Hitler's gamble - An alternative German Strategy

June 16, 1941, Berlin. Close to the apartment of Hans and Anna Grübermann.

- We are getting close, Herr Wulff. Turn left. - Wilhelm was a bit tense. He couldn't put his finger on why but he had a bad feeling about this meeting.

- Thank you, boss, but I know my way around this neighbourhood. I know the address, too. I had an aunt once who lived there.

- Would you be so kind to spare us the details? - Jürgen was rather excited but also annoyed by Wulff's stories. He was very much like how one imagines those American taxi drivers. - Thank you.

- Understood, Sir. I'll be silent as a graveyard. Sir.

- Excellent.

They arrived at Hans' house and Wulff pulled over to the other side of the street. When they got out of the car, he let Jürgen cross the street but caught Wilhelm's arm.

- Sir, I would like to bring your attention to that car just around the corner. They were following us for half an hour now, I doubt it would be a coincidence. I thought you might be interested.

- Why didn't you tell earlier?

- Herr Übermeister told me to shut my mouth. And I wouldn't really be surprised if he knew about them already. Just stay sharp, okay?

- I will. You stay here. If something's wrong, just blow the horn and I'll be here.

- Yes, Sir! - Wulff went back to the car.



Hans was rather excited, too. He never had an unknown guest before. Someone who is interested in him and what he has to tell! Well, of course there was Anna, but that's different. She is his wife, of course she is interested in him. That's her duty. But a complete stranger, one of Wilhelm's obscure friends, a completely different story. Wilhelm didn't tell too much about him though. He may even be a high ranking officer! A Colonel, or even a General! Wilhelm has some friends in very high places!

But what should he say? Sure, he can tell the story of how he got to Gibraltar and how he survived an explosion, but what else? This stupid injury again. Well, if nothing else, at least it brought him recognition. Maybe even some fame. But at what price?

It also brought him some peace. For him, the war was over. An unusable cripple. Cripple...

But he had a child! Or at least the child was on his way. Or her way, who knows? No, it will surely be a boy! They will name him Erhard. Only a couple of months now!

- Honey, the guests are almost here, are you ready with your tie?

- Of course I'm ready! I'll be there in a minute! - The doorsteps were removed from the entire appartment so Hans could move more easily. Then the doorbell rang. - I'll get it!

- Good evening, Hans! How are you! - Wilhelm brought a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers for Anna.

- I'm fine, thank you. Come in!

- Hans, this is Captain Jürgen Blücher, an associate of mine. Jürgen, this is Private Hans Grübermann, veteran of Gibraltar.

- A pleasure to meet you, Captain! Hope you don't mind if I don't get up. - They shook hands.

- Likewise. I brought this box of choclete as well as my best wish.

- Thank you. Anna, my dear, could you help me, please?

Anna came out of the kitchen with her aprons still on. She stopped at the door, surprised, shocked even, for a very short moment, but then she came to her senses again. She picked up the gifts, uttered an almost inaudible "good evening" and disappeared in the kitchen again.

- Is she always like this? - Jürgen seemed satisfied with what he saw.

- No, not at all! Gentlemen, if you would excuse me. Wilhelm, please, show the Captain around for me!

- No problem.



Hans went straight to the kitchen, but the door was closed.

- Honey, it's me! Please, let me in! - The lock clicked and the door opened. - What got into you? - Anna pulled Hans in and closed the door again.

- I'm in trouble. Big trouble.

- What do you mean? What trouble?

- I know that Jürgen guy.

- You know him? And is that a problem? I don't understand...

- It's a long story, really. The point is that he... It is really embarrassing... He and I...

- He and you what? - Hans was really confused.

- We were engaged. As I said, it was a long time ago, before my parents died. My father wanted me to marry him but after they died, I ran away.

- But what does it matter now? You are already married, he can't do anything against it!

- Yes, you are right... - Anna was starting to calm down. - But still, I realy don't want to talk with him. Could you somehow keep him occupied for the whole evening? Please? For me?

- Of course! Anything for you, my dear!



- Gentlemen, you will have to excuse my wife, she doesn't feel too well. She is retired to our room to rest.

- Oh, don't worry, it's not a problem. - said Jürgen - I'm not surprised, actually.

- Yes. - concured Wilhelm - It is completely understandable, given her condition. How long is it again?

- The doctors said she is due in August, that's only two months.

