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True Spies the podcast that

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takes you deep inside the

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greatest secret missions of all

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time. Week by week you

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had a true stories behind

1:00

the operations that have shaped

1:02

the world we live in.

1:05

You'll meet the people who

1:07

live life under cover for

1:09

today knows Florida skills and

1:12

move would you do in

1:14

that position. I'm

1:16

ran a needs. And this

1:18

is true Spies from Spice

1:20

Tape Studios. The

1:23

checker appointed a specialist in hunting

1:25

British agents and he made it

1:27

his personal mission. That he

1:29

would track down King Jukes. Operation

1:33

Crumbs. That. June.

1:37

Nineteen. Nineteen. The

1:40

Volcker those cemetery in St.

1:42

Petersburg, Russia within one of

1:44

it's tunes lies and man,

1:46

unlike his neighbors for him,

1:48

breathing is still a priority.

1:50

He's twenty nine years old

1:53

and a fugitive. He's

1:57

drifting between sleep and consciousness.

2:00

swatting at the unrelenting mosquitoes.

2:03

He now had nowhere else to go, and

2:05

if by chance a Bolshevik patrol had checked

2:07

the graveyard, he would not have been able

2:09

to hide. This

2:11

man is codenamed S.T.25 a

2:15

British agent on a covert mission to

2:17

supply his government with intelligence about the

2:19

Bolsheviks in Russia. He

2:22

hasn't eaten in days, he is

2:24

gravely ill, and he has no

2:26

one to turn to. S.T.25

2:29

is on a treacherous mission,

2:33

evading some of Russia's most brutal men.

2:36

But time is running out. The

2:39

Russian Revolution had occurred in 1917 and

2:42

the Bolsheviks under Lenin had

2:44

taken power. In order for

2:46

their regime to survive, the

2:48

Bolsheviks instituted something called the

2:50

Red Terror, which is they

2:52

basically just took out and shot a lot

2:54

of their enemies, tortured the rest. That

2:57

is Harry Ferguson, a former

3:00

MI6 officer and undercover

3:02

agent for the National Investigation

3:04

Service, NIS, who wrote the

3:06

book, Operation Kronstadt. He's

3:09

the man who'll guide us through S.T.25's covert

3:11

mission on

3:14

the perilous streets of Bolshevik Russia and

3:17

help us discover his fate. To

3:20

understand why S.T.25 is there, we

3:23

need to turn back the clock to the summer

3:26

of 1918. As

3:30

the First World War slowly drew to a

3:32

close, another conflict

3:34

intensified. The Russian

3:37

Revolution was almost a year old.

3:40

Europe and America were concerned and

3:42

sponsored the White Armies to oppose

3:44

the Red Bolsheviks. But

3:47

in August 1918, nobody

3:50

knew who would emerge the victor of

3:52

the bloody civil war. The

3:54

lead intelligence officer in Russia at the time

3:56

of the Russian Revolution wasn't in fact an

3:58

MI6 officer as you would expect. expect these

4:00

days, but Francis Cromy of the

4:02

Naval Intelligence Division. And he was

4:05

a chap brought up as a naval officer,

4:07

but actually a fantastic natural spy. Captain

4:10

Francis Cromy's operation was providing

4:12

vital coverage of Russia to Britain.

4:15

He'd successfully evaded capture in St.

4:17

Petersburg each day, and the British Embassy

4:19

became his sanctuary. Until

4:22

one day, everything changed.

4:26

And the Bolshevik secret police spent a long

4:29

time trying to catch him. They

4:31

often burst into buildings. And

4:34

the one place that was their sex was

4:36

the British Embassy. And the

4:38

Bolsheviks broke the rules. The

4:41

troops were authorized to go in and simply round

4:43

up all the people. It's

4:49

over. Cromy had kept

4:52

British intelligence's Russian operations alive under

4:54

the most testing conditions. With

4:57

his death, the game was up. Any

4:59

agents left fled the country. And

5:02

that was really the end of the

5:04

British intelligence picture. In Russia, MI6 in

5:06

particular, or MI1C as it was known

5:08

in those early days, had no coverage

5:11

of what was happening in Russia. It was just as

5:13

though a great blanket had descended and cut off all

5:15

information that was coming out of there. Now,

5:18

no allied nation had a

5:20

presence in Russia. A

5:22

new agent needed to be phoned. Enter

5:26

all Dukes. The

5:28

reason he was selected was because after

5:31

all of the existing agents had either

5:33

been killed or fled from Russia and

5:35

they looked around, his name came up.

5:38

Dukes is a concert pianist

5:41

with language skills and local knowledge.

5:44

By 1918, he has been living in

5:46

St Petersburg, Russia for eight years. After

5:49

attending the St Petersburg Conservatoire and

5:51

getting by as a language tutor,

5:53

he signed up for the Anglo-Russian

5:55

Bureau, a British-run government

5:57

organization that monitored conditions Russia.

6:01

What? He is not. Either

6:03

by. So. He's

6:06

not be. Obvious choice. But

6:09

he is the only choice. He

6:11

so unlike bonds you know he's a

6:14

loser, is not debonair, he's not suave

6:16

these this in billie guy who can

6:18

play the piano and that's about it.

6:20

Only skill. Nonetheless, He

6:22

is. The

6:24

most wanted File Planes has nineteen eighteen.

6:27

The British government decide to pull him

6:29

out of the anger Russian beer. As

6:31

for anything in London, Is

6:35

soon I when Polarize. He's

6:38

on a hair raising drive around.

