The Honor of Spies

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

  "They began to acquire their legendary reputation as warriors right from the beginning, when, the year after they were formed, they engaged and soundly defeated Napoleon's best at Grenoble in 1815. Subsequently they served--with equal distinction--in the Crimean War and performed admirably in the wars of Italian Independence, Eritrea, and Libya.

  "In this war, the Carabinieri have fought with valor in Greece and East Africa under impossible odds."

  General von Wachtstein nodded his agreement. Von Deitzberg saw this and his lips tightened even more.

  Canaris thought: Student is certainly aware that it's unwise to challenge Himmler's right-hand man.

  But he's also aware that rescuing Il Duce is his last chance. And that Himmler wants this rescue operation for the SS. And he can't let that happen.

  So--with the old principle that the best defense is a good offense--he's going to take on von Deitzberg.

  Good for him.

  "So, von Deitzberg," Student went on, "while I am second to no one in my admiration for the SS, I submit that your Special Unit Friedenthal--it is approximately of company strength, as I understand it?"

  "A reenforced company, Herr General. A little over three hundred men--"

  "All of whom, I am sure, are a credit to the SS and Germany. I doubt, however, that even such a splendid body of men can take on a battalion--six or seven hundred strong--of the Carabinieri who have been personally charged by their king with guarding Il Duce."

  Von Deitzberg glared at him. His face showed that he was preparing a sarcastic, perhaps caustic, reply.

  He ran out of time.

  "Then, may I tell the Fuhrer, Admiral Canaris," General von Wachtstein asked, surprising Canaris, who hadn't expected him to open his mouth, "that you and General Student are agreed that the attempt to liberate Mussolini should take place after he is moved to the Campo Imperatore Hotel rather than on the Isle of Ponza, or when he is being moved from one to the other?"

  That wasn't a question.

  Von Wachtstein was telling von Deitzberg that he agreed with Student.

  "Yes," Canaris said.

  "Concur," Student said.

  That makes three of us who have crossed von Deitzberg. Not only Student and me, but also von Wachtstein, for asking the question.

  Why did he do that?

  One general supporting another against the SS?

  Or maybe to show von Deitzberg that there are only three senior players in this little game, and von Deitzberg is not one of them?

  Well, he had his reasons and he's no fool.

  And that means he knew I wouldn't support von Deitzberg.

  "Can we now get to the details of the operation itself?" von Wachtstein asked. "I hate to rush any of you, but the Fuhrer is waiting to hear what you have decided."

  Well, that I understand: He's making the point to von Deitzberg that he represents the Fuhrer.

  Von Deitzberg said: "I believe Hauptsturmfuhrer Skorzeny has a very good plan--"

  "I'm sure he does," Student interrupted him.

  "If I have to say this," von Deitzberg said, "Reichsfuhrer-SS Himmler feels the SS Special Unit Friedenthal should play a significant role in this operation."

  "The Fuhrer has honored me with the responsibility for carrying it out," Student said.

  "Let's hear what the SS has to say, General Student," von Wachtstein said.

  "Certainly," Student said.

  "Skorzeny," von Deitzberg said.

  Skorzeny popped to attention, then opened his briefcase and took a large map and a number of large photographs from it. He unfolded the map and then laid it on the table.

  In front of von Wachtstein, which means he acknowledges that von Wachtstein is really in charge.

  "I have personally reconnoitered the Campo Imperatore Hotel by air," Skorzeny said. "In a Fieseler Storch. If you will notice, gentlemen, the map has keys to the photographs."

  Canaris examined the map and the photos with interest. All he had previously seen was a prewar advertising brochure for the hotel. It wasn't that he was disinterested but rather because, before Hitler had involved him in the rescue of Il Duce, he couldn't imagine being involved himself.

  As both Gehlen and von und zu Waching had heard him often say, "Effective intelligence is far less the gathering of information than being able to find the two or three tiny useful bits in the mountains of useless data."

  Canaris simply hadn't the time to try to learn anything but the two or three useful bits: where Mussolini was being held, and when and where he was going to be moved.

