O Silly Hundred Hours

By: Frozen Meatballs

DenSu Week 2016: Day 1 Amity

Berwald and Matthias reminisce history they were part of.

DenSu Week Event Blog: densu-week .tumblr. com (remove spaces)

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"Welcome to the grand opening of the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum. I am Emil and I will be your guide for today."

Two old men were greeted by a young, silver haired man that looked to be in his early twenties. The two men smiled at him and slowly followed as he led them carefully inside the museum. One of them examined the building; it was now certainly renovated by the administration to secure the safety of the peop eand not allow it to crumble in its old age. But the same arks that detailed the facade, the same corners and pillars these men have wandered in their days, that tourists and guides now wander on this day, continue to look the same. Outside, lush trees have replaced the dangerous terrains of snow they once acted as an extensively difficult hurdle to their mission. The Vemork Hydroelectric Powerplant now turned museum looked different and identical at the same time as it have been almost 50 years ago.

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Operation Grouse

Aboard a British warplane above Hardanger Plateau

Telemark, Norway

October 1942

"Calling Grouse, calling men of four. Over."

"The tracks seem to be clear as our battle breakfast plate, HQ. The scope interference from here up above, negative."

"Parachutes and load for mission ready. Service men to start the operation"

"Roger that. Godspeed gentlemen."

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Looking back after guiding them inside, Emil toured them to the different attractions in the museum. Explaining the history of the place as it once have been the powerplant they knew it once before, he showed them to the last but one of the most important attraction of the place-the history Norwegian Heavy Water Sabotage.

"Ready to learn history, Ber?" the old man with bright blue eyes winked at his companion. Berwald sighed at him and stared at the portrait of their team displayed at one corner of the museum. He mused at the younger looking self of his friend and rolled his eyes at his wide smile, the biggest among all those in the picture. Their own appearance changed drastically with the coming of old age. "Your obnoxious self has never ceased a day, Matthias. " he whispered. Mathias laughed heartily at Berwald's comment. "I know! Still the most handsome among the group!"

Berwald nudged him lightly with his elbow and they continued to follow Emil. "Welcome to the hall dedicated to the most succesful acts of sabotage in World War II that happened in this very place you my gentlemen are stepping on." he smiled at them and pointed at an old WWII picture of Vemork. "Around 47 years ago, a year after the German invasion of Norway, a series of operations has been conducted by Norwegian and half Norwegian saboteurs in an attempt to stop the German nuclear energy project in acquiring step one to the race in creating nuclear weaponry that could have rewritten history that we know of today. Do you know what this step one is, sir?" Emil looked at Berwald with a smile as he clasped his hands. Berwald nodded and adjusted his glasses up. "Heavy Water, as it is implied in the sabotage name."

"Yes, that it is sir. Thank you for answering."

They continued to stride along the hall until they approached the picture Berwald was looking at a few minutes ago. They waited for the group of tourists taking pictures of the displays and when they did, Emil talked once more. "The sabotage was divided into three operations. The Operation Grouse, Operation Freshman and Operation Gunnerside. In this picture I am showing you are the group of four saboteurs that gallantly risked their lives to make the first operation a complete success. From left to right, they are Matthias Køhler, Berwald Oxenstiernia, Tino Vaïnömöïnën and Lukas Bondevik. The first men that I have mentioned sir are half Norwegian half Danish, Swedish and Finnish respectively while Lukas is a full Norwegian. These men have been hand picked the the British Special Operations Executive to conclude this operation.".

"Almost all the Nordics eh." Matthias commented. He looked closely at the pictures to reminisce his old pals of which two of them he has not seen in many years. His eyes widened in surprise when he looked at Lukas and the man that acted as their guide. He pointed at Emil which earned him a chide from Berwald.

"He-he looks like Lukas!"

"It is not nice to point!"

"But he looks like ou- that Lukas!"

Emil chuckled at their small banter and explained himself. "You see sir, I am the grandson of his younger brother Eírikur. Grandpa have always looked like grandpa Lukas as if they were twins, but he'll never get tired of denying it!"

Berwald and Matthias gaped at what he said. Their guide has truly surprised them by his lineage and relation to their old friend, especially with such fate that he was the one touring them now. "How are they now?" Berwald asked to cut the silence.

"They are doing great. Still strong as they have been in their days. Grandpa Lukas continues to ski to retain his vigor."

