Michael Ridpath - Shadows of War

‘From what I can tell the royal family seems perfectly capable of undermining itself, or certainly the Duke of Windsor is. And I’m not a Soviet spy, Major McCaigue,’ said Conrad. ‘It’s absurd to think that I am. Do they believe Theo is a Russian spy as well?’

‘It’s a possibility they entertain,’ said McCaigue. ‘Both of you were socialists at Oxford. It would explain Hertenberg’s opposition to the Nazi regime. You both met your cousin Joachim Mühlendorf in Berlin last year.’

‘And what about Millie? Was she a Russian spy as well?’

‘It can’t be ruled out,’ said McCaigue.

‘Bollocks!’ said Conrad.

‘She was your sister,’ said McCaigue. ‘And you fought in Spain on the side of the communists. We have other evidence.’

‘What other evidence?’

‘I’m not at liberty to say.’

‘So I am found guilty without even knowing the evidence against me?’

‘That’s my point, de Lancey. You haven’t been found guilty. In fact it has been decided to let you go. Provided you stay with your unit and don’t come back to London asking foolish questions.’

‘Are you threatening me?’

‘Yes,’ said McCaigue. He turned to look at Conrad, his blue eyes steady. ‘That was the official bit. I trust you understood it?’

Conrad didn’t answer. Just stared across the river to the Houses of Parliament, that historic symbol of liberty, where politicians through the ages had conspired to bury awkward information.

‘Now the unofficial bit,’ McCaigue said. ‘Speaking personally, I’m not convinced that you are a Soviet spy.’

‘Well, that’s awfully big of you,’ said Conrad.

‘There is some debate within the service about the loyalties of the Duke of Windsor. We have uncovered evidence over the last few years that has brought those loyalties into question, and more has come to light since the outbreak of war. Actually “come to light” isn’t strictly accurate, since such evidence is kept firmly in the dark, but you know what I mean. Not enough to prove anything conclusively, and with the duke, we need conclusive proof before we can even begin asking him questions. So if you do happen to stumble across something, let me know, won’t you?’

‘On the off chance I’m not a Russian spy?’

McCaigue’s small eyes twinkled. ‘On the off chance.’

‘You did tell the British general staff that the Germans know about the weaknesses in the French line at Sedan?’ Conrad said.

‘I did,’ said McCaigue.

‘That’s good.’ That seemed to be what most concerned Theo, and if the Allies plugged that gap, then Conrad’s efforts would have been worthwhile.

‘Keep in touch,’ said McCaigue, handing Conrad a card.

Conrad snorted and turned on his heel back to the station. He had missed his train and couldn’t catch another until six o’clock. He didn’t get to barracks until eleven.

It was tempting just to forget all that had happened over the previous fortnight and concentrate on practising how to kill Germans.

But his sister had died and he didn’t know why. And his former sovereign was telling the enemy how to defeat the country they both shared.

Those two facts he could not forget.

May 1940

Extracts from Lieutenant Dieter von Hertenberg’s Diary

2 May 1940

I nearly died this afternoon.

We have spent a week planning the exercise, and by and large it went very well. We used a stretch of the Moselle which is supposed to look a lot like the Meuse near Sedan, our objective in the first week of the offensive. It’s a fast-flowing river, especially now with the snow melting so late this year, and there are steep banks on the western side. The exercise started at 1000 with artillery bombardment, air assaults from Stukas, and infantry crossing the river in dinghies. They established a bridgehead and then the engineers set up a pontoon bridge. It was quite a sight to see them constructing it in such difficult circumstances. Of course it will be infinitely worse under enemy fire, but our engineers are brave men who know what they are doing.

Once the bridge was constructed the first of our Panzers rolled across.

Just as the exercise was coming to the end, I drove out on to the middle of the bridge with General Guderian. I was having a cigarette and watching the infantry’s dinghies make their way back to the eastern shore, when I heard a shout, and a splash. A man had fallen in. The current was swift and he was quickly swept down towards the bridge. He clearly couldn’t swim.

I can swim. Without thinking very hard I dropped my belt, kicked off my boots and jumped off the bridge to intercept him.

The cold was extraordinary. I’ve swum in what I thought were cold lakes before, but nothing like this. The breath seemed to leave my body instantly, and I was numb. I forced myself to focus on the soldier, who was only metres away. His arms were flailing and he was going under.

I just managed to reach him, and tried to get him to keep still while I kept his head above water. I was already thirty metres downstream from the pontoon, but his colleagues were paddling furiously with the current after us.

The man wouldn’t stop struggling. I don’t think he knew what he was doing, but he pushed me underwater so that he could try to keep his own head high. I went down, and fought for air. The bastard was going to drown me!

I took in one gulp of freezing water, forced my head up for air, and then he pushed me down again. I tried to keep my mouth shut, but there was water in my lungs and I knew I couldn’t hold out any longer. Then arms grabbed my shoulders and dragged me upwards. A moment later I was in the dinghy, choking.

Afterwards, the infantryman thanked me. But he was embarrassed. We both knew he had nearly killed me.

The exercise was a success according to the general, and I think he is right. We are ready now. After the exercises in the Eifel Mountains, we know we can organize ourselves to cross the Ardennes forests and hills, and we can bridge the Meuse at Sedan when we get there. Morale is high; we have faith in Guderian’s leadership, and in our own tactics. Keep moving. Keep the enemy off balance. Concentrate our armour. Those are his mottos and I think they will work.

The trouble is, we will be sitting ducks. Both when we are in long columns of vehicles on mountain roads, and when we try to cross the rivers. Will speed and boldness really protect us? I think they will. I have to trust they will.

It all depends on whether the French army we will be facing really will be as weak as the High Command seems to think it will be. I know Theo is behind our intelligence on that, and if there is one person I trust on that kind of thing, it is Theo. Now we are at war, politics are behind us. I am willing to fight for the Fatherland and die for it if necessary, just like my ancestors before me. It’s good Theo finally seems to feel the same way, and is doing his bit to help us. It’s just a shame he can’t be out here at the front fighting with us.

3 May

Got in big trouble this morning. A group of us decided to take a couple of dinghies out on the river and paddle about. We hadn’t had the chance yesterday. After my ducking I thought it was important to overcome any fear and get back on the water, a bit like falling off a bicycle.

It was a peaceful, misty morning, and everything was quiet compared to the din of the exercise yesterday. The Moselle really is a beautiful river, at least on this stretch. But when we returned to shore, the chief was waiting for us. He was furious, and went into one of his highest gears of temper tantrums, which is pretty high. ‘Joyriding on the river is strictly forbidden!’ I think he overreacted, especially with me.