Blue Ring Assassins - Book 2: Blue Ring Assassins, #2

By Stephen Cohen

After several successful missions over the past three years, Hannah, Petra and Heidi are preparing for their most dangerous mission yet. Hitler's "Directive 18, also known as Operation Felix" is back on the table and the Third Reich generals are storming ahead with preparations.

Whilst Spain struggles with staying neutral, they are constantly pressured from both the Axis and Allied powers to join the war, pay offs to the tune of millions are paid to Franco in an effort to sway his decision from both sides. The Allies are fully aware that Franco and Hitler are close friends, also that Franco allows SS agents to operate in Spain and that he has always had a powerful desire to take Gibraltar back from the British.

The girls hook up with other female allied agents from France and head for Spain, their objective, make contact with all the SS agents and take them out before "Operation Felix" can commence, destroy any and all invasion support fuel and ammo dumps.

Their struggle continues…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Cohen
• Release date: May 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224540143

Book preview

Book Two

By

Stephen Cohen

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The moral right of Stephen Cohen to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

With the exception of historical figures, all characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

References to real places, people, events etc are only included to provide a sense of authenticity and use has been for dramatic purpose rather than historical fact.

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© Stephen Cohen 2022

All rights reserved

Protected with www.protectmywork.com,

Although this work is fictional, certain historical names and facts are entwined into the story.

The Blue Ring Assassins 1943-1944

ISBN

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Copyright© Stephen Cohen 2020

All right reserved

Background Authentic Facts

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Hitler’s Secret Operation

Directive 18, Operation Felix

Operation Felix

In 1940 Hitler had his staff draw up plans to invade Gibraltar, directive 18 was sent out, stating that all avenues must be investigated with regards to taking Gibraltar, land, sea and air assaults. It was planned for January 1941 but during late 1940, Hitler decided that Russia was more important, and the plan was shelved. 

Over the next two years, Hitler and other officers continued talks with General Franco of Spain and his brother-in-law Don Ramon Serrano Suñer.

Suñer made regular visits to Berlin and was a close friend of Admiral Wilheim Canaris.  Canaris was, in fact, an expert on Spanish culture and both of them got on well and spent many hours at the brothel in Berlin.

Canaris was the head of the Abwehr – German military intelligence services and he had already placed several look-out stations around Gibraltar to watch the Allied shipping in the area with Hitler’s approval.  However, without any approval, he also had a secret intelligence network in Spain that would feed him with all kinds of information, conduct sabotage and espionage missions throughout WWII.

Both Canaris and Suñer fed their leaders with lies in an attempt to keep Spain out of the war and whilst all that was going on, the British were also talking to Franco too.  There were deals, double deals and false deals.

The British wanted Spain to join the Allies in an effort to stabilise the region and prevent Spain from invading Gibraltar, to this end they had given Spain almost £200 million pounds in bribes during the course of the war. Spain has always wanted Gibraltar back ever since the British took it from them back in the early 1800s. This continues even today.

Herman Goering - chief of the Luftwaffe – was a ruthless man who spent as much time during the war enriching his own personal wealth as doing his job.  He sold many works of art to Suñer, not just for himself but also for Franco,  which he bought possibly with British money. 

Over 40 espionage and sabotage missions on Gibraltar would be conducted by the Germans and anti-British Spaniards during the course of WWII.

SOE – Special Operations Executive – British WWII spy agency. From1940 – 1946 they used a large network of female agents across Europe

SOE – F Section – France – Called Networks or Circuits.

Each network would consist of three individuals:

Network/Circuit leader – Recruiter and organiser

Wireless operator

Courier – messenger – travels between networks/circuits

Odette Wilen – codename Waitress – field name Sophie SOE agent in France.

There were 470 agents sent into France alone with 118 never seen again.

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Operation North Pole (Englandspiel)

A German counterintelligence operation ran by the (Abwehr) German Military Intelligence.

Between 1942 – 1944 the Abwehr captured almost all the Allied resistance agents operating in the Netherlands, including British SOE agents from the N section.  All weapons and codebooks were taken. They used the codebooks to send false messages and dupe the British into sending more weapons and supplies. The Germans were simply stockpiling all the weapons and supplies, arresting the agents and sending them to camps.