6:40

The streets of London, Whitehall

6:42

and Nerve Center is the

6:45

in his a minute please

6:47

ministration. Zooms into zero then

6:49

decided he has Nest software.

6:53

And he sees as three and a

6:55

building that he doesn't recognize. Months.

6:57

Inside. He meets Captain

7:00

Months sealed, Cunning. The. Head of

7:02

the British Secret Service Bureau. Timing.

7:05

Is an extravagant older gentleman

7:07

murders see within an eye

7:09

sick. With. Refined

7:11

taste. And a reputation

7:13

for a during winning gadgets

7:16

and above all speed. He

7:18

has an air of mystery about him.

7:21

He explains. That he desperately

7:23

needs intelligence from Russia Than you could imagine

7:25

the shock when they said actually what we'd

7:28

like you to do is to get into

7:30

Russia. twitchy might well have

7:32

said books that was just there

7:34

and she just called me with

7:36

a way out pool is being

7:38

asked to retrace his steps and

7:41

return to russia while millions of

7:43

people and desperately seeing the civil

7:45

war it was unbelievably dangerous to

7:47

travel either around russia or into

7:49

or out of russia most the

7:51

point once inside not would he

7:53

have to look forward to a

7:56

broken spy network blood said on

7:58

the streets and the a feebleness

8:00

chance of survival, not

8:02

to mention the sub-zero temperatures that he would

8:04

have to endure to reach St. Petersburg. For

8:08

a man like Paul, though, it's

8:10

an incredible opportunity. He

8:12

had watched his friends join the army, first

8:15

feeling only envy, and

8:17

then guilt as they were killed

8:19

one by one. This

8:21

is a chance to quiet his conscience

8:25

and do it his way. It

8:27

was a great time to be a secret agent

8:29

because there were no rules. The intelligence services were

8:31

barely ten years old. There was no training. You

8:33

were just told to go out there and decide

8:35

how to do the job. Paul

8:37

accepts the mission. He has

8:39

given a code name, ST-25.

8:42

With barely

8:46

any instructions, Paul heads for the Finnish-Russian

8:48

border. Of course, as with any wartime

8:50

border, it was absolute chaos in Finland.

8:52

And he wandered around, and as you

8:54

can imagine, amongst that sea of refugees

8:57

who were swirling around Finland at the

8:59

time, there were all kinds of chancers

9:01

and conmen and so forth. One

9:03

of the people he meets at the border

9:06

is a man named Melnikov. He's

9:08

one of the deceased spymaster Francis

9:10

Cromy's former agents. Paul

9:14

is wary and interrogates

9:16

Melnikov on why he opposes the

9:18

Bolsheviks. Melnikov explained

9:20

that in 1918, the

9:23

Red Army had surrounded his hometown,

9:25

storming his house and murdering his

9:27

parents. His story

9:30

seemed to stack up, but

9:32

even if it hadn't, what other choice

9:34

did Paul have? He had his

9:36

first lessons in espionage from Melnikov,

9:38

and for instance, Melnikov taught him

9:41

how to disguise himself. And Melnikov

9:43

has contacts. He introduces

9:45

Paul to a British businessman on the

9:47

run called John Merritt, a

9:50

name that would prove useful. What's

9:53

more immediately helpful is

9:55

an introduction to a group of Finnish

9:57

border guards. Paul uses

10:00

only tool he has to get into Russia.

10:03

Money. The bride

10:05

works. They said they would get

10:07

him across the border, which sounded quite nice. But

10:10

actually when the event actually happened, they

10:12

simply took him to the river that

10:14

marked the border between Finland and Russia,

10:16

gave him a rowing boat and said,

10:18

away you go. In

10:23

the dark of the night, Paul

10:25

tentatively climbs into the boat

10:27

and pushes us. On

10:30

the other side, he makes a leap for the

10:32

bank and plunges

10:34

straight into the icy waters. He

10:38

hauls himself out and hails his

10:40

body safe first into the sea.

10:43

All he can do is lie still and wait. He's

10:47

sure that a shot will ring out at any

10:49

second. Luck

10:51

is on his side. If there

10:54

are Bolshevik patrols in the area, they

10:56

don't see him. It's a miracle

10:58

that he wasn't shot or murdered

11:01

and he simply crawled through the

11:03

snow until he reached the edges

11:05

of the forest and then

11:07

marched through the forest until he found a railway

11:09

line, followed that to a railway

11:11

station and managed to jump

11:13

on the first train to St

11:16

Petersburg. It's the 25th of November,

11:18

1918 and he's in.

11:20

He went through fear to concentration

11:27

to elation that he'd made it into the

11:30

country and he was the only British agent

11:32

in the country as MI6 had told him.

11:34

And then that was followed by the fear

11:36

again as he suddenly realized, okay, I'm in

11:38

now I have to create an agent network

11:40

and I haven't got a clue where to

11:42

start. Sleeping on the

11:44

streets and with nowhere to turn, Paul

11:47

remembers the British businessman he had crossed

11:49

paths with on the border, John

11:51

Merrick. This connection

11:54

proves to be a lifeline. Paul

11:57

quickly makes for one of the safe houses Merrick

11:59

told him about. and tries

12:01

to slip in unnoticed. In

12:05

doing so, he makes one

12:07

of his first errors. Paul

12:11

mentions Merritt's name to the building's

12:13

caretaker. His expression

12:15

immediately shifts into a suspicious

12:17

frown. By this

12:19

time, many caretakers,

12:21

perfectly placed to observe comings and goings,

12:25

were clandestine members of the

12:27

dreaded Bolshevik secret police. Paul

12:32

can't think of a convincing explanation for

12:34

his association with Merritt. Panicking,

12:37

he mumbles that he has a package for

12:40

the runaway businessman, and

12:42

holds his breath. The

12:44

caretaker is far from convinced, and

12:46

demands that Paul leaves the package with him.