- You must be very proud.

- Yes, I am.

- If only you would know...

- Know what? - Hans didn't like where this was going. Wilhelm was quietly observing the conversation, not knowing what to make of the sudden chill in the air.

- Later. For how long have you known Anna?

- Let me see... It was around the time when... - He wasn't sure if he should mention Erhard's disappearance. - When the War started. That was two years ago, right?

- And you married her last year.

- Yes, right before the start of the Barbarossa campaign...

- What an unlucky coincidence.

- Yes... I haven't seen her for months at a time then, but I wrote her letters. Lots of letters!

- And so did she. Write letters.

- Yes, she's such a seewtheart, isn't she?

- But her letters weren't addressed exclusively to you, did you know that?

- Well, no...

"This is getting interesting." thought Wilhelm. "Could he be implying that he recieved letters too?"

- Your dear little Anna has been playing on the wrong side the entire time.

- I don't understand, what are you talking about?

- Don't you see?! She is a British spy!



- What?! - Wilhelm almost fell off the chair. He was enjoying this little drama so far but that went through the roof.

- Are you insane?! Oh, now I understand! This is some kind of elaborate revenge scheme against her because she didn't marry you!

- WHAT?! - Now Wilhelm did fall off the chair. A rather embarrassing situation for an officer of the Wehrmacht. Luckily, noone was really paying any attention to him at the moment.

- What are you babbling about? Did she tell you that we know eachother? The clever little...

- Don't you dare insult her like that!

- Look, you are making a huge mistake by supporting her against the proper authorities.

- Proper authorities? - Wilhelm got up. - Did I miss something?

- Not much. You know that I work for the Abwehr. But I'm no longer a simple analyst. - He pulled out his gun. - And I'm here to arrest Anna.



Wulff was smoking on the sidewalk. He was used to long waits but he was nervous because of that other car. The people in it were practically shouting "We are with the secret police!".

After the surrender of France a week and a half ago, Wilhelm and his entire crew was on leave indefinitely and it was nice to be more or less back in civilian life. He almost thought that the War would be over soon. The British can't possibly hope to keep fighting basically alone. Yet, they did. There wasn't even a single attempt to negotiate. "The waiting is always the worst part."



The peace treaty with France was rather favourable. The entire Atlantic and Canal coast of France was under direct German occupation and the stray remnants of the British Expeditionary Forces were mopped up in a matter of days. A new, obviously collaborationist government was set up in Vichy, although that was probably only a temporary solution. Interestingly enough North Africa was returned to that new government, even though Italian forces were as far as Algiers or even further. Still, they hardly did anything in Metropolitan France, short of confusing the French with how fast they can retreat, so it's only fair that they don't get any spoils either. Mussolini must be rather angry.

Still, returning to normal life meant returning to a state where you can be arrested by basically anything. Order is one thing but these guys sometimes take it a bit too far. And it's not like they are all decent, honest people either. Having a strong defence against foreign interference is very important. Rooting out dangerous ideas from the domestic populace is also very important. Any change can easily be a change for the worse, the last fifty years are proof of that. But power corrupts and this is especially true when you can remain in the shadows while you excercise your power. Like the secret police. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, but when the secret police makes mistakes, they don't appologize. They cover it up instead.

At this point he was interupted in his musings by a heavy hit on the back of his head and everything went dark.



- Whoa, slow down, will you? - Wilhelm was confused. Both stories sounded absurd, although Hans' version was a bit more entertaining and inocent. - Why do you think she is a spy?

- Please, sit down and I'll tell you. We had reports about a certain Agent A of the British Intelligence for years now. This person was supposedly their best spy and was living in Germany for years, even before the war started. The High Command declared that this spy is probably only a deception on their part and didn't really exist. But I didn't believe so. I've been investigating for four years, and now I found her! The others did the mistake of assuming that Agent A was a man. The fools... This Anna is very clever. But it all ends today.

- You still didn't explain why do you think it's her.

- I followed the troop movements. - said Jürgen like it explained everything.

- That doesn't explain anyithing!

- Oh, you shut up, alright?! You are fraternizing with a British spy! I should have you shot right here right now as her accomplice! But you are just a cripple, you are no threat.

- But she is? Then why are you pointing your gun at us instead of her?

- She is in her room, in her condition, she won't go anywhere until I let her.

- If you hurt her in any way...

