After tea, David and Maria sat with Rick and Georg, combing through three weeks of German newspapers. As she drew a red chinagraph line beside another obvious piece of propaganda, Maria said, "So many repetitions. But so many papers. Never thought there were so many."

David looked up from reading. "This is only a small cross-section, a sampling from across the country. At the start of the war, they had over four thousand dailies; we have only thirty-three here to give us a flavour."

"Oh, my! That many? But why have you chosen them all from the big cities? I thought you wanted the men to learn the mood of the smaller communities and the rural areas."

"Ah, but the people there read these in addition to more local ones. Besides, the smaller-city ones are difficult to get in Switzerland – and even more so, the town and village ones. My thought is to have the men buy local papers as they move through those areas."

They carried on reading, marking and discussing until Bethia announced ten minutes to dinner. As they tidied their stacks of papers, Maria shook her head and said, "The censors appear to think the people are stupid."

"To us, yes. But we know the reality they're trying to hide. Many in areas closer to the fighting will also know, but those away from the mayhem and the carnage are much easier to deceive with gibberish. Away from the industrial areas, with so many men conscripted, killed, wounded or missing, the seriousness of the war becomes harder to hide."

"Why only away from the industrial areas? Why not in them, as well?"

"In those areas, men are more often kept back as skilled workers to build and maintain the war machine. Much of the fighting is done by the supposedly technically unskilled from the rural areas."

"The ones who used to raise the livestock and grow the crops." Maria pursed her lips and nodded. "No wonder there is so much grumbling about food shortage."

"Indeed. And this is exacerbated by our naval blockade – remember, before the war, one-quarter of their food was imported."

During dinner, they continued the conversation about the German problems and their attempts to hide them. Then David said, "But enough of this. Tell us about the progress on the tunnel, Gerrard."

"We turn the corner Tuesday and broke from the chalk and marl on Thursday. Now in clay for faster digging but less stable. We must put setts every three feet. If it continues like this, we arrive in ten days."

"So, the seventh. How confident are you about your aim this time?"

"Because we make only one bend, and the two legs straight like – how you say, droit comme une flèche?"

"Straight as an arrow."

"Ah, yes. Like that, easy to measure and plot. We will be at the centre of the courtyard, within ten feet left and right. Five feet short or long."

"I had thought you were aiming to arrive in her cellar."

"When Madam Eberhardt take me to it, I saw so many équipements there and too much risk with error. More safe to come up in the courtyard."

Bethia nodded. "And the tenants will be out by the end of the day on Tuesday."

Monday, 29 May 1916

The group had continued reading and marking newspapers on Sunday; then, on Monday morning, the three subversion teams gathered in the men's mess, seated on chairs gathered from all over the estate.

When all had settled, David called for attention. "We've all had the opportunity to meet during coffee, so we'll dispense with formalities. From this point onward, you will refer to me only as David." He nodded to the two men beside him. "And Herr Grünmann will be Karl, and Herr Frankenthal will be Horst. For security, surnames are not to be used."

After Karl and Horst sat, David continued, "We have all been focused on the German infrastructure – the railways and the munitions production. In the past while, as a result of our successes, security on potential sites has dramatically increased. Recent reports show they have withdrawn thousands of troops from the Front to guard what they consider their vulnerable sites." 

He held up a finger. "This benefits us in two ways – one, there are fewer soldiers manning the Front." Lifting a second finger, he added, "Two, they identify their important sites for us. From the strength of their security, we will rate and plot potential targets for the French aerial bombers. With their rapidly increasing payload and operating radius, many of these are now within range."

He turned and pointed at the large map on one of the easels. "We have divided Germany into three parts, Karl continuing with Elsass, Lorthingen, Baden and Wurttemberg. Horst's team will continue covering the remainder of the country, except for Bavaria, which my team will take over."

Then, pointing to the other map, he continued, "Germany now has over sixty thousand kilometres of rail, giving access to most of the communities, and they will be our primary means of transportation. Notice the areas shaded in purple – these are the industrialised areas – and after we have plotted the targets, we will avoid them. Our main focus will now be on the areas furthest from them."

He returned his attention to the group, amused by the surprised expressions. "These maps will remain here throughout the day, and you may study them during our breaks. But now, to set the scene for our new operation, I'll begin with an overview of the economic background to the different sectors of German society."

Then, with a glance at his notes, he continued. "After unification, rapid urbanisation and other demographic shifts made the country dependent on imports for one-quarter of their food. By the turn of the century, inexpensive imported foods allowed many urban Germans to survive on low wages, and this reduced the prices the agricultural sector could ask for their produce." 

He paused to examine the gathering, then continued, "Here is the key point. In 1911, politicians intervened with a new tariff agreement to protect the larger landowners and, at the same time, raised bread prices. Those living on low incomes in the cities blamed the farmers, and this has grown to the point that farmers are widely accused of withholding food and profiteering."

David raised a finger. "Note this point well. While inflation was a problem from the turn of the century, the cost of bread rose far more quickly than other commodities, deepening the rift between urban and rural residents and increasing regional animosities. The situation with food had become political even before the declaration of war."

He pointed to the railway map. "Let me explain why we've decided to focus on the rural areas. Our naval blockade has halted almost all their imports – including food – making the rural agricultural sector vital. But four major things make it difficult for them to produce enough. Number one – conscription into the Army is disproportionately higher in the rural areas than in industrial areas, where men are instead pressed to work in the factories."

Then, holding up two fingers, he said, "Two – with conscription approaching forty per cent of the rural men aged fifteen to sixty, far fewer remain to raise livestock and grow crops." Raising three fingers, he continued, "And three – with nitrates, potassium and phosphorus diverted to the manufacture of explosives, almost none is left for fertiliser, resulting in reduced crops of poor quality."

With four fingers raised, he added, "And fourth, the Army takes a large portion of what food is produced, giving the producers compensation far below its market value."

He looked at the nodding heads. "The rural population is mainly agricultural, and this includes forestry. They are mistreated by the Army and thought poorly of by those in industrialised areas. Yet, they do more than the urbanites to keep Germany alive and still fighting. They need to see the injustices. See how they're being used. We need to stir their feelings and help them become aware of reality. Not only the reality of their mistreatment but also the reality of the war."