Chapter 12

Richard felt satisfaction from the excited anticipation of Johan's men after he informed them of the preparations to allow them to flee the country.

"I have some news I want to tell you, Berlin is now under constant air attacks, it's having a bad effect on the population who had believed Goebbel's propaganda that Germany was impregnable.

Himmler has returned from Poland. It was his first visit to Auschwitz where he ordered Kommandant Höss to begin massive expansion. At nearby Birkenau this expansion will include a new compound to hold one hundred thousand prisoners.

Since you have been here at the house the German Army High Command has ordered all German Jews into forced labour and approved Heydrich's SS murder squads in occupied Poland. In France, a 'Commissariat' for Jewish Affairs has been established, and as I speak, French Jews are being transported to Poland," Richard paused, visibly affected, and poured a glass of water.

'I wish that I was going with you tomorrow, ' Richard thought.

Instead he said, "Have a safe trip. Oh, before I leave I want to have a game of chess with the champion."

The chess set was quickly produced and Richard sat opposite Gerry who remembered one of the principles that Martijn had taught him: 'a good defence is a good offence'. He knew that this applied to the game but he thought that Richard looked too self-assured.

"I hope that you're feeling confident Richard because I don't take prisoners," Gerry bluffed.

Richard chuckled softly from his throat, "I only play people that I know I can beat!"

Laughter rippled around the table and Gerry whose initial thought was to let Richard win, now became aggressive, "We'll see."

Gerry failed to win the white and sat patiently while a minute dragged on while Richard pretended to collect himself and then he made his first move.

Noting that Richard took his time before he played, Gerry knew he had to take this delaying tactic away from him. Before he made his first move, "I must tell you Richard that in this house we have a rule, 'a move must be made within one minute or you forfeit the game'."

He watched the effect on Richard and by his reactions he knew that he had guessed correctly.

"Okay, hurry up and move or I'll claim the game," Richard said testily.

Gerry pressed Richard hard and knew that he could win in the next three moves but he relented and he let Richard out of the trap that he had set and Richard then went on to win the game.

"You play like a champion but you let me win. I want another game and this time I want you to play to your full abilities," Richard said.

"You must know the etiquette, 'the host always wins the first game'," Gerry said cheekily.

"That's why I want another game," Richard said, wondering if he could win.

Gerry played quickly, the men became noisier and the women joined the men to watch the game but it was over quickly with Gerry elegantly checkmating Richard.

"That's enough, I'm going to stop while we are one game all," Richard said.

Otto arrived at three thirty a.m. and he took three men with him, Rolf and Gus rode with Gerry and Manfred and they departed fifteen minutes later. They intended to drive over the Danube at Regensburg during the busy morning period.

Heavy showers hampered their trip to Regensburg along the back roads but the rain stopped when they joined the main road that led down into the town. The air was cold, the wind sweeping down from the Alps.

Gerry felt fearful knowing that they were now entering the most dangerous stage of their mission. Travelling down the approach road he could see the old stone bridge with the cathedral and town hall wedged together near the arched entry into the city.

"I wonder where the guards are?" Gerry asked.

As they passed under the arch, "There they are warming themselves," Manfred said.

Gerry glanced to his right and saw three soldiers standing around a fire burning in a steel barrel.

On the way out of Regensburg Manfred chose a road that veered southwest on the way to Carl Schmidt's farm near Weilheim.

The rain started beating down again and Manfred strained to follow the road, occasionally wiping his hand across the fogged windscreen.

"Look for a farm gate with an arch over it. It should be along here somewhere," Manfred said.

"There, on the right just near the large tree."

"Gerry, go and open the gate and we'll drive to the house."

They arrived at the house and an old farmer emerged from the house as Manfred was turning the car around.

"Are you Carl Schmidt?" Manfred asked.

"I've been waiting for you, what took you so long?"

"The same thing that keeps you indoors Carl, the bloody weather. Have the others arrived yet?" Manfred asked.

"Yes they're inside. Drive your car down the other side of the barn so the neighbours can't see it."