- Oh, don't worry, I hate violence, I won't lift a hand against her. We have trained professionals for that job.

- You... - Hans was filled with anger but he couldn't rise up from his wheelchair.

- Thank you for proving my point. Anyway, in case you still don't understand how I caught Agent A, I'll explain. You remember the letters I mentioned earlier.

- Yes. I thought you meant she sent letters to you.

- What? Why would you think that?

- Well, I thought this was going towards some jealousy-oriented plot...

- No! They were sent to the United States!

- But we are not at war with the United States, so what's the problem with that? And you said she was a British spy.

- She sent the letters to the US but they forwarded them to London!

- How do you know that?

- We have spies in many places. At any rate, the letters went from the United States to an address in Scotland.

- You said they were forwarded to London...

- Yes, through a proxy in Scotland! I can't explain the whole elaborate scheme if you keep interrupting me!

- I'm sorry, please, continue.

- Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, the proxy in Scotland forwarded the mail to London. We have some friends in Scotland that are not content with the British occupation there. The letters arrived in London in a post-office box. It took quite some effort to find out where the letters went from there. Those decadent fools there think that privacy is a base human right or some such. Like decent people would require privacy at all...

- So?

- So... It turns out that the final destination of those letters were an old man in Islington!

- So?

- What do you mean "so"?

- So what?

- So she is sending letters to the enemy!



- Wait, I still don't understand. How exactly does this make her the infamous Agent A?

- All the evidence points towards her, it all makes sense, doesn't it?

- Sorry, my friend, but I think you are making a mistake here.

- No, I don't think so. I think you are making a mistake if you try to hamper my investigation.

- I serve in the Werhmacht and I outrank you. - Wilhelm was promoted to Major after the Battle of France. - You have no jurisdiction over me.

- That might be true, but I happen to have a gun, see?

- Is that supposed to be a threat? - Wilhelm was outraged. - How dare you!

- It's easy, you see? I point the gun in your general direction and warn you that it might get off if you attempt to stop me. And I also must warn you that I could bring you in as an accopmlice as well.

- Now I understand everything!

- I very much doubt that, but whatever.

- No, I really do understand! You don't know if she is Agent A, or even if she actually is a British spy, but you think you have enough evidence to prove your superiors that she is, even if she isn't! You don't even know what was in those letters, do you?!

- Does it matter? She sends letters to the enemy, that is enough to convict and execute her.

- And to give you the promotion you wanted for so long? I don't understand you, Jürgen! You are a Captain now, you already have your promotion!

- But I could have my own department! I deserve it!

- It would be based on a lie.

- Face it, Wilhelm. The entire work of Military Intelligence is based around lies.

- Yes, but those lies are aimed towards the enemy, not your superiors! Don't you see?

- When I will have the resources, I will find and eliminate the real Agent A. It's only a matter of time. And we are close to complete victory anyway, so what does it matter?

Wilhelm didn't get the chance to answer because at that moment, a huge explosion shook the building. Jürgen and Wilhelm ran to the window where the noise of the explosion came from. The car that was following them was blown to pieces, along with the four men inside.



- Damn! - said Jürgen - Those guys were my backup! What the hell is going on?!

- Exactly. Your plan is going to hell, that is. - Anna was standing in the door with a gun in her hand. - I'm sorry to ruin your evening but I can't go with you.

- Anna, what on Earth is going on?

- I'm afraid I can't stay in the country anymore. Is everything ready, Jason?

A man with a gun entered the room from the hallway.

- The car is waiting outside. But we will have to hurry.

- Hans! Will you come with me?

- You... - Hans was speechless.

- Yes.

- You really are Agent A...

- Yes, I was. But eversince you came back from Gibraltar, I realized that I can't do it any longer... This War is over for me. I'm going to leave and never return. Will you come with me?

- Now, wait a minute... That's not what I'm here for! We are going back to London!

- No. - Anna turned her gun towards Jason. - I'm through with this. There's no point any longer. All I want to do is get away from all of it!

- This is very touching, really, but as it turns out I was actually right! She really is Agent A! I can't let her go! - Jürgen reached for his gun again, but Hans grabbed his hand.

- We don't have time for this! - shouted Jason and he leapt towards the fighting Jürgen and Hans. He quickly disarmed Jürgen and knocked him out with a left hook.

- Anna, I would go to the end of the World with you!

