Chapter 37

November 1943

U.S. Marines win the Battle of Tarawa. This was the first strenuously opposed amphibious assault in the Pacific theater. Heavy casualties were sustained by the Marines leading to a storm of protest in the United States. For such a tiny island such heavy losses were beyond comprehension. The Allies then adopted a policy of bypassing some Japanese held island strongholds. Cut off from supplies and troop reinforcements they were left to die on the vine.

Years after the war ended Japanese survivors were discovered on small Pacific islands; in the tropics their uniforms had become threadbare and they existed on meager diets. When discovered the Japanese troops were unaware that Japan had surrendered and they were eager to continue fighting.

Tinian Island was invaded July 24 1944 where napalm was used for the first time in WWII.

October 4th 1943

An excerpt of a speech given by Reichsfurher Himmler in Posen in German occupied Poland:

"... And then they all come along, the eighty million good Germans, and each one has his decent Jew. Of course the others are swine, but this one is a first-class Jew. Of all those who talk like this, not one has watched, not one has stood up to it.

Most of you know what it means to see a hundred corpses lying together, five hundred, or a thousand. To have gone through this and yet - apart from a few exceptions, examples of human weakness - to have remained decent fellows, this is what has made us hard.

This is a glorious page in our history that has never been written and shall never be written, for we know how difficult we should have made it for ourselves, if - with the bombing raids, the burdens and the depravations of war - we still had Jews today in every town as secret saboteurs, agitators and trouble-mongers. We would now probably have reached the 1916/17 stage when Jews were still in the national body..."

Oct 13, 1943 - Italy declares war on Germany. Second American air raid on Schweinfurt.

Nov 6, 1943 - Russians recapture Kiev in the Ukraine.

Nov 18, 1943 - Large British air raid on Berlin.

