London, office for Strategic Services
General Simpson looked around the room, he was a relatively junior officer in the same room where he was normally the highest ranking. Churchill and Mountbatten were present, as was Eisenhower. A dozen other Field Marshalls, Air Marshalls or Generals. He saw the spymasters for every Allied nation sitting before him. It was the first time this many important leaders had collected together in one room.
And tonight, they were talking about their greatest secret. Papa Bear.
It had been a difficult secret to keep. Too many people had traveled through the network set-up by Hogan and his men. To many German's had been captured by the prisoners, Simpson chuckled when he thought of that, and all those people were now in Allied custody. The name Papa Bear was a legend among flyers from all nations involved in the European Theatre. Papa Bear and his group were responsible for the safe return of thousands of Allied personnel.
The secret was getting too big to stay secret. An old spy adage was that any secret two people knew about was no longer a secret. Many of the fliers had been put on other rotations, away from Germany. But the risk was still there. The article written by one escapee, Walter Hobson, almost cost the entire operation. One word, into the wrong ear, could have meant the death of everyone of Hogan's Heroes.
Most of the espionage and sabotage was still secret, and only a few of the assorted dignitaries knew of the extent that Hogan had operated for the last several years. Everyone in the room now knew of the extent of his operation. A group of prisoners had staged a third front to the Nazi regime all by themselves. Even more surprising, although perhaps not in tactical terms, was that Hogan's Heroes now occupied almost a third of the German land. They were luckily fighting against an almost bare cupboard, with most of the fighting forces fighting either the advancing Western or Eastern forces.
It was actually somewhat of a race, who would link up with Hogan first, the Russians had a force sweeping west and south, while the American 7th army was sweeping south and east. To the knowledge of the world outside this room, most of the recent activities were still secret. Hogan's hold on the area was deemed to precarious to advertise. A major push could have reversed gains and caused many casualties.
Tonight's session was to come to a decision on making Hogan's Heroes accomplishments common knowledge, by reporting it to the press.
Simpson himself was reluctant to have such a good operative lose his cover, but he realized that Hogan was way past losing his cover. Most of Southern Germany was aware of the change. According to reports, German soldiers had left the army to take up garrison and police duties in the controlled sector and were reporting to the Allied forces.
Hogan had set-up supply lines into Austria, Yugoslavia, and Italy. He had actually changed some production lines from military to civilian needs and was perhaps the first area in Germany to be producing household needs and civilian clothing. Food was more plentiful in this part of Germany than anywhere else. Even the surrendered German forces ate better than the prisoners in Stalag 13 ever had, or at least the majority that didn't had LeBeau cooking for them.
Resistance to any occupation was almost non-existent, largely because the occupation was less stressful on the civilians than the constant threat of bombing and their own Gestapo. And it was still a secret. Even most of Germany wasn't aware of what Hogan and his Heroes had accomplished. Some few were aware of the non-Germans, but Hogan had wisely had made sure most of his liaisons spoke excellent German. Other areas had people with talents for those areas. A (newly minted) Captain Garlotti, an Italian speaker, was organizing relief supplies flooding into Italy as the last resistance crumbled away there.
The net savings in loss of life for the Allies was impossible to estimate, the war was certainly going to be shorter. Battles had been avoided, Generals captured, and civilians protected.
General Simpson was so immersed with thought, that he missed his name being called. The first thing he noticed was how quiet it became. Simpson's head snapped up. Everyone was looking at him. He focused on the head of the table, where Winston Churchill was staring at him.
"I'll ask again, General Simpson," the Prime Minister said. "How much danger do you think this will put on the men in Southern Germany, and Hogan in particular if we bring this public?"
General Simpson answered immediately, "I'm sorry, Prime Minister. At this point, we don't believe there is much that the German forces could do to retake the area, especially without sacrificing other areas still in contention. The risk to Hogan is somewhat abated by this, but as the figurehead, he could always be at risk from a sniper or disgruntled German. I will say, however, that no one who has worked with him, except possibly his superiors, would think anything he did could go wrong. To his men, he has an unbroken string of successes unlike anything even imaginable. There is no way anyone close to him would allow him to come to harm."
The room was chuckling at his remark, many of them having had a working relationship at one time or another with Hogan.
Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Western Europe, asked the question for those who were unaware of Hogan's reputation. "And his superiors, General? What would you do?"
"Either give him a medal or shoot him, for all the ulcers he's given me. For every hair-brained, crackpot, impossible plan that he has successfully, miraculously pulled off. For all the strange requests that we had to beg, borrow, or steal, to provide, and that we could only explain by say that Papa Bear needed it. But he somehow came through, every time. He has probably taken ten years off my life, but I would guess he might have saved a million other lives. He's the craziest SOB in the war, but we may not have won the war without him. At this point, with my staff, there isn't a single request we could ever consider denying him."
The room was full of soft laughter, nodding heads, and more than one acknowledging smile. Too many people had crossed paths with Papa Bear over the years.
Churchill turned toward Eisenhower. "It seems obvious, that our only real recourse is to tell the story of Papa Bear and explain his exploits."
Eisenhower was straight faced in his reply, "I still think it's dangerous, but I agree the lid can't be kept on any longer. I would have liked to have linked up with our forces before we went public, but, at this point, we neither have the time or the option for any other recourse. I will go along with anything we decide."
