Iron Cross

A few days later, news of the breach of the super secret reached the ears of Americans, and President Roosevelt was shocked and angry. As a result, not only did the United States also lose control of German-related intelligence and code information, but the group of experts deployed by the Americans in the manor to cooperate with the British in detecting German and Japanese codes were also in trouble. The United States has always been inferior to the United Kingdom in the field of code detection. This group of experts came to exchange and learn, but now they are being taken advantage of by the Germans.

Hopkins, a close friend of the president, wrote in his diary: "... After learning that the 'super secret' was destroyed by the Germans, the president's anger towards Prime Minister Churchill was palpable - I have never seen him complain so much, even if the British When the general was losing troops on the Alamein front and kept asking us for supplies and equipment, he didn't complain so much. He said, "I would rather lose another 1,000 tanks than lose super secrets." This incident has a great impact on the upcoming battle in North Africa. The initial 'Operation Torch' also had a negative impact, because we originally considered super secrets when considering the balance of power. Now the entire operation has been cast a shadow before it even started. It's really hard to describe... …”

Three months later, there was a knock on the door of a residential house near Cambridge University. After hearing the news, a young woman came out to open the door. She was haggard and looked bad. There was indescribable sadness in her eyebrows. Her former high spirits were gone. All luster has been lost.

"Are you Mrs. MacDonald?"

"I am. Who are you two?" Looking at the appearance of the two men in suits and leather shoes, she couldn't help but feel worried. Recently, there have been people dressed like this to bother her.

"Let me introduce myself, this is Mr. Christopher, an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I am Gerald, an employee of MI5." She was fine after hearing that, but when she heard the name MI5, the young woman couldn't help but get angry, " What are you doing here again? I have said many times that my husband is not a spy! Last month, the government clarified the misunderstanding. Not only did they restore his reputation, but they also awarded him the Loyal Service Medal. I don’t know. What are you doubting?"

Her words were fast and urgent, and her voice was sharp and harsh: "Don't say that our family has nothing to do with the Germans, so what if we do? Just rely on this to doubt us? The royal family is still a genuine German aristocrat, and they have access to secrets. Why don't you doubt them?"

It seemed that the person in front of him was really angry and he could say these words. The two government employees looked at each other with a wry smile on their faces.

"I'm very sorry that I have wronged you." Gerald bowed deeply to express his apology.

Mrs. MacDonald's face looked better now, and she forced a smile on her face: "I wonder what you have come to do today?"

"Our diplomats in Spain received a suitcase and a letter handed over by the German diplomats in Spain. The strange thing is that these things are all sent to you by name." Christopher explained, "According to our original According to the anti-espionage regulations, things sent by enemy countries, especially enemy officials, should be inspected by us before they can be forwarded to you. Considering the special nature of Mr. MacDonald’s identity and a series of recent misunderstandings, Gerald, who is responsible for this matter Mr. De decided to make some changes - he came with me to hand over these items and letters to you first, and then asked you to open them for inspection on the spot in our presence. I wonder if you agree with this method of handling? "

To make his words more convincing, he shook a small suitcase with a seal on it and said, "The stuff is inside."

"From Germany? Mine?"

"Yes. This is the letter."

"Okay then." Mrs. McDonald checked the paint on the envelope and the seal of the suitcase and asked after making sure that it had not been opened. "There won't be bombs or other dangerous items, right?"

"The things were handed over by diplomats, and the Spanish Foreign Minister was also present. This should not happen."

"Okay," said Mrs. MacDonald, "please come in. To prove my innocence, please help me open this box with this gentleman and check the items. I can just watch from the side."

"I'm willing to serve you." Along the way, the two of them had already become curious about this small and heavy box. They always wanted to take a closer look. Considering the seal and the instructions above, they restrained themselves. Go down. Now that they had the recipient's approval, the two immediately removed the seal and opened the unlocked suitcase.

After opening the contents and taking a look at them, the two of them couldn't help but gasp. Mrs. MacDonald, who was watching from the side, also had a look of shock on her face: the box was all yellow and filled with rectangular gold bars. She picked up one. It looks heavy, with a 10-ounce mark on the bottom, and the producer is a Swiss bank. There were ten of these gold bars in the entire suitcase, adding up to 100 ounces of gold—a fortune.

