfere with the status quo agreement they seem to have with the Argentines. And, for another, they would have to somehow get close enough to him to do it."

  He let that sink in a moment, then went on.

  "I suggest we go upstairs and have as much of our supper as possible before von Deitzberg shows up and ruins our appetites."

  Von und zu Waching, who had long ago learned to listen to what Canaris was not saying, rather than what he was saying, realized that Canaris had accepted Gehlen's suggestion that the best way to deal with the problems von Deitzberg and Cranz were posing was to have the Americans eliminate them in Argentina.

  And I don't think either General von Wachtstein or Oberstleutnant Gehlen understands that.

  Gehlen possibly--he's bright and an intelligence officer--but von Wachtstein has no idea what Canaris has just decided.

  [FIVE]

  Ten minutes later, as they were sitting over their supper listening to the news from the BBC in London over an ornate Siemens radio on a sideboard, Egon appeared at the door. This time he was far more formal than he had previously been. Standing at rigid attention, he barked:

  "Heil Hitler! Herr Admiral, I regret the intrusion. SS-Brigadefuhrer von Deitzberg's compliments, Herr Admiral. The brigadefuhrer asks that you receive him."

  "Show him in," Canaris said.

  "Jawohl, Herr Admiral!"

  A moment later, Egon returned and again popped to attention and barked, "Herr Admiral, SS-Brigadefuhrer Ritter von Deitzberg!"

  Von Deitzberg marched in, gave a straight-armed Nazi salute, and barked, "Heil Hitler!"

  Von Wachtstein, Gehlen, and von und zu Waching returned it snappily. Canaris made a sloppy wave of his arm.

  "I didn't expect to see you, von Deitzberg, until tomorrow morning," Canaris said, not too pleasantly. "I hope it's important. As soon as I finish my supper, I want to go to bed."

  "I thought it would be best to have a word with you, Herr Admiral, before tomorrow morning."

  "You want something to eat?"

  The invitation was not warm.

  "Very kind of you, Herr Admiral. But no, thank you."

  "Well, then fix yourself a drink, have a seat, and as soon as I'm finished and the news is over, we can talk."

  About ten minutes later, torn between listening to cricket scores of teams he had never heard of, which he had no interest in whatever, and watching von Deitzberg squirm impatiently in his chair, which he did find amusing, Canaris opted for seeing what the squirmer wanted.

  "Well, that's another onerous chore done," he announced. "If we are to believe the BBC, the war is lost. What's on your mind, von Deitzberg?"

  "No offense to these gentlemen, of course, but I would like to speak with you in private, if that would be possible, Herr Admiral."

  "Of course. We can go into the living room."

  Canaris stood up.

  "Excuse us, gentlemen," he said. "Feel free to retire, which is what I'm going to do as soon as the brigadefuhrer is through with the fregattenkapitan and me."

  He led von Deitzberg into the living room, with von und zu Waching following, waved them into chairs, and sat down.

  "I had hoped to see you earlier today, Admiral, and I really think it might be best if we were alone."

  "Earlier today, the Fuhrer sent for me," Canaris replied. "As so far as the fregattenkapitan is concerned, I like him to be present at meetings where no one is making written notes. What's on your mind, von Deitzberg?"

  Canaris's curtness with von Deitzberg was intentional on several levels, starting with the psychological. He knew von Deitzberg would interpret ordinary courtesy, and certainly amiability, as recognition on Canaris's part that he was dealing with an equally powerful man. The pecking order had to be maintained.

  The curtness came easily; Canaris despised the handsome SS officer. He knew more about him than von Deitzberg suspected, and the more he learned, the more he despised him.

  The SS was--and always had been, from the beginning--laced with common criminals and social misfits. Not only in the ranks--the SS had been formed to provide bodyguards for Hitler, and thugs were naturally going to be part of something like that--but also at the very top of the SS hierarchy.

  SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich was a case in point. Until he had been assassinated by Czech agents in Prague the year before, he had been the number-two man under Himmler, the Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia. Before Heydrich had joined the SS he had been cashiered from the navy for moral turpitude.

  SS-Brigadefuhrer Ritter von Deitzberg, who was working hard to be named Heydrich's replacement, had been forced to resign from the army for "the good of the service," which Canaris had taken the trouble to find out meant that he had been caught with his hand in the regimental officers' mess cash box and having an affair with a sergeant's wife.

  And now he was getting rich ransoming Jews from the concentration camps.

  Heinrich Himmler was something of a prude, and among other things that made him dangerous was that he really believed in the honor of the SS. Learning of the ransoming operation would really enrage him.

  But as much as it would have pleased Canaris to see von Deitzberg and his cronies exposed to Himmler's wrath, he knew it was a card he had to keep hidden until it could be played for something more important--probably something to do with Operation Valkyrie--than the satisfaction of having von Deitzberg and his slimy cronies hung from a butcher's hook by Himmler himself.

  "I'm very concerned about Operation Phoenix, Herr Admiral," von Deitzberg said.

  "Why?"

  "Well, you know what's happened over there."

  "Why don't you say what you mean?"

  "It doesn't look as if Cranz is up to handling his responsibilities, does it?"

  "What specifically are you talking about?"

  "Not only has he not been able to neutralize the traitorous Froggers, but he has been incredibly inept in his efforts to do so. I presume you've heard that Obersturmfuhrer Heitz and his men have been killed."

  Canaris nodded.

  "I personally selected Heitz to guard the special shipment funds. He was no Skorzeny, but he was a fine SS officer," von Deitzberg went on. "And considering his mission, guarding the special shipment funds, I would have thought twice before sending him to attempt to get the Froggers back from Frade."

  "Where are you going with this?" Canaris asked.

  "I think I should go to Argentina and straighten things out."

  "What's that got to do with me? Shouldn't you make that recommendation to Reichsleiter Himmler?"

  "I have. The Reichsleiter sent me here to discuss this with you; to ask for your cooperation."

  That's interesting. Himmler can just order him onto the Condor.

  Does this mean Bormann did tell Himmler of Hitler's sudden interest in Operation Phoenix?

  Why do I think he didn't?

  "I don't think I understand."

  "I think the Reichsleiter would prefer that the idea of my going to Argen
tina come from someone other than himself."

  What in the world is that all about?

  Okay. Himmler is covering his backside again. He's very good at that.

  "What I could do, I suppose, to assist the Reichsleiter is have a word with Bormann."

  Which I will do tomorrow, when he returns to Berlin.

  I will broach the subject of sending someone to Argentina to, as von Deitzberg puts it, "straighten things out." If he mentions von Deitzberg, I will oppose the idea. That will guarantee his being sent there.

  If he doesn't mention this slime, I will, saying that I wish he could be spared, but Himmler certainly wouldn't agree.

  Same result. Von Deitzberg will go to Argentina.

  Where he and Cranz and possibly even Raschner will be eliminated by the Americans, ridding the world of three scum it can well do without.

  And very possibly do something to keep Operation Valkyrie from being uncovered.

  And, as the icing on the cake, humiliate Himmler. Three of his best men eliminated by those incompetent Americans.

  "I think that might well deal with the situation, Herr Admiral," von Deitzberg said.

  VI

  [ONE]

  Hauptquartier Abwehr

  Bendlerblock, 76 Tirpitzufer

  Berlin, Germany

  0655 20 August 1943

  Canaris's Mercedes, which was smaller and far less ostentatious than any of the other official cars of the senior members of the Nazi or OKW hierarchy, was crowded.

  Max--now wearing a somewhat shabby dark blue business suit and a light gray snap-brim felt hat, both of which looked too small on the muscular old sailor--was driving. Canaris rode beside him.