Dec 24-26 - Soviets launch offensives on the Ukrainian front.

~~~oOo~~~

Wednesday October 6th 1943 Goppingen.

Manfred walked into the garage and checked the oil and water in Bernard's car. Soon Bernard, Alex and Erika followed by Cornelia filed into the garage.

Cornelia had been persuaded to leave young Richard in Manfred's care. She looked ungainly in her high heels as she tottered around the rear of the car.

The women were fashionably dressed and were excited to be going into Stuttgart. Manfred opened the back door of the Mercedes and offered his hand to help Cornelia and Erika to get seated. At the right side of the car he opened the door for Alex.

At the left hand side of the car Manfred moved close to Bernard.

Manfred said quietly, "Bernard, you were wise to leave late. Leave Stuttgart before three and take care of the women. I'm nervous; I fear for their safety, the bombings are intensifying and I hope that no air raids occur while you're there."

"I won't take any risks and we'll be home early," Bernard said smiling as he climbed aboard. He too was nervous but wanted to help Alex drag Erika from her dejected state and he didn't want Manfred to see how nervous he was.

Cornelia blew a kiss to Manfred as the car started up the ramp to the street.

In Stuttgart Bernard drove to the small factory owned by his partner Jacob. It was at the edge of the main shopping and business area. Turning off the main road he drove down a small lane intending to turn right into another lane to park at the rear of the factory. Dismayed at seeing that the lane had been bombed with debris everywhere. He exhaled loudly then reversed back up the lane and parked. Bricks and masonry littered the lane; three buildings adjacent to Jacob's factory had been destroyed.

"This is dreadful," Cornelia exclaimed. Fear gripped her and she worried that she might never get back home again. She had heard that Stuttgart had been bombed both day and night; now the awful reality confronted her. The destruction she was seeing made her gut tighten and perspiration showed on her face.

Bernard helped the women step from the car. "I don't think that we should stay. What do you think Alex?"

"I think we should go home," Alex said.

"Why don't you stay with the car and I'll see what work is waiting for me in the office?" Bernard said.

"We could go for a walk along the main road and do some window shopping while you're away," Erika said.

Everyone agreed and they all walked from the lane onto the main road.

The women had walked two hundred metres from Bernard's office when air raid siren's started wailing. Cornelia immediately became hysterical and Alex placed her arm around her, trying to calm her. They turned and started running back to Bernard's office when he emerged onto the street waving to them to stop. When he reached them he was white faced.

"Follow me and run; the air raid shelter is three hundred metres away."

Alex towed Cornelia along but her high heels slowed her. She stopped and bent removing her shoes. Then they continued running until they reached the tunnel leading down into the air raid shelter.

In the shelter Bernard waited until they had regained their breath then he instructed them:

"Take a handkerchief and roll it like this then place it between your teeth. This equalizes the air pressure protecting your hearing. It will also stop the shock waves breaking your teeth or save you from biting your tongue. Now watch closely, don't lean against the wall but stand a metre away and crouch down on your haunches, like this but keep on your toes," Bernard crouched down, "If you do this you'll be able to withstand the shock waves without injuring yourself."

The women fossicked in their handbags and retrieving handkerchiefs they did as Bernard had told them.

Bernard looked along the underground shelter; he counted more than three hundred nervous people waiting for the air attack. Ten minutes later they heard the first bombs exploding. The impacts seemed far away; Bernard estimated that the bombs were falling on the northern industrial zone. Minutes later the first bombs started falling in their vicinity. The women crouched down balancing on their toes. Bernard crouched down alongside Cornelia who was fighting bravely to control her fear. In the dim light with Alex on her other side Cornelia glanced at Erika whose face was white with fear, her eyes wide and she was looking up at the roof of the tunnel.

With a shattering crash a bomb hit the main road less than fifty metres away. The earth shook underneath them and none of them had felt such an impact. The dim lights in the shelter went out and women started screaming. Cement dust dislocated from the vaulted ceiling rained down on those in the shelter. Some battery-powered lights came on, taking over from the mains powered lights. They were dimmer than the mains lights. Still the lights helped the panicked women to calm but many continued sobbing loudly.

Three more bombs rained down in their immediate vicinity; but being further away, the refugees in the shelter were not as startled. Thirty minutes later the thump of exploding bombs ceased. Cornelia's legs ached from being in the crouch position so long. As she stood she whispered to her mother Alex, "I can't feel my feet anymore."

"Run on the spot, that'll get your circulation going again," Alex said.

Alex reached past Bernard and pulled Erika closer. She kissed Bernard on the cheek briefly as she did so.

"We're alive and that's all that matters," Alex said to comfort Erika and Cornelia.

Thirty minutes later the all-clear siren sounded. People started moving along the shelter and up the tunnel onto the street. They were pleased to be out of the dank stale air of the shelter. Shielding their eyes against the brilliant light of the sun they could see fire fighters playing their hoses onto fires in the many burning buildings. Many people were brushing and shaking the thick white dust from their hair. An ambulance, siren screaming, moved slowly past them avoiding the rubble on the street, it was heading to a destination further along the street.

Bernard moved alongside Alex, "Let's get out of here, there could be another wave of bombers. I'll quickly check how my partner has fared at the factory. If another attack starts you know where the shelter is."

As they came to the lane Bernard helped the women into the car then turned and looked over his shoulder. He was shocked to see that the factory had been almost totally destroyed; only the façade remained standing. He hurried to the front door; it hung askew. Pushing into the remains of the office he felt the intensity of the fire, he saw his business partner Jacob and his wife. They were laying face down on the floor, half buried by a collapsed brick wall; their blood pooling on the floor, they were fatally wounded. He briefly wondered why they hadn't sought safety in the shelter. The fire was growing in intensity, so holding a handkerchief to his nose to help him breathe he stumbled to where his office had been. Down where the printing machines had operated, a can of solvent exploded, the can thrown high into the air. Now anxious to remove any remaining paperwork that could expose him to the authorities he pushed further to where his filing cabinets had been. He was worrying unnecessarily as the filing cabinets were destroyed and fire was now consuming what was left of the contents.

He hurried back to the lane where thick smoke from the factory fire streamed into the lane. It was causing Bernard to cough violently from the irritation to his airways. The car was covered in thick dust; he quickly wiped his sleeve over the windscreen before sliding into the drivers seat. Fear gripped him as he glanced at the women. Worse, he wondered whether the car was still roadworthy. Pushing the key into the ignition he pressed the starter button and was relieved when the motor started. Reversing out of the lane he swung onto the main road driving slowly, avoiding rubble on the road. On the outskirts of Stuttgart the road was finally clear of destruction but he was slowed by dense traffic also eager to escape Stuttgart.

Ninety minutes later Bernard reached the farm and drove down the ramp and into the garage. He briefly rested his head on the steering wheel surprised at how fatigued he felt.

Manfred came charging out of the kitchen door, when he saw that everyone was safe he broke down. Tears rolled down his cheeks, Cornelia opened her door and jumped into his arms. He hugged her tightly.

"I'm not leaving here until the war is over either!" Cornelia said through her tears.

"None of us are!" Alex said.

Manfred placed his arm around Erika's shoulders as she cried her tears of relief. Together they walked slowly up to the kitchen. Cornelia left Manfred and raced into the dining room. She lifted young Richard from his cot, squashing him close to her chest. He was shocked by the sudden interruption of his sleep and started bawling loudly.

Ten minutes later they were calm and drinking coffee when Alex spoke, "I'm sorry everyone, it was my stupid idea to go to Stuttgart. I had no idea it would be so dangerous."

Cornelia passed young Richard to Erika and hugged her mother, "Mama stop! You said in the shelter that we were all alive and that's all that matters."

While the women were consoling one another Bernard talked quietly with Manfred. He told of the terrible death of his partner and his wife.

"I pushed my way into the factory where I kept all of my templates for official documents. I was going to retrieve them but the fire was destroying them and I left, eager to be away from the mess. All of the hundreds of hours I invested into those templates have been wiped out in minutes," Bernard said sadly.

Manfred patted him on the back, "We're all alive; we'll recover. You'll have plenty of time to discover what you want to do when the war is over."

