Chapter 6: The Mission

Hogan and his four men had exited the tunnel and were making their way through the woods near the road. They reached a nearby area where Kinch and Newkirk moved some of the brush aside, revealing a car. "You have an automobile," announced an astounded Durand.

"Ordered straight from the motor pool this afternoon," declared Kinch.

"We need this to look official," Hogan explained. "Inspectors aren't just going to walk in. Okay, Kinch, you drive. LeBeau and Durand, you're in front with him. Hauptman Newkirkstein, you're in back with me."

Newkirk deliberately gave a clumsy salute. "Jawohl, Major Hoganbaum."

The men got into the car in their assigned spots and Kinch drove off towards the weapons factory.

- - -

Kinch stopped the car at a telephone pole not far from the factory. "Looks like my stop," he stated.

I'll let you know if there's any sign of trouble, Colonel. Good luck guys."

Hogan watched as Kinch climbed the pole. They were leaving Kinch to serve as lookout and to intercept any calls from the factory. Once Kinch had reached his post, Hogan said, "Okay, LeBeau, you're driving from here."

LeBeau slid happily into the driver's seat. "Oui, Colonel," he acknowledged. LeBeau drove on to the factory and showed their fake orders at the gate. The guard looked over the paper, then let them pass. LeBeau continued on and parked the car just in front of the factory.

At night, the factory was practically deserted. Only a few guards could be seen patrolling the grounds. Hogan and his men got out of the car. They headed for the main entrance, Hogan and Newkirk in front, with LeBeau and Durand following. The four of them wore German army uniforms. Hogan had the rank of Major. Newkirk was a Captain, and LeBeau and Durand were both Privates.

Just inside, they found the night supervisor sitting at a desk. Hogan slapped the order onto the desk in front of the man and declared, "I'm Major Hoganbaum and this is Hauptman Newkirkstein. We have orders to conduct a surprise inspection of this facility."

"At night," protested the man. "This is highly irregular."

"We are here to inspect your nighttime security as well as the factory. We observed the guards when we came in. They seem to be highly efficient. Now, are you going to take us on a tour or not? As you can see, the orders are signed by General Major Schwarz."

"Perhaps, I should check with the General Major to be certain," said the man reaching for the phone. Newkirk gave a small chuckle, his hand over his mouth as if to hold the laughter in. Pausing, his hand in the air just above the phone, the man asked, "What's so funny?"

"I was just remembering the last man that interrupted the General Major's sleep," replied Newkirk. Then, Newkirk looked at Hogan. "You remember, don't you, Herr Major."

Hogan smiled. "Ja, Newkirkstein, I do."

"What happened?" the man, who was becoming very nervous, wanted to know.

Hogan's smile grew and he could see the man falter even more. "Let's just say that man is more worried about frostbite than he is about bullets or bombs."

Newkirk got into the act again. "Ja, Herr Major, he got off lucky. Surely you've heard the rumors about him being an old friend of Himmler's."

Hogan nodded. "Ja, I seem to remember something about that."

The man caved. "Maybe I should wait till morning to place my call."

"Good idea," agreed Hogan. "But we have to inspect the factory tonight. We're not about to disobey orders."

Standing, the man became very complacent. "Ja. Ja. I understand. If you gentlemen will come with me, I'll show you the factory."

Hogan walk alongside the supervisor, while Newkirk, then LeBeau and Durand followed.

The man showed them several pieces of equipment. Finally, when they were some distance into the room and were stopped in front of another piece of equipment, Hogan ordered, "Klein, Neuhaus. Inspect underneath."

"Ja, Herr Major," LeBeau and Durand responded, going down to floor and crawling under the machinery.

Hogan pointed at a panel near the top of the machine. "Could you open that, please? We need to check inside. As the man moved to obey, Hogan glanced at Newkirk. "Newkirkstein, I believe this is your specialty."

Newkirk went over and pretended to inspect the wiring inside, muttering "Ja" several times. The man and Hogan watched.

While Newkirk and Hogan kept the man thus occupied, LeBeau and Durand secretly planted dynamite under the machine. Newkirk had sewn huge pockets inside their overcoats to hold what they needed. When they had finished, they rose to their feet. "All is in Ordnung, Herr Major," said LeBeau.

"All is in Ordnung here too, Herr Major," Newkirk stated.

"Good," Hogan acknowledged. "You may put the panel back on."

The man replaced the panel and they moved on. Several times during the tour, they stopped for more detailed inspections. Each time, Hogan and Newkirk distracted the man while LeBeau and Durand planted the charges.

Finally, they were done and returned to the front desk. "My superiors will be pleased," Hogan told the man. "All is in Ordnung. Keep up the good work."

The man sighed with relief. "Danke."

"Auf Wiedersehen." Hogan turned and started towards the door. The others followed.

"Auf Wiedersehen," the man called after them.

- - -

LeBeau pulled the car to a stop just under the telephone pole. Kinch finished climbing down and opened the driver's door. LeBeau slid over and Kinch took his place behind the wheel. "I take it the mission was a success," he concluded.

"We have the charges planted," Hogan stated. "When the factory blows up, then the mission will be a success. Drive to that hill down the road a ways and stop. We should have a good view from there. The show should start in about ten minutes."

"Well, I'm just glad I'm not a bomb anymore," insisted LeBeau, glad he no longer carried the explosives in his pocket.

"Take it easy, LeBeau," Hogan suggested. "If either of you'd blown up, we'd all have."

"Like that's supposed to make me feel better."

"They might have been suspicious of suitcases and we couldn't just carry it in. It was a risk we had to take."

Kinch drove the car to the hill and stopped. They all got out and looked towards the factory. Hogan pulled some binoculars from his pocket for a closer view. Suddenly, there were several large flashes as the charges went off. In the light of the final explosions, Hogan could see that factory lay in ruins.

Witnessing the event with unaided eyesight, Durand proclaimed, "For the glory of France."

"For the glory of France," LeBeau echoed.

Hogan put the binoculars back into his pocket and smiled. "Mission a success," he declared. "All of you did well. Now, let's get back to camp."