Two days later, the article appeared in the London Times, and echoed in others such as The Evening Standard, and The Telegraph:
Southern Germany Liberated!
Reports have come in that a major portion of Southern Germany has come under control of the Allies. It has been announced that a former American POW, Lieutenant General (3-Star) Robert Hogan, from Connecticut, has gained control in that part of Germany.
It is further reported that Lieutenant General Hogan, who was a Colonel at the time of his capture, was the mythical "Papa Bear", or savior of downed airmen. In his role as Papa Bear, Lt. General Hogan was able to cause the rescue and repatriation of thousands of allied airmen and soldiers.
The story takes a bizarre twist because Hogan was able to create a system that rescued flyers, performed espionage, all while under the control of Germans as a Prisoner of War. Hogan was somehow able to leave his prisoner of war camp and affect much of the surrounding area, searching for downed airmen, and providing their rescue. He would then provide them safe passage out of Germany, obviously through an "Underground", although the reports of that all less forthcoming.
It appears as if all the men in the prisoner of war camp with Hogan, helped with the projects in their area. Several of the men in camp with Hogan have received promotions and recognition from Allied High Command. Included in the list were Hogan's senior staff, Lt. Colonel James Kinchloe, USA, Major Peter Newkirk RAF, Major Andrew Carter, USA, and Major Louis LeBeau, Free French.
Hogan and his men, who have been dubbed "Hogan's Heroes" were responsible for a general loss of effectiveness of the German war effort from the area they were located. This can be interpreted to mean they were responsible for sabotage of vital military installations or other vital controls such as railways, bridges, and roads.
The name Papa Bear has been whispered about for several years and has been thought of by many to have equal parts fairy tail and an example of American tall tales. Several people came forward today to verify that they had been rescued or liberated by Hogan's Heroes. General Aloysius Barton, the former head of all Allied Day-Bombing, admitted he had been rescued by Hogan and his men and somehow traded for a German Field Marshall that Hogan had captured to affect the exchange.
In truth, several of the stories told by various escapees seemed far-fetched and unbelievable. It has been explained that Hogan and his men ran a very eccentric organization. That part may be attributed to the fact that for all outward appearances, the men were prisoners of the Luftwaffe for over three years. It was the planning and control that Hogan was able to establish both inside and outside the barbed wire that was called Stalag 13, that made the difference.
Within months of being shot down from an air raid he was leading, Hogan managed to organize a large underground movement, from the small town of Hammelburg, located close to Stalag 13, and all the back to London. He was able to provide escapees with forged documents, clothing, and money to allow them to pass through Germany and back to available transport to England.
Hogan initially recruited the prisoners to be part of his organization and was brilliant in organizing their hidden abilities. In his group of men, he was able to develop people with a widely diverse set of skills that allowed his activities to grow deep within enemy territory. It was to the credit of these men that they stayed behind and assisted others when a path was available for them to return home. Allied Command has reported that all of these men have been given due credit within their respective organizations.
Allied High Command has credited Hogan and his men for significantly shortening the war. One example they gave was the Allied ability to blunt a winter offensive through the Ardennes last winter. Based on information provided by Hogan, accurate troop locations, strengths, and order of battle were the basis for a concerted effort that stopped a surprise attack before it was able to start.
Now, as western forces race toward the German capital of Berlin, many former leaders of Germany have been captured by Hogan's Heroes as they try to flee out of the doomed city. With Southern Germany being the last part of the country to be attacked, it was thought to be a safe haven for many trying to get to the safety of Switzerland or beyond. Hogan and his men have been able to capture dozens of high ranking officers, and the list of troops that have surrendered to Lt. General Hogan and his troops is staggering.
The area of land that Hogan's Heroes have gained control of includes most of Southern Germany, parts of Austria, a portion into Yugoslavia, and a part of Northern Italy. Most of this area is now listed as secure, with very little military activity occurring. In comparison, this area is larger in total scope that the area of France and Germany that has been liberated since D-Day. The time frame is still somewhat murky, but this seems to have happened in a relatively short period of time. All of this started with barely two-thousand Prisoners of War and one man with a plan.
Lieutenant-General Hogan and his men are expected to be returned to London as soon as the forces from the west are able to link up with his forces. Allied Command expects that to be accomplished very soon.
An excerpt from the Daily Mirror (London)
"…that a group of prisoners could achieve what Hogan and his men have done is epic." These were only some of the accolades being heaped on the exploits of the Hero of Southern Germany, Lieutenant General Robert Hogan. He, along with his other prisoners, have done in a few months what Montgomery and Patton and Bradley have tried for a year, conquer Germany. And not only are they capturing territory, but by all accounts, having the Germans on their side when they are done.
Translated from Pravda (Moscow)
The news from Southern Germany is encouraging, especially because loyal Russians have been so involved in the organization. Several members of Lieutenant-General Hogan's team were Russian flyers, who were working with our western partners to defeat of the Nazis.
In the end, they decided to play it up to the hilt. A prisoner leading a popular uprising, that had the full support of the German people. Germans troops leaving the army to head back home. Factories turning from war toward peacetime production. There were lists of Generals captured and units that surrendered. Reporters were clamoring to be able to get to Hogan and be the first to score an exclusive interview.
The race to Berlin and the end of the war continued.