She herself was stunned. How could someone give her these? The other two people couldn't help but become more curious and eager about the letter, and also showed deep suspicion. Mrs. MacDonald looked at the expressions of the two of them, and handed the sealed letter over again: "Since things are so weird, can you two read the letter to me?"

"At your service, ma'am."

Gerald carefully opened the paint port, took out the letter paper and read:

"Dear Mrs. MacDonald:

We are all members of the Rank Commando of the German Wehrmacht.

First of all, please allow us to express our sincere condolences and deepest remorse for the unfortunate passing of Mr. McDonald! He is one of the few heroes we have seen who still fought for the interests of the country at the last moment of his life. He is a true unsung hero.

In early October, we were ordered to attack the code-breaking base set up by the British military intelligence agency at Bletchley Manor, Buckinghamshire. We killed all the code-breaking personnel working there, including Mr. MacDonald. This is a very sad moment.

From our personal point of view, we have no conflict of interest or personal enmity with any of the victims. Even our leader, Albert Rank, had a good personal relationship with your husband. At the last moment of his life, he was still proud to have a friend like Mr. Macdonald. He was forever grateful to your husband for your care and help. The interaction with this noble gentleman is one of the few beautiful colors. Unfortunately, we are in two opposing camps. Our country and our military are fighting in a bloody battle. As soldiers who have sworn allegiance to our country, we have no choice but to perform our duties in the interests of our country. We believe that at this point, Mike Mr. Downer shares our position.

At the end of this operation, in order to cover our retreat and the situation was urgent, Commander Rank put on Mr. Macdonald's clothes and pretended to be himself to divert the pursuing British troops. He sacrificed himself in exchange for the safety of other team members. Safe retreat. This is a necessary expedient in the execution of the mission, but this may cause damage to Mr. McDonald's reputation and cause misunderstanding to your family. We apologize once again. If necessary, we can entrust a neutral third party. The three countries came forward to clarify.

In addition to our most sincere condolences and apology, we also sent 100 ounces of gold - this was Chief Rank's final statement. Originally I wanted to give you pounds, but considering the issues of foreign exchange control and bank transfers during the war, we chose gold supervised by a Swiss bank and transferred it to your ambassador in Spain by our ambassador to Spain. This gold was purchased by him and all the commando team members with their personal savings and bonuses. There is not even a cent of official funds. We do not think that this gold can offset the pain of losing your husband and your children losing their father. This is only the most insignificant and unspeakable compensation. , I hope you will not refuse.

Before parting, Chief Ranke revealed a secret to us, perhaps having a premonition that he would encounter misfortune - a secret that he originally thought he would never tell until his death: In fact, he has always been your deepest admirer, but it was just limited to Due to his identity and conditions, he has never dared to say such words. We have considered it carefully and decided to convey this secret to you, hoping that it will not burden your mind.

We hope that the pain of war and killing will only be inflicted on our generation, and that our descendants will always live in a Europe that is united, harmonious, and develops together, where there is no war and killing, only friendship and mutual assistance. Can form a deep brotherhood with your next generation.

Although there is no definite news, we believe that Chief Rank has been killed in action. If so, can you please entrust the Red Cross to find a reliable cemetery for him. We will bear the cost. When the war is over in the future, we will He will be moved back to Germany; if Chief Rank is still alive after being captured by the British government, we hope that you can visit him once for the sake of a Cambridge alumnus..."

Before she finished reading the letter, Mrs. Macdonald was already in tears.

"This German commando captain...Mr. Rank...uh..." Gerald felt embarrassed, but he still had to ask some questions, "What's the relationship with you and your husband?"

"He is an alumnus and friend of my husband's when he was studying at Cambridge. He is also an alumnus and friend of mine. He is a man of noble conduct and outstanding knowledge." She stared at the two men and cursed them word by word. "A Cambridge University graduate who was once willing to be loyal to the British Empire, but was repeatedly rejected by bureaucrats like you, finally had no choice but to choose Germany - causing us endless disasters. It was you, not him, who destroyed the manor. Destroyed my family."

"Madam, I'm very sorry. This is truly a human tragedy."

The third volume is finished. Things on the Eastern Front will be discussed in the next volume.