afterglow

Chapter 699 Extra: Heavy Water Battle

"Heavy water is also known as deuterium oxide (DO), with a relative molecular mass of 22.03, slightly larger than water. Heavy water is an excellent reactor neutron moderator." - Inscription

In a dilapidated apartment building, fully armed agents gathered in front of a resident's door, ready to capture the spy inside.

They broke into the room and saw an unidentifiable man holding a grenade and next to him was a radio in a large suitcase.

He smiled strangely, then let go of her hand...

"Um?!"

Chris suddenly woke up and found herself still soaking in the hot spring. It turned out that this was just a nonsensical dream.

It is now November of the year 1942. The Ming and American sides are still playing against each other on Maui Island, and the war in Europe is still at a stalemate as usual.

The General Investigation Bureau granted Chris a vacation after she had been on duty for several months in a row, so she came to a small town near Oslo, the capital of Norway, and spent a rare week of leisure time during the war.

Today is the last day of vacation.

Standing in the misty hot spring, with her golden hair floating in the water and the warm spring water soaking every inch of her skin, Chris felt relaxed all over.

At noon, bad news came - in the early morning, two Royal Air Force Halifax bombers flew alone about 200 kilometers west of Oslo and dropped a team of paratroopers.

The German troops stationed there then exchanged fire with the commando team in the snow, killing many of them, but some of them escaped into the forest.

The local garrison commander believed that the British were plotting something, so he reported the situation.

Chris immediately concluded that the British must be trying to infiltrate and raid important targets in Norway. She packed her luggage, returned to the Stasi station in Oslo, and headed straight for the scene.

What exactly do those British people want to do? What is their goal?
Rjukan is a small town located 150 km west of Oslo, next to the snow-capped Barron Mountains. Thanks to the abundant electricity provided by the local hydropower station, the Norwegians built an electrolytic aluminum plant and the world's first heavy water plant, the Vemork electrolytic chemical plant.

Chris's first impression of this town was that it was deep and secluded, like a secret ice and snow wonderland. It was built along the river between the valleys, with Tinsja Lake to the east.

"How many soldiers are here, Comrade Major?" She asked the garrison major about the garrison situation.

"There should be 400 people, but some are sick and some are on leave in the mainland, so now there are only 292 people," the major replied.

Although the war has entered its fourth year, Northern Europe seems to be unaffected by the war and remains peaceful.

The activities of the resistance organizations were not frequent, and the only annoying thing was the British special forces. For the German officers and soldiers, the days in Norway were like a vacation.

Chris browsed the map. The soldiers were stationed in military camps, forks in the road, docks, bridges, etc. There was a platoon defending the electrolytic aluminum plant, and another platoon defending the heavy water plant.

The major said confidently: "The British must want to destroy the aluminum smelter. I have ordered reinforcements to be sent there."

Chris stared at the map and asked, "What does that factory in the mountains do?"

"It produces heavy water, which is a liquid similar to ordinary water. I don't know what it is used for, but it is indeed one of the protection targets. Maybe scientists know how to use heavy water."

"Ok."

From a common sense point of view, the significance of aluminum smelters is obviously higher, and aluminum is an important strategic material.

Chris then led several agents to examine the enemy's bodies, and they discovered that this commando was not composed of British people, but Norwegians trained by the Special Air Service Regiment.

Some Norwegians were firmly loyal to the government in exile and vowed to fight the Germans to the death, so the emergence of such a commando was understandable.

Chris looked through the seized maps and documents with an expressionless face. She saw military camps, suspension bridges, factories, and docks circled in red pencil, with some important points marked on them.

She raised her eyes to the garrison commander and said, "There is a British informant in the factory. I need to investigate. Comrade Major, please cooperate."

The latter was surprised, "Informant? Someone was bribed? How can you be sure?"

"I started fighting the British in 34." Chris said calmly, "It's been eight years now."

The garrison commander no longer questioned her professionalism.

The investigation and search work was quickly launched, including dock workers, hydropower station employees, chemical plant engineers...

Dozens of suspicious elements were identified and then interrogated individually to verify their authenticity.

On her way to the Vemork factory, Chris saw the heavy water plant built between steep mountains.