The operation ran successfully for the Abwehr with fifty-four SOE agents captured, of which, fifty were executed with the others sent to camp Haaren in the south of the Netherlands. Pieter Dourlein and Ben Ubbink escaped the prison camp in 1943.

Operation Avalanche, Baytown and Taranto

September 1943 Allies invade mainland Italy.

SOE’s Envoy to Albania

Brigadier Edmond Trotsky Davies is captured by the Germans in early 1944. As the section head of the SOE in Albania, he would have been interrogated before and whilst in the POW prison camp.

parent unit 2 Bn Royal Ulster Rifles​

born India​

RMC Sandhurst​

commissioned 1919​

awarded M.C. 1920 (Mesopotamia)​

awarded bar to M.C., Mention in Despatches 1937 (Palestine)​

WIA 1937 Palestine​

Lieutenant Colonel,2 Bn R.U.R. 1942​

SOE​

Yugoslavia + Albania​

POW 1944

German Reichsmark currency [1924-1948]

Switzerland played as a neutral country throughout WWII.  However, it was a haven for spies from all countries

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Please lookout for more historical facts throughout the story.

Chapter One

March 1943

Hannah

I was returning to Heidi's aunt's home in Austria after a meeting in Lyon, France, Falcon accompanied me to discuss a forthcoming mission.  About an hour into our journey the train pulled into Milan train station, Italy. We are all ordered to systematically leave the train, in single file, so the Gestapo could check our papers.  I think they must have been searching for someone, my heart was pumping, I could feel the sweat running down my back.

I had never seen that many Gestapo all in one place before, there must have been well over thirty of them. They separated the men from the women, waving their pistols and pushing people about on the platform besides our train, with guards at each end to prevent anyone from escaping.  I couldn't help but think they were searching for me!

I was one of the lucky ones, as I was first off the train. I like many others at least got a seat on one of the benches outside the buildings between the platforms.  These buildings housed offices for the station staff, an office for the Gestapo as well as rooms for holding and searching people.

Portraying a relaxed manner, I just sat on the bench pretending to read a paper and making sure I made the occasional eye contact with the Gestapo men from time to time.  This was hopefully to give the impression I had nothing to worry about.  What I had forgotten about was that they are men, and men can see eye contact with a woman as a signal that they like them.  After forty minutes or so there was suddenly a commotion at the other end of the platform, a barrage of shots rang out which I could tell came from several machine guns and pistols.

Shuffling through the other females to see what was going on, I saw several dead bodies, laying on the ground, all with gunshots in their backs.  I counted five men in total, lying, now lifeless on the ground!  They were either escapees from a prison camp or deserters from our forces. Like the rest of the people who stood on the platform, we would never actually find out though.

It would seem they had now found the people the Gestapo were looking for, because we were ordered back on the train, I took my place in the long line.  I could see the relief in the eyes of those around me and personally I felt somewhat delighted that my own anxiety had now stopped.  Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned to find it was one of the Gestapo men, I had made eye contact with earlier.

Come with me fraulein, he said with a slight smile on his face.

He took my arm at the elbow and led me away into a small office, now I was totally filled with fear, all I could think of now was, they were also looking for me, I am finished!

What have I done? I asked as he pushed me into the office and closed the door behind him.  It was dark until he turned the light on because the window had blackout curtains draped across it.

Papers please, he asked

Again, I asked, what I had done? as I handed over my papers.

Where are you travelling to?

Austria visiting a friend, I replied.

After checking my papers, he put them in his leather trench coat pocket, now I was almost certainly, I’m in trouble! I had never had one do that before, I could feel the tension rising through my whole body now.  He just stood there, in complete silence, like he was waiting for something or someone, constantly looking me up and down with a stern look on his face.

I am going to miss my train; can you tell me what I have done? I repeated.

He slowly walked towards me, as he got closer, I could smell stale tobacco on his breath.

Your train will not be leaving for another thirty minutes, which gives us enough time. I saw you looking at me, he stated with one of those, I want you smiles, now on his face.

I am sure he could see the tension seeping out of my body, as I now realised that he fancied me, I was flattered and repulsed at the same time. Flattered for the attention of a man, he was a handsome-looking chap, repulsed by what he stood for.  But then you never actually know with these Gestapo men, they play all sorts of games, they are certainly not beneath playing with a person's affections, that is for sure, so I still had to be careful.