Matthias moved closer to Berwald. "I can't believe our little Eírik has a family now. I always thought that stuck up, introverted boy would end being alone."

"I'm curious where Tino is now that we know Lukas is alive and well." Berwald responded.

Emil walked them to some more nearby pictures that showed black and white photos of wilderness and different angles of the Hardanger Plateau and in the middle was Vermok. "The first operation of the sabotage is Operation Grouse. The purpose of this operation is to map out a discourse to the following OP Freshman. The Grouse team was to find a safe and discrete landing area for the British Horsa Gliders to land where it carries the Engineers to conclude the sabotage of destroying the machinery that created heavy water."

Matthias slowly walked to one of the photographs that showed snowy terrains. The photo brought him back to memories of their hardships for the sake of his people and the sound of Emil's explanations has drowned in the background of his thoughts.

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"Uh Berwald, I think... they dropped us at a wrong point." Matthias exclaimed as he breathed the cold, pine-scented air that left its wake in his face as he skied through trees and rocks. The frigid air encasing them in the white wilderness the team is exploring made it harder to move through the routes, deep into the widest mountain plateau in Europe. They have to survive the harshest conditions Norwegian winter can throw upon them. And they, a team of highly motivated men trained for only a matter of days by the British Special Operations Executive, were tasked to identify German disposition of troops and defenses in order to win against a race with Hitler in acquiring atomic ingredient- the heavy water.

"No shit, Matthias" Berwald surveyed the area for any disturbances and hurdles their team may face then sighed wearily. The cold was fogging his spectacles a bit despite wearing over it an eye piece for the cold, though it was still manageable to move around. "But we continue to do as we are told. This is service to our people." he finished.

"I'm asking that eye brow commando a raise. This is his fault." Lukas said as he shrugged off some snow from his suit, halting for a while to fix his baggage. Tino nodded in agreement and stopped beside him to do the same. Lukas poked his ski pole over the deep snow. Water insulated by the snow from freezing sprouted out. He swerved his ski away from it to avoid getting stuck and moving slower than they already were.

"Gunna get me s'me bottled of sunshine, that I will folks. Join me! "Matthias raised his ski pole to the air that made his balance lopsided a bit that almost made him hit a tree face flat. Matthias quickly glided his feet to lead the skis to a clearer path. The four men laughed at his gestures and continued on to their path.

Their movements were slow and greatly disabled by the extreme weather in the plateau. The Grouse team decided to leave some of their heavy rations and equipment, thinking that they would be able to finish their mission in a matter of days, but they were wrong. The four men were dropped in the wrong area by the British along with a quarter ton of their supplies scattered around the drop zone Lake Songa. Their location was still a bit far away from the place they would scout for the British Glider troops who would actually do the raid so that no one, least of all the Germans would detect them.

Matthias looked around. The ghostly mountains devoid of human life looked uncertain to him, but he certainly felt that he was part of this land. There were no Germans and he felt free; he felt as if he has liberated this land for the Norwegians. Struggling to find balance, they searched the area of their skis first and yet it was the last that they found. If they were to fail in finding their skis, this mission would be a different story.

The Grouse team all grew up in the environment similar to that of Hardanger so in normal circumstances, the missions could be covered well under two days. Berwald has rationed the food for them all that would last for about 5 days. None of them knew that their journey, from supposedly a few days of scouting to a matter of survival, would push through so much more than that and the race to build the atomic bomb has started.

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"-thias. Matthias" Berwald held Matthias' arm that made him snap out of his reminiscing. They both looked back at Emil who was now approaching the window to look the the surrounding mountains of the powerplant. "The four courageous men, thinking that they could finish the mission in a matter of days has actually finished it in 13 days. In between these days, they have their best to gain signal that was beibv eradicated by the heavy winter and convey a message to the British that the operations continues on. And one day, they have reached a cabin nearest to this plant. They found bamboo sticks that they used to attach the antenna of their transmitter and for the first time, they managed to send their report." he pointed on glass protected paper. "On that paper is a translated from morse code message sent by Lukas Bondevik to the British. When they have finished the mission, they were asked by the SOE a secret question of "What did you see in the early morning?" in which they answered "Three Pink Elephants" that meant that their mission was a success."

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"Matthias respondin' to HQ. Hope yer having a fine mornin'. Over. "

"Welcome aboard Grouse 0-2. Not such of a fine morning, I'm afraid."

"We've scurried the area, got some nice wood for the fireplace. Tino talking."

