On Desperate Ground (12 page)

Martin Bormann had been quiet during the discussion, his eyes never straying from Hitler’s face. He knew how to read the
Führer’s
moods and anticipate his needs. He saw the dark eyes flicker across the map and knew he was calculating the rate of advance for the opposing Allied forces.
 

“Where do you think the Russians and Americans would meet, my
Führer
?” asked Bormann.
 

He felt safe asking this question, since it could be nothing more than a hypothetical map exercise. If Hitler made an angry remark about defeatist thinking, then the plan was dead. If not….

“Here.” Hitler picked up a colored pencil and drew a box along the lines of the Mulde and Elbe Rivers. “In the area between these cities…Bitterfeld and Eilenburg on the Mulde, and Wittenburg and Torgau on the Elbe.”
 

Hitler nervously tapped the pencil on the table and ran his hand from Berlin to the current positions of the U.S. First Army. He looked over to Faust and nearly smiled.

“It is quite a lot of my Reich to gamble with, especially for a Colonel.”

“Yes, which is why I have given this plan the codename Operation Gambit. In chess, as in life, one must often sacrifice that which is valuable for that which is necessary.”
 

Faust knew that there was nothing left to say. He held his hands behind his back and waited for the decision that would come next. There was total silence for a full minute.

“Burgdorf!”
 

“Yes, my
Führer
.”

“Prepare a
Führer
Directive instructing Colonel Faust to develop a fully detailed contingency plan for Operation Gambit. He is to have access to all necessary resources of the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and SS. All agencies are to fully cooperate in the planning of this operation. Faust, I will have you report back on your readiness. Then we will decide if we need to proceed.”

Hitler was silent as he brooded over the map. “If we need to proceed, this may be our salvation. Well done, Faust.”

Faust swelled with pride, at the same time feeling Fegelin’s narrow eyes drilling him, burning with anger and envy.

CHAPTER EIGHT

15 February 1945

OKH Headquarters

Zossen, Germany

 
Johann Faust stood at attention before the dark walnut desk where General Heinz Guderian sat, quietly clutching a single sheet of paper. Freytag and Boldt stood behind Guderian, one on either side of their general, like rooks on a chessboard protecting their king. Faust knew that whatever the consequences, he had succeeded in the first step of his plan. A plan that would insure more opportunities to continue killing Russians. For revenge, for what they had done to Anna and for destroying his life. Faust had been called to attention gruffly by Guderian as soon as he had entered the room. That had been a full five minutes ago, and he waited patiently, the demons buzzing in his head, promising the blood debts would be paid. He ached to press his hands to his ears and shut out their droning, but he kept them pressed to his side.

Guderian read over the paper in his hand several times, shaking his head in disbelief. Finally letting the sheet headed “Special
Führer
Directive” slip from his hand and fall to the desktop, he looked at Faust, anger tinged with exasperation clouding his face, and spoke.

“What exactly is this nonsense?”

“I have not yet seen the
Führer
Directive, Herr General.”

“You expected it? Explain yourself immediately.”

Faust told Guderian about his invitation to remain after the
Führer
briefing and the conversation that followed, including his proposal for Operation Gambit.

“I had been working on this for some time, sir, and had planned on submitting it to you when it was complete. But when the moment presented itself, I chose to act.
Brigadeführer
Fegelin gave me the perfect opening with his half-witted idea.”

“Colonel, I should have gone back in there and dragged you out when you did not return with us. I do not expect one of my officers to associate with those bootlickers who hang about the Chancellery. Now you have certainly earned yourself an enemy. Fegelin does not like to look bad in front of the
Führer
. He is barely tolerated only because he married Eva Braun’s sister.”

“I know Fegelin, he will not be a problem. Now we have an opportunity to change the course of the war!”

“Do you really think this insane plan has a chance?” Boldt questioned him. “You can’t lead a Soviet Army Front around like a dog on a leash! How can you carry out your duties here and lead such an operation?”

Lead the operation?
Faust glanced longingly at the
Führer
Directive lying on the edge of the desk. Could it be he had really convinced Hitler? He could not afford to let these OKH bureaucrats get in his way. Ignoring Boldt, he looked straight at Guderian.

“Duties? Is my duty to bring you piles of paper every day telling you the Russians are closer? You already know that! If we don’t do something one day soon I’ll bring you a final report that the Russians are at the door!”
 

“That is quite enough, Faust,” warned von Freytag. “We all have to do our duty here and provide a stable chain of command for the Wehrmacht. The alternative is to let those SS idiots run the war and lose it within a month.”

“I don’t care about your damn squabbles! Something must be done to stop the Russians from overrunning the Fatherland! If it takes the SS, fine. Just wake up and stop hiding behind these useless reports and briefings!”

Boldt’s jaw dropped and von Freytag stared at Faust. The room was silent for a moment as Faust’s words hung in the air. No one talked to General Guderian like that. Before he could be reprimanded, Faust shifted gears from shouting to quiet persuasion.
 

“We have all been on the Eastern Front and we know what animals the Russians can be to their own. Just think of what they will do to our people after what we have inflicted upon them. Their revenge does not bear thinking.” His voice trembled slightly as those last words came out. The room remained quiet, each man silently acknowledging that ultimate truth.

Guderian finally spoke. “So, Colonel, in your opinion, we are fiddling while Berlin burns? Well, there may be some truth in that.”