- And I suppose I will have to carry you, ain't I?...

- You are forgetting one thing. - interrupted Wilhelm. - Me. I can't let you go.

- And how exactly will you stop us, pal? You and what army?

- You will never leave the country alive. Where would you go?

- Please, Wilhelm, don't make this any harder than it is already. We have a plan, alright?

- He's not worried about your wellbeing, sugar, he tries to convince you that we will be caught so we should surrender. And as I already said, we don't have time for this! - And with that, Jason shot Wilhelm in his thigh and knocked him out, too.

- How could you?! He was my friend!

- He'll live. Unlike us if we linger on much more! The whole place will be swarming with the police and the Gestapo in a few minutes! We really should go!

Index

June 25, 1941. London.

- Jason, my boy, where the bloody hell were you?

- Sorry for being so late. Traffic was a bitch.

- Anyway, as you might have noticed on your way here, things have changed radically while you were gone.

- You mean the German invasion of England? Yes, I noticed that...


- A terrible business, really. I'm afraid we will have to evacuate soon. But that's not why you are here. Where's Agent A?

- I don't know.

- What?! Did you not find her?

- Sure I did. She didn't want to come back.

- It's not her bloody choice, damn it! You disappoint me, Jason. I remember specifically telling you that if you can't bring her back...

- Yes, I remember too. But you were right, she is very good. Better than me, as it turns out.

- So she stayed in Germany? That's a disaster!

- No, I don't think she did.

- What do you mean?

- She was almost arrested by the Abwehr, if not for my timely arrival.

- Yes, I'm sure you were very heroic and all. But the issue still remains: we have a top agent in Germany!

- What does it matter? I mean she doesn't know anything about us, does she? When was the last time she was even in England?

- Actually, she never set foot on our island, she is a native German. But that's not important now. You say she is on the run from both us and them? Good. In all honesty, we have enough on our hands as it is...



June 25, 1941. Somewhere near Plymouth, England.

- I can't believe it. Here we are on English soil. The Island that was never successfully invaded since the eleventh Century. And there's noone here!

- On the contrary, First Seargent Benz, there's an entire regiment of British soldiers in Plymouth we are tasked to rout.

- Those are not soldiers, Major, they are old men with sticks.

- Fifty-five years is not old!

- Don't take it personally, Wulff. You know how it is. Young men are foolish.

- You are right, Sir. So, where to now?

- As surprising as it might be, they doesn't look like they noticed us at all. - Wilhelm climbed out of the tank and went back to the Infantrymen behind the armoured column. - So, we have a dilemma here. The element of surprise is ours, so we could probably overrun them with ease, especially since most of the men in the port are actually sailors, not soldiers. But that is in fact our main disadvantage. If we alert the fleet in the harbour, they might cause quite a lot of damage.

- Are you sure, Sir? - asked Lieutenant von Braun - Would they risk friendly fire?

- If we are pressing them hard enough, then they probably would. - Wilhelm was weighing the risks. - We have the advantage in small arms firepower and also in maneuverability. They have the advantage in concentrated firepower from those huge naval guns. We will have to spread out to minimize their advantage. This shouldn't hurt ours. Alright, Krause, get me second and third platoons on the radio! Lieutenant von Braun! You pass down the order: sneak as close as you can without being spotted and wait for my command. You may return but not initiate fire, understood?

- Understood, Sir!


June 25, 1941. India.

So far this is the most beautiful country I have ever been. Or at least from those I can remember. It is in clear contrast with the poverty we see everywhere. Colonial oppression at its worst.

The people of this land already had a great civilization when their current British overlords were still fighting with spears. Maybe their civilization was too strong, too solid. It haven't changed for centuries, stagnating. Thus they were bested by their superiors, the following step towards perfection. And now the British are following them.



August 8, 1941. Newcastle. Temporary headquarters of the British Intelligence since the fall of London.

- As I was saying, we are leaving soon.

- Where to, Sir?

- Canada. Ottawa, I think. If we manage to get there, that is. With those bloody German Carriers, it won't be easy.

- We could fly there on a plane, you know.

- Of course I know. And I will. I was refering to all this paperwork. I really don't want to burn down this building. We managed to get out the documents from London, I hope we can get them out of here, too. But there's no way any plane could fly with that much weight.

- I see. And when are we leaving?

- We are leaving tomorrow in the morning. You, on the other hand, are leaving right away. To Tokyo.

