Camp-X  Vengeance Weapon                                       Ajax  Arsenal of Democracy                                       Camp-X  Mills of the Gods

Excerpts from: Camp-X
                           Vengeance Weapon
 

Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel, Quebec City, Quebec Canada
8 August 1943

Quadrant
 

“Now, tell me, candidly. What might be so urgent that you’ve asked to meet before the conference, and, I might add, without the presence of the Canadian Prime Minister?” inquired Roosevelt. “No skullduggery afoot or slight intended against our host, I presume?”

“No, none, I assure you, Franklin. A drink perhaps? Possibly your assistant, Mr.…?”

“Sorry. David Tomlinson, may I present Winston Churchill and Sir Willson Cunnington,” Roosevelt offered. “David, please dial room service and have them send up an attendant. Thank you.”

“Not necessary, Franklin,” interjected the British prime Minister. “This hostelry is particularly well-supplied. In fact, I was about to ask if Mr. Tomlinson would be kind enough to play barkeep, after which, we can get down to private discussions.”

Break

“Cheers! Franklin, I cannot apologise for the secrecy,” continued Churchill. “I have received information of the most sensitive nature which, I judged, must be conveyed to you in person. Only two others, as well as Sir Will and I, are privy to it.”
 

#######################################################

Excerpts from:

The Arsenal of Democracy

Berlin, Germany
Office of The Chancellor, Adolf Hitler
Fall 1943

"I believe you will be pleased with this information, Mein Führer." Canaris remarked. Regaining his customary poise, he continued cautiously, "However, these are matters of unusual sensitivity, Sir. Perhaps the Führer…"
"Perhaps what, Admiral?" snapped Adolf Hitler in exasperation. "Perhaps what?"
Leaning forward, Canaris whispered conspiratorially, "Perhaps the Führer, um, would wish to dismiss the guards…." The wily, white-haired master of intrigue sat back, awaiting the Führer’s reaction.
"Becoming a trifle paranoid, are we, Canaris?"
Wilhelm Canaris silently contemplated the richly detailed Turko-Persian carpet on which his immaculately-buffed black Oxfords rested. 'Adolf Alois Hitler, the crown prince of paranoia, is accusing me of obsession?' Looking up, with a virtuous smile, he added, “Simply precautions, if you will, Mein Führer.”
"Very well. The guards did conduct a thorough search for concealed weapons when you arrived. No?" Hitler queried, smiling faintly. Pressing an intercom switch beneath his desk, he issued an order, concluding curtly, “… and no interruptions. Understood?” Within seconds, an impossibly perfect specimen of Aryan maleness, a captain of the Führer’s personal SS- Liebstandarte (Lifeguards) entered. Saluting his Führer in the approved Roman manner, the SS man turned smartly and exited silently, the two SS-Liebstandarte sentries at heel.
"Now, Wilhelm. Satisfied?"
"Thank you, yes, Mein Führer."
"Very well, proceed. Are you now going to announce that the Allies are about to launch a second front in Italy, perhaps? More tea? I must confess that I’ve grown quite fond of this blend. It is specially imported from Venezuela: The Caracas Tea Company. Are you quite sure?"
Gracefully declining, "Thank you, no,” Canaris plunged ahead. “Mein Führer, the issue at hand is…”
“There is something that troubles me,” interjected Hitler. Removing his breast pocket handkerchief, he proceeded to swab a few miniscule droplets of tea from the top of his desk. Satisfied, he continued. “I find it most upsetting.”
“Mein Führer?” His heart pounding, Canaris waited for the announcement that Kaltenbrunner had discovered his most recent peace overtures to the Swiss authorities.
“Your interference with the SS in the performance of their duties!” Hitler bellowed, standing.
“S, sir?”
Stalking back and forth behind his desk, the Führer railed, “Be quiet! Quiet! Listen, damn you! You know very well what I mean! Reichsführer Himmler tells me that you were caught red-handed.” His hands clasped behind his back, Hitler paused, his body visibly shaking. Turning, he confronted Canaris, forefinger wagging accusingly. “Admit your treachery!”
Dumfounded and terrified, yet having no idea to what Hitler was referring, Canaris averted his gaze and waited for the next volley. It was not long in coming.
“The seven SOE criminals!” Hitler screamed. “You, Canaris,” he sputtered, his mouth foam-flecked, “Yes you! You, Canaris, actually had the gall to lie straight-faced to SS-Lieutenant-Colonel Eichmann that all seven of them were Abwehr agents. Unbelievable!”
Without looking up, fearing that his face would reveal his lie, Canaris responded evenly, “Begging the Führer’s pardon, but in fact that there were, er, are!”
“And so you demanded their release?”
“I did, Sir. It was all quite legal. I was only protecting my people, as I believed you would have expected of a diligent and responsible head of a department, Sir!”
“And where are these so-called ‘agents’ now, pray tell? In Washington?”
Regaining his capacity to invent fiction on-the-fly, Canaris continued convincingly. “Washington, yes. Two. Correct, Sir. The other five are serving undercover in New York City, and Toronto, Canada, I’m pleased to report. Much useful intelligence comes down the wires from them, almost daily,” he stated assuringly. In fact, the seven prisoners bore no connection whatsoever to the Abwehr. Bound by cattle car for execution at Buchenwald Concentration Camp from Gestapo HQ in Berlin, Canaris had brazenly claimed them from SS custody, over strenuous objections and threats, taught them a few outdated German codes, and then spirited them off to the obscurity and relative safety of Portugal. As a future bargaining chip, Canaris had ensured that London was informed promptly, “through the usual channels.”
“Good lord! Will wonders never cease? British Intelligence agents of the Third Reich!” Hitler fumed. To Canaris, as Hitler looked skyward, hands clenched, his mouth now rimmed with spittle, the Führer had the appearance of the mad Russian monk, Rasputin. “I would order you shot in a minute for insubordination, treason, and God knows what else, Wilhelm, if I had even the slightest suspicion that this was another of your double-dealing schemes!” he raged. “Be advised, you are on very shaky ground. Be assured that I will pursue this matter all the way with Kaltenbrunner and Himmler. Count on it!” he concluded grimly. Sitting down again in his armchair, composed, Hitler steepled his fingers and calmly asked, “You were saying, Admiral?”
His heart pounding like a trip hammer, Canaris carefully measured his next words. “Thank you, Sir. This intelligence is closely associated with the Allies' long-term strategic objectives. It concerns a disturbing development at their major armaments production facility, in Ontario, Canada, to be precise...”
 