He picked up the orders and wearily handed them to Faust. “I admire your initiative, Colonel, but I am not pleased at the diminution of military resources to support such a fanciful venture. However, the
Führer
seems to agree with you.”

Faust read the order.

Decree of 14 February 1945

By the
Führer
and Reich Chancellor

All means to defend the Reich must be undertaken in the coming months in order to provide the time necessary for the final development and deployment of those secret weapons that will reverse the tide of battle and drive our enemies from the borders of the Greater Reich. All contingencies must be taken into account in the planning of this offensive effort. Therefore I decree that OKH undertake the planning of an operation designed to bring Soviet and Anglo-American forces into conflict with each other, should such forces achieve a break-through in the greater Berlin area. I am entrusting the implementation of this task, code-named Operation Gambit, to Colonel Johann Faust of the OKH staff, who shall act as operational commander with the following stipulations:

1. OKH will provide facilities and support for the creation and training of Special Detachment 200 for the purpose outlined above.
 

2.
Reichsführer
-SS Heinrich Himmler will provide specialized personnel as required to fill the ranks of Special Detachment 200 with English and Russian speaking soldiers.

3. Special Detachment 200 will be designated under Panzer Brigade Linz, which shall be constituted to protect Special Detachment 200 and to direct enemy forces as necessary to the final operational area.

4. Panzer Brigade Linz will be formed from units at the Lammersdorf test ground, including two prototype Maus Super-Heavy Tanks.
 

5. 9 Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 76 will be transferred from Achmer to Dessau to provide Ar-234B jet bomber support for Panzer Brigade Linz. Jagdgeschwader 92 will provide a squadron of Me 262 jet fighter-bombers for air cover. The Luftwaffe component will be designated as Kommando Ritter.

6. All transport commands will provide Operation Gambit and all supporting units with top priority transportation. Units shall be in place for operational deployment no later than 15 March 1945.
 

Faust finished reading with a look of surprise on his face. Guderian was amused.
 

“More than you bargained for, Colonel? Now you have significant resources at your disposal. Twin engine jet bombers, jet fighters, a panzer brigade, and the SS to call upon! I am sure that will make you very popular at Number 8
Prinz Albrecht Strasse
.”

Boldt and Freytag laughed at the mention of the dreaded SS and Gestapo headquarters, anticipating Faust’s discomfort.
 

“Faust,” Guderian cut in, “you may have succeeded in getting your plan approved, but it is still only a plan. I hope that the
Führer
will come to his senses and release these units for the battle on the Oder. In the meantime, get to work pulling your forces together.” He gestured to Freytag, who consulted a clipboard.

“The general has allocated an office and map room in the reserve barracks for your use. There are half a dozen clerks and a radio operator setting it up now. The motor pool will assign transport as needed. Submit any requests for other headquarters staff through me. You will certainly need a deputy.”

“I know who my deputy will be. If he is still alive.”
 

* * *

After Faust left the office, Guderian stood and walked to the window. It was almost completely frosted, only a small circle left to see through. He watched Faust walk through the cleared snow towards the reserve barracks, and spoke to Freytag.

“When Faust first came to us, you told me he was dangerous. That was an understatement.”

“Yes, certainly. Now he will have Himmler and the SS angry about stealing Fegelin’s idea, and the
Führer
furious if the plan does not go well.”

“Oh no, my dear Freytag. That is not what I meant. The greatest danger we face from Faust is if he succeeds. If the Allies are about to join forces, it will signal that the war is lost beyond redemption. If his plan succeeds, it will only mean that the Russians and western powers will fight each other over the corpse of Germany. We will be more thoroughly destroyed than any nation since Carthage. Faust suffers from the same delusion that infects everyone around the
Führer
—that the Anglo-Americans will join us in the struggle against Bolshevism. That will never happen. They might be tricked into fighting each other, but that fight would destroy the little that would be left to us. Yes, Freytag, a dangerous man indeed.”
 

* * *

Faust turned up his collar against the cold as he walked across the parade ground to his new assignment, the frigid air biting into him as he gathered his thoughts. Exhilaration and apprehension ran through his body as he trembled with the power he felt. At this moment of crisis, he held the salvation of the Reich in his hands. His idea had become reality, with men and steel to back it up.
 

For a fleeting moment, he thought about Anna, about his parents. Pain stabbed at his heart, choking his throat. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to end the vision in his mind of his father, watching those things done to his wife, watching her being killed, everything he loved being destroyed. Faust knew that father and son were bound in the same agony, and understood what a relief it must have been when the knife was finally drawn across his neck. The only difference was Faust was still alive, if this could be called life. And that he could wield a knife as well as any Russian.

As he worked to seal off the memories, he promised that he would bring vengeance down upon those whom had ruined his life. Pushing back the emotions churning under his calm exterior, he continued on, Anna and his mother still flickering at the edges of his mind, and for a brief moment he lost his battle for control. Walking with his head bent, a sound between a moan and a sob burst from his lips, unexpected, terrible, and painful. He held a hand to his face and looked around, fearful of being seen. There was no one in sight.
 

Faust stopped and breathed in, deeply, exhaling a frosty breath into the brilliant winter sunlight
. Leave me in peace, all of you, please. Let me do this, then come to me all you like. But let me take the knife to their throats first.
 

His tears froze in the frigid air. They fell away to the ground. He moved on, wondering how long it would take to find Dieter Neukirk and his Hiwis.