• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 2825 0

by two Frenchmen’, Nannygoat was put under house arrest by the Romanian authorities, who suspected him of working for the British. But in the confused Romanian politics of the moment, with the Germans in retreat and the Russians on their doorstep, ‘working for the British’ could be an advantage. As reported afterwards, Nannygoat secured an interview with Colonel Traian Borcescu, head of Romanian counter-intelligence. He admitted that he ‘was head of a British Intelligence Service in 14-land [Romania] and warned him that if he and his collaborators were not released Borcescu and his colleagues would have to suffer for it’. This ‘produced an electric effect’. Nannygoat and some of his agents were released and put on a plane for Istanbul on condition that he would if possible try to secure British help for Romania.

15

From Switzerland to Normandy

SIS’s enhanced performance in the Mediterranean and North Africa, which had become apparent by the end of 1942, was reflected elsewhere, as increasing numbers of networks were established, techniques were refined, liaison with Allies was improved and, despite the continuing (and in some cases intensifying) oppression of enemy occupation forces, growing numbers of individuals were bravely prepared to offer assistance in all sorts of ways to intelligence, escape and resistance organisations across Europe.

Switzerland

For most of the Second World War the main SIS representative in Switzerland was Frederick ‘Fanny’ Vanden Heuvel, based in Geneva. He and his staff established contacts with Swiss intelligence, mainly in order to get their co-operation in escape and evasion. The Swiss assisted by putting escapees quietly over the frontiers into France at appropriate spots and times. In the spring of 1943 Dansey produced a report on SIS activities in Switzerland which showed that the Service had agents operating in or into France, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Belgium and the Netherlands, and contacts providing periodic reports from Turkey and Norway. The main effort was on Germany and France. In Germany there appear to have been agents in eight main industrial and communication centres, including four in Berlin. In Switzerland itself, the train-reporting service continued, while economic reporting, primarily for the local Ministry of Economic Warfare representative, had become a major commitment.

The files indicate good military intelligence on Italy too. A report of May 1943 from Geneva, marked up by Menzies as ‘v. important’, recorded that ‘Z.101’ had identified twenty-four special trains loaded with torpedoes and sea mines and that 120 German naval personnel had passed Brenner destined for Venice. Between 9 and 12 May, Z.101 noted approximately 25,000 German troops in trains to north Italy, en route to Verona, Piacenza and Bologna. Following the collapse of Italy, thousands of British prisoners-of-war were liberated, and many crossed into Switzerland where they were interned. Many of them, however, especially air crew, were badly needed in the United Kingdom. SIS, in conjunction with SOE, organised the clandestine escape through France of a number of these, it is said at the rate of some six every three weeks. On 26 October 1943 Menzies sent a personal message to Vanden Heuvel offering his ‘thanks and congratulations’ for the work of SIS staff in Switzerland. ‘After four years isolation and heavy work,’ he wrote, ‘I realise that all must feel the strain but the results should be a consolation and satisfaction to you.’

By this time SIS in Switzerland was receiving a detailed picture of internal German conditions and the effects of heavy Allied bombing. A source in Berlin reported that ‘90 per cent population still spend every night in cellars.’ The people were generally ‘apathetic’ and there was ‘no evidence [of] riots or demonstrations but could not visit working class quarters. Little hate against the British despite intensive propaganda, but people hope reprisals will be sufficiently effective to stop air raids.’ There was great faith in the possibilities of an unspecified