 

Excerpts from: Camp-X
                      Mills of the Gods
Homeland Artillery Park 11  Peenemünde
On an Island off the Baltic Sea Coast, North-West Germany
February 1943

Taking a deep breath, Colonel General Siegfried Hoffman poked his head into the crowded lecture room and announced, “Excuse the intrusion, Herr Doctor!”
Dr. Willi von Bressler turned away from the blackboard. Visibly irritated at the interruption, with chalk in hand, he asked, “Yes, General?”
“We have a visitor, Herr Doctor!” Hoffman explained, adding for clarification, “From Berlin!” Tilting his head in the direction of the Centre’s reception area, Siegfried mouthed a name.
“Please inform whoever it is that I’m busy at the moment,” General Hoffman. And kindly ask them to make an appointment with Herta, like everyone else,” Von Bressler muttered the last words as he returned to the array of equations spattering the chalkboard.
“And so, with the improved gyro-compass controls now being tested on the A4 Aggregate , we can expect the trajectory cut-off point to be…like this.” Willi slashed at the blackboard with rapid strokes, producing a mathematical model, while his team of engineers and technicians dutifully recorded the hieroglyphic symbols in their notepads. Whirling around with a dramatic flourish, he concluded, “And, it will easily reach London!”
“I’m sorry, Herr Doctor,” Hoffman persisted. “May I speak with you privately? Outside, please? It’s very important!”
“Very well. Dr. Hamm, would you continue, please? I’ll be back in a moment, ladies and gentlemen.”
 
 

######################################################

Reviews:

Camp-X  Vengeance Weapon

Mr. Hodgson and Mr. Longfield deliver a whirlwind world tour involving espionage, deceit, and intrigue. They not only stir the imagination with the actual locations in which dramatic events were shaped or played out, but have again created a memorable cast of characters who range across the human spectrum from valiant, principled and courageous to unscrupulous, corrupt, and treasonous, whether friend of foe.
It is not only enjoyable to read, but exciting to experience the role Canada’s masters of secret warfare played in the prelude to events which, if unchecked, would have turned the tide against the Allies and plunged the world into a chillingly - possible second Dark Age, ruled by tyranny and evil, during the madness of World War II.
 

Chris Janusitis, Producer
Rogers Television Durham - Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
 

Reviews:

Ajax Aresenal of Democracy

Loved the book!

I loved this book from the get-go!  I could not put it down. A week later I still missed the characters and wanted to read the final sequel right away.  This book has it all, adventure, mystery and it is all based on the true story of the men and women of Camp-X and Defence Industries Limited.
A wonderful read, engaging, exciting and a well deserved tribute to the ordinary citizens doing the most extraordinairy things during WWII.

Nancy Haner Strahl
French/History Teacher - Port Perry High School
 
 

Reviews:

Camp-X  Mills of the Gods

"I have just finished your latest book, (Mills of the Gods) and  thoroughly enjoyed it as usual.  While I was too young to serve, I was keenly interested in World War 2, and the history leading up to it. Although I have found all of your Camp-X books to be informative and entertaining, I get the greatest satisfaction in reading your references to events that I clearly remember from the 1930's and 40's. I am sure that you must be gratified to see that your books have a wide appeal to young people as well as senior citizens like myself."
Roy Cowan
Port Hope, Ontario
 
 

Makes a great gift for your father/mother or grandfather/grandmother or just for the history buff in the family!