by Dick Hardman
They practiced until they all met the target time.
“OK team, allowing for the fact you are panting with exertion, I think you seem reasonably relaxed and innocent, so we will leave it at that.
“Next we will hang the corpse from the ceiling using the nails, and the rope under his arms.”
Andreas bent down on hands and knees while Carina stood on his back and drove nails into a ceiling joist, with the hammer. Between the three of them they suspended the corpse from the nails using the rope, passed across his shoulder blades and under the armpits. Finally, they spread a thick layer of sand under the dangling feet.
***
Pieter could see they were all squeamish; they tried to keep the dead body at arm’s length. They will certainly hate the next lesson he thought.
“I believe I am right in saying, none of you have ever killed a person. Is that correct?”
They all murmured they hadn’t.
“I want you to imagine these circumstances. A man, woman or child has just walked in on you and sees you are up to no good. Before they can call out or run for help, you must silence them. We will assume the man or woman to be unarmed.
“The person will take a second to see you, and realise you are dangerous; possibly another second before they yell or run. You heard them open the door and walk into the room where the corpse is now.
“Here are your weapons. Tell me how you will react, what you will use and how you will kill the intruder, in the first second of realisation.
“OK! Andreas, you go first.”
“I would rush over and hide behind the door, then stab him in the back as he walks into the room.”
“Now it’s your turn Carina, how would you go about it?”
“I think he would hear me running over to the door. Having walked in and turned, he will be facing me. I would use the knife and stab him in the heart. That would stop him dead.”
Everyone laughed at the pun.
“Finally Horst, tell us what you would do.”
“I think Carina is right, but as he turns, I would stab up under the ribs, forcing the point up into the heart, that way.
“Of course, if noise was not an issue, I could shoot him in the head. He won’t feel like shouting after that!”
“Very good Horst, the noise issue is most important; if he could yell for help, then shooting him is not an option. Obviously, maintaining secrecy and avoiding capture are your priorities.
“That leaves us with the way we knife him.
“Andreas, show me how you would stab him, I just want to see how you stand, how you would strike the blow and where the point would enter.”
Andreas simulated the attack, raising the knife and plunging it down to the man’s soiled shirt.
“Two things Andreas, first the blade will not slip between the ribs, the gap is quite small; you would have to turn the blade so it slips between them. However, if you still hit a rib, it will do no real damage. Also, even if it goes in up to the hilt, you will not kill him instantly.
”The same applies to Carina’s method, the ribs are the problem.
“Horst has the best method, and I want him to actually stab the body as he described.”
With a self-satisfied grin, Horst stabbed the body, but was surprised at the resistance to the sharp blade, and that he could not easily force the point up to the heart. As he tried to pull the knife out, it stayed embedded and caused the body to swing at him. He leapt back in horror, leaving the knife sticking out.
“Thank you Horst, you did the same as most people do. The man will eventually die from the wound; unfortunately, he will be screaming by now, you will be captured and all will be lost.
“I would be inclined to leap at the man from the front, ramming my left hand up under his chin so his head goes back and he cannot yell. I would keep pushing hard until he hits the wall or door, still forcing my left hand up, keeping his mouth closed. This gives me time to bring my right hand, with the knife, out from behind my back and line it up for the lunge.
“The belly is a large target, but we need to penetrate at the base of the sternum, a much smaller target, much closer to the heart. I also need to plunge the knife in pointing almost upright.
“Finding the sternum on a moving, clothed body when you are in a hurry is tricky. If you go in low, then you may not reach the heart. Try pulling the knife upwards and almost out, so the serrated teeth on the top of the blade cut the flesh and strike the bone of the ribs or sternum. Thrust in again, pointing up almost vertically.
“Saw in and out if you have too, but do it hard and fast. Remember, keep his mouth shut with your hand.”
Pieter looked at the faces of the team, they were horrified.
“I want each of you to stab as I described, get the feel for it, your life is at stake!”
It was not long before the three had riddled the belly with stab wounds causing blood and entrails to drop into the sand.
“Finally, if the person walks in without knowing you are behind the door, or a different situation where you sneak up behind him, put your left hand over his shoulder and up under his chin. Force his head hard back on your shoulder, keeping his mouth shut, a bit of cheek to cheek will stop him shaking free. At the same time, your right hand goes over the other shoulder, to draw the blade across the throat. You need to slice from one side to the other, severing the blood supply to the brain and if you are strong enough, sever the windpipe. After a second or two and a lot of gurgling blood, he will be dead enough to let him drop to the floor. This is quick but very messy; there will be blood everywhere, especially on you.
“Now I want you to try it on each other, using these wooden daggers.
“The attacker must not allow the target to make a noise or break free, or effectively fight back.