~~~oOo~~~

Sunday October 10th Kreuzlingen.

Jas, Jennell and Hilda cleared away the remains of lunch and Kurt placed a large atlas on the table.

"I borrowed the atlas from my father this morning," Kurt said to Richard's questioning glance, "we also had a long discussion about our differences. We parted on good terms with him assuring me that he would help us but he stipulated that our activities should not expose us to danger."

"I'm glad; it's a good outcome. I want to send one word tonight precisely at 7:25," Richard said. "The word is 'Richard'."

"If that's all, I'll go home before then and get Luke to do that," Kurt said.

"Okay. The reason I wanted the atlas was to see where we might efficiently site our observation posts. I think that this means Kreuzlingen is not the place that offers a wide enough view of the Bodensee," Richard said.

Gerry sat quietly visualising the maps that he had studied before the attack on the patrol boat station at Uberlingen. But Kurt couldn't hold back.

"If we walk out from here to the point closest to the Bodensee we can see all of the Bodensee from Meersburg to Lindau..."

Richard, who had the atlas open showing the Bodensee, interrupted Kurt.

"I want you to understand that the Germans will be in a hurry when they are rushing back to defend their homeland. They will want to cross the Bodensee at its narrowest point and that may be anywhere from Meersburg to Uberlingen," Richard said.

Gerry glanced at the map, "Richard, you should consider the roads surrounding the upper reaches of the dead-end section of the Bodensee. They would not be capable of supporting an escaping army's traffic. Most of the towns except for Meersburg don't have the highways needed."

Hilda was eager to hear how Richard planned his activities; she slipped into a chair against the wall, and listened.

"I agree with Gerry, although Friedrichshafen and Meersburg have been heavily bombed." Kurt said.

"Restoring a bombed highway is quicker than building a new highway through forests, what do you think Gerry?" Richard said.

"I'm wondering how the German army will move thousands of men and their heavy equipment by water? Surely, if the railway was intact it gives them a direct route to their German destinations," Gerry said.