12:52

That was too close. Although

12:54

thankful to be walking away with his life, Paul

12:57

kicks himself for mentioning the parcel. It

13:00

has his spare clothes and most of his money in it. This

13:03

is a wake-up call. There

13:05

is danger on every corner,

13:08

and Paul needs to have his wits about him. He

13:12

needs to start thinking like a spy. Your

13:19

life is busy, so

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15:13

he needs somewhere to gather his thoughts. Then

15:15

he needs food. It

15:17

has been days since he's eaten

15:20

properly. He remembers a cafe that

15:22

Malnikov had mentioned. An

15:25

intimate venue, running out of a

15:27

private home. He

15:29

had agreed to make contact with Malnikov

15:31

there once they had both made it

15:33

to St. Petersburg. So

15:35

Malnikov was a very lively, happy-go-lucky

15:37

sort of chap who was determined

15:40

to get back at the Bolsheviks,

15:42

but at the same time was

15:44

rather careless in what he did.

15:46

He wasn't terribly organized. He wasn't

15:48

terribly security conscious. True

15:52

to form, Malnikov's choice of rendezvous

15:54

is flawed. A

15:57

tall, thin man with a black moustache

15:59

walks in. approaches his table. Paul

16:03

judges him to be a former army

16:05

officer. His name is

16:07

Captain Zorinsky and he tells

16:09

Paul he knows he's waiting for Melnikov.

16:13

Paul reels hearing Melnikov's name.

16:16

How does he know him? Who has

16:18

Melnikov blurted his name out to? He

16:21

starts to worry about who else knows he's in St.

16:23

Petersburg. Is Zorinsky an

16:25

ally or is this

16:28

a trip? He

16:30

slips out of the cafe and makes

16:32

to the address of another one of Melnikov's

16:34

contacts, a smuggler with an

16:36

apartment in the city. He

16:39

arrives. The smuggler is not there,

16:41

but the housekeeper reluctantly

16:43

lets him in. After

16:46

entire days walking and no sleep the

16:49

night before he collapses.

16:55

Two days later, after building

16:57

some strength and calling the cafe

16:59

to get word from Melnikov, Paul

17:02

is beginning to

17:04

feel at home.

17:06

Someone is at the door. Paul

17:09

is in his pajamas with

17:11

no idea what to do and no

17:14

exits prepared. He jumps behind the door

17:16

and curses his own stupidity. What

17:19

sort of an agent is he? A figure

17:22

wearing glasses clumps into the

17:24

room and then embraces

17:27

Paul. It is

17:29

Melnikov followed by John

17:31

Merritt. Merritt's wife

17:33

had been captured by the checker. So

17:36

Merritt was now back in St. Petersburg and

17:38

hiding. He couldn't leave her behind.

17:41

His two confidants were alive and well

17:44

and Merritt started to share his intelligence

17:46

with Paul. This was

17:48

more like it. He suddenly had

17:51

not only these contacts he got from Merritt,

17:53

but also a secure, warm, safe base for

17:55

his operations. And so after that he was

17:57

on his way and he could really get

17:59

married. get to work. For

18:01

the first month that Paul is in St

18:03

Petersburg, he learns how to

18:05

live among the shadows. Using

18:08

invisible ink on tiny pieces

18:10

of tracing paper, he

18:13

writes reports on the bloodshed on

18:15

the streets and national politics for

18:17

MI6. And he gets them

18:19

out via a system of secret couriers,

18:21

some of whom had been part of Chromie's old

18:24

network. Slowly but

18:26

surely, he's rebuilding the

18:28

British intelligence picture in Russia. One

18:32

day, however, Paul turns

18:34

a corner and bumps into

18:36

none other than Captain Zorinsky, the

18:39

old army officer he'd met at Melnikov's

18:41

ill-chosen café, a man

18:44

whose allegiances were unclear, to say

18:46

the least. But

18:48

instead of dragging our true spy

18:50

off to a dark cell, Zorinsky

18:53

invites him for dinner. It's

18:56

quite a risk to take. What

18:58

exactly does Zorinsky want? But

19:02

with salmon spreading through the streets and

19:04

starving people carving the flesh from dead

19:07

horses, the offer of a

19:09

decent meal is hard to turn down. At

19:12

dinner, the men chat

19:14

amicably. And then

19:16

Zorinsky slides a copy of

19:18

clandestine Bolshevik paperwork over the

19:21

table. Paul's

19:24

heart races. Smelling

19:27

a rat, he pretends not

19:29

to be interested. Nonetheless,

19:32

Zorinsky tells him to keep the papers. He

19:36

also brags that he was an agent of Francis

19:38

Chromie, knows John Merritt

19:40

personally, and offers Paul a bed

19:42

for the night. Now

19:45

Paul's head is spinning. This

19:47

barrage of information has him quite

19:49

confused. How does he

19:51

know the name John Merritt? Does

19:54

anything he says have any credibility? With

19:58

more to lose than the sendings are in the at

20:00

this point. Paul accepts the bed.