  Looking at the map and the photographs now, Canaris understood why the Carabinieri had chosen the Campo Imperatore Hotel as the place to confine Il Duce. It sat atop the Gran Sasso, the highest mountain in the Italian Apennines, accessible only by cable car from the valley. Mussolini would not only have to escape his captors but also somehow use the cable car to get down the mountain. And cable cars were not like automobiles; one could not operate them by oneself.

  More important, no one trying to free him could do so without using the cable car. All the Carabinieri would have to do to thwart a rescue attempt was disable the cable car and call for help, which could get there--even from Rome--long before the rescuers could scale the Gran Sasso.

  "Simply," Skorzeny said, "my plan is that 108 members of the SS Special Unit Friedenthal, under my command, will land in a dozen of General Student's DFS 230 assault gliders. Once the Carabinieri have been dealt with, and Il Duce freed, a Fieseler Storch will land, and Il Duce and I will get in it and fly to Rome."

  "I find a few little things in your plan that concern me," Student said sarcastically. "For example, the Storch is a two-seat aircraft. Or are you planning on flying it yourself, Herr Hauptmann?"

  The door opened and Frau Dichter, Canaris's anemic-looking secretary said, "Forgive the intrusion, Herr Admiral, but . . ."

  Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler pushed past her into the room.

  ". . . Reichsfuhrer Himmler."

  Everyone rose quickly to their feet.

  Himmler's right arm shot out in the Nazi salute.

  "Heil Hitler," he announced softly. "Take your seats, gentlemen. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

  "Would you like to sit here, Herr Reichsfuhrer?" von Deitzberg asked.

  "This will be fine," Himmler said as he took one of the chairs lining the conference table.

  When he had seated himself, the others sat back down.

  "Actually," Himmler announced, "I came to have a word with Admiral Canaris. But since I am here, and we all know how important Operation Oak is to our Fuhrer, perhaps this is one of those fortuitous circumstances one hears so much about. Please go on."

  Von Deitzberg shot to his feet.

  "Herr Reichsfuhrer, General Student was about to tell us what he finds wrong with Skorzeny's plan."

  "Which is? Skorzeny's plan, I mean."

  "Admiral Canaris has learned that Mussolini will shortly be taken to the ski resort--the Campo Imperatore Hotel--on the crest of the Gran Sasso," von Wachtstein said. "It was just agreed that that is where the rescue will take place. Skorzeny proposes that 108 men of the SS Special Unit Friedenthal under his command land by glider and free Il Duce, who will be then flown to Rome in a Storch."

  "And General Student finds weaknesses in that plan?" Himmler said. "I'll be interested to hear what they are."

  "Several things concern me, Herr Reichsfuhrer," Student began, only to be interrupted by Himmler raising a hand to cut him off.

  "Actually, Student, I learned something from you soldiers," Himmler said, then paused, smiled his undertaker's smile, and made his little joke: "As hard as that may be to believe."

  There was dutiful laughter.

  "What I learned, and it has really proven useful, is that if the junior officer is asked for his opinion first, then one may be reasonably sure that his answers are what he believes, rather than what he believes his superiors wish to hear. Why don't we try that here? Who is the
junior officer?"

  "I believe I am," von Berlepsch said as he stood. He quickly added, "Herr Reichsfuhrer."

  But the delay was noticeable.

  "And you are?" Himmler asked.

  "Leutnant von Berlepsch, Herr Reichsfuhrer."

  "And what do you think of Brigadefuhrer von Deitzberg's . . . excuse me, Hauptmann Skorzeny's plan, Herr Leutnant?"

  Canaris thought: So von Deitzberg has been playing soldier and planning operations? I wonder why he decided to say it was Skorzeny's plan. Perhaps because, so far, von Deitzberg has yet to hear a shot fired in anger and doesn't want to give anyone the opportunity to mention that?

  Or is there something Machiavellian in play here?

  Himmler wants Skorzeny to be a hero, because he has plans for him?

  "As I am sure the Reichsfuhrer is aware," von Berlepsch began, "any type of vertical envelopment operation is very difficult in mountainous terrain."

  "Vertical envelopment means parachutists, gliders?" Himmler asked.

