Mangesh Shirke

Action Thriller

4.8  

Mangesh Shirke

Action Thriller

Having The Form Of a Human

Having The Form Of a Human

18 mins
230


30th September 1938, Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement jointly with Germany, Italy, Great Britain & France, which meant allowing Germany to have access to the Sudeten territory of Czechoslovakia. It was an attempt by the European nations to satisfy Nazi Germany & avoid the beginning conflict.

By October 1938, Germany had already occupied the Czech Sudetenland as a Reichsgau. The German Government justified its intervention by stating that Czechoslovakia was descending into chaos. However, the Munich Agreement was a failure, & Czechoslovakia was unable to defend itself against the German forces, who slowly established themselves on all the top positions in the country.

 

On September 1st,1939, the Nazis attacked Poland, which marked the beginning of World War II. Adolf Hitler’s dream was to capture all of Europe & Poland being the one with least military resistance, topped the list & was defeated in a month.

In 1940, Hitler appointed Konstantin Von Neurath to the minister’s post in Czechoslovakia & Karl Herman Frank as the new police chief & ranking SS (Schutzstaffel) officer.

 

Date: 15th October 1941. World War 2

Special Operations Executive (SOE) Office

London, United Kingdom

 

“We can’t do this …!” Brigadier Colin Goblins, director of SOE disagreed to František Moravec, the expelled chief of Czech Intelligence, “Do you understand the consequences of what you are proposing?”  Edvard Beneš, the current ruling minister of Czech Government under the Nazi rule, was also present for this secret meeting held in one of the SOE chambers.

“We don’t have any other choice Gentlemen…!” Moravec said as he presented the typewritten data & all the newspaper printouts in different European languages, “On 29th September, Reinhard Heydrich, was appointed the Deputy Reichsprotektor by Hitler himself, because he thought Neurath was not treating the Czechs harsh enough & Hitler wants to adopt more radical policy against us. He hopes that Heydrich would crush the Czech resistance & start the German motor & arms warfare in my country. He arrested our Prime minister Alois Eliáš. The Gestapo's are already killing Jews & sending many of them to concentration camps. He has already killed 142 people in Prague…! What more information do you want about this beast…? He needs to be stopped right now, else he’ll create more havoc…!”

The Brigadier looked puzzled.

“I can’t approve your statement…! You say to stop him, we should kill him?” Agitated, the Brigadier replied back. “Imagine the consequences. How many people from your country will be killed…? how many more regions will eradicate... Reinhard is already ruling your country. If you managed to hurt him, do you ever know what will happen to you…?”

“If we keep him alive, he will execute so many Jews….! The Gestapo's are already arresting many of our citizens for smaller crimes. He is using all of our young generation for preparing weapons required by the Nazis…! He has already started organizing Kristallnacht, an organized massacre that has destroyed the lives of thousands of Jewish & Czech citizens in Nazi Germany…!” Moravec said, clearly not agreeing to the Brigadier’s demands.

“We are under tremendous pressure by the European nations & the British Intelligence after the Germans captured the Sudeten regions. We need to do something that would not only inspire the future generations of the Czechs but also show the world how strong we are…!” Edvard said, pounding his fist on the table.

Hitler’s final solution was to murder the entire Jewish population, & the appointment of Heydrich was a major part of that plan. Therefore, the allies & the exiled Czechoslovak Government made it clear that Heydrich should be stopped at all costs. Moravec & Edvard’s idea was to kill Heydrich & stop the holocaust in some way, which is one way may reduce the German attack. But considering the after-effects of this mission, the SOE discarded this idea, after contemplating the losses it may cause not only to the allies but to the Czechs themselves.

 

Finally, after continued forcing by the Czech ministers, the SOE officials finally agreed to this mission & it was given a Codename: “Operation Anthropoid.” Anthropoid meaning, “Having a Form of Human,” a Greek terminology.


Two days before the training began, on 18th October 1941, Moravec had a secret meeting with the SOE officials & Colin Goblins.