20:03

So they have this cat and mouse game in

20:05

which Dukes tells him some things and

20:07

accepts a limited measure of help

20:09

from Zorinsky, but doesn't tell him

20:11

so much that Zorinsky can betray him. Soon,

20:17

Paul is thoroughly entangled with

20:19

Zorinsky. Captain Zorinsky has become

20:22

Paul's main contact and a contact that

20:24

Paul is very suspicious of because he

20:26

suspects that Zorinsky will sell him out

20:28

unless Paul is able to keep him

20:31

supplied with money. Now Zorinsky knows that

20:34

Paul is playing a game with him and trying to hide

20:36

a lot of information. Another

20:38

night, another dinner. And

20:41

on one occasion, in January 1919,

20:43

just as the evening is

20:46

drawing to a close, Zorinsky

20:48

slips a new document and the

20:51

Pauls knows. This

20:53

time, it is a detailed plan

20:56

of the minefield at Kronstadt, a

20:59

heavily guarded island fortress under Bolshevik

21:01

control. The port of Kronstadt is

21:03

just about the most heavily defended

21:05

port in the entire world and

21:07

it's screened by these minefields. The

21:09

port itself is surrounded by artillery,

21:11

machine guns, just about every defence

21:13

you can imagine. This is a

21:16

priceless piece of intelligence. Understanding

21:18

how ships could navigate the underwater minefield

21:21

was worth its weight in gold for

21:23

any enemy of the Russian fleet. And

21:26

that's not all. Zorinsky

21:28

produces another document and

21:31

smiles smugly. He's

21:33

enjoying this. One of

21:35

the greatest risks in St Petersburg at this time

21:38

was if you were a man of military age

21:40

being picked up off the street and what was

21:42

probably one of the most valuable documents if you

21:44

could get hold of it was a military exemption

21:46

document and he knows that Paul desperately needs it.

21:48

But Paul also knows as he looks at this

21:51

document that Zorinsky has passed to him that he

21:53

has to fill it out with the address and

21:55

so forth so they can be checked and Zorinsky

21:57

therefore will know everything about him and that then...

22:00

most likely that Zorinsky will betray

22:02

him. For a moment, Paul

22:04

is absolutely stuck. Paul

22:09

knew he was in a tight spot. He

22:12

needs this document. If he doesn't

22:14

fill it out, Zorinsky will probably just nab

22:16

him there and then. Gingerly,

22:19

Paul signs the papers

22:21

right under Zorinsky's nose. Joseph

22:23

Krilenko. The name

22:25

on his forged passport is now out in

22:28

the open. He trudges

22:30

to bed, along with a map

22:32

of the minefields he needs to copy, and

22:34

fills Zorinsky's crib. It's

22:37

a restless night. Now

22:40

Zorinsky knows his operational name. He

22:43

can hand him into the checker whenever

22:45

he wants. Paul's nerves are short. He

22:49

folds the paper for safekeeping, and

22:51

as he does, notices there

22:53

are two sheets of paper. It's

22:57

an unbelievable turn of fate. Zorinsky

23:00

has unwittingly handed Paul

23:03

a second military exemption

23:05

form. He can

23:07

use these for a new identity,

23:10

one that Zorinsky doesn't know about, but

23:13

will still keep him safe on the streets. Paul

23:16

stashes it away hurriedly. He's

23:19

back in the game. It just

23:21

goes to show that he didn't win all

23:23

the time, and sometimes he needed what all

23:25

great heroes, all great sportsmen need, that little

23:28

bit of luck. In

23:30

February, Paul makes the grueling

23:32

journey in and out of Russia

23:34

once more, miraculously

23:36

undetected. He

23:38

needs money desperately, and is exhausted

23:40

from the strains of living undercover.

23:43

He makes it out carrying invaluable intelligence

23:46

for cunning, and does not

23:48

intend to return. Somehow

23:51

MI6 convinces him otherwise,

23:54

giving him assurances that very

23:56

special measures will be taken

23:58

to help his final history. escape. Paul

24:01

makes it back to St. Petersburg, where

24:04

he can feel the net around him

24:06

tightening. By May

24:09

1919, the Cheka is really

24:11

on his trail. He can't survive much longer.

24:13

He knows that. Had

24:15

Paul's fears about Zorinsky come true? Not

24:19

quite. In fact,

24:22

the seeds of his downfall were sown by

24:24

the new head of the Cheka in St.

24:26

Petersburg, a man

24:28

named Yakov Christoph Orovich Peters.

24:33

The Cheka appointed a specialist in hunting

24:36

British agents, and he spent a long

24:38

time finding out who Dukes was and

24:40

what he'd done when he'd lived in

24:42

Russia, whereabouts he'd lived in Russia, who

24:45

his friends were, and quite a few

24:47

of Dukes' old friends were rounded up

24:49

by Peters. His efforts paid off. Peters

24:52

knew exactly who ST-25 was. Paul Henry

24:57

Dukes, concert pianist,

24:59

29 years old. One

25:02

by one, Paul's sources and

25:04

safe houses disappeared. His

25:07

money ran dangerously low. Time

25:10

to get out of Russia for good.

25:12

The border is absolutely sewn up tight.

25:14

So he's got a lot of intelligence

25:16

which he's gathered from key contacts, including

25:18

right from the very top. But he

25:20

can't get it out of the country.

25:22

He has a courier network, but even

25:24

his couriers can't get out. How

25:27

do you get out of a city crawling

25:29

with guards determined to find you? And

25:32

if you do manage to leave St. Petersburg, what

25:35

next? MI6 realizes that he's

25:37

not going to be able to do this on

25:39

his own, and they need some new

25:41

daring idea to rescue him. determined

26:00

29 year old to his office.

