Tanner left the two Rangers to get their body heat back to normal. In a few minutes they’d be guided back to where a truck was parked. Their night was done and he would write up the report in such a way that higher brass would have to give them a medal.
“What’s next, sir?” asked Hill. “Although I think I know.”
“That’s right, Sergeant. The light cable is being replaced by a heavier one as we talk, and tomorrow a couple of fools in a small boat will cross and see what is actually out there.”
“Any idea who the two fools are, sir?”
“Can you swim, Sergeant?”
* * *
Dulles led Janek into the largely empty restaurant where they went directly to a table against the wall. An elderly man with a snow-white goatee awaited them and greeted them with a firm handshake. Janek had been told that the man was Doctor Alain Burkholter and that he was a retired banking official who had also served in the Swiss government. Burkholter was thin and Janek guessed he was at least ten years older than Dulles. He had a stern expression. It was as if he disapproved of everything going on around him. As Burkholter did not have official standing with either the Swiss banks or government, he was free to represent both in an unofficial capacity. The same was true of Dulles. Even though he was head of the Swiss offices of the OSS, it was not something that would appear printed on a business card.
“Thank you for coming,” said Burkholter. “I know that your time is important. So much espionage to perform and so little time in which to do it.”
“As long as the Nazis are around, I will not run out of things to do,” said Dulles.
Burkholter smiled at Janek. “Captain, are you aware that two innocent young choirboys from the German embassy were attacked by a group of thugs last night and are now in the hospital recovering from their beating?”
Ernie laughed. Innocent choirboys? He was, however, strangely pleased that he had not killed the two men. “I wish them a speedy recovery.”
“I’m sure you do,” said Burkholter drily. Coffee arrived and they sipped with restrained pleasure, even though the brew was not as good as it could have been.
“Let me get to the point,” said Dulles. “My government is concerned about the degree of cooperation between the Swiss government and Berlin. It is our understanding that you are shipping food and medical supplies to what both we and the Nazis are referring to as their redoubt. We would like to know why.”
“If a wounded tiger climbs on your lap and wants to be petted, what do you do? Why, you pet it, of course. Allen, the Nazis are a wounded and desperate animal. We do not want them trying to take what little we have by force. They might not succeed, but they would devastate Switzerland and kill or wound tens of thousands of our people. We are well aware that our neutrality exists at the whim of the Germans, although now somewhat at the whim of yours. Earlier, we served the Nazis’ purposes by being their banker and their conduit to the outside world. Now they want food, weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies. Weapons and ammunition they may not have. We would have barely enough for ourselves if the Germans were to strike.”
Ernie was puzzled. “Excuse me, sir, but I thought that Switzerland was militarily quite strong?”
Burkholter laughed. “Good. You actually believed all the propaganda. Perhaps you would like to enlist in the Swiss navy? It doesn’t exist either. Captain, my country has a population of just over four million with perhaps half a million either in the army or in the reserves. It sounds substantial, but the numbers are flawed. Our men are not well trained, and we have no armor and only a little artillery. Our air force is condemned to fail because it is small and what we do have consists of German-manufactured planes that we bought, with many of them being ME109 fighters. Sadly, a number of them have been shot down by you Americans who don’t bother to read markings, which brings me to another disturbing point.”
“And what might that be?” asked Dulles. He was not happy at what he was hearing.
“We have compelling reason to believe that the capital of this Alpine Redoubt will be at the very small city of Bregenz, which is on the coast of Lake Constance. Once this is confirmed, I’m certain that your air force generals will want to bomb it. This must not happen.”
Even Dulles looked surprised. “And why not?”
“Because Bregenz is so close to the Swiss border that it is almost impossible for you to not hit places in Switzerland, which would be a tragedy. This has happened numerous times already. In fact, the presence of Captain Janek is a case in point. Were you absolutely certain where you were when you were shot down, Captain?”
Janek grinned sheepishly. “I had no idea. I knew I was somewhere over Europe but that was about it. I really thought I was going to wind up in a German Stalag. I am a very lucky man.”
Burkholter smiled warmly. “Indeed you are. I am also aware that you have something called a Norden bombsight, which is supposed to be a secret, but clearly isn’t. Despite all the claims regarding its alleged accuracy, it is only as good as the pilots using it and they are subject to all kinds of conditions that adversely affect its accuracy. These include weather, winds, visibility, being shot at by antiaircraft and German planes and, of course, the skill of the pilot. Your air force won’t want to admit it, but bloody few of the bombs you drop land anywhere near the target. Ergo, we do not want Bregenz or any other place near our border bombed. You may tell Eisenhower, or whoever is in charge of these things, that we will be mobilizing a large portion of our army. It will attempt to protect our borders from any German incursion and we will be setting up every antiaircraft gun we have. We will make a concerted effort to shoot down any plane that even approaches our border regardless of nationality.”
Janek was surprised at how angry Dulles looked. The man was livid. “Are you telling me, Doctor Burkholter, that we must grant sanctuary to the Germans?”
Burkholter was no longer smiling. “In so many words, yes. Unless you want to antagonize us, your planes should stay a good fifty miles from Bregenz. It this means that the pathetic rump Nazi government is safe from above, then so be it.”
The meeting was over. Burkholter picked up the tab and the three men left. “That was very educational,” said Janek.
“But not surprising and, no, they are not bluffing. There have been too many incidents where Switzerland has been either bombed or damaged. There was one complete ass of an American pilot who bombed a railroad station in Switzerland when he was supposed to be hitting a different target in Germany. The Swiss rightly complained that the man not only missed the target but got the wrong town in the wrong country. Worse, civilians were killed. It was not one of our finer moments.”
Ernie decided to keep his thoughts to himself regarding bombing accuracy. Some of the bombs he’d dropped from his P51 were classified as near misses when they hadn’t fallen within a couple hundred yards of the target. “Okay, how does all this affect me?”
“First, I wanted a witness. Second, I wanted you to be educated before you go on to your next location. You will be going to the small town of Arbon on Lake Constance where you will help coordinate OSS activities across the border in Germany. On occasion, you might want to walk to the German border and see the supermen in action. You might even want to go out on a boat. If you do, be discreet. Despite what Doctor Burkholter said about the Swiss navy, they do have patrol boats protecting their border.”
“Mr. Dulles, will the Nazis be granted a sanctuary in the Redoubt?”
“Sadly, it is very likely.”
* * *
Using the cable and a pulley to haul small boats containing American soldiers across the Rhine worked, but with only minimal efficiency. It took too long, was too dangerous, and only a handful could make each trip. And it was only attempted at night. Thus, after a week only five men were more or less permanently stationed on the German side of the Rhine. For a few days, Tanner was one of them. He spent much of his time either hiding in the mud or crawling in it. He recalled Dr. Hagerman’s admonition that he should not get his feet wet. How does one do that when there is a war on and you really don’t have enough rank to order someone else to get wet?