  General von Wachtstein, Oberstleutnant Gehlen, and Fregattenkapitan von und zu Waching were in the backseat, each holding a briefcase on his lap.

  When Max drove into the Bendlerblock--a large, drab collection of connected four-story masonry buildings south of the Tiergarten--there were three larger official Mercedeses backed into the four-place parking area reserved for the cars of senior officers. Two of them had mounted on the right front fender a metal flag appropriate to the rank of the passenger it would carry. One flag was that of a General der Fallschirmtruppe and the other that of an SS-Brigadefuhrer.

  That meant that von Deitzberg and Student were already here waiting for him. Canaris wondered who was in the third car.

  Canaris thought that while there were at least a half-dozen brigadefuhrers in the SS--maybe more--there was only one General der Fallschirmtruppe in the Luftwaffe: Kurt Student.

  A pilot in World War I, Student had stayed in the service, and had been involved with German military aviation from the beginning, before there had been a Luftwaffe and while Germany was at least paying lip service to the Versailles Convention, which forbade Germany to have an air force.

  Student had taught fledgling German pilots to fly gliders, hiding the program as a sport. He had become, in the process, an expert in engineless aircraft, and had drawn plans for the construction of enormous gliders. These would be towed by transport aircraft once the Germans had stopped following the pro scriptions of the Versailles Convention.

  While they were waiting for the right moment to do that, Germany struck a secret deal with the Soviet Union. It made available airfields deep in Russia on which German pilots were secretly taught to fly powered aircraft and German engineers secretly built and tested a whole new generation of fighter and bomber aircraft. All far from prying French and English eyes.

  Student had been in charge of this program, reporting to Hermann Goring and Hitler directly. In those days, not all senior officers could be trusted to keep their mouths shut about Germany's blatant violation of the Versailles Convention, and what was secretly going on in Russia was very much a secret in Germany as well.

  Until the Crete disaster provoked Hitler's wrath, Student had what looked like a promising career before him in the upper echelons of the German armed forces. He had had the backing of Goring, not only because he was a fellow World War I pilot and had made such substantial contributions to the Luftwaffe, but also because the Fallschirmtruppe were, in effect, the infantry of the Luftwaffe--much like the U.S. Marine Corps is the Navy's infantry--and Goring liked the idea of having his own army, especially now that Heinrich Himmler had formed the Waffen-SS as the private army of the Schutzstaffel, which had begun as Hitler's bodyguard.

  And Hitler's displeasure had been tempered. He had ordered that henceforth the Fallschirmjager would fight as ordinary infantry, but he had not stripped Student of his rank. Hitler even permitted Student to remain on the periphery of those gathered around his Wolfsschanze map tables.

  But until the rescue of the deposed Italian dictator had come along--General von Wachtstein had told Canaris that it had been named Unternehmen Eiche (Operation Oak)--Student had not been given, by Hitler or by the OKW staff, any meaningful duties or missions.

  That told Canaris that Student was fully aware that the success or failure of Operation Oak was a second chance for him. If he were able to carry it off, he could again bask in the Fuhrer's approval. However, if he failed, he could count on being sent to the Eastern Front--if he was lucky. Hitler had stripped other general officers he thought had failed him of their ranks, their medals, and even their pensions.

  Max stopped the car before the entrance. Canaris was out of it before the guard could trot up to open the door for him.

  The officers in Canaris's far-from-opulent outer office rose as Canaris walked in. Including General Kurt Student, which Canaris found interesting, as he was junior to the parachute troops general.

  I think he knows he needs me.

  As indeed he does.

  Canaris acknowledged only Student. He said, "Heil Hitler," gave a somewhat sloppy Nazi salute, then offered his hand.

  "Good morning, General," he said. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting."

  Student smiled and made an It doesn't matter gesture. Canaris motioned Student toward the door to his office and gestured for the others to follow. He waved Student into the chair at one end of a long, somewhat battered conference table. He took the seat at the opposite end.

