The Danzig Corridor by Jarvis Paul R. E

Author:Jarvis, Paul R. E.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

15

Standing in Agnes Trinke’s room, Lieutenant Kruse knocked sheepishly on the door of his own office.

‘Come,’ shouted the voice from inside.

‘Hauptmann, may I have a word?’ he asked nervously, closing the door behind him.

‘What is it?’ Roehm snapped from behind the desk.

‘One of the Wehrmacht patrol boats has not reported in for nearly two hours. At first, we thought they had a problem with their radio. Now I’m wondering whether their disappearance has something to do with the British soldiers you mentioned,’ he said, his voice falling to a barely audible mumble.

‘When did you last hear from them?’

‘A couple of hours ago. They were using one of our relay communications teams to update their Headquarters in Danzig.’

‘What was their last message?’

‘They were inspecting a barge travelling up the river.’

‘Did they give any indication why they felt it warranted a closer inspection?’

‘They said it was riding high in the water, but it was heading up the Vistula,’ the lieutenant said, stumbling over his words.

Roehm did not understand.

‘It suggests it had no cargo,’ the lieutenant explained, unfolding a large map across the desk in front of him. ‘Barges usually travel downstream to collect coal from the mines around Danzig. This barge appeared to be empty, but was travelling upstream, away from the city.’

Realisation dawned on the hauptmann’s face.

‘It doesn’t sound important, but apparently it’s really unusual,’ Kruse added.

‘I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me about this earlier,’ Roehm said, his demeanour thawing slightly. ‘We could’ve been out looking for them for the last couple of hours.’

‘Sir, since the invasion started, we’ve been having serious problems with our radios. When you arrived, we had lost contact with twelve units. I didn’t want to concern you unnecessarily if it turned out to be purely a communications problem. The network is now working, Sir, and we have reconnected with the others,’ Kruse said, ‘but not this one.

Roehm nodded, appreciating Kruse’s predicament. ‘Do you have their last coordinates?’

‘Yes, Sir,’ the lieutenant said, removing a piece of paper from his pocket. ‘It’s about an hour away by road.’

Kruse handed a transcript of the patrol boat’s final message to the hauptmann.

‘Okay, we need to double the number of patrols on this section of the river and make sure they all report in every thirty minutes. If they’re even a minute late, I want to know about it, understood?’

‘Very good, Sir.’

‘Now, load up fifty of your men. We’re going to find that boat.’

Roehm studied the map sprawled across the desk. He located the Wehrmacht boat’s last known position and surveyed the surrounding area. All his instincts told him this was the work of the British soldiers. Where were they heading? To the east and west were forests and farmland. He could think of no reason why they would be interested in those. His finger followed the Vistula as it wound its way through the countryside. Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine. Twelve miles to the south was the Pomeroze region. He did not know much about Poland, but he knew it was the industrial hub for the north of the country.

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