"Not so scurry though, was it gentlemen?"

"Dropped us at the wrong place, that they did HQ. Couldn't go back at evening fer some nice blind flyin'. Beer be bottled sunshine, Norwegian lass be sunshine clothed. Matthias, over."

"Hey Mat, I think I would prefer them unclothed. Sunshine to our eyes HQ, again a fine early morning to you. Lukas, over."

"Grouse, what did you see in the early morning of? "

Static, synchronized voices, "Three pink elephants"

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Next displays that Emil brought Berwald and Matthias at were some miniature samples of the Horsa Gliders the British used. When Emil started talking, they noticed that his voce has turned solemn as he explained to them the events of the Operation Freshman. They knew the reason behind this of course. Operation Freshman was a failed mission. Many men have died in this second part of the sabotage that they already thought of Operation Grouse useless. "The objective of Operation Freshman was to land the Horsa Gliders in the safe point stated by the Grouse team. From this, the men brought by the British SOE would enter Vemork and destroy the machineries, but they underestimated Norwegian winter. Due to the heavy winds, the gliders crashed in the mountains that resulted in the death of many of its passengers. The Allies were unaware of the fate of the operation until they intercepted a German communiqué stating that two gliders and one aircraft had been forced down, and the crews engaged and annihilated. On the 11th of December they received a message from an SOE agent explaining that the second gliders occupants had all been shot. The Norwegian locals couldn't do anything to prevent the harsh fate of those who survived the crash so they instead tended to their bodies and where they have been buried with full military honors by the Norwegian Government and the1st Airborne Division. Although the Allied soldiers believed that they had burnt all of their maps, one from the second glider was the Germans found it they were able to identify the Vemork plant as the target and increased their defence accordingly".

After explaining Operation Freshman, Emil offered the two old men a few minutes of rest on the chairs. Matthias initially refused to do so and stubbornly pushed through the tour, but Berwald pulled his friend down to th chairs and to which Emil amusingly watched their banters again."If you won't sit down then I will. I am a bit tired." he demanded

"Then we'll leave you! Come on boy let's g-ow!"

"Yes, yes your back absolutely agrees with you."

Emil fetched the two men some bottled water as they rested and Berwald and Matthias spent their short rest remembering this event . The Germans have arrested Norwegians of who they thought is taking part of the mission for questioning so they feared for their friends and theirselves. Matthias was so keen on making Berwald go back to Sweden; he was his childhood friend and he was now regretting to have introduced him that resorted the SOE to determine that he was fit for this mission. It was one thing that they have greatly fought about and Berwald had to punch him in the face to make him understand that they were all in this together along with Tino and Lukas.

"Then the original Grouse went into hiding in Hardanger..." Berwald muttered in his breath to Matthias but Emil suddenly arrived with their bottled wayer and was able to catch what he said.

"You seem to be reading your history, sir. Yes, they indeed escaped to the wilderness of Hardanger. The British knew that they were still operational and so, they sent five men to find them which now made the third operation, Gunnerside, possible." Emil said as he approached them.

"I-uh yes, I've been reading around." a stunned Berwald replied. Matthias was chuckling at him but sounded like he was coughing that made Emil immediately pass the bottles to them. The two old men thanked him for his kindness towards them and hoped that they would continue the tour now, but Emil got curious and sat down beside Berwald. "Since you've been reading around, sir. Do you perhaps know what happened in the next operation?"

Matthias couldn't contain himself and gleefully answered. "Of course! The very handsome and courageous Grouse team! Plus, those five Swallows of course, single handedly conquered this building and we boomed those machines and-".

"We?" Emil asked, confused by Matthias' story. Berwald kicked Matthias by the leg and gave a warning look at him. Matthias scratched the back of his head and faked a laugh. "Sorry sorry! I meant "they" haha. Old man here that admires these heroes of Telemark." Emil accepted this and they continued their tour.

Emil led them to replicas of the machines destroyed by OP Gunnerside at the last displays for the area of the Norwegian Heavy Water Sabotage. The black machines could have looked authentic had Emil not informed them that there were replicas. On one side were the actual samples of heavy water displayed and on the other was a reconstruction of the Operation Gunnerside team planting explosives to destroy the cascade of electrolysis chambers. Matthias poked Berwald and whispered "That's not one of us four, I tell you. Should have been more handsome had those dummies been us.". Berwald slapped Matthias lightly for his childishness and continued to listen to Emil.