26:03

Augustus Agar, known

26:05

as Gus. Gus came from

26:07

a large family. He was born in Ceylon,

26:09

which of course is now Sri Lanka. And

26:12

the family had a long tradition of supplying

26:14

naval officers. In fact, his elder brother was

26:16

a naval officer. And he desperately

26:18

looks for adventure, but adventure always seems to

26:20

elude him. He is

26:23

hugely frustrated that he missed most of

26:25

the action during the First World War.

26:28

Once the war had ended, he

26:30

was stationed at the Thames Estuary

26:32

alongside a flotilla of disused coastal

26:34

motorboats, CMBs. It

26:37

was those very boats that

26:40

the illustrious Cummings wanted

26:42

to speak to Gus about. He

26:45

had the idea that the way to get

26:47

past the Russian naval defenses was one of

26:49

these fast motorboats. He figured they'd be so

26:51

fast, they'd be through the sea faults before

26:54

the Russians even knew they were there. Cummings

26:57

could see Gus's thirst for adventure.

27:00

He asked Gus to embark on

27:03

the ST-25's rescue mission. The

27:05

extraction would take place at Kronstad

27:08

Harbor. The

27:10

harbor was one of a series of

27:12

impenetrable defenses that guarded the route in

27:14

and out of St. Petersburg. Each

27:17

of these sea fortresses running from the Finnish

27:19

coast in the north to the Estonian coast

27:22

in the south, there is a break in

27:24

water just three feet below the surface. And

27:26

this is one reason why the coastal motorboats

27:28

were chosen for this mission, because while no

27:30

other ship could make it across this break

27:33

in water, the CMBs, when they were at

27:35

top speed, only drew about two feet of

27:37

water. So they were right

27:39

for the mission. But this also meant, if you get

27:41

it slightly wrong, you're going to rip the bottom out

27:44

of the boat. Far from

27:46

being well thought through, Cummings

27:48

had presented Gus with a

27:50

suicide mission. The Russians

27:52

had motor patrol boats of their own,

27:54

patrolling the area. But they were also

27:56

minefields. The

27:59

very minefields. Oh, and map.

28:01

From the Rinse Keys papers. But.

28:03

In fact, the Bolsheviks had started cutting

28:05

the mines loose, disabling the safety devices

28:07

that sort of the supposed to disarm

28:09

the minds of the footloose and so

28:12

you had no idea where these mines

28:14

were going to be. It was absolutely

28:16

a lottery Guess was not given. Absurd.

28:19

Cummings. Told him that he but that to him. He

28:21

could take his own crew as long

28:24

as they were all on married. He

28:26

was only told a code number is

28:28

t twenty five of this guy that

28:30

he must rescue and things such as

28:32

finance and where the going to live

28:34

little measles things to make up for

28:36

himself and he would have to move

28:38

sauce. The nights are getting shorter and

28:40

shorter as the summer goes on and

28:42

soon that will only be a couple

28:44

of hours of full might seem to

28:46

trying to get through this line of

28:48

defense. It. Is

28:56

the Border City school? Those. Isn't

29:02

that Singh from side to. True

29:05

on kids, Funny, Seasick And the

29:08

end. His name is fast approaching.

29:11

He writes in his diary as they make slow.

29:13

Progress towards Sinden Oasis T

29:15

Twenty. Five busy doing them. does

29:18

he even tried. I

29:22

know he's got to hurry, Hurry

29:24

And. Four

29:29

days later team.in the city

29:31

sport of. Other. The

29:34

pressure see and bees are being

29:36

towed behind. Another sip they offering

29:38

about as well. As this is true, This

29:42

covert mission. is suffering set

29:44

up a full that's the sound of

29:46

a set of months in transporting these

29:48

highly sensitive motorboats they were filled with

29:51

seawater as they were being told by

29:53

the british naval vessel to get to

29:55

the steamer that was things are finland

29:57

so when they turn up in finland

30:00

We've got almost no spares and the engines

30:02

won't work. Gus gives

30:04

24 year old mechanic Hugh Beley

30:06

a look. Gus

30:09

says, look, we're here, this is all you've got,

30:11

you've got to make these ruddy things work. And

30:14

Beley does. It's an absolute triumph of

30:16

being a mechanic. But this

30:18

work isn't exactly quiet. And

30:20

almost immediately it's known who they are. And

30:23

what's interesting is that for a secret mission,

30:25

when they eventually find a base at a

30:27

small yacht club called Terriocchi, from which they

30:29

can launch these motorboats and try and find

30:31

Dukes and Whiskey. Everybody knows

30:34

who they are. They even had a journalist

30:36

from the Daily Express, the British newspaper, who

30:38

came in statement for a week. The head

30:40

of French intelligence in Finland comes

30:42

out to visit them. So there's

30:44

absolutely no secrecy. Despite

30:47

the suspicions surrounding this team,

30:49

the undercover mission is finally

30:51

underway. Gus

30:54

and his six comrades arrive

30:56

in Terriocchi, 30 miles from

30:58

the nearest British naval base, under

31:00

the command of one Admiral Cowell.

31:03

Gus gets to work taking the CMBs around

31:06

the bay, with

31:08

Beley working his magic on the engines whenever they

31:10

are pushed too far. They

31:13

go out to get a better look at the Russian

31:15

leadership. The

31:17

Baltic fleet is vast, with

31:20

three enormous warships, Petrovlovsk,

31:24

Andrei Pavolfany and

31:26

Olav. And that

31:28

fleet is confidently bombing the mainland

31:31

fort of Krasnaya Borka, which had

31:33

revolted against the Bolsheviks. The

31:38

rebels take all their families into

31:40

this fortress, and the Russians

31:43

surround it by land, and the conflicting forces,

31:45

by the way, were led by the young

31:47

Joseph Stalin. Meanwhile, the Russian

31:49

Navy sends a couple of battlecruisers out, which

31:51

sit several miles away, well out of range

31:54

of the fort scum, and just pound it

31:56

to bits. Gus is

31:58

in trouble. He thinks

32:00

that the trapped families under his

32:02

gleaming CMBs And he sent

32:04

back to London for instructions and said, look, we're not

32:07

actually needed at the moment. Because the

32:09

nights are so short, I've got these two

32:11

boats with torpedoes. I can go and save

32:13

these people. But Cummings didn't want

32:15

anything done that wasn't to do with intelligence.

