by Ward Wagher
The room grew quiet.
“Come, now,” Schloss said. “The reason each of you is sitting in this room is to contribute to the discussions and help make decisions. If I make all the decisions I will sooner or later make a bad one – or even a fatal one.”
“I guess the question is what you hope to achieve by letting the Commonwealth armies escape Africa,” Ribbentrop said.
“Exactly,” Schloss said. “You all know that my goal is to reach a settlement with the English. I want to give them an honorable exit from the war and solidify Germany’s position on the continent. We have largely succeeded in avoiding war with the Americans, although I do not want to take them for granted.”
“And what about Russia?” Canaris asked.
“My strategy is to allow Russia to collapse under its own weight. The worst thing we could do would be to attack them. You’ve all heard me say this enough.”
“Which brings us back to the question,” Canaris said.
“So, let’s look at the worst case,” Schreiber said. “Churchill says whatever is necessary to rescue his armies. Let’s say he turns around and lands them in Algeria or something.”
“Rommel has proven he can beat them handily,” Rainer said. “All that would prove was Churchill’s faithlessness.”
“I suppose it is a question of whether he would rather lose Egypt or Australia,” Ribbentrop said.
“He is getting ready to lose both,” Milch said.
“What would the Japanese say if we allowed something like this?” Ribbentrop posed.
“I’d say we burned that bridge back in December,” Schloss said. “They consider us backstabbing traitors, which from their point of view is probably true. I still think the Americans are going to beat the Japanese, but the Japanese have done far better in this war than I dreamed possible.”
“May I suggest, Herr Reichschancellor, that we give this some thought and discuss it again at our next meeting?” Rainer asked.
“Of course, Karl,” Schloss said. “The idea just popped into my head. I really do not want to proceed until we look at this from every angle. We would be giving away a huge advantage and we need to decide that there is value in doing so.”
“I understand what you are saying, Sir,” Canaris said. “While I oppose this for tactical reasons, I can see where strategic advantage might be gained from something like this.”
“Very well,” Schloss said. “Next item. What in the world happened here yesterday? I nearly got shot out of the sky. It was unpleasant.”
Milch colored again. “It was an unexpected raid, Herr Reichschancellor. No one expected the English to mount something like that in the daytime. Plus, the weather was atrocious.”
Rainer raised a finger.
“Yes Karl?” Schloss asked.
“They knew you were coming back from Italy and decided to take the shot. That’s the best explanation.”
“Surely, we saw them coming,” Schloss said.
“Our Freya stations detected them. We also launched the Condors with the airborne detectors. But the English had sent over two-hundred airplanes. We were unprepared for the magnitude of the raid.”
“What was the damage to the city?”
“Negligible,” Canaris said. “I think they were mainly after you, Herr Reichschancellor.”
“Well, I hope we managed to shoot down a decent number of the beasts.”
“We dropped eighty of the English bombers and fighters. An unknown number were damaged.”
Schloss nodded. “I think, Herr Fieldmarshall, you need to address the readiness of the Luftwaffe.”
Milch nodded strongly. “Of course, Herr Reichschancellor, I shall see to it.”
“Fine. Let’s move on to the next item.”
After Schloss dismissed the meeting, he sat and watched as the others slid back in a general scraping of chairs. There was some muttered conversation as the men left. Schloss watched Rainer and when the Reichsprotektor looked at him, he raised an index finger.
“Yes, Herr Reichschancellor?”
“I need you for a few moments, Karl.”
He nodded and walked to the end of the table where Schloss sat. Kirche walked to the double doors at the end of the room, and pulled them closed as he walked out. Schloss looked back at Rainer.
“Guderian?”
“I have him in a safe house outside of Potsdam. Six people I trust are protecting him.”
“Have you had a chance to interview him?” Schloss asked.
“Only briefly, Sir. He is apolitical. In fact, he is too honest for his own good.”
“So, you don’t think he has been in contact with Heydrich’s group?”
Rainer shook his head. “He swears the single phone call was his only contact. And he had no idea who it was. He said it was a complete surprise.”
“When you feel it appropriate, have one of your best interrogators spend a day with him. But, gently, please, Karl. He did us a huge favor.”
Rainer clicked his heels together. “I will see to it, Herr Reichschancellor. I believe Schneller Heinz has further service for the Fatherland.”
Schloss smiled. “I think so, too. A general who speaks his mind is a prized commodity in this land, I am very much afraid.”
“Just so. We will treat him well.”
Schloss stood up with a sigh.
“Walk to my office with me, Karl. I need you to bring me up to date on what has been going on while I was out of the country.”
“Very well, Herr Reichschancellor,” Rainer said with a grin. “I think I can say that it has been quieter here than what you experienced, recently.”