Inside the farmhouse Gerry saw that it was very similar to Dutch farmhouses with a wood fired stove, a counter for food preparation and a dining table with odd wooden chairs ranged around it. At the end of the kitchen were two doors and these were hidden with floor length heavy drapes, disguising the openings because the farmer lacked money for doors.

Carl introduced his wife and they had an early lunch then Carl took Manfred, Otto and Gerry to the barn.

"The message I received told me to make seven flares to light the airstrip runway, I made these with one litre cans and rope wicks. I'll fill them at the airstrip; it should give them enough guidance without being very prominent on the ground. We used something like this in the last war. Do you know how to place them?" Carl asked.

"No I'll let you do that Carl. When we're about a kilometre from the airstrip I want to hide the cars and then we'll continue on with all of us on the back of your truck," Manfred said.

They reached the top of the mountains on the slippery rain soaked road and in the grey day they could see the valley stretching into the distance where it met the River Isar.

In this remote region they drove in a loose convoy with Carl Schmidt guiding them in his old farm truck.

Carl sounded his horn and all three vehicles pulled up.

"This is about a kilometre away from the airstrip but it's not heavily wooded enough to hide the cars. If we drive north away from the strip the forest is dense and continues right up to the mountains but that might not suit you," Carl said.

"I want a good hiding place," Manfred said, "What do you think Otto?"

"Let's hide the cars in a better place than this," Otto said.

"Follow me then," Carl said.

When their cars were well hidden in separate locations they climbed onto the truck and clung to the front fence of the tray; Carl then drove them to the edge of the airstrip where they dismounted.

Weeds were growing through cracks in the bitumen surface; leaves and windblown twigs littered the surface.

"What do you think Carl?" Otto asked.

"We've got a lot of work to do before dark, the strip is about a kilometre long and there's nine of us so I'll drop a man about every one hundred metres and he'll be responsible for clearing the rubbish from his area. Don't worry about weeds but you should examine the surface for any subsidence, mark it and later we'll fill it and then tamp it down. What time is the plane due Manfred?" Carl asked.

"One a.m. But they don't want to spend much time on the ground. Just long enough to get the men on board. How will you manage the flares?" Manfred asked Carl.

"About fifteen minutes before the plane arrives I'll place and light them."

"Are they easy to extinguish?" Otto asked.

"You're thinking the same thing I am. We should make sure that they're out before we leave. I'm just hoping that if we attract attention that we can get away in time," Manfred said.

"We're wasting time; let's get started," Carl said impatiently trying to hide his fear.

The airstrip was three hundred metres longer than Carl had estimated but after filling and tamping numerous potholes they were finished an hour before sunset.

They gathered under a large tree, three hundred metres from the runway and Carl produced a can of water and enough food for a light meal.

"We should hide your truck after we light the flares. If we do have unwanted visitors we can disperse into the woods and make our way back to the cars. We can come back for your truck when it's safe to do so," Manfred said.

"It's good advice Carl," Otto said.

"Have you got a firearm with you Carl?" Manfred asked.

"I don't and if I did I wouldn't use it. I had enough in the last war and we shouldn't be in another hideous war like this."

"You had better stick with me if we have to run," Manfred said.

"I think it might be a good idea to take the flares with us when we go," Otto said.

"If we aren't being pursued we can take them with us. But I don't want to carry them back to Carl's farm. They'd be evidence we couldn't refute," Manfred said.

Carl listened and he didn't like what he was hearing, "I'll dig a small pit near where we hide the truck. I'm not going to expose myself to danger with those flares on my truck."

After they found a place to hide the truck Carl dug a small pit and gathered leaves and brush to hide the flares. He pulled an old piece of canvas out of the cabin, and nine men stood in a circle on the tray and wrapped it around themselves as protection against the cold wind. It kept their upper bodies warm but all were feeling the cold in their feet.

The hours dragged by until Manfred finally announced, "It's twenty minutes until the plane lands."

Carl tried to start the truck but the cold engine would not start. Eight men lent a hand and pushed Carl's truck for two hundred metres until the engine fired. They clambered back on board and Manfred sat with Carl in the cabin and fumbled around in the ropes and rubbish on the cabin floor until he found the satchel that Richard asked to be delivered to the pilot.

