T-Force by Sean Longden

Author:Sean Longden [Longden, Sean]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Constable
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Investigations

‘. . . secret weapons that made Jules Verne look like a small boy with a popgun.’

News Chronicle, 16 July 1945.

The postwar phase of T-Force’s operations was defined by one simple factor – the need for the western Allies to continue to search Germany and discover the Nazi regime’s military secrets. Only by absorbing this research and utilizing it to their advantage could the West keep one step ahead of the Russians. If the collection and evacuation of machinery, prototypes, documents and personnel were going to continue, then it was essential to retain the use of the unit that had already been so successful in the role.

Initially, there had been a measure of scepticism among some commanders about whether a unit such as T-Force could operate successfully amidst the rapidly changing environment of a sweeping advance through Germany. The doubters had been proved wrong. As Brian Urquhart noted in his final report prior to leaving T-Force, ‘It worked far better than anyone dared to hope.’1 He stressed that military commanders had been impressed with the smooth running of the T-Force system of operations and evacuations. He attributed the success to the ‘endless good temper’2 of the officers and staff of the 5th King’s HQ in dealing with a multitude of problems, the initiative shown by the officers in the field and the skill of the assessors.

With the war over and Germany occupied by the Allies, there was little time for the men of T-Force to settle down to enjoy the fruits of victory. Although they were able to carry out their duties safe in the knowledge that no one was shooting at them, there was still plenty of work to be done. Once the danger had passed increasing numbers of scientists and investigation teams arrived in Germany to continue the search for the secrets of the Third Reich. And at all times they were to be hosted by the men that had previously led the charge to find these secrets – T-Force.

During the advance into Germany few among the British Army had any idea of the role played by the unit. Most officers and men who had seen their vehicles charging around the roads of Germany merely asked themselves ‘Who the hell are T-Force?’ and carried on with the business of winning the war. Once the war was over, and T-Force had embarked on the mission of following up leads from earlier investigations, there still remained the necessity to draw a discrete veil over their activities.

While the soldiers got used to looking after the investigation teams, the unit received the first recognition of its wartime duties. Despite this need for secrecy that helped conceal some of their more clandestine activities, a few stories had been released to the media – albeit without revealing the perpetrators of the deeds. Having heard whispers about the activities of the unit, a well-known historian named Captain Cyril Falls, working as the military correspondent for The Times, requested permission to write a feature on T-Force.

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