Mission Summary and Team
Saturday, 26 April 1941
- The team travelled to RAF Hurn and waited until nightfall. The flight to Rennes was uneventful.
- They were collected by Yves and taken to a remote farmhouse. There Yves identified that Clara could probably get a job at the POW hospital. Jakub said he would look for a job as an ambulance driver.
- Yves said that they would be moved to a safe house to use as a base in Betton in the morning, where they would be introduced the cell and start organizing the training. He mentioned that the Le Moal farm was isolated because the neighbouring farms were abandoned and could make a good place for weapons training.
- Yves left them for the day and said he would return after dark to take them to the safe house. Clara put together some breakfast and Jakub found a good bottle of wine in the cellar.
- They buried the heavy gear under the garden patch.
- Basil inspected the farm. The previous residents left in a hurry. Most of the furnishings that were not readily portable were left behind.
- There is a tractor in the barn. It has not been used all winter.
- They considered how to get into the city. Vehicles were in short supply. Horses? A bus? How do people commute into Rennes?
- They discussed how to conduct the training.
- Yves said that the resistance members only now three other members, and only Yves and his two associates know them all.
- Basil recommended training the trainers and having the knowledge filtered through the ranks.
- Basil also advised having the assignments filter through Yves to keep distance between the team and the resistance members.
- Jakub asked about how to conduct the training. Basil advised that he and Jacques were best suited for the combat training, while Jakub might be better suited to the espionage side.
- Yves said that Clara could set up with a local veterinarian and could potentially acquire a vehicle to make house calls to the neighbouring farms.
- Yves was late. German troops have set up in the town hall. There are only four of them, but it is interesting that they arrived the same day.
- Basil suggested not bringing the whole team into the village. He mentioned using the farm for training.
- Yves said that they would be bringing two thirds of each cell’s members for training at a time. He also mentioned that this is the only time that he and Yann would be seen together.
- Basil asked about backup plans. Yves mentioned that in the event that the group was exposed, the fallback position was the Hotel Cassard in Rennes. No one from the resistance has been there, but they keep passive surveillance on it to ensure that it is still safe.
- Basil asked if they could acquire some hunting rifles for shooting practice without attracting attention. Yann said that they would be able to come up with some rifles and shotguns.
- Jacques mentioned that he was an expert at silent killing. This alarmed Yves, who said that his group was small and inexperienced and not up to killing the Germans. He mentioned that the population at large was not on their side. Most did not realize that they were being oppressed. He stated emphatically the need to get the team established with good covers, good reasons for being there and involved in the daily activities of the village.
- It was decided that Jacques and Jakub would set up in town to teach the espionage skills there. Basil would maintain the farm and rural fieldcraft training. Clara would establish herself at the POW hospital.
- Yves suggested planting a local female operative out at the farm with Basil so it looked more natural. He mentioned that they talked with the farrier, Mr. LeBlanc, about taking on Jacques as an assistant. Mr. LeBlanc is an elderly man whose sons had been interned in Germany.
- Basil suggested finding some horses and a cart that they could use to move around.
- Yann mentioned that there was a garage in the village that the Germans were likely to commandeer to maintain their vehicles, and it would not be unusual for them to hire local labour to staff it. Jakub would fit in there easily.
- They packed up Jacques, Jakub and Clara and ferried into Betton. They pointed out the significant locations in town and dropped them off at the safe house. They will be back in the morning to establish their covers.