"It's a good question Richard," Kurt said.

"Yes and I've considered it. But I think that the Allies will bomb the railways to slow the German army in its move back home. However, let me tell you that our surveillance is something like a thermometer. We'll be looking to see the increase in Bodensee traffic as a measure of the heat that the German army will be enduring from the Russians in Poland, the Americans pursuing from Italy and combined Allied pursuit from France. One of the first German activities that I'll be looking for is the reinforcement that will be put in place along their side of the Bodensee. When all of this is added to the constant bombing raids of major German industrial sites then I don't think the Germans can survive for more than a year or eighteen months. Does that give both of you some idea of what to look for?" Richard said.

Both Gerry and Kurt nodded and Richard continued, "When we were on the Bodensee we estimated that the time to travel from Meersburg to Kreuzlingen as about fifteen to twenty minutes. The time to travel to Konstanz would be shorter. How much shorter Kurt?" Richard asked.

"I would think about five minutes," Kurt said.

"Do any Swiss nationals travel to Konstanz?"

"Oh no!" Hilda gasped, understanding quickly what Richard was thinking.

Jas and Jennell were sitting alongside Hilda feeling that the discussion was outside of their knowledge. They looked briefly at Hilda as Richard focussed his attention on her.

"Yes Hilda?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Hilda said, her face coloring showing her embarrassment.

"Kurt?" Richard questioned.

"I don't know. I'd think that it would be dangerous because of border controls on the bridges that link us," Kurt said.

"What about taking Bert's boat onto the Bodensee?" Richard asked.

"I've tried that. German patrol boats are now faster than Bert's boat. They caught me and beat me, I don't want to risk that again," Kurt said.

"Hmm," Was all Richard said as he studied the atlas again.

"We could go out to Kurt's fishing spot, catch fish and then pretend to be fishing while we observe the traffic on the Bodensee. We couldn't use the binoculars because we would be easily detected," Gerry said.

"At Kurt's fishing spot we weren't far from land so we could do some fishing then go ashore and under the cover of the trees lining the shore we could trek to higher ground and use the binoculars and the camera undetected," Richard said.

Kurt and Gerry nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps I could go with you and we could pretend we were having a picnic. Having a female in the party would make us less suspicious," Hilda said.

"Nice try, Hilda. I gave your mother an undertaking that I would not put you into any dangerous situations," Gerry said his voice edged with anger.

Hilda ignored him, "Richard?" Hilda asked.

"I will not go against Gerry's decision, whatever that might be," Richard said.

Later that night Kurt and Gerry ran down the road to Axel's house. Luke answered the door and waved them through to the stairs leading down to his radio room. Axel, Kurt's father followed them.

"I want to send a one word message," Gerry said to Luke who pointed to his chair.

Gerry, glancing at his watch waited until precisely 7:25 then transmitted 'RICHARD'.

~~~oOo~~~

Zurich.

In Zurich Franz Muller had been keeping a vigil, when he heard 'RICHARD' he relaxed. It would have been easier for Richard to make a phone call but he had agreed that they should not because of the chance that a switchboard operator could eavesdrop on their conversation.

~~~oOo~~~

Goppingen.

Bernard and Manfred were listening to the traffic on the frequency that they regularly used. They were mystified when they heard 'RICHARD' but Manfred recovered quickly and transmitted 'MANFRED'.

~~~oOo~~~

Chris's camp

Otto was keeping vigil, when he heard 'RICHARD' he thought that it was a chance transmission but when this was quickly followed by 'MANFRED'

He pulled the Morse key forward and tapped out 'CHRIS OTTO'.

~~~oOo~~~

Kreuzlingen

Gerry returned the communications set to 'Receive' mode.

Hearing 'MANFRED' quickly followed by 'CHRIS OTTO' caused confusion in Gerry's mind. He took a full minute to consider what he should do then he placed his hand on the Morse key and transmitted 'RHEIN'. It was their code for listen next day same time.

"I know those people! Aren't you going to send them more information?" Kurt said.