  "Precisely, Herr Reichsfuhrer. In the case of the Gran Sasso, the wind conditions are such that parachute envelopment is impossible. The only way to envelop the hotel is by glider, and they will, for lack of a better term, have to be crash-landed."

  "Von Berlepsch, aren't all glider landings, for lack of a better term, 'crash landings'?" von Deitzberg asked.

  "Yes, Herr Brigadefuhrer, they are. My point here is that Fallschirmjager troops are trained in glider crash landings--necessary because, under optimum conditions, one glider landing in four is a crash landing--and I don't think this is true of the Waffen-SS troops you envision employing."

  "I don't think I'm following this, von Berlepsch," Himmler said. "Let me put a question to you: Suppose it was absolutely necessary that a number--say, twenty-five--of the Friedenthal unit participate in Operation Oak. How could that be done?"

  Von Berlepsch looked first at Major Moors and then at General Student for guidance.

  "I asked you, von Berlepsch," Himmler said curtly.

  "If such a requirement were absolutely necessary, Herr Reichsfuhrer--and I would hope that it would not be--I would put the SS men in the last three gliders."

  "Why the last three?" von Deitzberg asked almost angrily.

  Himmler pointed an impatient finger at him to shut him up, then made a Let's have it gesture with the same finger to von Berlepsch.

  "Herr Reichsfuhrer," von Berlepsch said, "I of course have no idea what Hauptmann Skorzeny has planned, but in our plan--"

  "The author of which is who?" Himmler asked.

  "Major Moors and I drew it up for General Student's approval, Herr Reichsfuhrer."

  "Go on."

  "There will be a dozen gliders towed by Junkers Ju-52 aircraft, Herr Reichsfuhrer. The aircraft will be in line, one minute's flying distance apart. Each will be cut loose from the towing aircraft as it passes over a predetermined spot on the mountain. I can show you that point on Hauptmann Skorzeny's maps, Herr Reichsfuhrer . . ."

  Himmler made a gesture meaning that wouldn't be necessary.

  ". . . which will cause the gliders to land at one-minute intervals on a small flat area--not much more than a lawn, actually--near the hotel."

  "That will take twelve minutes," von Deitzberg protested. "Why can't they land at thirty-second intervals? For that matter, fifteen-second intervals? Fifteen seconds can be a long time." Then he began to count: "One thousand one. One thousand two. One thousand three. One thous--"

  "Because a sixty-second interval is what these officers recommended to General Student," von Wachtstein interrupted, "and what General Student approved. I think we can all defer to his judgment and experience."

  "And your reason for putting Skorzeny and his men in the last three of the gliders to land?" Himmler asked von Berlepsch.

  "Because by then the Fallschirmjager in the first gliders to land will be in a position to help the Waffen-SS troops get out of their crashed gliders," von Berlepsch said.

  "Unless they themselves have crashed, of course," von Deitzberg said sarcastically.

  "Some of them will have crashed, von Deitzberg," Student said icily. "We expect that. What von Berlepsch has been trying to tell you is that Fallschirmtruppe are trained to deal with that inevitable contingency."

  "Well," Himmler said, "that would seem to solve the problem, wouldn't you agree, von Wachtstein?"

  "If what you are saying is that General Student, Admiral Canaris, and you are agreed . . ."

  "I'm just a visitor here, General," Himmler said. "The agreement must be between Student and Canaris."

  Canaris thought: And the translation of that is that if this absurd operation fails--as it well may--Student and I will take the blame.

  If it succeeds, Himmler and the SS will get the credit because Skorzeny was involved.

  "Admiral Canaris?" von Wachtstein asked.

  "If General Student is happy with this, I will defer to his expertise and judgment."

  "I will so inform the Fuhrer," von Wachtstein said.

  "And now, if I may delicately suggest to you, Admiral, that your knowledge of the fine points of an operation like this is on a par with my own, and that neither of us is really of any value here, I wonder if we could have a few minutes alone?"

  "There's a battered desk and several chairs in my cryptographic room," Canaris said. "Would that be all right with you, Herr Reichsfuhrer?"

  "That would be fine," Himmler said. "Von Deitzberg, when you're finished here, come to my office and bring me up to date."