32:18

And Gust simply couldn't get orders allowing him to

32:20

attack these Russian ships. And eventually it just becomes

32:22

too much for him. He thinks, I've got to

32:24

do something. I'm not going to let these people

32:26

be massacred. Would you do the same?

32:30

Risk the lives of you and your

32:32

crew against huge warships. What

32:35

about ST-25? He's

32:38

the whole reason Gust was there after all.

32:44

Did you see? Gust

32:47

climbs into CMB-4 alongside

32:49

Bealee and second in command

32:52

John Hampshire. They

32:54

creep at absolute minimum speed

32:56

through the screen of destroyers

32:58

protecting your leg are about

33:00

to launch their one torpedo.

33:03

When all of a sudden there's a malfunction and

33:05

the thing nearly blows up. It nearly took Fitch's

33:07

hand off. And Bealee, the

33:09

mechanical genius, is sent down into the bowels

33:11

of the boat again told to do something.

33:15

It works. Bealee

33:19

fixes the problem and the torpedo

33:21

is ready to be fired. They

33:23

need to get a move on. They have drifted

33:25

and are now sitting there. They're

33:28

sitting in the middle of the Russian force

33:30

fleet who are all around them. And

33:33

at any moment, they realize there's this tiny boat

33:35

sitting there in middle of them. And

33:37

soon as Bealee gives Gust the word that

33:39

the repair has been made, Gust throws

33:41

over the engines, they hit maximum speed,

33:43

fire the torpedo and get the heck

33:46

out of dodge. The

33:48

Russian fleet opens higher. CMB-4's

33:52

engine is at full throttle.

33:55

The torpedo

33:57

must have missed. After

34:00

they're getting out of the perimeter of the

34:02

Russian ship, the Oleg is keeping and immediately

34:04

starts to capsize. It's

34:07

harder here over CMB Hall's

34:09

thunderous engine. That's

34:12

an acerty to see the damage. His

34:15

disregard for orders has

34:17

paid off. Admiral

34:19

Cowan is impressed by his bravado in

34:22

quick thinking, and tells Gus he will

34:24

pretend to MI6. He

34:26

had approved the attack all along. It's

34:29

this incredible victory for the Royal

34:31

Navy against the Russians at

34:34

a time when the Royal Navy hadn't

34:36

actually been able to do anything. Instead

34:38

of getting a rocket from his bosses,

34:40

Gus is awarded the Victoria Cross, the

34:43

highest award for gallantry. The

34:46

remarkable attack on the Oleg had made

34:49

Gus the hero he'd always wanted to

34:51

be. And now,

34:54

Admiral Cowan was looking at him

34:56

differently. He asks

34:58

Gus, could he do it

35:00

all again? While

35:03

Gus ponders that question, Paul

35:05

is where we first met him, alone,

35:09

crouching in Volkovo Cemetery.

35:12

It is his fourth day sleeping out in

35:14

the elements. In

35:17

the distance, he hears the

35:19

sound of naval gunfire and shudders.

35:24

He's unsure whether it is British or Russian,

35:27

and hopes it is his side. Paul's

35:30

health is lapsing, and with

35:32

the greatest will in the world, he knows

35:35

it won't last much longer. He

35:37

feels the weight of his revolver in his pocket,

35:40

and easy out, but

35:43

he's determined not to take it.

35:48

Paul climbs to his feet, and

35:50

rests on the tombstone like an old

35:52

man. He takes a

35:54

deep breath, and shuffles

35:56

off towards St Petersburg. push.

36:09

Paul Duke's mind is also on

36:11

sailing. He has met

36:13

a new courier called Gester and

36:16

been told of the escape plan. On

36:18

Thursday the 14th of August you have one

36:21

of those incidents that shows the incredible resources

36:23

that Paul has. I mean this frail concert

36:25

pianist who before he became involved in this

36:27

adventure wouldn't say boo to a goose, has

36:30

finally got a chance to meet

36:32

the man who is supposed to save him. So

36:35

a courier has got in and delivered

36:37

the arrangements for his rescue. Before

36:40

Paul can get excited about finally

36:42

meeting Gus, Gester realizes

36:44

there is a problem. The

36:46

courier has forgotten where he left the roving

36:48

boat that he came in on. They

36:51

are forced to improvise and scan

36:54

the shore until they find an old fishing boat.

36:57

And then they are asked to rendezvous with

36:59

Gus on the water. No,

37:03

the plan anyway. They

37:05

find that actually the boat is taking on

37:07

water and Gester opens the cupboard at the

37:09

front of this large roving boat and finds

37:11

out that the valve that lets water into

37:13

the boat has been left open and there

37:16

are wash and the reason this boat has

37:18

been abandoned on the shore is because it

37:20

can't be closed. So suddenly they

37:22

are bailing for their lives as the boat is

37:24

going down in what is the freezing waters of

37:26

the Baltic. At

37:30

the other end of this stretch of coast Gus

37:32

sets out to retrieve ST25. He is on parrot. The

37:38

CMB arrives and fetches its torch

37:40

towards the boat. That's

37:42

the signal. There

37:45

is nobody there. A

37:49

soaking wet pool swims back to

37:51

shore, dragging Gester with him.

