Spook's Gold Read online

  SPOOK’s GOLD

  Published by Andrew Wood at Kindle Direct Publishing

  Copyright 2011 Andrew Wood

  (this version : 8.4; uploaded 28 October 2013)

  ISBN: 978-2-7466-4029-0

  License Notes

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Kindle Books and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Contact the author: [email protected]

  Selected Historical References to Spook’s Gold

  Although this is a work of fiction, the narrative is woven through a number of true but little known events, including the following:

  Submarines were used by the German and Japanese Axis allies during WW2 to exchange military hardware and other goods. These included (from Germany to Japan) V2 rocket hardware and fissile materials intended for the manufacture of nuclear weapons.

  The rendezvous between the German submarine U-180 and the Japanese I-29 in the Indian Ocean in 1943 (as described in the prologue) is detailed in the memoirs of Hermann Vienna, who served aboard the u-boat on that mission. The U-180 was transporting the Indian dissident Subhas Chandra Bose and his aide Habid Hasan, who were returning from Berlin to Burma to organise an insurrection against the British colonial power in India. Herr Vienna carefully recorded the contents of the cargoes, including the two tonnes of gold and their containers and seals, as well as the search for missing gold by the Gestapo when the submarine docked at Bordeaux. These latter details became essential facets of Spook’s Gold.

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  The Carlingue organisation was dubbed the ‘French Gestapo’. Comprised of French criminals recruited by the German SS and given full SS military rank, uniforms and even German nationality, the Carlingue organised and participated in some of the most heinous atrocities against French citizens. The majority of the leaders such as Bonny, Lafont and Villaplane (Henri Villaplane was a professional footballer, captain of the French football team that participated in the 1930 World Cup tournament) were arrested after the liberation of France, convicted of treason and were executed at the Fort de Montrouge in December 1944.

  Pierre Loutrel escaped this round-up, having deserted the Carlingue in June 1944 and then gone underground following his murder of a German officer in Toulouse (an attempt to ingratiate himself with the French Resistance, as depicted in Spook’s Gold).

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  The Special Air Service and the Special Operations Executive performed extensive operations in Brittany from the beginning of June 1944. Parachuted in small multinational teams of primarily British, American and French origin, the SOE objectives included the mobilisation, organisation and equipping of local resistance groups. The more numerous SAS were primarily interested in sabotage and direct action. The common and often cooperative activities of SOE and SAS had the shared goal of harassing and impeding the German forces in Brittany from moving to reinforce those fighting the Allies in Normandy.

  For information on the SAS missions, my resources include the memoirs of Robert R. Kehoe DSC, 1944: An Allied Team with the French Resistance (USA Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) library). Although Sergeant Kehoe was the radio operator of SOE Jedburgh team ‘Frederick’, his operational activities on the ground in Brittany included time spent at the main camp established by SAS unit ‘Samwest’ in the Foret du Duault (Côtes-du-Nord, Brittany) in June 1944.

  For information regarding the creation, organisation and activities of the SOE ‘Jedburgh’ teams, my main resource was Jedburgh Operations in South-Western Brittany from July – September 1944 by Jimmie E. Sullivan, Major, USAF. This paper also has a most comprehensive bibliography and reference section.

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  The creation of women police inspectors (Corps de Surveillantes Auxiliaries) in 1943 went against the Vichy government’s anti-feminist policies, but was necessitated by the lack of men to fill the roles within the domestic police force. In spite of this forward step for women, those that were appointed to inspector level frequently found themselves left with the more mundane and administrative tasks, essentially just an extension of the ‘assistantes de police’ grade and duties that women had previously been restricted to.

  The central role played by women in the growth of the Resistance movement is documented by Rebecca G. Halbreich in her work Women In The French Resistance. This resource also includes references to underground newspapers such as Femmes Françaises; the quotation exhorting women to perform acts of sabotage in their workplace that is used in this novel is taken from the January 1944 edition of Femmes Françaises (copy: Underground Collection, Hoover Institution, Stanford University).

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  Bordeaux submarine base is less well known than those of St. Nazaire, Brest and Lorient. Under the orders of Admiral Donitz, Bordeaux became a large and heavily fortified naval base, serving as home to the 4th and 12th flotillas (including U-180 and U-195) as well as the remnants of the Italian submarine and surface fleets. The extensive submarine pen structure and bunkers remain intact and are in use today as a museum and exhibition centre.

  For information on submarine base design and fortification, U-Boat Bases and Bunkers, 1941-45 by Gordon Williamson & Ian Palmer is a superb work of reference, with an impressive collection of photos, including the Bordeaux submarine pen during and after construction. Also Hitler’s U-Boat Fortresses by Randolph Bradham, which includes information on Allied actions against the bases, including SOE operations in mid and late 1944.

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  For information on the Junkers 52 aeroplane, in particular the minesweeping variant mentioned in the novel, see http://www.ju52-3m.ch.

