Operation Blackguard

    Operation Blackguard

Suzanne Marsh

April 1945

The gray mist covered all of London; James Suttington walked slowly to Bletchely Park. He heard the air raid whistle and ran toward the closest shelter. Once all clear sounded he emerged unscathed; not particularly happy about being late for his job. He hated the term spy but that was what he had become when Nazi Germany began bombing England; just as they had done this morning. He arrived shortly before nine, he was forty minutes late; there on his gray steel desk sat a manila envelope in big bold letters:

James Suttington eyes only.

This could only mean one thing; Operation Blackguard was a go. He sent for Captain John Bondwell; his military counterpart. Shortly after ten o’clock the men met to begin planning for Operation Blackguard.

“John, good to see you. Orders have come down from the Prime Minister, Operation.

Blackguard is a go. Do we have any aerial photos of the Eagle’s Nest?”

“Yes, James, I brought them with me. I hear Hitler does not frequent this house,

so why not kidnap him from there? Why not from the Berghof​”

“John, that is the exact reason why, the Jerry’s will expect us to attempt to take him.

from Berghof but certainly not from the Eagle’s Nest. It is so remote even Hitler does.

not frequently go there. We have an agent in place that will keep us informed when Hitler.

will visit there again. Actually, he only stays for a few hours; that will make things a bit.

more complicated.”

“James, when?”

“John, October 6, that will give us time to get our agents into position.”

“Are the American’s going to aid us also?”

“Yes, we have General Eisenhower's approval.”

Captain John Bondwell turned to leave; the men shook hands. Bondwell wondered what the Americans could aide them with since this was going to be a British operation. Bondwell did not have long to wait. He had just returned, poured himself a cup of tea; pulled a cigarette out of a pack and lighted up.

Bondwell’s secretary Madeline Smythe knocked on his door:

“Sir, there is a Major Bud Harrington here.”

Bondwell quickly put out his cigarette, handed her his teacup.

“Send him in Miss Smythe.”

“Yes, Sir.”

A tall dark-haired man of twenty-two strode into his office and extend his hand in greeting:

“Captain Bondwell, I am Major Matthew Harrington, everyone calls me “Bud”.

“I am pleased to meet you, Major.”

“General Eisenhower ordered me to lend your team my expertise.”

“Which is what Major?”

“Sir, I am a professional mountain climber and rescuer.”

“Ah, I see.”

“When can you start Major? I can have my team assemble this afternoon after high tea.”

“Today is as good as any other. I have seen a few aerials of Kehlstein Mountain. “The Eagle’s

Nest is quite aptly named. There are several ways we can climb up. The face of the

mountain is steep, the front is narrow but possibly the easiest. Have you a mountain?

climbing gear? I have a few men that are willing to accompany me.”

“Ah, yes Major, we have a team also; we will combine forces for this operation. Time is.

of the essence. We have been led to believe from our medical team head that Hitler.

has Parkinson’s Disease; I won’t bother you with that; but the disease will make things.

harder in some respects and easier in others. You and your team’s job is to get us to

the Eagle’s Nest. Once we are inside, it would be best if you and team begin you.

descent down the mountain quickly.”

“Sir, we will be carrying M1’s and GP35’s. When do we leave?”

“Tonight, we are going to bomb Berghof, in hopes of driving Hitler up into the

Eagle’s Nest. Now then, there is a tunnel that leads into the Eagle’s Nest. That is your

other objective. Once we have control of the tunnel; we will take Hitler, load him in

a plane that will be waiting at the bottom of the mountain. You all evacuate at the same time.

Harrington had heard of some of the crazy ideas the British came up with but this one was dangerous. Orders were orders so he would do as ordered. He returned to his barracks and assembled his team. Each climber on Harrington’s team had climbed Boulder Peak, Pikes Peak and Burroughs Mountain. This mountain was different, the face was narrow, going up would be a painstaking climb; kidnapping Hitler would make the entire climb worthwhile.

The old Scot listened as Harrington began:

“Sir Thomas, you are going to lead the teams?”

“No laddie, but I am going to teach you to climb up craig’s that are similar to Kehlstein

Mountain. You must be prepared for any contingency.”

Harrington felt as if he had been gut punched; he knew Sir Thomas MacDonald from the Olympics. MacDonald smiled:

“Aye, Harrington, you and your team will be well prepared.”

April 25^th, 1945

“Good morning, men; your mission today is to bomb the Berghof. Hitler’s house.”

Murmurs speed around the room; finally, the RAF was going after the biggest prize of World War Two: Adolph Hitler.

“Are there any questions?”

“I have one question sir: when do we leave?”

“Ah Captain Wentworth, 10:00 hours.”

There were three hundred and sixty-five bombing crews that left that morning: more than adequate for the job. They flew in “v” formations. The skies of Nazi Germany were filled with the dreaded sound of the bombers.

Bombs began to fall like rain over Hitler’s Berghof. Enraged Hitler toyed with the idea of using the Eagle’s Nest for a few days.

May 1945

Harrington and his team began the climb up the face of Kehlstein Mountain; the British team headed by John Symthe climbed up the back of the mountain. Once in the area of the tunnel they moved toward the objective. The Gestapo were guarding Hitler. This delighted the allies; Hitler was making this easy. The brass elevator took the American team to the top of Eagle’s Nest. They disembarked. Stealthily, moving in the direction they had received from their contact here. They heard before they saw the Gestapo. Lugar’s began to fire. M1’s began bursts of fire. The Germans knew they had to get Hitler out of there. If Hitler fell into the hands of the Americans or the British, all would be lost. Easy Company, arrived. The Gestapo escorted Hitler down the elevator, into a waiting car.

Harrington and Smythe reported respectively to their headquarters. A job well done.