“I have appointed 24 of the most promising personals from the exiled Czech army. They’ll now be taken for special training.”

“Do your personals know the effects of this attack?” Goblins again warned Moravec.

“Our expelled Government wants to have the personals only Czechs, because even though we know the consequences, we want to show our people that we had never given up fighting…!” Moravec answered.

The details of this mission were kept top secret from all the other officials of the SOE as well as from all the other allied nations.


On 20th October 1941, preparations & training began in a small remote village of Arisaig, in Lochaber, Invernesshire, on the west coast of Scottish Highlands in Scotland. Major Alfgar Hesketh was supervising the training & was instructed to develop a grenade light enough to throw but equally lethal to pierce an armor-plated Mercedes 320 Cabriolet B, one of the luxury cars frequently used by Hendrich.


“Here they are….!” Moravec presented the two soldier’s names to Brigadier Goblins. “After 8 days of rigorous training, we have selected Warrant Officer Jozef Gabčík & Staff Sergeant Karel Svoboda for this operation. Our soldiers have together decided to carry out this operation on 28th of October, 1941, Czechoslovakia’s Independence Day…!”

Two days later, Edvard Beneš received an urgent telegram from Moravec’s office.

“Jak se to však stalo? But how did this happen? How did Sergeant Karel get injured?”

“He got a terrible head injury during the final phases of the training. Major Alfgar has confirmed this in the telegram I received this morning. He can’t be recovered easily. We need to find a replacement for him with warrant Officer Jozef. I’ve informed the SOE headquarters…”

“Sotva máme čas ...! We hardly have any time now…! The operation was supposed to happen three days later. And now, one of the major commanders is injured…!” Edvard answered back, clearly agitated.

“Zkuste to pochopit, pane ...! Please try to understand, Sir….! We’ll have to go by the rules to keep this mission secret…!”

Finally, the SOE was informed about the accident & also for the replacement of Sergeant Karel. The SOE & the Czechs, together then appointed Jan Kubiš, another officer with Jozef.

However, this caused the mission to delay further as Jan Kubiš had never received any formal training nor had the necessary false documents prepared for him.

Kubiš was appointed immediately, and the training resumed. However, the preparation of false documents again started taking time, as some of his documents were not up to the mark as required by the British & Czech intelligence.

As a part of the training, both of them were trained to know Prague as if they had spent years in the city. Both were given instructions so as to withstand hostile interrogations & both had to memorize separate cover stories that could be confessed in front of the Gestapo after arrest.

On the last day of their training, Moravec decided to have a word with them.

“Under no Circumstances – and I mean none of them – is either of you to get in touch with the underground – directly or indirectly. Once you land in Prague, you’re absolutely on your own. The underground is filled with German informants. For this reason, we have not sent out a single word about you to the most trusted leaders there.”


Finally, after almost more than a month’s delay, on 28th December 1941 at 22:00 hours, Gabčík & Kubiš along with 7 other soldiers were flown from Royal Air Force Station, Tangmere, England in a Halifax Bomber towards Pilsen, about 90 km west of Prague in Western Bohemia. Their team was named as ‘Silver A’. They were well equipped with Sten Submachine guns & Anti-tank grenades, all packed in a suitcase.

Since it was night time, & with no ground control help, no signal towers communication, the pilots were having trouble in navigation. Also as the war was going on, Germany’s airfield was continuously being monitored for any enemy fighter planes. Finally, instead of landing in Pilsen, the team landed on a deserted airfield in Nehvizdy, a small market town 22kms east of Prague at 00:30 hours.

In the wee hours of the night, the entire team, now left on their own, moved out of the airfield towards Pilsen by road. There they met their allies from the British Intelligence.

The next day, they reached Prague. As per the information passed on to them, this was the city where Heydrich was based. There they met Lt. Adolf Opálka, the commander of the Anti- Nazi organization called ‘Out Distance’.