  For technical details of the unique models of Enigma coding devices and pre-encryption techniques used exclusively by the Kriegsmarine, my main resource was Cipher Machines & Technology by Dirk Rijmenant.

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  Deliberate Allied targeting of civilian infrastructure to impede and isolate the German military was widely practised.

  One of the worst examples is the bombing of the city of Lorient, having as its objective the isolation of the submarine base there (the reinforced structure being entirely impervious to direct bombardment). Over 4,000 tons of bombs were used, resulting in the destruction of 3,500 civilian dwellings (70% of the city) and hundreds of civilians perishing in the inferno (60,000 incendiary bombs).

  The Allied bombing of the railway station at Evreux on the night of 11 - 12 June, 1944 depicted in this novel is factual; nearly two hundred French civilians were killed in the raid. Information and photos of this event, as well as the destruction of Evreux town centre in June 1940 by the Wehrmacht and its liberation in August 1944 can be found in the book 23 Aout 1944, Evreux Libéré.

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  Although outside of the timeframe of Spook’s Gold, it is interesting to follow the fate of U-180, since it forms the basis of the sequel to this novel.

  The submarines U-180, U-195 and U-219 departed Bordeaux at intervals during the 20 - 23 August 1944, just days before the naval base and city were overrun and captured by the Allies.

  U-195 and U-216 successfully reached Jakarta in December, delivering their cargoes to the Japanese, which included V1 and V2 rocket parts.

  Of the U-180, carrying V2 parts and Uranium 235, nothing more was ever seen or heard from her after she departed from Bordeaux. Various theories have been proffered, including that she struck a mine in the Gironde estuary or in the Bay of Biscay, or that she sank due to Schnorchel problems. No wreckage has ever been foun
d to support or substantiate any of these theories.

  The Japanese I-29 departed from Lorient in July 1944 and was sunk in the Luzon Straight after a frantic combined effort by the Allies, who had learned that she was carrying a cargo of Uranium 235.

  Photographs of places, people and events depicted in this work may be found at:

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/92129501@N03/

  and:

  http://www.facebook.com/pages/SPOOKs-GOLD/480241312015901

  Selected Historical References to Spook’s Gold

  PROLOGUE – April 1943, Indian Ocean, 200 kilometers east of Madagascar

  Chapter One – June 4th, 1944

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty One

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Chapter Thirty Five

  Chapter Thirty Six

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  Chapter Thirty Eight

  Chapter Thirty Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty One

  Chapter Forty Two

  Chapter Forty Three

  Chapter Forty Four

  Chapter Forty Five

  Chapter Forty Six

  Chapter Forty Seven

  Chapter Forty Eight

  Chapter Forty Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty One

  Chapter Fifty Two

  Chapter Fifty Three

  Chapter Fifty Four

  Chapter Fifty Five

  A note from the author and acknowledgements

  Sequel SPOOK’s REVENGE – Author’s Notes, First Chapter and Historical References

  PROLOGUE – April 1943, Indian Ocean, 200 kilometers east of Madagascar

  A dark shape wheeled in the periphery of his vision and he snapped to attention, force of habit causing him to automatically raise the binoculars.

  “Relax Willi!” soothed the short stocky man beside him, Otto Kurtz. “It is just a bird. This has to be the safest piece of ocean that we’ve ever been on.” The respect of Otto for his senior officer kept any hint of mocking from his voice.

  “You may be correct,” grunted Willi in response after a long pause, making another scan of the rolling oily-black water and the leaden sky clinging to it. Despite it being midday, the storm conditions had created a crepuscular twilight. “But loitering on the surface makes my skin crawl. Two submarines sitting here during the day, we’re a dive-bomber’s dream come true.” He cursed and spat over the side of the steel conning tower. “And now we have to open up the main hatches to get the cargoes transferred, leaving ourselves even more exposed. Damn this weather!”

  Willi had assumed that the Indian Ocean would be warmer and calmer than their habitual hunting grounds in the Atlantic but, when they had finally made the rendezvous with the Japanese vessel, a squall was raging and they had been riding this heavy sea for hours, waiting for the conditions to improve sufficiently to be able to exchange the cargoes by inflatable boat.

  He turned his gaze to the Japanese submarine, the I-29, cruising parallel to them fifty metres off their starboard bow. An ugly beast, with its bulge behind the conning tower for storage of the demountable float plane plus the launch ramp that it required, together with the winching gear necessary to haul it back aboard. What made the I-29 appear even more alien to him were the wooden deck boards and high mast on the front; a bastard hybrid of a boat and a submarine, nothing at all like his sleek Type IX untersee-boot, the U-180.

  The primary ‘cargo’ of the U-180, the Indian and the Arab who had been visiting Adolf Hitler in Berlin – the very thought of this made Willi chuckle and shake his head – were now on the deck below being helped into their bulky life-vests by his crew. It would not do to have the Fuhrer’s chums fall overboard and drown after hauling them all the way here.

