‘Now, as I told you in Madrid, the average weekly German fuel consumption in 1943 was down to 1.7 million tonnes — and the German and Allied figures more or less agree here. And according to Mönch’s memorandum, under “Operation Bettina” they were aiming at a target of two million a week.
‘Yet by December 1944 — at the time of the Ardennes Offensive — they were still, apparently, producing two-thirds refined oil, as compared to any other month of that year. All right — it was still a long way short of Bettina’s target, but it was still more than four months after Rumania had been captured by the Russians. So where were they importing it from?’
‘They still had their quasilegal sources,’ Hawn said, ‘via the neutrals. What Robak was flying a kite about, at my meeting with him in the Gritti. And they could have been feeding off reserves from Rumania.’
‘All right, I’ll take your second point first. Contrary to what that ass Logan says, we now know that at the outbreak of war they had very short reserves — presumably because they were so cock-a-hoop about winning. But later — and there are plenty of odd sources for this — it appears that Hitler actually issued an edict forbidding the hoarding of supplies of any kind — from food to vital raw materials, which of course included oil. He considered it tantamount to pessimism, defeatism, which in his unholy mind meant treason. That would explain why so many of his staff, including Speer, were doing their nuts complaining to him about the shortage of materials, while he just fobbed them off by saying that everything would be all right. But then, of course, he knew about “Operation Bettina” and they didn’t.
‘In short, he still thought he could counter-attack and win the war. But he needed oil for that, Tom. He needed one hell of a lot of it, and he went on importing it and refining it right up to the end — although the official German statistics for some reason stop early in 1945.
‘Now, as for the neutrals, he certainly managed to get some through the friendly ones, like Spain, via Vichy, France — as well as lovely Switzerland and Sweden.’
Hawn nodded. ‘Yes — Robak flew that kite for me too.’
‘But what proportion would that have been in pure percentages? And we’re not talking about a few hundred thousand odd barrels. We’re talking of several hundred million tonnes. Of crude, not synthetic.’
‘Now — point six. The question of synthetic fuel. That, we’re all told, was their great standby.’ She began to read from another sheet of notes: ‘“Of the total German fuel consumption between 1943 and May 1945, 49 per cent was synthetic, due to the process known as hydrogenation.” That’s a quote from an Allied Commission report, by the way. And we also know now from our friend Pol that the synthetic stuff was only suitable for aircraft and light vehicles. We also know that by 1944 Goering had to ground two-thirds of his Luftwaffe, when it was most needed against Allied bombing attacks, because of lack of fuel.
‘So 49 per cent couldn’t have been very much. On the other hand, we have that figure of 30 per cent from Rumania, dwindling to a miserable 10 per cent — of both crude and refined, which was somehow enough to keep the mighty German armour alive and rolling. However you juggle the figures, Tom, they come out the same. A discrepancy as wide as the Grand Canyon.
‘Oh, and I almost forget. Right up to the end, in 1945, Hitler was still prepared to allow Werner von Braun as much high-grade fuel as he wanted for his rockets, mainly the V2, and the experimental V3 that was supposed to hit New York.’
‘I shouldn’t pay too much attention to Hitler’s judgement. In those last months he was hepped up to the eyeballs and as mad as a March hare.’ Hawn sat up. ‘Let’s take those figures first. Say, from 1943 to the end. 49 per cent synthetic. Thirty-five per cent, if we’re going to be really generous — generous to ABCO and their accomplices, I mean — for Rumania, dropping to around 15 per cent, if we count the peripheral fields in Hungary, Poland, and Silesia. Then perhaps 5 per cent from reserves or captured supplies. And another 5 per cent from the neutrals, through their “laundering” service.’
‘That’s an absolute maximum — and more than bloody generous to ABCO.’
‘Angel, we’re not only prosecuting. We’re defence, judge and jury. And if we start paring the figures down just to suit our theory, they’ll hang us up by our balls.’
She grinned. ‘Speak for yourself. But I take your point. Your absolute maximum leaves a discrepancy of 6 per cent. Rising to 26 per cent after the bombing of Ploesti started. And up to 36 per cent when Rumania was swallowed up.’
‘Now wait a minute, angel. That figure isn’t necessarily a discrepancy. It’s simply a net reduction of total German oil supplies.’
‘It’s more than that, Tom. It’s an almost total elimination of all their crude oil. Yet they were getting it from somewhere. I’d say as judge and jury, we’ve got a copper-bottomed prima facie case. I’d say more. If those figures of yours were a bank statement of credits and debits, it would be about time to call in the Fraud Squad.’
She sat forward with her hands pressed together. ‘All damned lies and statistics. We’re not going to prove anything — let alone convince anybody — with a lot of figures. People will say the figures are wrong,