37:54

He turns to see Gus' CMB two

37:56

miles away from where he is standing. He is

37:59

there. completely spent. The

38:02

rescue attempt has failed. Gus

38:06

tries not to let it dampen his spirit.

38:09

He knows he'll need to try again soon. More

38:13

CMBs arrive in Teriyaki, as

38:16

per Admiral Cowan's request. He's

38:19

planning an offensive. The

38:22

next day Gus boards another CMB,

38:25

not for Paul this time, but

38:27

for the one and only rehearsal

38:29

of the Kronstad attempt. It

38:32

is set for Monday the 18th of

38:34

August. Just

38:36

after midnight British aircraft take to

38:38

the skies. The

38:40

Royal Air Force sends a whole assorted

38:43

ragbag of planes up there, and the

38:45

idea is that they will attack from

38:47

the air as these tiny motorboats sail

38:49

into the most heavily defended port in

38:52

the world and try and take out

38:54

these Russian battleships. The

38:56

mission is deadly and timing is

38:58

everything. The flying conditions

39:00

are far from perfect and the

39:02

aircraft all take off late. And

39:05

the worst thing is that basically the port

39:07

is like a circle with the Russians all

39:09

around, so it's kind of like taking your

39:11

boat into a barrel and everybody's shooting into

39:14

the middle of that barrel. Your chances of

39:16

survival are practically zero. In the

39:18

tight harbour with the schedule out of

39:20

the window, the Russians begin

39:22

to light up the waters with their

39:24

gunk. The CMB teams

39:26

have to improvise. The

39:29

aircraft is not going to come. The higher

39:31

their typical, the little should be seen,

39:33

and there's a taking of heavy

39:35

fur. While Gus

39:37

is navigating the chunky seas around

39:40

Kronstad's harbour, Paul also

39:42

finds himself in hot water in

39:44

the wake of the failed rescue.

39:47

At one stage, he was heading back to

39:49

one of his old haunts. Back

39:51

in St Petersburg, he's breaking

39:53

a simple rule. A

39:56

spy should never return to an old

39:58

safe house. is that

40:00

the Bolsheviks had such a tight control on

40:02

the food, there was already practically famine conditions

40:04

in much of the city, and so sometimes

40:06

he did have to do things like go

40:08

and see old friends and beg for money,

40:10

and of course Peters and the other Cheka

40:12

agents were watching for him to do just

40:14

that. It

40:17

is the dead of night and

40:19

he's decided it is worth the risk.

40:23

He enters the block of flats and

40:25

as he was creeping up

40:27

the stairs he actually heard

40:29

voices above the Cheka. Paul

40:33

freezes, his heart

40:35

thuds and he swears the

40:37

men must be able to hear it from the

40:39

floor above. Anxiously

40:41

he turns around as

40:44

he hurries out of the building he trips. The

40:48

Bolsheviks swing around and give chase before

40:51

he is out a hulking great

40:53

hand nabs him by the collar.

40:56

The Cheka officer, he

40:58

pushes him against the hall and presses a

41:00

revolver to attempt it. Suddenly

41:03

Paul starts to drool and

41:06

rolls his eyes backwards as

41:08

if he had a handicap. Establishingly

41:12

the officer believes his act. Sometimes

41:14

he did take it very close to the

41:17

line and what the example of Paul shows

41:19

is that with no training and

41:21

in the harshest of conditions you

41:24

can be incredibly successful if you imply

41:26

your imagination. Back

41:28

at the yacht club in Teriyaki, Gus

41:30

is on dry land. Although

41:33

only half of the men have

41:35

survived. After the raid Gus's

41:38

prospects dropped considerably for two reasons.

41:40

One because the Russians now knew

41:43

how deadly these small motorboats could

41:45

be and they were working in

41:47

the area. And secondly Teriyaki had

41:49

become known as the base of

41:51

Gus and his motorboats. The

41:54

Soviets flew over Teriyaki two days

41:56

later. The bombs they

41:58

dropped missed. But the

42:00

message was received. Gus

42:03

now has a price on his head,

42:06

and Paul is still in Russia.

42:09

Gus does not hesitate. On

42:12

Monday the 25th of August, he heads

42:14

to the line of Russian defence once again. This

42:18

time, there is no element of

42:20

surprise. This

42:23

is the most perilous journey yet.

42:27

Four of Gus's comrades fly the

42:29

board, despite them telling them to stay.

42:32

At the dead of night, CMB-7

42:35

sets out once more. The

42:38

Russian search and sweep the harbor.

42:42

And they are swivelled. Gus

42:45

stands the boat alone. But

42:47

it's too late. CMB-7 is

42:50

not clearing for me. Gus

42:52

thinks one of the mechanisms must have been shot

42:54

through. Then

42:57

silence. In

43:00

fact, Paul Dukes, waiting for Agar to come

43:02

rescue him, reads in the Russian press that

43:04

a small motorboat has been sunk trying to

43:07

penetrate the defences, and assumes that Agar has

43:09

been killed and he must make his own

43:11

way out. MI-6's

43:14

special measures have not

43:16

worked. Gus has not

43:18

rescued Paul. And as

43:20

far as he knows, Paul is

43:22

totally alone. He shows that

43:24

even when you've got nothing, as long as

43:27

you've got your brain and your imagination, you

43:29

can still fight back. The

43:31

Finnish border is now too dangerous.

