Chapter 981: Thorough Preparations

The sky had gradually darkened, and the temperature had dropped considerably. The iron ore factories in Norway were still bustling with production, showing no signs of stopping. This place was supplying almost the entire steel consumption of Europe, and the high-quality iron ore had become the most sought-after commodity in the war.

Many of the workers here were British and French prisoners of war, who had a higher level of technical skill and education. These prisoners had been hired by the Norwegian capitalists from German POW camps. Their treatment was better, and they even received wages.

However, the watchtowers and barbed wire around these factories, and the high courtyard walls, were a constant reminder that the workers here were not truly free, and that this world was not a peaceful and safe place.

Click! With a sound, a huge searchlight on a high platform lit up. A German soldier, with a rifle on his back, stood high up, his face expressionless as he scanned the area illuminated by the searchlight. His gaze moved with the light, sweeping over the surrounding trees and the exclusion zone, which was marked with signs for a minefield.

“Wooo… Wooo…” The sound of the alarm rang out, and a large contingent of fully armed German Wehrmacht soldiers, shouldering their weapons, filed out of their barracks. Their camp was not far from these mines, so in many places, they could quickly reach the assembly point without using vehicles.

“Quick! Faster!” an officer shouted from the side of the road, urging his men to speed up. Behind this officer, two soldiers with purebred German Shepherds stood, the leashes in their hands pulled taut by the fierce dogs. The sound of their barking echoed in the dark night sky, sounding somewhat distant and melodious.

Clatter! Clatter! Clatter! Clatter! The high-quality leather boots of the Wehrmacht made a neat sound as they struck the ground. These armed Wehrmacht soldiers began to reinforce the area around the mine. They searched all suspicious places and drove away some of the residents around the mine.

Two German soldiers, holding their rifles, refused a man’s request to pass through the mountainous area. “Get out of here! Or we’ll open fire! This area has been under martial law recently. Don’t try to get close… Anyone who approaches will be stopped. Anyone who tries to force their way through will be shot!”

The Norwegian man shrugged, finding the words of the German occupation forces somewhat incredible. He turned and left with regret, and the two German soldiers behind him shifted their gaze and began to stop others who wanted to go home or go out along this road. “This area is already under martial law! I’m sorry! Please leave! This road is closed! Turn around and leave, will you?”

The Norwegian man walked a long, long way. When he could no longer see anyone else, he turned and ran down the road. He ducked into the dense woods and met up with a few other furtive-looking men under a large tree. “They might have discovered something! I wanted to go over and confirm the location where we’re supposed to light the fires, but I was stopped by their sentries.”

If one were to stand by this group of men now, they would know from the content of their conversation that these were the Norwegian underground resistance, who were fighting against the German rule. They had contacted the American military, which had led to this operational plan to bomb Norway. The mission of these men was to light fires before the American bombers arrived, to guide them to attack their targets at night. Although their strength might be very weak, the role they played in this bombing raid was very important.

“For an operation of this scale, the Germans would surely have noticed something… but their reaction speed is really fast. They actually took action to impose martial law before we could even infiltrate,” the leader, an elderly Norwegian saboteur, said, looking up at the sky, which had already fallen into darkness. He then signaled for everyone to follow him.

They had not walked long before they came to a small wooden cabin in the woods. They drew the heavy curtains and then lit a kerosene lamp in a corner. On the wall hung a map, on which were marked the several iron ore production factories that the Allies were to attack today.

“In the early morning… at 4 o’clock sharp. The American planes will arrive on time in the airspace nearby. Our mission is to, at all costs, light a large fire to indicate the bombing locations for these planes. As long as the firelight is spotted by the Allied planes, our mission will be complete. Gentlemen… the battle to drive out the Germans, victory or defeat rests on this one move!” the old man said in a low voice to the few people around him, by the faint light of the lamp.

“Alright!” The few young men all raised their fists, clearly encouraged by this speech. They were all unemployed youths who had been recruited by the old man and who hated the German occupation forces. Like their opponents, the Germans, they possessed a belief in dying for their cause and a tenacious fighting spirit.

The old man nodded with satisfaction, then lifted a floorboard, revealing several American submachine guns inside. “The latest American weapons! Transported by submarine for the resistance. We are now as well-equipped as the Germans. Tonight, let’s show them who the real warriors are!”