"Where's the best place for the men to wait to get on board the plane?" Manfred asked.

"I'm going to start at this end of the runway and light the flares as we go. If they follow conventions they'll land into the wind and go to the far end indicator flare. That's the seventh flare that I'll place at the end and in the middle of the runway. It's the upwind indicator and that's where the men will get on board," Carl said.

"I understand it all now; it's also close to where we'll hide the truck," Manfred said.

"There's no doubt about it. You city people catch on quick!" Carl said sarcastically, "But I was a flyer once," he added trying to soften the insult.

When the truck was hidden they waited patiently, Manfred nodded at Gerry to join him.

"Don't stand close to the main group. It's better to stand apart in case we're taken by surprise."

"You expect trouble?" Gerry asked.

"Always expect trouble, always... See that light; that's the plane just coming in low over the mountain."

The lights on the plane disappeared and Manfred wondered if he had been mistaken until he heard the drone of the engines.

It took many minutes as they watched the plane line up with the flares and they watched with excitement as the plane's landing gear unfolded and shortly after the plane touched down about one kilometre away. With it's engines roaring it taxied to the end of the runway and swung in a tight circle to face back down the runway.

Halfway between the wing and the tailplane a small door swung open and a set of two small alloy steps unfolded from the fuselage and thudded onto the bitumen.

Manfred led the charge to the door and together with Gerry they wished Johan's men a safe trip.

When they were all aboard Manfred turned to Gerry, "This was supposed to be an American Douglas aircraft. Come with me while I talk to the pilot, I want to make sure he's a Dutchman or a Belgian."

They stepped into the plane and went to the open door to the cockpit. Gerry introduced himself in Dutch to the pilot who chuckled, "I'm a Belgian the co-pilot is a Dutchman. Willem," he called to the co-pilot, "come and meet one of your countrymen."

As Gerry spoke with Willem, the co-pilot, Manfred pushed past and asked the pilot for the codeword, satisfied he handed over Richard's satchel.

The engines were already roaring up to speed as Manfred and Gerry alighted, the co-pilot recovered the small set of steps into the aircraft and closed the door. The rush of the slipstream sent a storm of dried leaves behind the plane and they continued to watch as the craft gathered speed and defying gravity it lifted into the air and within minutes it disappeared into the clouds.

Manfred noticed that soon after the plane left the ground all of the navigation lights were switched off.

They went to Carl's truck and Manfred rode in the cabin as they proceeded down the runway extinguishing the flares and storing them on the tray.

When they arrived at the shallow pit they dumped the flares into it and covered it with leaves and brush.

"Do you think you can drive without lights?" Manfred asked Carl.

"Yes, that's not a problem." Carl said switching the trucks lights off as he drove onto the trail leading back into the forest where they had hidden their cars.

In the vicinity of the cars Manfred thought that he heard the sound of a motorcycle.

"Stop the truck, turn the engine off," Manfred said then he stepped down from the truck.

"You heard it too Manfred?" Otto asked as he jumped down from the truck.

In the still of the night they could now hear the sound of many engines.

"Let's have a look."

As they moved across the hill so that they could look down onto the airstrip the rain started again.

"There must be twenty trucks and six or seven motorcycles, look at them furiously searching the airstrip. Thank God for the rain!" Otto said.

"We should be okay if we stay here and don't make any noise. Gerry and I are going to our car; do you want to come with us?" Manfred asked Carl and Otto.

Carl took his can of water with him and they sat, warm in the car, until daylight.

"Did you see the type of aircraft they were using?" Carl asked.

"It was a three engine plane," Otto said.

"Yes it's a Savoia-Marchetti SM83. A reliable plane manufactured by the Italians. I'm certain that you wouldn't hand the men over to the Italians," Carl mused.

"No we wouldn't do that. We were told the type of plane, and when and where it would arrive."

"So you're not certain they were the right people. They could've been Italians," Carl said.

Manfred shivered, fear stabbing into his belly.

He knew how easily mistakes could be made, 'I verified the pilot; he gave me the right codeword, before I handed him the satchel, ' he thought.