The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy

by Judith L. Pearson

  With the area’s Maquisards now numbering over fifteen hundred, Virginia and Hallowes had decided to break them into smaller groups of one hundred and fifty men. These groups would be under commanders who would take orders from Supreme Allied Headquarters via Virginia, Hallowes, and Guise. What they needed now were vehicles and fuel. Since Hallowes and Guise had had such success during their foray to Le Puy on September 1, they decided to see what could be done about the town of Saint-Étienne, fifty miles from Le Chambon and still very much in German hands. When they returned they reported that Saint-Étienne had plenty of fuel, but it was heavily guarded. The group decided a diversion was necessary. They would create a ruckus and when the Germans responded to it, they would steal the gas.

  As Virginia was continuing to receive supply drops from London, their arms stores were fairly complete. Two days later, they dispatched a truck to Saint-Étienne armed to the teeth with all manner of weapons and a dozen maquisards. As the truck neared the German garrison there, the men began shooting into the air. The Germans scrambled to their vehicles and the Frenchmen took off, flying down a maze of familiar country roads. Meanwhile, a second heavily armed truck arrived at the garrison in Saint-Étienne. The remaining Germans were held at bay with automatic weapons while the maquisards filled their empty gas cans. It was almost as easy as a prewar trip to the filling station.

  That group returned to the Yssingeaux Plateau with their loaded fuel cans, meeting up with the first truck, which was also successful in eluding its pursuers. They hadn’t helped themselves to any new vehicles, but it appeared to Hallowes and Guise that small groups could return in the dark to pick up vehicles.

  After that, the tasks of the Resistance in the Yssingeaux Plateau would become a little easier. The groups went to work stopping fresh German troops advancing to the western front, as well as those retreating to their homeland. The German retreat was an ironic twist of fate, as the Nazis were now withdrawing in the same manner they had forced the French to flee in 1940. The retreating Germans had no vehicles, so they commandeered bicycles, prams, and carts of all sorts from French citizens to move their supplies. The scene of these retreats was made all the more macabre by the decaying carcasses of German cavalry horses that had either died in the fighting or been ridden to death and were now clogging the Germans’ paths. Meanwhile the Resistance continued to take the Germans prisoner wherever it could. For all intents and purposes, the Yssingeaux Plateau, indeed the entire department, was liberated from its vile occupiers.

  Virginia was looking ahead as her work in France was drawing to a close. Between July 14 and August 14, she had transmitted thirty-seven messages to London with vital information. She had organized and received twenty-two parachute drops and directed innumerable acts of sabotage. Her group was responsible for killing over 170 Germans and capturing 800 more. And she had laid the groundwork for the JED team, which was now able to take her Maquis to other areas in need of assistance. All in all, it had been a tidy operation.

  On the night of September 4, Virginia received instructions to expect two men to parachute to a drop zone near Villelonge. She and her reception committee went to the chosen field, where she tried in vain to signal the incoming plane from her radio. The aircraft sailed over the field. Minutes later, they saw chutes opening against the night sky, about fifteen miles away. Virginia was furious about yet another example of ineptness, this one made worse by the fact it was human life, and not just matériel, which was off target. She later wrote in her report to London, “I find American planes abominable, nonchalant, and careless in their work.”

  The reception committee scrambled to their vehicles and raced off in the direction they guessed the men might arrive. But driving around in the dark with no lights was dangerous. They risked injury and possibly death either from a leftover German bullet, a wayward cow, or badly placed tree. Despite the area’s near-liberation, there was always the possibility of a few Nazis left wandering about. And there were members of the Milice still looking for revenge as well. Virginia determined not to risk the safety of her men or herself, deciding to try to locate the new arrivals in the morning.

  Meanwhile, not knowing where they were, the two newcomers were busy burying their chutes and flight suits. Lieutenant Henry Riley from Connecticut, and Lieutenant Paul Goillot from New York, spent the rest of the night searching for the five containers that had been dropped with them. They located three out of the five. During the next two hours, they tried to figure out how best to approach farms for directions, since they weren’t convinced that the area was free of the enemy. They certainly didn’t want to walk into a trap just hours after their arrival.

  As the sun rose, Goillot and Riley cautiously made their way to Mme Roussier’s bicycle shop in Le Chambon. They had been told that from here they could contact Virginia. Mme Roussier sent for Dédé, who confirmed their identity. He told the two men that Virginia was currently out, but that they would be able to find her at her house that afternoon. They arrived later in the day, but she was in the middle of her radio sked, so it wasn’t until suppertime at Mme Lebrat’s that the three of them finally got the chance to meet.

  Virginia liked the two men as soon as she met them, especially Lieutenant Goillot. He was inches shorter than she was, but powerfully built and very spry. And his humorous account of the arrival the night before had everyone in hysterics during their meal. They had brought two million francs with them and several messages for Virginia. She brought them up to speed on the situation in the Yssingeaux Plateau with three words: it was over. Everything was over. There were no Germans in the district. They had armed three battalions of Maquis who were now under the tactical supervision of the JED team. Reception fields and committees had been chosen for any further drops. In short, Goillot and Riley were too late.

