Ziff under fire

Part 31 - Alsos

'It is a pager. My boss sends a radio beep and I must call 'im back as soon as possible.'

'Who is your boss?'

'Herr Hauptsturmbannführer (battalion leader) Weiss but I already said I work for Alsos . . . Now, if there are no more silly questions, I must ask you to help me recover some material. I will need two trucks.'

'What are these materials?'

'I cannot tell you zat. It is top secret and top priority. So it is very urgent and vitally important zat I get them before the Germans. Call General Bradley, immediately.'

Charles stood up. 'Let me make a few inquiries. In the meantime, I am sorry, we will have to keep you under guard. Do I have your word, you will not try to escape?'

One of the soldiers assigned to guard us found a corner of the farmhouse that was not too crowded and brought us some lukewarm compo rations. Kozak told me in a whisper that Beryl and Gustav were waiting on the German side of the front line with the kübelwagen.

'What is Alsos?' I asked.

'Zat is a top secret American project to kidnap German scientists working on ze atom bomb and to collect any uranium before the Russians get to it. But do not tell anyone I told you zat.'

I asked, 'Why don't we wait until the Canadian army occupies the area where the, uh . . . material . . . is?'

Because I 'av' to get it to Murga so we can escape wiz your parents. If I show up wizout ze materials, 'e will be suspicious. I do not work for Alsos.  Zat was a lie. I said zat so I could find you.'

'Do you know where my parents are?'

'Zhey are at Murga's house in Oranienburg. It is about 500 kilometres from 'ere but zhere is a new Reichsautobahn (limited access highway). It is not complete but, if the way is clear, it should take a day.'

'Why don't we use the time connect?'

'It is not available to us with two trucks full of material.'

We chatted about what had happened to me after the farm house was abandoned but we were both tired so we both dozed off.

Charles woke us up with the news that he had called US General Bradley's headquarters and been ordered to give us any help we needed. He had also been ordered not to discuss the Alsos mission or Lieutenant Colonel Boris Pash with anyone.

Kozak decided that two of the Canadian HUP (Heavy Utility Personnel) trucks would be enough and he found some paint in the engineers' truck to obliterate the Canadian army insignia. He also scrounged several spare jerry cans filled with gasoline and we drove off in convoy, Kozak driving a Jeep with me and two Canadian drivers in the trucks.

It was dark when Kozak left us with the trucks at a quiet spot near the Canadian front line and walked across no man's land toward the German line carrying nothing but a flash light. He came back several hours later flashing a coded message previously agreed with the local Canadian commander so that he would not be shot.

Beryl, wearing a Canadian army overcoat several sizes too big for her, and looking very nervous, was with him. She spoke to me loudly with an exaggerated American Southern accent.

The Canadian drivers took the jeep back to company HQ while Kozak and Beryl drove the trucks toward the German line. On the way Beryl and I threw our smelly Canadian overcoats out the window.

Kozak stopped several times to send a message in Morse code with his flash light. It seemed to take all night but eventually we were flagged down by Wehrmacht soldiers who inspected Kozak's papers and checked the trucks carefully.

We found Gustav with the kübelwagen and he took us to meet the officer who knew the location of the missing material. After discussing the matter with Kozak and checking our top secret German orders, the officer collected four paratroopers and, as soon as it was light enough to see, he took us several kilometres behind the lines to an old factory building deep in the forest.

There were dozens of steel barrels. They were small but very heavy and it took hours to load them into the two trucks. We were lucky. Despite the low clouds it didn't rain.

We drove back to the Wehrmacht command bunker, where we left the paratroopers, and drove toward Wesel. Gustav drove the kübelwagen with three wounded soldiers while Beryl and Kozak drove the trucks with more wounded.

The Wehrmacht was still laying minefields and busily digging bunkers, tank traps and slit trenches. Every building, haystack and copse of trees concealed guns, tanks and infantry positions all carefully camouflaged.

We crossed the heavily defended bridge, over the Rhine river, and left the soldiers at a field hospital in Wesel. Then we went to Kozak's safe house to collect our civilian clothes and, especially, Beryl's beloved sneakers.

Soon we were clear of the eastern suburbs of the town and all signs of war. The fields were all neatly plowed ready for seeding and the sun was peeking through the cloud. The deciduous trees were all in full bloom and it seemed the most peaceful place on Earth.

We were travelling in convoy with Gustav leading in the kübelwagen, followed by Beryl. I was in the second truck, with Kozak driving, when I noticed two aircraft streaking past on our left. They were close enough to see the black crosses marking them as German fighters, Messerschmitt 109's. I recognized them from the model aircraft I had built with my father. I leaned out the window and looked back. In the distance I saw another two aircraft banking into a tight turn, but they weren't Me109's. They were British Spitfires . . . looking for a target.

And we were it.