- Tokyo? - Jason was surprised. - What shall I do there?

- I have a mission for you, son. It will probably be the hardest one yet.

- Well, considering that I look nothing like a Japanese, I imagine you are right...

- True. You don't look like a Japanese. But you do look and also sound like an American.

- I don't understand, Sir.

- See? You will assassinate the Japanese Emperor, Hirohito. That should stirr things up there.

- Understood. But, with all due respect, Sir, why? How the hell will that help the war effort?

- You really don't get it, do you?

- No, Sir, I don't. I shall pose as an American, who shoots the Japanese high chief. Of the two parties involved, the Japanese we are at war with, but they are far from being our main concern, even though they have completely overrun India, and the Americans we are not even at war with, nor are they our allies, or anywhere close to being our allies.

- It is times like this that I thank God you are not in a position where important decisions are made... Look. Our situation right now is pretty bad. India is completely defenseless, North Africa is in Axis hands, East Africa is practically lost, England will fall in a matter of days. France went down like a stone and Spain won't hold for long either. Europe is completely lost, and so is Africa.

- Yes, I know, but I still don't understand what you are getting at.

- With the Soviet Union out of the picture, the only nation that possibly could stand up against Nazi Germany and its minions is the United States of America.

- Lead by a guy who is practically a Nazi himself, and who also expressed his willing to stay neutral in this conflict, unless...

- Unless attacked by a foreign nation. Do you understand now?

- Yes, yes I do. I am to convince the Japanese that their Emperor was assassinated by an American agent, hopefully sparking a war between the two. Which could very well be the necessary push for them to join our effort against the Germans.

- Well, either that or at the very least a friction between the Germans and the Japanese. Hitler will have to decide who to support in that new conflict. If he picks Japan, then the US won't have any other choice but to side with us. If he picks the USA, then the Axis loses one of the two major players, weakening them considerably. And even though the USA is a force to reckon with, they need time to mobilize, and they are surrounded by our allies Canada and Mexico. Either way, we can't lose.



August 10, 1941. The office of Generalfeldmarschall Maximillian von Weichs in Paris, occupied France.

- Sir. Major Wilhelm von Walsrode reporting for duty, Sir.

- Sit down, son.

- Thank you, Sir.

- I was following your career. Your achievements are quite astonishing.

- Thank you, Sir. I'm proud to serve the Fatherland.

- And that I respect. But you see, we are starting to run out of enemies to fight. With the British government fleeing the country, the only enemy left in Europe is Spain. The War in Europe is practically over.


- True. Still, the remaining members of the Commonwealth, Canada, Australia, they won't give up the fight. They probably think we can't reach them.

- Yes, yes. They are wrong if they believe that, but still they probably do. But that's not what I asked you here. I have a task for you. A dangerous one.



August 15, 1941. India.

Seargent Martinovic has just left. I'm being reassigned. At first I thought they will send me back to Europe, but I was wrong. They sent me to Tokyo. I will be the part of some commando unit on a very secret mission. Apparently my abilities with my rifle didn't go unnoticed in higher circles. I'm not yet sure if this is a good thing or not though.



September 28, 1941. Tokyo, Japan.

Nemo was hiding in the alley. It was raining that night and he was thankful for that. This way the cloak he was wearing didn't bring too much attention to him while on his way here. He didn't know a single word of Japanese and those officers made it clear that he will be treated as a foreign spy if he is caught by the Japanese authorities and they would probably kill him without hesitation. And in a sense, he really was a foreign agent.

But shouldn't Japan be their ally? Whatever. It's not his job to question the political decisions. His job is to aim at the person he is told and pull the trigger when he is told. Nothing more, nothing less.

He noticed a shadow moving from the corner of his eye. He didn't move until the man was right in front of him. He didn't notice him. The man was too tall for an Asian, and nobody came to this alley unless he had bussiness. That must be the one he was waiting for. Or the enemy. Quickly and silently he jumped up and put his knife to the throat of the man.

- I saw Baldur - said Wilhelm clearly so his attacker could hear it - the bleeding god, the son of Odin, his destiny set.

- Famous and fair in the lofty fields, full grown in strength the mistletoe stood.

- Correct. - Nemo released Wilhelm and pulled back the hood of his cloak. - Welcome to Toyko, Sir.

- Erhard?!

Index