43:34

So where would you turn? Would

43:37

you risk Estonia to the west crawling

43:39

with the checkup? He decides

43:42

to do something very bold. He's going to

43:44

head way south down to Latvia, which is

43:46

a difficult journey, not so much because of

43:48

the geographical distance, but just because of the

43:50

number of checkpoints and other security matters that

43:53

will happen if he takes a long journey

43:55

like that. So he heads

43:57

out with one of his key agents.

44:00

and also a young Russian army

44:02

recruit called Kostya. It's

44:04

a risky move. After taking the

44:06

train to the border, they find

44:08

Russian sentries at every suitable crossing

44:10

point. Finally, they

44:13

come to a lake. So they spend

44:15

ages scaring the shore, looking for something whether they

44:17

can build a boat, find something, and they find

44:19

an old wreck of a rowing boat that's got

44:22

a great big hole in the bottom. But of

44:24

course, by now, full chutes have had some experience

44:26

of sinking rowing boats. Paul finds

44:28

themselves bailing for his life yet

44:31

again. But this time, the boat

44:34

stays afloat. And they

44:36

made it all the way across, only

44:38

to be picked up by the Latvians on the

44:40

other side when they reach the opposite shore. And

44:43

the Latvians immediately set up a firing

44:45

squad because they assume having caught them crossing

44:47

the border, they're actually Russian spies. Paul

44:50

scrambles at his pocket and pulls out

44:53

a clandestine document addressed

44:55

to the British ember pool. He

44:59

does the trick. After

45:02

months of survival, Paul

45:04

is finally out of Russia. But

45:14

in 1919, Paul has made

45:16

it back to London and is

45:18

leaving Cummings office. A

45:23

young man fits in the waiting area

45:25

who he walks past. And

45:27

they pass each other. And nobody's told them

45:29

that they're there on the same day. But

45:32

something passes between them. And

45:35

Dukes looks at Agar and

45:38

says, do I know you? And

45:40

just Agar says, I don't think you do. But

45:43

are you by any chance Paul Dukes?

45:46

There's something about the bearing of this

45:48

man who's at secret intelligence headquarters that

45:50

just makes him think this may be

45:52

the guy. And Paul Dukes says, yes,

45:54

I am. And the

45:56

two men that both made it home. This

46:00

failed attempt to rescue Paul on the

46:02

25th of August had not taken his life.

46:05

After CMB7's controls had been shot

46:07

through, the young mechanic

46:10

Bealee had saved the crew. He

46:12

had fashioned a tiny sail from the deck

46:15

covering, allowing them to sail out of

46:17

range of the Russian guns and safely home.

46:21

Paul could not believe his eyes, and

46:23

shook his hand warmly. Doss

46:26

had been given the Victoria Cross for

46:28

his bravery. And

46:31

in 1920, Sir

46:33

Paul Dukes was made a

46:35

Knight of the Realm. He

46:38

is the only MI6 officer ever to

46:40

be knighted for work in the field.

46:43

And it's a great lesson in how you may

46:45

not think that you have the makings of a

46:47

hero, you may not think you have the makings

46:49

of a spy, but it's deep within us, even

46:51

some of the most likely of us. I'm

46:58

Rhiannon Nieds. If you

47:01

enjoyed this story, you can read all

47:03

the fascinating details in Harry Ferguson's book

47:06

Operation Kronstert. Harry's

47:08

also on TikTok as the

47:10

English Spy, dishing out fascinating

47:13

real-life insights from the world

47:15

of espionage. Next

47:17

time on True Spies. Fort

47:21

Hunt, codenamed P.O.

47:23

Box 1142, where

47:25

Nazis and Americans came eye

47:27

to eye on US soil.

47:41

Disclaimer. The views expressed in this

47:43

podcast are those of the subject. These

47:45

stories are told from their perspective and

47:47

their authenticity should be assessed on a

47:49

case-by-case basis. podcast

48:00

and help us bring you more

48:02

great stories. And if you have

48:04

some time, why not forward the podcast to

48:06

a friend? Robert's

48:12

colleagues were beginning to hear rumors that

48:14

this park, Fort Hunt, had

48:16

a far richer history than anyone knew

48:19

of. The park would have tours of the fort

48:21

and they get toward the end and they'd say,

48:23

you know, we're beginning to piece together some

48:26

information about what happened here during World War

48:28

II. And we would really like to

48:30

find someone who was here during that time, to

48:32

tour guides the dad. For years, no

48:34

one had anything to say, but then.

48:37

This couple said, you know what? We

48:39

had a neighbor who was here and

48:41

we think he might be able to talk

48:44

to him. One of the

48:46

park rangers tracks down the man, one

48:48

Fred Michel. Now it took a while

48:50

before he could arrange it and he knew the

48:52

reason was because every single person who was stationed

48:55

at Fort Hunt was sworn to secrecy. They were

48:57

told that they were gonna take the story of

48:59

what happened there to the grave. True

49:04

Spies from Spyscape Studios.

49:07

Search for True Spies wherever you get

49:09

your podcasts. Hey,

49:12

I'm Don Wildman. And on American History

49:14

Hit, my expert guests and I journey

49:16

across the nation and through the years

49:18

to uncover the stories that have made

49:20

the United States. From first

49:22

flight to first ladies, from

49:24

stitching the star-spangled banner to striking

49:27

gold in California, to shooting for

49:29

the moon with Apollo. We've got

49:31

you covered. Catch new episodes of American

49:33

History Hit, a podcast by History Hit,

49:36

every Monday and Thursday wherever you get

49:38

your podcasts.