Mission Summary and Team
19 May 1941
At the Apartment
- The team was at the safe house when a short, nondescript man wearing a slightly worn suit arrived.
- He provided the correct identification code and identified himself as Éric Sanschagrin and brought new orders from N.
- The briefing:
- “You came to Rennes looking for three individuals and it is imperative that all three are eliminated. None of these men can be allowed to live. Unfortunately we do not wish to bring attention to the fact that these three men were our sole targets, the local Gestapo might get suspicious and delve into their backgrounds. This would not be good.
- “Also, the German authorities have stepped up reprisals against French civilians. The village of Betton was burnt to the ground. Everyone present at the time men and women, there were no children living in the village, were shot. The allies need to demonstrate their support for the Resistance.
- “As a result you are to disguise the real targets of your assassinations by killing additional figures that are important to the occupying forces. These include local garrison officers, Gestapo agents and collaborators. Try to eliminate as many as you can before you leave the city.
- “You have just over a month to complete your primary mission and also target these men, you do not have to kill them all but enough to make things difficult. After this time you will be collected by Lysander and transported back to England.
- “N has provided me with files on potential targets to pass on to you. Now I really must be going.”
- They reviewed the targets.
- Raymond suggested destroying the Ollivier factory to draw the Germans out.
- Laurent countered that an explosion might suggest the presence of a military force to the Germans.
- Raymond responded that they would point suspicion at the Breton Nationalists and have the Germans take out those targets. He intended to leave one of their cars at the scene of the explosion. Laurent suggested that a body would go a long as well.
- Raymond intended to seek out information from Routhier and Bissette for information about the Breton Nationalist.
- He considered that Rancourt might have connections, but he suspected that his client might be related to the Sleeper situation.
The Missing Art
- Raymond considered trying to get an appointment with von Laue to discuss the missing artwork.
- Raymond discussed the missing art with Laurent.
Reconnoitering the Factory
- Raymond and Laurent observed the Olliver Factory to determine the normal operations.
- They set up a position in an abandoned factory nearby
- Guard patrols – patrol northern side, not the river side
- Shifts – 3 shifts of 500 people
- Trucks in and out – civilian. No signs of German vehicles
- Cars in and out – occasional staff car, no civilian cars. Ollivier only goes out in a staff car.
- Where is the Target’s office? Building nearest the lake. Office on south side facing lake. May live there as well.
- Location of combustibles – located the transformers.
- What does the factory produce – Unknown, but sent off as soon as completed by truck.
- What are the raw materials – Large building on the west side is raw materials storage.
- Other features in the area
- There was a large building next to the factory complex that is pulling in water from the lake and emitting steam.
- Laurent thought it might be a good idea to gather information from the workers at the pub.
- Raymond suggested having Antoinette join them to loosen the lips of the factory workers.
The Proposed Plan
- The plan was to come back under the cover of night to locate a boat or raft to cross the river.
- The primary target would be the transformers in order to take out the garrison and the power plant.
- Also to have someone in the target’s office to kill the target when he went to investigate.
- Target timing would be during the overnight shift.