  Von Deitzberg popped to attention and clicked his heels.

  "Jawohl, Herr Reichsfuhrer."

  Himmler gave the Nazi salute wordlessly and waited for Canaris to show him where to go.

  [TWO]

  "Be so good as to give the Reichsfuhrer and me a few minutes alone in your luxurious accommodation," Canaris said after one of his cryptographic officers had unlocked the door to a small room crowded with equipment.

  "Jawohl, Herr Admiral."

  "Is there coffee?"

  "A fresh pot, Herr Admiral."

  Himmler waited until the cryptographic officer had left.

  "In the nature of a state secret of the highest category--in other words, not to go further than this room--I really don't like von Deitzberg," Himmler volunteered. "He's very useful, but there is something about him I just don't like."

  What's that all about?

  Whatever it is, I'm not going to react to it.

  "In the nature of a state secret," Canaris said, "the coffee I just asked about is not only full of caffeine, but was smuggled into Germany. I think you'll like it."

  "How smuggled?"

  "Usually, in one of two ways. Several of the stewards on the Lufthansa Condor flights to Buenos Aires are mine. In addition to keeping an eye on the passengers and crew for me, they bring me Brazilian coffee beans. And then, from time to time, I have to send someone to Lisbon--or go there myself--and in Lisbon, one can go into any grocery store and buy as much coffee as one can afford."

  "The Fuhrer would be very disappointed in you if I told him that," Himmler said. "I gave up on our Victory Coffee a year ago and went to tea. And now the tea is going the same way as the coffee did."

  "I'm coffee rich at the moment. May I offer you a half-kilo?"

  "A cup I will gratefully accept. But thank you, no, about the half-kilo. If I took it, I would again become addicted, and withdrawal is just too painful." Himmler smiled his undertaker's smile. "Actually, what I wanted to talk to you about is a conversation I had over a cup of tea with our Fuhrer yesterday at Wolfsschanze--after you left."

  "How was the tea?"

  "Excellent. It was a gift of the Japanese ambassador."

  "And did the Fuhrer offer you a half-kilo?"

  "You know better than that, Canaris. What he did want to talk about was South America."

  "Really?"

  "He said that he was just letting his imagination run, but what did I think about sending Il Duce, once
he has been freed, to South America."

  "To seek asylum from the King? Victor Emmanuel?"

  "He had in mind Operation Phoenix," Himmler said evenly.

  "That would be difficult without a good deal of preparation."

  "So I told the Fuhrer. Then he said something to the effect that he was sure the mechanism of movement was in place. The statement was, of course, in fact a question."

  "'The mechanism of movement'? He was asking about the submarine? Submarines, plural?"

  Himmler nodded.

  "I told the Fuhrer that I had turned over control of U-405 to you some weeks ago and that I knew you were either planning, or had already put into play, a test run of U-405 to see if there were any flaws in your scheme for transporting and secretly inserting senior officials into Argentina."

  Himmler looked at Canaris to see what his reaction to this would be.

  Canaris hoped his face did not show the fury he felt.

  You sonofabitch!

  You never turned over control of U-405 to me.

  What the hell are you up to?

  He waited for Himmler to explain. Himmler waited for Canaris to say something.

  Canaris reached into his inside jacket pocket and took from it a small, leather-bound notebook. He flipped through it until he found what he wanted.

  "So, that's what Kapitanleutnant von Dattenberg's submarine was doing yesterday afternoon at South Longitude 39.91, West Latitude 43.76."

  "Is that where it is? And where is that?" Himmler asked, smiling.

  "That's where it is, Herr Reichsfuhrer. In the South Atlantic, about eight hundred miles from the mouth of the River Plate--far enough out to avoid aerial detection by the B-24s that the Americans are flying out of Brazil."

  "I had no choice, Canaris. You know as well as I how it is with the Fuhrer. When he asks a question, he expects an answer, and becomes . . . what shall I say? . . . excitedly disappointed when there is none."

  Canaris smiled and nodded his understanding.

  And you knew, you slimy bastard, that there was virtually no chance of me going to the Bavarian corporal and saying, "Reichsfuhrer Himmler never turned U-405 over to me; he's lying."