Impatiently, all the young men bent down and took out their weapons from the secret compartment. Each had a submachine gun as his weapon, and they had even been given great killers like hand grenades. After all, the Allies had been preparing for this day’s operation for a long time. If they couldn’t put together a luxurious lineup, that would be a real international joke.

“Alright! Let’s synchronize our watches now! It is 5:30 in the evening… we will wait here for now, and then at 3:30 tomorrow, we will launch our operation at the same time as our brother units!” Everyone took out their pocket watches and accurately set their own time.

At about the same moment, in many such secret houses, the members of the Norwegian sabotage organization, who had already synchronized their watches, closed the covers of the pocket watches in their palms. At this moment, all they needed to do was to wait, to wait patiently for the opportunity for them to act.

A transport ship had docked at a pier in a port in southern Norway. Before the gangway was even stable, a high-ranking German officer had jumped down. All the high-ranking German officers in Norway who were there to welcome him raised their right hands and gave a standard Greater German salute. “Heil Führer!”

“Heil Führer!” The second to come down the gangway was the commander-in-chief of Army Group I, whose headquarters was actually in Denmark, General von Kleist. He casually returned a military salute and then handed the greatcoat draped over his shoulders to his aide behind him.

He then did not hurry to get into the car that was waiting for him but walked to the front of these subordinates of his. “Generals, I have already moved my headquarters from Denmark to here… I believe you all have a good idea of how urgent the situation is, right? I want you to reconfirm the ground security work for all the targets. If no problems are found, then expand the scope and continue to search!”

“Your Excellency, General! We have already sealed off all the roads in the ore production areas,” a major general quickly replied. “The areas around these regions should already be very safe…”

“I want absolute! Absolute security! Do you understand?” General von Kleist said, looking at his subordinate in a solemn tone. “This is the Führer’s supreme command. If we cannot complete it, then we should all be sent to a military tribunal and hanged! If the great Empire suffers a loss because of our failure, then we will be the sinners of the entire nation!”

He looked at his subordinates around him and ordered sternly, “Immediately expand the search area for me! Shoot any suspicious person! For the next week, at all costs, maintain a first-degree state of readiness, and also ensure the safety of the iron ore production factories!”

“Yes, sir! Heil Führer!” Everyone saluted at attention again. General von Kleist then got into his car. He rolled down the window and reminded his subordinates once more, “Don’t be careless! This is a battle that will decide the outcome!” He then rolled up the window, and the car drove smoothly out of the pier.

In a German restricted area, a heavy truck, towing an 88mm anti-aircraft gun, stopped in an open space outside a factory area. The German Air Force air defense gunners who had jumped down from the truck began to set up the high-angle gun with a flurry of hands.

They first removed the wheels from the front and rear of the high-angle gun and stacked them to one side. Then they unfolded the folded gun carriage, forming a cross shape to provide a stable firing platform for the high-angle gun.

“From the 175th Independent Anti-Aircraft Gun Battalion? Weren’t you in charge of air defense in Sector 17? When were you transferred here?” The fourth officer to check the papers of these anti-aircraft gun units, from the outer perimeter all the way to the factory gate, asked the artillery officer in charge of this high-angle gun with a frown.

The artillery officer took his papers back from the other’s hand, then put them back in his pocket. His face was weary and resigned, but he managed to force a smile. “We received an emergency transfer order a few hours ago, telling us to come here to strengthen the air defense near the mining area.”

The officer stationed in the mining area nodded in understanding, handed the other a cigarette, and took out a lighter before continuing, “Don’t even mention it. In this one place, two SS search teams have already passed through. Who knows what’s going on this time, it has alerted several departments.”

While the two of them were puffing away and exchanging pleasantries, a helicopter flew past quickly over their heads. The lights on the aircraft flashed, and the roar of the engines made the people on the ground involuntarily raise their heads. The helicopter’s searchlight swept into the distance, and in the diffused light, one could see the cold machine gun on the aircraft.

The German army had already made all preparations in Norway, guarding against an Allied air attack in every detail. This time, it was unknown whether the hunters who were waiting for their prey would win, or if the prey could steal the delicious bait.

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