Ranke soon met Otto Skorzny in the Führer's office, and although the man had only the rank of captain, he was impressed by the meeting - he had a strong and strong physique, a very oppressive height of more than 1.9 meters, and a lean body from top to bottom, and the obvious scar on his left cheek added a bit of viciousness.

Skorzny was also observing Ranke, and when he saw Rank, he looked him up and down with those piercing eyes, and he felt that Ranke was a little thin, and his complexion was darkened by the North African sun. Under the gaze of the other party, Ranke felt as if a scalpel was dissecting him, which made him very uncomfortable, but the necessary etiquette was still respectfully fulfilled by the other party, and it could be seen that he was a figure who knew how to advance and retreat.

"Let me introduce you, this is my Austrian compatriot Otto Skorzny, a graduate of engineering at the University of Vienna, who was one of my guards in the Guard Flag Corps a few years ago, who went to the Waffen-SS unit on the Eastern Front, who only returned to China at the beginning of this year, and who is now the commander of a secret commando." Hoffman personally introduced the two, "This is Rank, the new Knight's Cross recipient, his origin and experience are more complicated, and I will let Daldges send you the file for review, I will not introduce it for the time being." ”

Skorzny was able to become the commander of the secret commando team, and it was thanks to Hoffman's drastic handling of the traitorous group. In the original German military system, the Brandenburg unit was the Brandenburg unit, which was established by Shipper, the secret second division of the Military Intelligence Service, and was directly led by Admiral Canaris. The fall of Canaris implicated in his henchman Shipper. The Brandenburg forces, which were closely associated with the MIA, were even more awkward. According to the opinion of the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht, this unit was to be ordered to be disbanded, because the members of the old-school officer corps regarded the military profession as extremely mysterious and noble, and not only regarded the special war of "sneakingly" carrying out tasks as a desecration of the military profession. And they felt that putting on the enemy's uniform in the course of their mission was an insult to their personal honor and even to the honor of the country.

This apparently brainless idea was certainly not accepted by Hoffmann, who not only demanded that the Brandenburg army be retained, but that it should be given a more important role, and that the only compromise between the two sides was to temporarily remove Shipper from his post and at the same time select a new commander for the Brandenburg forces. Fearing that the Special Forces Commander would become powerful due to direct contact with the Führer, the Supreme High Command proposed a selection criterion for a commander who was bold, energetic, and technically based, but at the same time a simple-minded, easily dominated, and purely military man with no political ambitions. They don't want to see a second Rohm or Himmler born.

At this time, Skorzny had just returned to Berlin from his hospital in Vienna after recovering from his injuries. He was transferred to the 1st SS Panzer Division to work in technical service and maintenance at the Leibstadt Armory outside Berlin, where the hectic and monotonous work boredomed the aggressive Skorzner, who gritted his teeth for six months. I felt that I was really not qualified for this kind of work, so I decided to go to the big man to dredge up and change positions, even if I could return to the Eastern Front to fight. At this time, news came of the selection of a new commander of Brandenburg's troops, who often led his men on the Eastern Front to adopt cunning and unconventional methods of warfare in battle. This experience attracted the attention of some of the top echelons of the SS. Coupled with the fact that the new head of the Reich General Security Directorate (RSHA), Carlden Blonner, was also Austrian, he did not hesitate to recommend Skorzny.

Himmler, Baumann, and others also recommended their favorite candidates, and in many of the shortlists, Hoffmann chose Skorzny at a glance without looking at others, ostensibly because he was a fellow Austrian countryman in the Führer, and was recommended by the head of the General Security Bureau, who was also a fellow Austrian countryman. But in fact, only Hoffmann himself knows what the reason for his choice is - who else can he use if he does not use "the most dangerous man in Europe"? As a result, Skorzny was promoted to captain and became the new commander of the Brandenburg forces eight months earlier than in history. However, due to the constant political review and the fierce fighting on the Eastern Front, the Brandenburg forces at his disposal were not the same as the resources at Shipper's disposal, and he only had a company strength of more than 100 men. The latter, on the other hand, has standards close to the regimental level.

"Do you know why I changed your partner?" Hoffman asked Skorzny suddenly.