Schloss stopped and looked at the other man. “As always, Karl, you are a master of understatement.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
March 23, 1942; 6PM
The White House
Washington, DC, USA
President Henry Wallace had gone upstairs to his living quarters, mainly to get away from the unceasing torrent of bad news that assaulted him on a daily basis. His wife, Ilo, drifted into the room, and sat down next to him on the sofa. A white-jacketed steward set a tall glass of iced tea on the table next to the sofa. The steward looked at Mrs. Wallace and raised an eyebrow. She shook her head. Dinner would be ready soon, and she wasn’t thirsty at that moment.
She grasped his hand as he sat staring at the wall. “A long day, Dear?” she asked.
Wallace took a deep breath. “I received a long message from Prime Minister Curtin today. The Japanese will probably be able to hold the landing site in Brisbane. That’s less than 600 miles from Sidney. He is considering asking the Japanese for terms.”
“That is shocking,” she said.
“It is unbelievable,” Wallace replied. “Most of their army is in North Africa, and Director Donovan tells me they will probably have to surrender in the next few weeks. If we lose Australia, it will mean that we will lose the Pacific for the next generation.”
“Is there nothing we can do?” she asked.
He took a long drink of iced tea. “I have had several members of the cabinet suggest we ask for terms ourselves...”
“We cannot do that,” she interrupted, “The Congress would impeach you.”
“And rightfully so. General Marshall thinks we would eventually beat the Japs long about 1953 or 1954. He may be optimistic. In the meanwhile, we are focused on building up our coastal defenses. We don’t think they would try a landing on the west coast, but then again, they have rather frequently surprised us in this war.”
“What would happen if they landed somewhere on the west coast?” she asked.
“Oh, I think we could push them off, but it would be expensive in terms of life. Nevertheless, that is probably what we need to do. We are building up our armed forces on those assumptions.”
“And are the assumptions true, my Dear?” she asked.
He gave her a one-sided smile. “So far, we have been rather optimistic. But we did give their Panama strike force a b
loody nose. In fact, it was more like a bad mauling. Intelligence from the Germans in Tokyo indicate we managed to sink four carriers.”
“Does that include the one our submarine sank?”
“I think so. We are trying to come up with an independent confirmation so we can blast it out to the press. We need to show that the Japs are not invincible. The people of Los Angeles and San Francisco are very nervous.”
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“Much as I hate it, I think we are going to have to buckle down and do whatever is necessary to beat the Japanese. People are going to get killed. A lot of them. And we will likely pour two decades worth of our economy into this war. And I had such hopes for being able to help our people. There will be no money to do so.”
“Can we really beat them?” she asked.
“In the end, yes. Our economy is over twice the size of theirs. We have more people. But it is not going to be easy.”
She patted his hand. “Do you ever wish we could go back to running the company?”
He laughed. “I wish we were still there. Running Hi-Bred was child’s play compared to the government.”
“Why even worry about Australia, Darling?” Ilo asked. “We are not exactly on the greatest of terms with the British Empire right now.”
“I mainly worry the Japs will get so entrenched we will never dig them out. Assuming the Aussies could get their army out of North Africa, I am not certain they could hold the Japanese. I think, though, if we can attack their home islands, problems like Australia will solve themselves.”
She leaned back in the sofa, content to sit with her husband. He found it useful to spend an hour or so after leaving the Oval Office to confide in her of his actions during the day. Many times they would sit together without speaking. Other times he would share his hopes and fears about the United States of America.
“And what of the British?” she finally asked.
“Ha!” he responded. “Schloss is doing everything possible to bring them to the table. Churchill is determined to keep fighting. Our sources in Germany tell us the Germans are working frantically to get their next generation of weapons into production. I know Churchill is doing the same. They will find themselves, once again, in stasis. Neither will be able to do anything significant except to burn national treasure. I do not know what is going to happen there. Churchill is a wily operator, but he may have met his match in Schloss.”
“What will we do about them, then?” she asked.
“What we should have done in the last war. Remain friendly to both sides, but maintain our neutrality. Roosevelt and Churchill were working to pull us into the European war, and that would have been a huge mistake. I would not have worried over much about the Japanese, either, except they decided to help themselves to American territory.”
“And what will happen between the British and the Germans?”
He shook his head. “I don’t really know. The Germans dropped their blockade of the British Isles, and we are now trading with the Germans using American flagged vessels. Traditionally European conflicts end with a general conference and a treaty that no one is very happy about, but everyone can live with.”
“I am kind of curious as to how that will work out for the French,” she said. “Nobody talks about them much.”
He snorted. “The Free French have been here in Washington and in New York trying to raise money for their resistance. Our Francophiles are helping them out, but nobody else seems to care much about them. In the main, though, we will be focused on the Pacific for the foreseeable future.”
And, he took another deep drink of iced tea. “Shall we see what we are having for dinner?”
§ § §
March 24, 1942; 9PM
The Prussian Inn
Potsdam, Germany
“I cannot believe we are both so foolish as to be here tonight,” Misty Simpson said.
Karl Rainer smiled at her. “Following this evening, we will both file our contact reports. I will pass some intelligence to you that your government will find useful. We will have a nice dinner. All will be in order.”
