Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty Eight

The old ballroom is located on the bombed west flank of the castle of Saint-Cécile.The house is only partially damaged, with a pile of rubble at one end, square stones and carved gables and a painted wall buried in a pile of dust, but otherwise intact.The effect, Dieter thought, was vivid—the morning light shone through a hole in the ceiling on a row of dilapidated columns, much like a Classical ruin in a Victorian painting. Dieter has decided to hold a briefing in the ballroom.Another option would have been to take place in Weber's office, but Dieter didn't want to give the impression that Weber was in charge.There is a small podium here, presumably for the band.He laid out a blackboard on it.A few people moved some chairs from other places in the castle, and arranged them neatly in four rows in front of the podium, with five chairs in each row-this arrangement is completely German, Dieter smiled secretly, the French would Randomly place them indiscriminately.Weber convened the action team, and he sat on the podium facing everyone, intending to emphasize that he was one of the commanders, not under Dieter's orders.

The presence of two commanders at the same time, with the same rank but hostile to each other, is a taboo in action, Dieter thought. He drew a detailed map of Chatterley Village in chalk on the blackboard.The village consisted of three large houses—farms or breweries, I suppose—plus six cottages and a bakery.The houses are scattered around a crossroads, with vineyards to the north, west and south, and a wide cattle pasture, a kilometer long, surrounded by a large pond to the east.Dieter thought the land was too wet to grow grapes and it should be a pasture. "The paratroopers will aim at this pasture to land," Dieter said. "It should be used frequently for aircraft takeoff and landing. Its terrain is flat and the space is large enough for a Lysander to take off and land, and for a Hudson." It is long enough. The pond next to it is very suitable as a landmark, and it can be seen from the air. The person who picks up the plane will use the cowshed at the southern end of the pasture as a hiding place, hiding there and waiting for the plane.”

He paused and continued: "Those of us here must remember that the most important thing is that we land those paratroopers. We must avoid any action that may expose us and not arouse the suspicion of the pick-up personnel or the pilot. We Must be silent and invisible, if the plane turns around and flies back with the agents on board, we lose a golden opportunity. There is a woman in the paratroopers, if we can catch her, she can provide us with Information on most of the resistance in northern France." Webb spoke, mostly to remind everyone that he was here. "Permit me to reiterate what Major Frank said. Don't take risks! Don't put on airs! Execute strictly according to the plan!"

"Thank you, Major," said Dieter. "Lieutenant Hesse has divided you into groups of two, from Group A to Group L. Each building on the map has the letter of the group marked. Arrive at the village at ten o'clock sharp, and enter each house quickly. All the inhabitants are to gather in the largest of the three large houses, the one called Grandin's house, and they are to remain there until the end of the matter." A team member raises a hand.Webb yelled, "Schuyler, you can talk." "Sir, if the people from the resistance organization go to find someone in which house? They will find that there is no one there, and they will be suspicious."

Dieter nodded and replied, "Good question, but I don't think they'll do that. My reasoning is that none of the pick-up members are locals. They don't usually pick up agents parachuted near places where sympathizers live— — an unnecessary safety risk. I bet they would go straight to the cowshed after dark and not bother the villagers." Weber spoke again: "This is the normal procedure of the resistance organization." He said with the posture of a doctor giving a diagnosis. "The Grandin house is our operational headquarters," Dieter went on, "and Major Weber is in command there." He deliberately arranged to exclude Weber from the actual operation. "Those in custody are locked in some safe place, preferably a basement. They have to be quiet so we can hear the cars of the pick-up people, and the plane."

"Any prisoner who doesn't listen to dissuasion and keeps making noises, shoot them," Weber said. Dieter continued: "After the villagers are locked up, groups A, B, C, and D must immediately go to the road leading to the village and occupy a hidden position. Once a car or pedestrian is found entering the village, they will use the short-wave radio to report. Do not take any action other than this. Remember, you do not block anyone who enters the village, and do not do anything to reveal your position." Dieter looked around, thinking pessimistically, wondering if the Gestapo There are enough minds to carry out such a simple order.

"The enemy needs to transport six paratroopers plus a pick-up team, so they will have a truck or a bus, maybe several vehicles. I guess they will enter the pasture through this door-the ground is relatively dry at this time of year, Won't get the car stuck in the mud—and park the car between the cowshed and the gate, right here." He pointed to a spot on the map. "Groups E, F, G, and H are in the bushes by the pond, and each group is equipped with a large battery searchlight. Groups I and J stayed at Grandin's house, guarding the prisoners with Major Weber, and maintaining order in the command post. " Dieter didn't want Weber to intervene in the capture scene, "The K and L groups followed me, behind the fence near the cowshed." Hans had figured out which of these people had the best marksmanship, and specially arranged for him Go with Dieter.

"I'm in radio contact with all the teams and I'm in command on the ranch. Heard planes - let's not do it! See paratroopers jumping out - let's not do it! We're going to watch the jumpers come down to the ground and wait Responders gathered them up and went to the parking lot." Dieter raised his voice, mainly to speak to Weber. "We can't go up and grab people until it's all done!" Combatants cannot go first unless ordered to do so by field commanders. "When we are all ready, I will give the signal. From this moment until the final order to end is received, groups A, B, C, and D are to arrest anyone attempting to enter or leave the village. E, F Groups G, G, and H should turn on the searchlights in their hands and shine them on the enemy. Groups K and L will follow me to arrest them. No one is allowed to fire at the enemy—is it clear?"

Schuler, who was clearly the most thoughtful person in the group, raised his hand again and asked, "What if they shoot at us?" "Can't return fire, it's useless if they're dead! Get down and keep flashing them. Only E and F groups are allowed to use weapons, and their order is to shoot wounds. We're going to interrogate these paratroopers, not kill them .” The telephone in the house rang, and Hans went to pick up the receiver. "It's you," he said to Dieter, "it's Rommel's headquarters." Good timing, Dieter thought, taking the receiver.He had previously called Walter Model of La Roche-Guillon, leaving a message for Model to call back.Now he said: "Walter, my friend, how is the Marshal?"

"Very well, what's your business?" said Mordel, still in the same stiff tone. "I think the Field Marshal would be very interested to hear that we're going to have a small operation tonight—to arrest a group of saboteurs when they arrive." Dieter hesitated to give details on the phone, but it was A German military line, the risk of being tapped by the resistance organization is very small.Besides, it was very important to win Model's support for the operation. "The information I have is that one of them was able to provide us with a lot of information involving a number of relevant resistance groups."

"Excellent," said Model. "As it happens, I am calling you from Paris. How long will it take me to drive from here to Reims, two hours?" "three hours." "Then I will join your raid." Dieter was very happy. "I think the Field Marshal will be satisfied. We'll meet at the Château Saint-Cecile at nineteen sharp." He glanced at Weber, who was now pale. "Very good." Mordel hung up the phone.Dieter handed the receiver back to Hans. "Major Model, Marshal Rommel's personal assistant, will join us in the operation tonight," he said brazenly. "This is one more reason for us to ensure that everything is impeccable and foolproof." He smiled. Looking around, he finally stopped at Weber, "Aren't we very lucky?"