MYSTERY SPY

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 September 1934, Page 12

MYSTERY SPY

ALSATIAN ON GERMAN STAFF. STRASBOURG, August -1. Living peaceably as one of the most ropected citizens of this (now) French city is a famous inyster ,r rn- of the war —a German officer who. all through the four years of hostilities, kept the Allies informed of the plans of the German G.H.Q. To-day he proudly wears the English Military Cross, the Cross of the Legion of Honour and the Cross of the Royal Order of Leopold. Reno Hausser. a, member of an old Alsatian fantilv, was livinv at Thionville when (ho war broke out. He was forced to join the German army, but his heart was with France. It was not long before he contrived to get in touch with a French family living in Bi nsseis To do so be risked his life constantly. As a staff officer, he frequently had. access to most important plans, which he managed to smuggle to his I French friends. Twice he was denounced and tried by court-martial. Twice he was acquitted. He convinced his judges that the denunciations of which he was the object were due to the spile of French and Belgian villagers because of his exploits as a Don Juan.

SHELL DUMP BLOWN UP. .Meanwhile the leakage of military plans of paramount importance continued to baffle the German Intelligence Department. Through civilians repatriated to France or Belgium through Switzerland 1-lausser was abbto give the Allies the first news of the projected offensive against Verdun. He photographed the main portions of the Hindenburg Line and sent prints across the front by two French prisoners, whose escape he organised. In the same year—l9l6—he blew up •> dump of 50.000 shells prepared near Rbeims in view of an offensive against that sector of the French front. Another amazingly audacious exploit to his credit was the theft of vital/ plans from a German general's attache case at the Palace Hotel, Brussels. His greatest coup, however, was the discovery and transmission to the Allies of the advance plans for the Germans’ last desperate offensive of 1918. After the war ho was given a comvnission in the French Army in recognition of his signal services.