  But Goillot insisted that the war wasn’t over. Wherever Virginia was going next, he said, they would volunteer to go with her. Ironically, Virginia had been thinking of heading north to Alsace. Dédé was from there, and she had heard there was still a lot of work to be done in the area.

  The next day, the three of them discussed the move with Lieutenant Bob, who put sixteen of his men at their disposal. While Goillot and Riley gave Lieutenant Bob’s men advance training in small weapons and guerilla tactics, Virginia took inventory of available vehicles, weapons, and food. By the end of the day they had a completely mobilized, self-contained unit. But the following day, much to their chagrin, they received a cable from London forbidding their self-devised mission. Rather, they were told to remain on the plateau to receive an incoming shipment of arms and a French lieutenant.

  They waited the entire night of September 8, but no plane arrived. They received word on September n that the drop would occur that night, so again they trooped out to the field. As had happened with Goillot and Riley’s arrival, the drop was way off target, infuriating Virginia. When they finally collected the containers, Virginia began to inventory the contents in a thorough and organized manner. She explained that she never wanted anyone to say she wasn’t responsible for the money or goods sent to her, especially on her last reception.

  Cabin fever had reached a peak in Virginia. She was determined to move on to a place where she could be of use. On September 13, she left the Yssingeaux Plateau for the last time with Riley, Goillot, and Lieutenant Bob and his men. They made several stops in an attempt to find a unit that could use them. On the fourth day of what was beginning to feel like a scavenger hunt, they were told to go to the town of Bourges, where they would find an Allied command center and hopefully a new mission.

  Upon their arrival, they were subjected to military bureaucracy and chain of command, being sent from one officer to another. After a day of chasing across the region, it became obvious to them that no mission would materialize here either.

  But there was a bright spot. During their travels, Riley spotted a château that appeared to be deserted. The group returned there in the late afternoon and fo
und that it was, indeed, uninhabited. Much of the furniture was missing, but the beautiful frescoed walls were intact, as was the sweeping staircase to the second floor. They hauled in their food and gear, and prepared for another night of wartime monotony. But on a tour of the château, Virginia and Goillot found a passageway that led to a hidden wine cellar, untouched by the hatred and death that had raged above.

  It might have been considered by some as stealing. But for Virginia and these men, availing themselves of this nectar of the grape was a reward for years of grueling work. They ate and drank and told stories and laughed well into the night. And the fine wine and beautiful surroundings made them all feel normal again, almost as if the war never really happened.

  The next morning, along with hangovers, came reality. There was really nothing more for them to do as a group. Lieutenant Bob released his men, with the option of returning home, joining the FFI, or entering the regular army headquartered nearby. He, along with men who wished to enter the army, went with Riley to meet their new commander. The remaining men went in the opposite direction toward Le Chambon, leaving Virginia and Goillot at the château.

  Virginia’s feelings for Goillot surprised her. He made her laugh, something she hadn’t done with such freedom in a long time. And he made her feel as though there were nothing he would rather do than be in her company, with no strings attached. Although she had met many fine men and women during the past four years, her relationship with all of them had always been connected to her missions. She was either a leader or a subordinate, either someone in need, or someone being asked to provide. She had never deviated from the cardinal rule of an undercover agent: keep distance between you and all others, and never get involved.

  Throughout the day and into the night they talked about their families and their lives. Goillot had been born in Paris in 1914, making him eight years her junior. He had one sibling, a younger sister named Jacqueline. The family had moved to New York City in 1928, but decided to return to France in 1935. Since Goillot was twenty-one at the time, and had a job and a room in a boarding house, he chose to remain in the United States. He hadn’t seen his family in nine years, he told Virginia, although he had heard bits and pieces of news from or about them. He was anxious to get to Paris to see them with his own eyes.

  Virginia told Goillot about her past hopes for a position in the Foreign Service, glossed over her accident, and gave him the highlights of her experiences in the war. By the time Riley returned the next morning, she and Goillot had decided that their next destination should be Paris so that he could contact his family. The American headquarters of the European Theater of Operations was now set up in the city and they could all report there for further instructions.

  When they arrived on Thursday, September 22, Virginia saw that Paris had once again changed. While there was still evidence that the city had been at war, the Parisians had come out of their cocoons like butterflies. The sidewalk cafés were overflowing and people laughed as they strolled the streets. Almost all of the reminders that the Nazis had made the city their own for four years were gone.

  Virginia, Goillot, and Riley reported to Supreme Allied Command Headquarters. They were lodged in one of the hotels the Americans were using to house officers in transition, given leave for the next two days, and told to report back the morning of the twenty-fifth.

  Virginia suggested that maybe Goillot would like to see his family alone, but he insisted that she and Riley accompany him. They found his mother and sister still living in the apartment they had had before the war. The reunion was joyous, with a great deal of kissing and crying. When Goillot composed himself enough to ask where his father was, the scene turned far more somber. Papa had died the year before, his sister told him. The stress of war and malnutrition caused him to fall ill and he never recovered.