“I have always liked that phrase for some reason,” she said.
“What phrase would that be?”
“Alles in ordnung,” she replied. “It sums up the German culture so well.”
“And what phrase would sum up America, then?” he asked.
She thought for a moment, then spoke. “How about this? We will get the job done with baling wire and chewing gum.”
He looked completely puzzled. “And now you have me at a disadvantage, Fraulein. I know what those items are, but I do not understand the context.”
She laughed. “At last, I managed to come up with something that left you flummoxed. The wire that is used to tie hay bales together on the farm...”
“Yes, yes, I know what that is,” he snapped.
He was irritated to be at a disadvantage, and of course, she thought that was all the funnier.
“So, farmers and laborers keep a roll of the wire around for any general repair that happens to arise. And if they couldn’t tie it together with the baling wire, they would stick whatever it was together with an old piece of chewing gum.”
“Yes?” He still didn’t get it.
“It’s the American way, Karl. We take whatever falls to hand and we improvise.”
“But… that is so unmoglich!”
“It’s the way Americans think.”
“And I think you are trying to make me look foolish,” he said.
Misty laughed again. He enjoyed hearing her laugh, even when he was embarrassed.
“Not at all, Karl. Seriously, that has been the American way for almost as long as there has been a nation there.”
He shook his head. “And considering the problems your nation is facing in the Pacific, you are going to need a lot of baling wire.”
She now looked sad. “I had friends killed in the Pacific. My cousin Todd was on the battleship Arizona when the Japs attacked Hawaii. They said the ship simply blew up. I think war is a horrible thing.”
“I am sorry about your cousin,” Rainer said softly. “We tried to warn your country about the Japanese. It seems no one was prepared to listen.”
“I asked Director Donovan how we allowed it to happen.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said that we all knew a war was coming. We expected the attack to come to the Philippines first. They caught us looking the wrong way, and took out Hawaii. And now we no longer can use the canal. The Japs are in Brisbane. Things are very bad.”
Rainer took a bite of his roast boar. It was very good. He was glad he had learned about this restaurant. He debated internally whether to pass information along to Misty. It was like giving a sugar cube to a horse. He was afraid he would eventually have to betray her, and he found himself beginning to care deeply for the American woman.
“Herr Schloss sent a back-channel message to the English last week. He offered to let them pull their armies and equipment out of the Horn of Africa. It is only a matter of time before they are forced to surrender.”
“So, they can be put into another impossible situation in Australia?” she asked.
This girl is much smarter than I expected, he thought. “Without those armies, Australia is certainly lost.”
“This way it is only probably lost,” she shot back.
He turned his hands palms up. “What can I say? We offered Churchill a way out of his current bind. He turned us down.”
“I am going to have to report this, Karl,” she said.
“I understand. There are some things we need the Americans to know. Churchill is not your friend.”
“I suppose you are going to tell me that the Brits blew up our ship at La Spezia.”
Now, how could she guess that?
“The look on your face tells me you believe that,” she accused.
“Misty… if we were to inform your government that the English
engineered that atrocity, they would be tempted to view it as self-serving on our part. We have been looking for corroborating evidence. But, off the record, yes. We suspect the English did it.”
“If that could be proven, it would seriously damage our relationship with the Brits,” she mused. “And you Germans would not complain about that.”
“You see our dilemma?” he asked. “We eliminated all the other possible answers and this is what we were left with. We cannot prove it.”
“And they had a lot to gain,” she said.
“Yes, they did.”
She sipped her wine and tilted her head as she studied him. “My father loves all things English. He was heartbroken when the president canceled the Lend-Lease agreement. He is not happy about my assignment here.”
“I suppose we all disappoint our parents in one way or another,” he replied.
“And how did you disappoint your parents, Herr Rainer?” she asked.
“They were horrified when I joined the Nazi party. Poppa refused to speak to me for nearly a year afterwards.”
“What does your father think, now?” she asked.
“Oh, he is happy Hitler and Himmler are gone. He thinks I need to clean out the rest of the swine.”
“And that is easier said than done,” she said.
“We are a small group running this government. Herr Schloss, Herr Schreiber and I are dedicated to restoring Germany to civilization. Von Ribbentrop and the Reichsmarshall are going along with this, mainly to preserve their own skins. Schloss managed to cultivate a strong following in the party. I am trying to get them into key positions within the SS.”
“Why not just disband the SS?” she asked.
“And then we would scatter a quarter million fanatics across Germany. No, we decided it was better to have them where we can keep an eye on them.”
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” she quoted.
He laughed out loud. The other diners looked over to see the SS officer obviously enjoying his dinner with the lovely lady.
“Who watches the watchmen, indeed? I can tell you that Herr Schloss is very concerned about that. Hitler and his madmen were on the way towards destroying Germany. It would be very easy for us to turn again on that road. He said that if we hadn’t acted, the boots of foreign soldiers would have eventually trod in Berlin.”