“To nemůžeme udělat…! We can’t do this…!” Lt. Adolf screamed at the Czech soldiers, “Understand that if we take Heydrich’s life, we & the Allies won’t benefit from it at all...! The consequences of this on our people would be limitless…!”

“Jsme připraveni udělat něco pro naši zemi ...!” Gabčík answered back, “We will do anything for our country…! We want to show the world what the Czech resistance can do…!”

Adolf then contacted two other Anti-Nazi organizations, & they together pleaded the SOE & the exiled government of Czechoslovakia to call off the attack, considering the immeasurable damage that will be done to the allies as well as to the Czechs.

 “They are urging us to call off the attack…!” Goblins said, in a joint meeting with Edvard & Moravec, “We still have time…! They are right about the consequences we both would have to face…”

“We won’t call off the attack…!” Edvard said, “We want to show the world how strong our resistance is, & what we Czechs could do…!”


Gabčík & Kubiš started their planning to kill Heydrich. Using their excellent fluency in the German language, they created a group of informants to watch Heydrich’s movements closely. They had to be very careful to not disclose their identity to any outside person other than their group. They monitored his daily commute; the route & the locations of his office were already informed to them.

“Jeho soukromé sídlo Je přísně střeženo. His private residence is heavily guarded. We can’t go there & kill him.” Gabčík said as the team was discussing their plans. The city map was open in front of them.

“Zaměřme Jeho kancelář.” Adolf said, “Let’s target his office.”

“That’s too heavily guarded,” Kubiš said, pointing to Heydrich’s office in Prague Palace, “All the visitors are monitored. It will be difficult to escape out after we kill him.”

“Our sources say he travels to Berlin by train whenever he needs to meet Hitler,” Adolf said marking the Praha-Bubeneč, the Prague railway station on the map.

“This station is surrounded by dense forests, making an easy escape route for us..” Gabčík said.

It was then decided to kill Heydrich the coming weekend at the Prague Railway station.


On 20th February 1942, seven men stood in disguise at the Railway station. Gabčík & Kubiš were dressed as German officials, with their false name tags & false documents. The train to Berlin was to come at 10:30 AM.

Kubiš had planned to create commotion inside the train by picking up a fight with his comrade, another soldier. Taking advantage of the commotion, Gabčík would shoot Heydrich, pull the emergency brakes chain, jump out & escape in the forest.

Kubiš would then get down in between before the train crosses the Czech border.

At 10:00 AM, a huge fleet of German Soldiers came to the station. Heydrich came in his open Mercedes 320 Cabriolet B luxury car. He was surrounded by German soldiers from all sides.

Without waiting anywhere, Heydrich greeted all the officers & waited for the train.

As the train approached, all the officers stood in alert. Later it was announced that only German officials with valid documents would be allowed to board this train.

As the train halted, Heydrich got inside in the 1st class compartment, followed by his commanders & officers.

A queue was formed of German people & everybody was instructed to display their valid ID signed by the German Authorities.

Gabčík & Kubiš glanced at each other. They had valid IDs, but none of it was properly signed. Moreover, they were told not to contact the SOE or the exiled Government if they were caught.

The queue was moving ahead fast. The Gestapo's & Schutzstaffel commandoes were observing every person at the station. Every document was checked clearly before the passengers were allowed to proceed.

Gabčík thought about his movements. If they are caught now, the entire mission will be aborted. If they manage to get in, it was almost impossible to fire at Heydrich as no one was allowed to enter the 1st class compartment, not even Germans. He would have to wait for all the way till Berlin to shoot Heydrich, but escaping from Berlin was absolutely impossible.

He had to take a call.

Finally, he signaled Kubiš to stand back. Stepping out from the queue, both of them approached the exit.

“Ať jde. Let him go.” Gabčík whispered harshly. “we can’t risk ourselves getting caught. Pokračujme. Let’s move on from here.” He then signaled the other soldiers of his team to quietly move out.