"The third and last action done by the saboteurs is the Operation Gunnerside. In this operation, the British were aware that the original Grouse team were still operational after hiding..."

Matthias raised his aged hand and made a "four" gesture with his fingers to Berwald indicating the number of months they spent hiding which Berwald dismisses.

"... With this knowledge, they sent the a team of five Norwegian commandos parachuted by a Halifax bomber and after a few days of skiing has got in touch with the four Grouse. The combined team made final preparations for their infiltration of the plant and the act of sabotage was on again."

It was now Berwald who reminisced his days before and during OP Gunnerside. They spent months trying to survive on the scraps the mountain provided them. Not only did they worry about food but also the harsh winter that surrounded their hut hideout and the constant fear of being found by the Germans. It was certainly the longest four months of their lives. And when he and Matthias spotted the five commandos sent by the SOE to look for them while hunting for their food, he was right. There was much more needed to be done and the failure of OP Freshman did not guarantee that all work is lost.

"There was actually something funny that happened before the team has detonated the explosives they have attached on the machines. One of the Grouse, Berwald Oxenstiernia, has lost his spectacles because Køhler accidentally knocked him over in an attempt to do things faster."

"Ohh really?!" Matthias exclaimed while trying his very best not to laugh while looking at Berwald who gave him a warning look. Berwald faked a cough and asked Emil "Where did you get such information boy?"

Emil grinned "Oh, Uncle Lukas told me that! He told me that when he was informed that I will be working here as a guide. Said the exchanged banters between the two was one of the amusing things he've seen in war."

"Fucking Lukas.. " Berwald said under his breathe.

"Anyway inside the plant, the British already had an inside man which helped the team go their way in the plant and find the target with ease. The job of the asset of the British was to inform them of any loose schedules the Germans made in the plant after they tightened it due to the failed Freshman. The raid was considered successful. The entire inventory of heavy water produced during the German occupation was destroyed along with equipment critical to operation of the chambers used for creating heavy water. Although 3,000 German soldiers were dispatched to search the area for the commandos, all of them escaped; five of them skied 400 kilometres to Sweden, two proceeded to Oslo where they assisted Milorg, the Norwegian resistance organization, , and four remained in the region for further work with the resistance. Uncle Lukas was among those who proceeded to Oslo to also reunite with my grandpa Eírikur that he left in 1942 when he exiled in Britain after German Occupation. And, uhm, that concludes it! Our gallant men's work was kept a secret until recently and now this museum was done not only to learn the history of industrial workers but also to honor these brave men that withstood all odds that could have shaped our history differently." Emil smiled awkwardly at the pair who gave him a small round of applause for the tour he gave them. He rubbed his neck in a bit of embarrassment and apologized for anythig wrong because it is his first day here, but both men assured him he did fine.

Emil then led Matthias and Berwald to the lounging area for them to sign their names on a log book where they could also leave a note. After that, Emil guided them outside to bid the pair a farewell and a safe trip.

Back inside, Emil got curious and took a peak at the note left by the two old men and was stunned by what he saw.

"A wonderful visit. Thank you all for commemorating us and remembering what we did for the people of Norway and to the whole world. May wars end and peace spread the world!"

Signed,

Matthias Køhler

Berwald Oxenstiernia

P. S. We'd like to visit again sometime and next time we hope to reunite with Lukas, dear Emil.

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A/N: "O Silly Hundred Hours" means morning in WWII slang.

Other slangs used:

Battle Breakfast - Breakfast before operation/mission

Blind Flying - hooking up with random girls

Bottled Sunshine - Beer

This fic commemorates the Norwegian Heavy Water Sabotage, where Operation Gunnerside was declared by the British Special Operations Executive as the most succesful sabotage in all of World War II. The members of Grouse and Gunnerside are actually all Norwegians and Freshman troop are composed of British slain by the crash and by the Germans when they were caught. In Operation Gunnerside, it was stated that Berwald lost his spectacles and this was an actual happening during the operation except it was the inside man that lost it. Before detonating, the team helped him look for his spectacles because it was close to impossible to have it replaced due to the war. To this day, only on saboteur remains to be alive. His name is Joachim Rønneberg, the leader of the Gunnerside team.

Thanks to my boyfriend for downloading me a documentary about the sabotage entitled The Real Heroes of Telemark because the 1965 movie, Heroes of Telemark, did not lean on much on facts and revolved on romance which the saboteurs themselves did not approve of.