14. A Spy Caper in the Krupp Gun Works
In the early twentieth century, Kaiser Wilhelm II kicked off a rapid expansion of Germany’s war machine. That – especially his naval buildup – greatly alarmed the British. Their fortunes and national survival depended on the Royal Navy’s command of the sea, so any potential threat to their naval supremacy was bound to alarm the powers that be in London. British intelligence knew precious little about the goings on inside Germany’s war plants, so in 1909, Sidney Reilly’s spy masters sent him to Essen to gather intelligence.
Under the cover name Karl Hann, Reilly got a job as welder in the Krupp Gun Works, where he hoped to photograph the plant and the sensitive plans and information contained in its drawing office. However, the office was too heavily guarded during the day, so he volunteered for the fire brigade that worked the night shift. Then he strangled the head of the night security detail, knocked out another guard, and got into the drawing-room. He seized the plans before the alarm was raised, and caught a train, then a boat, and made it back to Britain with his valuable intelligence haul.