  Virginia and Riley made their exit, telling Goillot they would contact him the next day. Virginia struck out on her own, taking in some of the things that made Paris beautiful: the gently flowing Seine, the parks, and the cafés. The next morning, Goillot appeared at the hotel, inviting her to his family’s home for lunch. His mother, he said, was anxious to get to know her better. And that first meal turned into several more invitations to spend time with them.

  On September 25, Virginia, Goillot, and Riley went together to headquarters. Waiting for them was a memorandum listing nineteen officers, including Goillot and Riley, seven enlisted men and two civilians, including Virginia. They were all ordered back to London, where they would be issued further orders. In light of his family situation, Goillot requested and was granted an additional week’s leave. The next morning, Virginia and Riley boarded a military aircraft bound for London. Goillot would join them on October I.

  On September 23, 1944, Mrs. Hall received another of Mrs. Norris’s letters from London. The letter informed Virginia’s concerned mother, “It is not unreasonable to suppose that Virginia will soon be returning home.” Virginia and the OSS, however, had other ideas.

  As September became October, while Virginia was finishing up her operation in France and being debriefed by OSS officials in London, a crack began to develop in the Third Reich’s stranglehold on the European continent. And that crack was widening every day. The major ports along the English Channel were vital to the Allies and their supply lines and became priorities for liberation. Shortly after D-Day, Hitler had ordered the major cities to be held as fortresses, to be defended at all costs. He knew that losing them would mean an unlimited supply chain from Britain to feed the Allies’ advance. Hitler’s fears were realized. On September 12, the Allies took Le Havre, and Boulogne and Calais were won on September 30.

  Only Dunkirk remained in Nazi hands, and that was a problem that would affect the Allies’ race to the German border. Without the use of the port at Dunkirk, British General Montgomery and American General Patton, each keen to reach Berlin before the other, were forced to rely on a long supply from the Normandy beaches. They had to share the limited provisions, slowing their respective advances.

  Montgomery’s strategy was to break into Germany through Holland. To that end, the British had already entered the country at Antwerp and Maastricht. Patton, meanwhile, was rushing toward the Siegfried Line. He and his Third Army had chewed up turf across Normandy, played a part in the liberation of Paris, entered Brussels on September 3, and freed Luxembourg on September 15. They went on to cover six hundred more miles of France in two weeks’ time.

  In the meantime, after one of the bloodiest campaigns of the war, the Russians had pushed the Germans out of their country. In September, the Soviet troops entered Bulgaria and Romania, reached the Yugoslav border, and entered the Warsaw suburbs. And to the south, Allied troops were fighting their way through Italy, liberating Florence and Pisa by the end of September.

  But from the “Wolf’s Lair”—the Third Reich’s headquarters buried deep in the east Prussian forests—Hitler could not or would not admit that his cause was lost. Rather he devised a massive counterattack against the Allies. Contrary to the advice of most of his top generals, the Führers plan was to send Panzer tank divisions and infantry bursting through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium. He reasoned that the surprise attack would cut the Allied forces in two at their weakest point.

  Hitler’s offensive was launched at five-thirty in the morning on December 16, 1944. The Allies’ immediate defense was minimal. The fierce winter weather grounded Allied planes and restricted observation and led to serious losses. But the Allies began to regroup and by the nineteenth, were engaged in a vicious fight. Territories changed hands so frequently that at times no one, including local townspeople, knew which side held what ground.

  By the time it ended on January 16, 1945, the Battle of the Bulge had involved more than a million men: 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans, and 55,000 British. The casualty list was horrific. Nineteen thousand Americans died, and 81,000 wounded; 200 British were killed, with 1,400 wounded; and 120,000 Germans were either
killed, wounded, or captured. The bloody start to 1945 had hardly changed a thing in terms of Allied-held territories. And it made the point that the Nazis were not to be underestimated in what they were willing to risk to reoccupy Europe. Still, the clock was ticking. The last hundred days of the Third Reich had begun.

  It was obvious to Virginia that there was still a great deal to be done to free the long-suffering Europeans from Adolph Hitler. The job she had undertaken when she joined the SOE in 1941 was not completed, and she wouldn’t entertain thoughts about returning to the United States until it was.

  From information and conversations at the OSS London headquarters, Virginia was gradually building a picture of what the Allies next expected out of the Germans, particularly the SS and those with an undying allegiance to Hitler. They would most probably relocate to Austria and Bavaria. That would put them geographically closer to the Führer and better enable them to plan their future.

  London knew that the terrain was tough. Trying to move men and weapons through it could prove a disaster. The military command believed it was a far better idea to enlist the aid of Resistance members, which had been in contact with the Allies. They would be armed just as the French Resistance had been and could work against the Nazis from within.

  The OSS staff saw Virginia as perfect for this operation. She had gone to school in Vienna, and knew the language. She had proven herself to be an excellent organizer and leader on her missions to France. And she was available, anxiously awaiting her next assignment. So, on December 19, 1944, Virginia transferred from the Western European Section of OSS to the Central European Section. Virginia’s only request was that Goillot accompany her on the mission. A week later, the two of them left London for Italy, where they would organize their clandestine entrance into Austria.