“Targets, do everything you have to, to prevent being killed, and try to call for help; and I mean everything!”
For the next hour they practiced on each other, finally taking turns to slice through the throat of the corpse, at different levels. Slicing deep into the flesh, to the spine, was more than any of them could manage on the first attempt; but if they had to do it for real, they probably could.
***
“OK! I think that will be enough for today, we will go back to the training room, pack up and resume there tomorrow morning. After breakfast, we will go for a jog, then down for a swim and press on with the next phase - self-defence and spy craft.”
After the team had wrapped the corpse in sack cloth, Herman arranged for it to be taken for burial.
Raven gets the message. 4th December 1943
That evening, Raven listened in to the long wave radio broadcast from London, using a crystal set, knowing this was the only type of receiver that could not be detected by the Nachrichtenmechaniker (Signals Technician).
The Tuned Radio Frequency and Super Heterodyne receivers both emit a weak signal and are easily located if the detector equipment is close by, and on an island of only three square miles, everywhere is close by.
Even if Raven could have acquired a photograph of Pieter Klein, and there was no chance of that, there was no way of getting it off Alderney. How could the spy send a picture by Morse code, the only means of contact? It had never been done before!
Throughout the following day Raven struggled with the problem, and continued to gather intelligence.
Self-defence and spy craft. 5th December 1943
It was the usual 8.00am start to the day, commencing with a brisk jog to the sea for a longer dip. The toughening up process was accepted as a necessary evil and no one member of the team was going to be beaten by another.
Back in the training room, Pieter explained the implications of being caught as a spy.
“You will have realised by now that, as spies, you are only given enough information to carry out your mission. If you are caught, there is only so much you can tell the enemy.
“Firstly, the most important thing to understand is that you are on
your own. No one can help or rescue you. In fact, if we can, we will try to kill you to ensure your silence. The upside of this is that you will not suffer a horrible death by hanging. I have heard that botched hangings are common; the agony of torn neck muscles and slow choking at the end of the rope, is not preferable to a quick, clean kill. The suicide pill we give you would be found, the moment you are seized.
“If you become ill or are injured and we cannot get you back safe with us, we will have to kill you, rather than let you be caught.”
The expressions of horror and realisation of what they had committed to was written clearly on the three faces in front of him.
“The next important factor is time. You must stall for time by any means possible. The team will need this opportunity to clean up after you, to prevent the British from uncovering your equipment and its secrets. Of course, you will booby trap everything, but the British are very smart and will expect this.
“It is essential we have frequent and established contact times. If you are caught and miss or break contact, we will assume you have been captured. We will immediately attempt to clean up after you, find you and if we cannot retrieve you, silence you. So don’t be late!
“I suggest you appear to cooperate with your captors, but do so with reluctance and drip feed them with a mixture of fact and fiction. For example, they will ask how many of us are there in the team. You will need to use your best judgement here. If you are reasonably sure they know the answer, then tell them the truth.
Alternatively, you could add to the number. That way, they will waste time and resources trying to find the imaginary people. If they know the answer and you lie, it will become harder to make your fiction believable.
“What you must not tell them under any circumstances, is the real purpose of the mission or anything about the beacons. All you can let slip, as a last resort, is that it is some remotely controlled explosive device. This might fit with what they discover if they tamper with an active beacon, or capture an inactive one. Beacons have the bad habit of burning out and exploding if not tuned in within 10 minutes of switching on. This supports the fiction of an explosive device.
“When you are in the field, try to avoid contact with other people. You cannot trust them and you cannot trust anyone on the team, even me.
“If someone engages you in conversation, be polite and friendly, but find an excuse to break off without appearing evasive or rude. Perhaps you have an urgent phone call to make…
“Wherever you are, at any moment, pre plan your escape and answers to possible questions. Typically, someone sees you where you shouldn’t be. You must have worked out beforehand, a good, plausible reason. You cannot rely on improvising, you will be caught.
“A common trick to expose a foreign spy is surprise. This is often done effectively when you are feeling relaxed, perhaps you have been drinking alcohol.
“Horst, you speak English very well. I want you to imagine you are talking with friends, and you are relaxed.
“All of you, stand up and group like you are drinking together and talking about things, in English. Say anything that comes into your head. You must never use German under any circumstances.”
Pieter let them settle in with their conversation for a minute or two and circled around the three, listening to what was said. Suddenly he flicked Horst painfully across the back of his head.
The man spun round and uttered a flow of German expletives, then directed a punch at Pieter, who effortlessly blocked it.
“You are a dead spy, Horst. A British person would only have sworn in English.
“Practice these English swear words at every opportunity. They must become second nature to you.” He handed each of them a list of phrases in English.
Horst had calmed down by now and could see his mistake. The others realised how easy it would be to betray themselves and now it made sense to keep away from other people.