“Damn it…! The Hangman escaped…!” Kubiš frustratingly banged his hand on the table, “We had a good chance to kill him…”

“Understand Comrade,” Gabčík consoled him, “If we could have been caught, all our plans would be destroyed. We had to stop...!” Opening his map, he said, “Let’s find another alternative to finish him.”

Heydrich was in Berlin for more than two months. In the meantime, the Silver A group exactly knew the path of commute Heydrich used daily. One such way was through a deserted forest.

“Somehow we will stop his car. It will be almost evening time when he reaches there. Let’s target him there…!” Kubiš said, loading his gun.

“Ale to může být nebezpečné ..!” Adolf replied back, “But that can be dangerous…! Heydrich avoids that road during evening times. He always prefers coming from the main road...!”

“Well… then let’s see how we can do it…!”

After Heydrich was back in the city, for the next few days, Josef Valčík, one of the soldiers in Team Silver A, kept an eye on Heydrich’s movements. According to him, Heydrich always started his commute exactly at 10:00 in the morning. He always took the road named Kirchmayerova třída in Liben passing through Bulovka Hospital.

“Toto je perfektní...!” Gabčík said as he observed the map, This is perfect..! If you observe, there is a tight curve just in front of Bulovka Hospital..! We can use this area to kill the Hangman..!

“Heydrich starts from his home every morning at 10:30 AM. He always drives in the open Mercedes driven by a chauffeur.” Kubiš then indicated the spot on the map. “There is a tram stop called Kirchmayerova třída right in front of the Bulovka Hospital. The tight curve on the road in this area will naturally force his car to slow down. Two of us will stay at these locations,“ he then marked the locations on the map. “As soon as his car arrives on the junction, signal to one of us by wearing your hats. Gabcik, the moment his car comes, open fire straight on him. Target his head & chest area. Fire your rounds & getaway. If something unusual happens, I’ll straightaway throw the grenade towards him.“ He then indicated the path for both of their escape. “Karel Čurda, we’ll be meeting you in the backyards of the Boromejsky Church. Josef Valčík, remember, distract anyone who tries to follow us. All of us will carry their own weapons. Gabčík, remember to use your Sten Gun while firing.”


Finally, on 27th May 1942, the team decided to carry out its mission. Two men waited at the junction of the road. Gabčík had a hidden Sten Submachine Gun in a suitcase, quick enough to open & start firing. Josef Valčík was positioned about 100 meters away to signal the arrival of the car. All of them were wearing German uniforms so that no one felt suspicious.

Exactly at 10:40 AM, Josef Valčík saw the Green colored Mercedes coming down the main road. Immediately, he signaled to the two men, who were equally alert.

Gabčík saw the Green colored open Mercedes & clutched his briefcase. Heydrich was seated behind, & the automobile was driven by an SS officer.

Kubiš had already instructed Gabčík & his other teammates that this driver, being from the SS, was equally capable of shooting & fighting. Therefore, they also had plans to distract & drag his attention away.

Exactly about two minutes later, Heydrich’s car approached the curve.

Gabčík immediately rushed into action & without wasting any time, pull out his Sten gun, & positioning it on his shoulder, ran towards the vehicle, aiming straight at Heydrich. As he came near the vehicle in the Gun’s range, he pressed the trigger hard.

Nothing Happened.

The gun was jammed. No bullet got fired. Hastily, Gabčík unloaded the bullet magazine, cocked it in the weapon, reloaded it & pulled the trigger again. In all the busy work, he had totally forgotten to maintain & service his weapon.

The gun was still jammed.

In the busy traffic, Heydrich & his driver clearly saw a German soldier trying to shoot at them.

“Halt das Auto an ...!” Heydrich screamed at his driver, “Stop the car...! I’ll shoot him right now…!”

As Gabčík was still trying to reload his gun, Heydrich stood in his car, removed his Luger pistol & aimed at Gabčík.

Seeing his partner in danger, Kubiš, without wasting any more time, ran towards the vehicle & removed the Anti-tank grenade. Aiming straight for Heydrich’s car, he threw it in that direction.