  Without being invited, SS-Brigadefuhrer von Deitzberg sat down beside Student. The other men in the room--a major and a lieutenant, both Fallschirmtruppe officers, and an enormous Waffen-SS captain--came to attention.

  "Please be seated," Canaris said, pointing to the chairs around as General von Wachtstein, Fregattenkapitan von und zu Waching, and Oberstleutnant Gehlen entered the office. Von Wachtstein took a seat beside Canaris and von und zu Waching took one across from him.

  "In a moment, Frau Dichter will bring us what is supposed to be coffee and then we can start talking about Operation Oak," Canaris said. He paused. "General Student, I don't know these gentlemen."

  The Waffen-SS captain leapt to his feet and barked, "SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Skorzeny, Herr Admiral, of SS Special Unit Friedenthal."

  Canaris nodded at Skorzeny, then made a somewhat impatient wave of his hand telling him to sit down. The parachute officers were now standing at attention. Canaris waved at them to sit down.

  "Admiral," Student said, pointing as he spoke, "these gentlemen are Major Harald Moors and Leutnant Otto von Berlepsch."

  "Actually, the leutnant is Leutnant Count Otto von Berlepsch," von Deitzberg said.

  "Is he really?" Canaris asked, dryly sarcastic.

  Tell you what, Baron von Deitzberg: You and Count von Berlepsch put on your suits of armor, and General Student and I will help you get on your horses. Feel free to stand on our backs as you do so.

  The anger came quickly and unexpectedly and was immediately regretted for two reasons: Coming close to losing his temper with von Deitzberg approached stupidity, for one. For another, the looks of contempt on both von Berlepsch's and Generalmajor Count von Wachtstein's faces showed they were as contemptuous of von Deitzberg's evoking of the Almanach de Gotha as he was.

  "As of one o'clock this morning
," Canaris announced, "the Carabinieri were completing their plans to move Mussolini from the Isle of Ponza to the Campo Imperatore Hotel in the Apennine mountain range, some eighty miles northeast of Rome. The Carabinieri have arranged for patrol torpedo boats to move him and his guard to the mainland. I don't know where on the mainland, and I don't know when the move will take place--probably not tomorrow, but early in the morning of the day after tomorrow."

  "Admiral, you're sure of your intelligence?" General Student asked.

  That wasn't a challenge. He is just making sure.

  Canaris nodded.

  "If we could find out where they are going to land him on the mainland, we could free Il Duce en route to the Campo Imperatore," von Deitzberg said.

  "How would you do that?" Canaris asked evenly.

  "I don't think that Hauptsturmfuhrer Skorzeny, Herr Admiral, and his SS Special Unit Friedenthal would have any difficulty in freeing Il Duce from any Italian unit," von Deitzberg said.

  "How much do you know about the Carabinieri, von Deitzberg?" Student asked softly.

  "They're Italian, aren't they? And haven't we all learned that whatever else our former Italian allies might be good at--making wine, for example--they are not very good at making war?"

  "Forgive me, von Deitzberg, but I have to disagree," Student said. "You've heard, I'm sure, that one should never underestimate one's enemy."

  "Are you suggesting, Herr General," von Deitzberg challenged, "that a unit--a special unit, such as the Special Unit Friedenthal of the Waffen-SS--is not superior to any Italian unit?"

  Student did not answer directly. Instead, looking at Canaris and von Wachtstein, he said, "Forgive me, gentlemen, if I'm telling you something you probably know as well as I do.

  "The Carabinieri Reali--Royal Carabinieri--has been around since 1814," Student began, as if lecturing a class at the Kriegsschule. "The term 'Carabinieri' refers to the unit being armed with shortened, bayonetless rifles, carbines. These were--and remain--special troops not intended to march in formation across the battlefield toward the enemy. Forerunners, one might say, of latter-day special troops, such as the Waffen-SS and, of course, the Fallschirmjager.