  On the forward deck of the I-29 he could see figures working to bring up the cargo from their hold for the transfer to the U-180. The two Japanese weapons technicians who were going back to Europe for training and exchange of information were already below receiving an official and, most likely, an alcoholic welcome by the Captain, Musenberg. Of more interest to Willi was the surprise that Musenberg had revealed just minutes before the rendezvous with the I-29: the cargo for the return trip included two tons of gold. Musenberg either did not know or was not revealing the final destination for the gold; only that it was to be delivered to their Bordeaux fleet base. Musenberg had insisted that the contents of the cargo should be kept secret, concerned about potential pilfering by the crew. Willi had argued that it would be necessary to take a few of the crew into their confidence, since such a heavy load was going to have to be distributed around the U-180 to prevent destabilising it. Ever fanatical about the manoeuvring capabilities of his vessel, Musenberg had reluctantly conceded the point and left it with Willi for the selection of the necessary few and the organisation.

  Willi had spent the hours waiting for the transfer of cargo by briefing Kurtz and two other junior officers. They had the advantage that the bullion bars were encased in wooden boxes and sealed. After some discussion they had devised a plan that would involve hiding the boxes under the bilge plates, the benefits being that they would be central and low in the vessel, together with the reduced possibility of the crew poking around there. The two officers who had been taken into the circle of knowledge were below on the deck waiting to supervise the loading. They would firmly stamp out any speculation on the contents of such heavy cases by describing them as machine parts for new and top secret planes. The majority of the items being exchanged were military hardware and therefore this explanation would suffice.

  Finally, many hours later, much delayed by the problems of transhipping the heavy cargo by inflatable boats in such rough seas, the U-180 was ready to start her journey home. Willi took a last look at the darkening horizon westwards towards home, gave Otto the command to dive and went below.

  Chapter One – June 4th, 1944

  The sharp energetic rays of the early morning sun, already at high intensity and proclaiming its intended dominance over the day, lanced at him through the crazy-iron structure of the Eiffel Tower. By screwing up his eyes in defence against this assault, the sprawl of Paris steaming in the haze beyond the gardens faded to a blur. This early morning view from the height of the Trocadéro was his favourite, a fortunate benefit that he was treated to on most mornings, albeit subject to the vagaries of the weather.

  Turning on his heel and striding away in the opposite direction, Dieter Marner chased his shadow across the concourse to face the Place du Trocadéro, the intersection of bisecting avenues radiating off in all directions. There was little traffic about this early on a Sunday morning, a few horse-drawn carts and coal gas-powered gazogene vans with genuine business or deliveries to make and thus eligible for the special permits required to use the roads during the weekend.

  From his options that could take him to his destination, Marner decided to emprunter the Boulevard Dèlesert. He particularly liked the sense of the French word ‘emprunter’ to describe going by
a particular road or route. Directly translated it meant ‘to borrow’, and he was amused by this idea of borrowing for a few minutes the avenue, in the same way that someone might lend him the use of a bicycle, with just a passing word of thanks required when it was returned.

  Arriving at Rue Eugène Manuel, he was immediately confronted by the crowd huddled around the entrance to the alleyway, jostling and arching up on tiptoes to peer over the bobbing heads in front. His eyes instinctively dropped to see what the hands of those in the outer circle were doing, even though such matters were none of his concern here. As well as how to spot opportunist pickpockets, his career in the civilian Berlin police brigade had taught him that groups around crime scenes always look the same; that mix of officials trying to keep at bay those who had nothing better to do in their day than to see a free spectacle, gain some titillation from another’s misfortune or misery.

  He eased into the first outer circle of spectators. Despite the lingering morning chill, there was a warm fug of stale body odour, cheap tobacco and musty clothes enveloping the heaving, excited scrum. As the first of them turned instinctively to protest this new, pushy intruder, the sight of the black uniform and the SS lightning bolts glinting on the collar tabs quickly turned their protest to meek acquiescence. Others seemed to sense this collective shrinking away and the mass parted for him.

  At the front, blocking the entrance to the alleyway was a pair of soldiers from Avenue Foch, summoned to secure the scene pending his arrival. Keeping close to them was a civilian milice – one of Darnand’s irregular army of collaborationist thugs with a mandate to ‘police’ the streets of Paris. This individual was young and skinny and clearly unnerved by the shoving crowd. The more senior of the two soldiers explained that the local militia had been called with reports of two bodies discovered and, on finding that one of the victims was a German officer, had contacted Avenue Foch. The milice fidgeted himself closer to the trooper, almost rubbing arms, and was granted a nod to acknowledge that he had done the correct thing. The soldier thrust out a blood-stained wallet and identity card, with the explanation that they had been found on the officer. “There is plenty of money in there, so it doesn’t seem to be a robbery.”