An ear-shattering explosion happened. Gabčík was some distance away, so he was not impacted by the shot, however, Kubiš got injured.

A huge commotion happened on the road. It was a busy street with vehicles & people around. Kubiš had thrown the grenade at the rear end of the vehicle. The detonation sent out fragments & shrapnel from the grenade, injuring Kubiš.

However, the impact also damaged the rear end of the car, sending out small fragments of metal, shrapnel & car upholstery fabric straight into Heydrich.

Gabčík thought the Hangman is dead, but he was wrong.

Heydrich staggered out of the car. Mortally wounded with his entire left side bleeding, he aimed his pistol towards Gabčík with shivering hands.

Panicked & seeing their plan failed with Heydrich still alive, Gabčík & Kubiš, removed their M1903 pistols, which they had kept as a backup, & fired towards Heydrich.

Shaken by the explosion, they missed it.

Now, they realized their plan had failed miserably. Seeing Heydrich coming towards them, they decided to escape. Kubiš jumped on his bicycle & rapidly pedaled away. Heydrich, gripping his profusely bleeding left side, shouted at his driver, “Holden Bastard ...! Get that Bastard…!” pointing towards Gabčík.

As his driver chased down Gabčík, Heydrich himself tried running behind Kubiš who had already pedaled away but bleeding profusely, he collapsed halfway down the road.

Gabčík ran ahead on the road & turned inside a narrow lane. Seeing the driver chasing him, he hide inside a butcher’s shop, & as the driver approached he shot him twice with his gun & escaped out. He then took a tram & reached a local safe house.


“Sakra...! Damn it….!” Gabčík was furious inside the safe house. Josef & Kubiš were already there along with the other members of the team. They were absolutely certain that their chance to kill the Hangman was lost.

“We have lost our attempt. I fear this attack will have further consequences on our entire nation as well as the allies. The Nazis will surely come to know Czechs have attacked their officer, which will be terrible to all of us..!”

The team then came to know that Heydrich was taken to Bulvoka Hospital where his condition was improving. They then decided to stay underground, as the Nazis had already started arresting & executing all the suspicious people they found.


A week later, at the SOE chambers, in England, Moravec & Edvard were having a meeting with Brigadier Collin Goblins.

“It’s been more than 6 months now, & still Heydrich is alive…! I had warned you of all the consequences we have to face …!” Goblins screamed at the two Czech leaders.

“They must’ve attempted to kill him. They were trained that way to do so.” Edvard said, producing the documents of their training.

“However good they must’ve been trained…its of no use still…! It was your idea to kill that hangman…!”


The next day, on 4th June 1942, Reinhard Heydrich succumbed to his wounds. He died due to severe infection caused inside his body. The Czech soldiers thought they had missed their target while firing, but the explosion had targeted the Hangman. He had a ruptured spleen, a collapsed left lung, a fractured rib & a damaged diaphragm. Although he was operated twice, the infection inside his body kept spreading & eventually, after more than a week of his attack, he died.


Following his death, Hitler ordered a major investigation. He initially wanted to execute almost more than 10,000 Czechs, but the order was called off as it will reduce the ammunition production required by the Germans for WW2. However,13,000 Czechs were arrested & sent to concentration camps. The relatives of Gabčík & Kubiš were arrested & executed, the villages of Lidice & Ležáky were burned down & all the villagers were sent to concentration camps, as most of the leaders from the exiled Czech Government had been born there. Gabčík & Kubiš were later found hiding in a church. The priests of the church were executed & the two soldiers committed suicide by killing themselves.


The Allies dissolved the Munich Agreement immediately, & even though Heydrich’s replacements continued his work, some believe that if Heydrich had lived, the losses suffered would be have been much greater to the Jews & Czechs than they posted his killing.


Considering the terrible aftereffects of the killings, the allies never attempted any other assassination of another leader, as the cost was simply too great.


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