In fact, everyone didn't know how powerful Bowman was to choose for Skorzner's partner with the Englishman Eddie Chapman, who was a gangster in the underworld. Stealing, lustful, and blackmailing all kinds of evil, and finally ended up in prison. As the island where his prison was located became a German-occupied area, Chapman volunteered to serve the Germans in order to return to England and gain freedom. The German intelligence agencies took note of the qualities of this little thug, who trained him rigorously and prepared him to return to England as a spy. As the most famous double agent in history, Chapman's code name "Zigzag" caused Germany a great loss, and from the first moment he learned his name, Hoffman knew that he was not reliable, so he never let him go. He struggled to find the right person until Rank's name flashed before his eyes.

"Guess a little."

"Tell me about it."

"The other party is unreliable."

Hoffman smiled: "Why do you say that? ”

"Although our spy agency has trained him for a long time, I still think that there is a deep cunning hidden under his seemingly obedient little eyes, and it is only his expedient measure to die for us, and if we are not careful, we may capsize on him, so I tell myself every day to be careful, and to keep an eye on his every move."

Hoffman couldn't help but give a thumbs up in his heart: there has never been an intersection between Skorzner and Chapman in history, but he guessed the truth with just ten days of contact, which has to make people feel his terrible intuition.

"What about this one?"

After thinking for a long time, Skorzny asked, "Can you tell the truth?" ”

"Of course......," Bowman laughed, too, "you will be the closest partners in the operation, comrades in arms who can trust each other's backs and lives, what can't you say directly?" ”

"My first impression of him is that he is reliable, loyal, and able to give himself for others, but his shortcomings are that he is not murderous, and he may be soft-hearted when it is time to do so."

"I have never been merciful to my enemies!" Ranke unceremoniously fired back, "I think you also have a lot of things that don't fit into this operation. ”

"Tell me about it." Now that Bowman was interested, he found it amusing, this kind of covert operation was so exciting, a hundred times more interesting than the dull party work, no wonder the Führer always clung to the adventure novels of Carmay and at the same time admired the heroic deeds of the British guerrilla master of the First World War, "Lawrence of Arabia".

"I still don't know what the mission is, but I can guess a little." Ranke recounted his analysis, "This will be a lean, stealthy detachment, not very numerous, with the purpose of secretly infiltrating the British mainland to wreak havoc, and in the process of sabotage, it will need to disguise itself as British troops...... So I don't think you're up to the mark. ”

"First of all, you're too tall. Your figure is one of the best among the British, and you can see it at a glance in the crowd, which is not good for concealment. Secondly, your marks are too obvious," Ranke pointed to the other party's shocking scar, "Anyone who has seen you once will never forget you." Again, you are older, it is embarrassing to play an officer at this age, if it is a high-ranking officer, it seems that there are too few people in our commando, and if it is a low-ranking officer, it is not commensurate with your age. In the end, there may be a problem with your language, I don't know how good your English is, but I heard you speak with a distinctly Austrian accent - which doesn't matter in German, but showing that accent in the UK would be fatal enough to be recognizable on the spot. ”

"Bang Bang!" Bowman applauded, "Wonderful! Brilliant analysis! It's almost exactly the same as we've looked at before. Major Ranke, you can analyze it so clearly with just a few minutes of contact, I'm starting to look at you! I think you're going to be a genius at wrecking things -- like I didn't even know I had the genius to do counterintelligence...... Do you know how many spies and traitors I've caught in the last month? ”

Bowman was talking to the two of them, and Hoffman behind him secretly grimaced at the boastful back of the party director, and made a gesture of "chatterbox" with his right hand, which Bowman himself did not know, but both Ranke and Skorzny saw it, and the two carefully held back their laughter and did not let any sound come out.

Fortunately, Bowman immediately found out that he was now in the Führer's office, immediately stopped boasting, put back the topic that had been distant, and faced the two and asked, "How is it?" Can the two of you work together? ”

"Yes!"

"Excellent! The name of this operation is Project Skythunder...... I will give you 3 days to run in, and you will further work out the relevant details, familiarize yourself with your own situation and implement the division of labor. The entire plan of action was designed by Skorzny and executed by Rank, and I am confident that the two of you can adapt and work together to deal with all the difficulties and challenges. If there is any need for materials, equipment or personnel, you can contact Comrade Bowman urgently. Today is September 27th, and on the night of September 30th you will set off with a naval submarine, and it will take you to the designated location, and then everything will rest on your own. "You may be sunk by the enemy at sea, but I believe you have the courage and luck to complete the whole mission." ”

Skortz whispered a description of the mission in Ranke's ear, and Ranke was startled, and after a moment calmly replied: "Führer, rest assured! Even if we all die in battle, Germany will still exist! (To be continued.) )