It is surrounded by mountains and snow, with many cliffs and steep cliffs nearby. The normal access is a one-way suspension bridge, which connects it to the outside world. Under the suspension bridge is a river valley that is almost frozen.

The Vemork factory was chosen to be built in this strategically located location because the nearby Juukan Waterfall Hydropower Station, which has a drop of more than 100 meters, can generate electricity with huge potential energy.

This place is not vulnerable to air raids. If the bombs dropped by the planes deviate a little, they will fall into the nearby valley. Chris thought so.

Therefore, she began to suspect that her previous conclusion was incorrect.

Perhaps the British commandos were targeting this heavy water factory? But is heavy water really that important?
Not only did she check on the employees of the chemical plant, she also conducted an on-site survey of the terrain here.

After this, Chris's doubts deepened.

She returned to Berlin to report on the local situation in Rjukan and to verify the issue of heavy water.

"I can only tell you that heavy water is related to the atomic energy research program. People in China, Britain and the United States are conducting similar research. We cannot be sure whether this research will be successful." The superior replied.

"I have reason to suspect that the British want to destroy the Vemork factory."

“That possibility does exist.”

In fact, as the nuclear program progressed, the German Socialist Society gradually realized that there were many objective deficiencies in heavy water reactors. For example, the production of heavy water was too low. They tried their best to barely build an experimental reactor.

Although the heavy water route has not been discontinued, the focus of the nuclear program has shifted to graphite reactors - high-purity graphite is relatively easier to collect and is more conducive to producing enough nuclear materials as quickly as possible.

Only a very few people knew the overall situation of the nuclear program, and Chris was not aware of it.

Of course, the British were unaware of this from beginning to end.

After the first operation ended in failure, the Special Air Service Regiment was not discouraged and quickly planned a second operation.

The dark night sky was dotted with scattered stars as four Halifax bombers each towed a Horsa glider towards Norway.

After the thrilling landing, all the commandos who were parachuted and airdropped landed safely except for a few who were injured. They were led by Captain Roman and there were more than 40 of them in total.

To avoid alerting the enemy, the commandos' landing site was dozens of kilometers away from Rjukan.

It took them two days to find 70% to 80% of their equipment. Then they hid during the day and moved out at night, trudging through the calf-deep snow in the bitterly cold night.

After five days, the commandos finally arrived in Rjukan, with the towering Barron Mountains just in the distance.

After reconnaissance, they found that the Germans had buried mines around the steep cliffs, making it impossible to cross, and there were about twenty people guarding both sides of the suspension bridge.

Captain Roman selected five commandos, who were lightly armed with only silenced Sten submachine guns, to climb up the cliff as a backup, while the rest of the team took the main road to storm the suspension bridge. Only in this way could they bring in a large amount of explosives and destroy the factory to the greatest extent possible. That day, in the evening.

The winter sun was particularly weak, bright red but without any warmth. Chris, wearing a winter military coat, got off the boat and stood on the dock.

The setting sun made her golden hair sparkle, and behind her the Tinsja Lake was shimmering.

After several days of travel, she returned from Berlin. Now she was basically sure that the British target was the Vemork factory.

"I have good reason to suspect that the enemy is attempting to sabotage the Vemork factory, Comrade Major, and you must send reinforcements there immediately," she said.

"The soldiers are stationed in various places. Even here, apart from the battalion headquarters personnel, there are only two platoons, one of which is the reserve." The garrison commander pointed helplessly at the ground.

"Send the reserve troops to reinforce."

"No."

"There is not enough force to defend the factory, and an enemy raid could happen at any time."

"Sorry, the reserve forces cannot be deployed when the enemy situation is unclear. This is a basic rule."

The troops were now stretched thin, and the garrison commander refused to mobilize reserves to reinforce the defense of the Vemork factory.

However, he also promised that a group of soldiers who had completed their vacation would return in half a week, and reinforcements would be available at that time.

There was no other way, Chris could only lead a few agents to the Vemork factory and take charge personally.

Her intuition and years of experience told her that the British would never give up, and she had a vague feeling that a crisis was quietly approaching.

She had explosives placed on the cables and deck of the suspension bridge just in case.

The soldiers could not understand such strange caution and suspicion, but they did as they were told.

Late at night.