“You must all get used to focussing on everything going on around you, and figuring out what your next move will be. Think first, answer or react with caution, there will be repercussions and no forgiveness if you get it wrong.
“Do you have any questions, before we break for the day?”
They all shook their heads and headed for their rooms, thinking over the day’s training.
The Raven reports. 5th December 1943
It was now the day after MI5 had requested a photo of Klein. Having carefully studied Pieter Klein as he came and went around the island, Raven practiced portrait drawing skills using pencil and paper.
Selecting the best likeness, Raven drew a fine grid of lines over the left half of the drawing. Only half was needed because Klein’s face was very symmetrical. Using X Y coordinates, Raven listed where the drawing lines intersected the grid. This would then be transmitted as flashes of light, in Morse code.
With so much to send, it would be sunrise before the transmission was complete. Raven knew there was a grave risk of being seen by patrols, when returning home from the cliff at that time of morning.
As Raven sent, there were doubts in his mind that the resulting picture of dots would be understandable by MI5. No doubt the clever people at Bletchley Park would soon sort it out. They loved a puzzle.
Special delivery. 6th December 1943
It was now 5.00pm and with another hard day’s training behind them, the team looked forward to the evening meal, and conversation in English, to improve their skill. A radio receiver had been connected up so they could listen to the news, and the way the British spoke about things.
As Pieter entered the training room, Herman caught up with him.
“Pieter, we are expecting a large cargo plane to land very soon and amongst the cargo there is the special equipment you requested. They also have a passenger, who will measure the team for clothing suitable for England, style their hair and take identification photographs for their papers. All this will be done while the plane is unloading, so your team will need to be cleaned up and well prepared.”
“Is there anything special they need to dress in, Herman, or will this be provided?”
“I was told everything necessary will be provided.
“I will let you know when the plane lands.
“Just one other thing, the Oberst and Helga will be dining out with the officers at the Grand Hotel and staying over, so you will be eating alone tonight.”
“Thank you Herman, I think I would prefer to eat with my team in the training room, I will have the same food as them. What time will it be served?”
“Because of the visitor, Pieter, we need to finish early. I will get food to you at 6.00pm. We will have a lavish meal tonight, with supplies being replenished we can forgo the rationing.
“I believe we are only getting the supplies now, because they could be brought with your equipment. There are a lot of grateful people on the island thanks to you.”
“Well, thank you Herman, I am delighted to have been of some help.” Herman smiled, turned and left to speed up the meal.
The team had arrived during Herman’s conversation and understood what they needed to do, so rushed back to their rooms to get ready.
***
When Herman brought the first course, it included some of the Oberst’s Riesling to wash it down. He also informed Pieter the plane had just landed.
“Team, no need to rush your food. When the visitor arrives, I will go first and give you time to finish. I expect we can do everything in here, so you will see what is going on.”
Pieter was pleased to see everyone laughing and joking, the team had bonded well in such a short time; even Carina and Horst were getting along.
It was half an hour later when a smartly dressed man wearing a dark suit and trilby hat was shown into the training room. Pieter assumed rightly he was Waffen-SS, in plain clothes.
“Herr Klein, I am pleased to meet you,” he glanced around the room, “and your team.
“My name is Otto Dornberger.
“Sorry t
o have kept you all waiting.
“My bags were blocked by other cargo.
“I had to wait for them.
“They told me you have cargo as well.
“They want you to collect it personally.
“Better check it over when you get it.”
Otto was of slight build, bordering on frail. At a guess, he was about 40, with a full head of black hair and wore round, chrome rimmed glasses with noticeably convex lenses. A bit like Himmler, Klein thought, but with more hair.
The man spoke in rapid short bursts as if analysing carefully what he wanted to say, and then spat it out. He spoke like a highly educated man of impeccable background, perhaps he was related to Major-General Dr Walter Robert Dornberger, back at Peenemünde.
“Thank you for coming Otto. While my team finish their meal, I will be your first client.”
Otto beamed and opened the large suitcase he had brought in.
“If you are ready, I can start measuring you for civilian clothes.
“So you blend in with the British.
“As you probably know, everything is rationed there.
“You can get some used clothes from the make-do-and-mend campaign.
“Any new items will be of a utility style.
“I will be using materials available in England to fashion your clothes.
“They will be tailored appropriate to your occupation and income.
“For example, a cleaner will not have a well-tailored suit, but a separate jacket and trousers, off the peg, when he is in public.
“It is always the little things that catch spies out.
“I will first cut your hair to a suitable style.
“Depending when you leave for your mission; I might have to come back and trim you up.
“I see two of your team have short hair; this is not good.
“I will have to provide wigs for the identity photographs.
“I hope the hair will grow enough in the time you have, wigs are not an option in public.”