I now found myself wanting to remove him from the world and get the hell out of there, but this wasn’t an option due to all the other Gestapo still hanging around outside.  My only option was to play along and test his intentions.

"Oh, you like me. Is that what this is about? I asked.

You're a beautiful lady, who wouldn’t like you? he remarks as he looks me over.

Beauty is sometimes, with some people, only found on the outside and even then, it can have flaws I stated as I pulled back my hair on the left side of my face to display my burn scars.

What happened to you? he said with concern in his voice.

I was caught up in the Berlin bombings, buried in a cellar and burnt down almost all of the left side of my body,  I said as I gesture with my hand down my left side.

As I said this, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe telling him this wasn’t a good idea, as an Aryan I shouldn’t have any flaws, he could now, if he wanted to, arrest me under the disability law, panic once again hit me! Am I going to have to kill him to get out of this!

Come fraulein, he says as he moved my hair back to cover my scars and took my arm to lead me out of the room.

I was in total shock! I could not believe it; he was letting me go.

Have a safe trip fraulein he states as he helps me up the steps of the train with a look in his eyes that any woman would instantly recognise, he likes me, despite my scars, which to be honest gave me a warm feeling inside.  He returns my papers and closes the carriage door behind me.

He must have been feeling good after taking part in the previous incident, or maybe he simply liked me...who knows, and personally, I didn’t care. This spy game can certainly be hard, the stress can be immense, even when I am travelling around, I can go through so many different emotions. One thing is for sure, I feel alive, every time I have to go through checkpoints, what an adrenaline rush! I have even taken up smoking, something that Petra got me into, she is right, it helps with the anxiety.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, I even got a little sleep.

I arrived at Auntie’s house, Heide and Petra had not returned yet, they were looking at a property for sale in Switzerland, Daphne had put us on to it, a large, secluded house, with outbuildings surrounded by a forest. It belonged to an old friend who had died, their family didn't want to keep it due to the running costs, which to us, wasn’t an issue after Daphne had sold the rest of our spoils. We had accumulated well over three million US dollars.  We had also bought a couple of cafes, one in Zurich and one in Bern, with another one in the pipeline, these will provide us with our own separate incomes.

We had other plans to help provide a solid foundation for our futures. We discussed plans for us to buy other types of shops, at a later date, and not just in Switzerland.  Among other things they provided a great distraction from the war, besides, we had so much money we didn't know what to do with it.

We had decided that it was best for us to live in a neutral country, we could freely travel using our different papers provided by London. We would also have a safe place to plan any missions as well as rest in between them, safely, without any fear of the regime.  Although we still had to be careful as Switzerland was full of Nazi, British, Italian and American spies, it was like a spy hub.

Later the same day Heidi and Petra returned.

So, how were things girls? I asked as I put the water on for a cuppa.

The place is massive, ten bedrooms, many rooms downstairs, the other buildings need a little work, it's secluded, just what we are looking for, its perfect, I think Hannah Heidi replies with excitement in her voice.

Yes, it will suit us down to the ground Petra chips in.

We have bought it, Hannah, we hope you don't mind but it was perfect for our needs, Petra and I discussed what we could do with the outbuildings on the train home. We have come up with, what we think, is a great idea.

We will have to discuss that later Heidi, and of course, I don't mind, I trust you both, now we have a mission to plan for I replied as I made us a coffee.

A mission hey, what have the British got us doing now Hannah, Petra asked.

The British have known for several years that Hitler had a plan to invade Gibraltar. It was supposed to happen back in 1941 but was shelved as Hitler decided that it was far more important strategically to invade Russia.  It has come to London's attention that the plan is now active again.

So, what is our next move Hannah, asked Heidi.

We have to go to France, make contact with one of London's agents there, she runs a circuit, codename Waitress, and she will provide all the details she’s collected so far

How come Falcon didn't give you the information at the meeting Hannah? asked Petra.

There's is currently a radio blackout, the Nazis are using triangulation trucks to track radio signals, so, it’s not safe to send any long transmissions at this time, only short, coded ones

That makes a lot of sense actually, it is quite easy to track a signal using a signal strength meter, you simply drive in one direction, if the signal becomes weak, then you're going in the wrong direction states Heidi.

"You never cease to