The cold moonlight shines on the thick snow, making the Norwegian winter nights shivering.

Where would the British attack come from? she kept asking herself.

At midnight, she came to the only passage connecting her to the outside world - the suspension bridge.

【Picture】

There is a platoon stationed here, but due to shortages and shift changes, there are only about twenty people now.

A Henschel truck was parked nearby. The searchlight on the sentry tower emitted a snow-white beam of light, which moved slowly on the white snow. Soldiers beside the sentry box paced back and forth, stretching their limbs to prevent themselves from freezing. The bonfire was crackling.

At this moment, a strange noise came from a distance, very slight.

Chris, who was beginning to show signs of fatigue, was drinking coffee from the kettle and immediately became alert when she heard the sound.

She felt that she was not hallucinating, so she put down the kettle and drew her pistol.

The two soldiers walked with her towards the direction where the noise came from, and the searchlight on the watchtower was also pointed there.

Sure enough! There was a figure there!
"Come out! Put your hands up! Or we will shoot!" Chris shouted harshly.

The man slowly stood up, raised his hands, and said loudly, "Don't shoot!"

When I got closer, the man still raised his hand, but suddenly moved his thumb.

"boom!"

A bullet fired from his waist. Caught off guard, Chris was shot in the abdomen and fell heavily on the soft snow.

This is a very unethical device that connects the pistol and the thumb through a sleeve. It is specifically designed to attack the opponent when he is off guard and his hands are raised or his hands are covering his head in a surrender posture.

【Picture】

At the same time, several British commandos who were lying in ambush nearby also opened fire. The silenced Sten submachine guns made low "puff puff" sounds, knocking down several people at once.

Just a few seconds later, most of the British commandos on the other side of the suspension bridge also began to move and attacked the suspension bridge.

In an instant, the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and shouting mixed together, creating great chaos.

The roar of the MG40 general-purpose machine gun resounded throughout the snowfield, and dense 7.92mm machine gun bullets poured out like raindrops, but it only lasted for a brief moment, and a PIAT grenade flew over!
Seeing that the German army was weak, Captain Roman led the commando team with numerical advantage in a desperate attack under the cover of snipers.

People were constantly being knocked down by flying bullets, but they were already very close to the suspension bridge, and there were only a few German soldiers left there.

At this moment, a loud noise resounded through the sky!
"boom!!!"

Someone detonated the explosives placed on the suspension bridge, breaking more than a dozen steel cables and half of the bridge deck, but the main structure was still there and had not completely collapsed.

Seeing this, Captain Roman hurriedly ordered a charge and shouted, "Damn it! Get across this bridge! Cover fire!"

At this moment, Chris, who was lying on the snow, felt that she had regained consciousness.

The pain was very slight, but it was extremely cold, a cold that penetrated deep into the bone marrow.

Blood gushed out from the wound on her abdomen, soaking her coat and flowing onto the white snow, just like a pool of red paint casually smeared on white drawing paper.

She saw that the suspension bridge had not been interrupted after the explosion, so she staggered to the Henschel truck, leaving a trail of blood that stretched for dozens of meters along the way.

Chris climbed into the truck with difficulty. Fortunately, vehicles usually would not be stalled in winter. She simply stepped on the clutch, shifted gears, stepped on the accelerator and drove towards the suspension bridge.

Several commandos saw this and shouted in horror: "No! Don't do that! It's pointless!"

"This is my mission." Chris, with a pale face, muttered to herself with a forced smile.

The British commandos fired dense bullets, shattering the windshield in an instant, and she drove the heavy Henschel truck straight onto the suspension bridge.

This was the last straw that broke the camel's back. The shaky half of the bridge deck collapsed and fell into the valley below along with the truck...

Now, the river valley separating the British commandos from the heavy water plant seemed like an insurmountable chasm, and the square black silhouette of the Vemork plant was like a giant beast lurking in the mountains.

Everyone was stunned and had not yet recovered from the shock, so Captain Roman had no choice but to order a retreat.

German reinforcements arrived twenty minutes later.

A day later, the Special Air Service Regiment commando team was hunted down and annihilated, and some of the surviving commandos were found within the following month.

The second Operation Gunsayside again ended in failure.

(End of this chapter)