Beneath a Scarlet Sky discussion

Near the end of the book, Leyers shakes Pino's hand and says "now you know Observer." How did Leyers know Pino was a spy whose code name was the Observer and why did the Americans call Leyers a hero?

The ending of the book made me think that Leyers was secretly an American spy or had some influence to give information to the Allies. I definitely agree that the end of the novel made you wonder more about Leyers.

Jess wrote: "The ending of the book made me think that Leyers was secretly an American spy or had some influence to give information to the Allies. I definitely agree that the end of the novel made you wonder m..."

Somehow, this discussion was overlooked. Ithers were more active is the only excuse.

Anywhooo...

Leyers was knowingly miscast, reimagined and defamed by the author. Visit the Axis History forum and search his name, then find the author's Aug 2009 thread called "ID of German General in Italy" (paraphrased?). Then, in the reply section, find the Englosh version of a report commissioned by Eschweiler town council after the German edition of this book was released.

It's scholarly and limited in scope (likely due to budget and deadline) ... and it's not flaw-free because the professor didn't check Italian or U.S. archives or newspapers, etc. He also didn't contact Leyers' family or other people misused as though "sources" of altered and fabricated quotes in the Aftermath section.

Also, the report's references to this novel were flawed, and presented as though it is what the author claims it to be ... but the report helps confirm what I understood early on:

Leyers is not the "general" (actual or alleged) or man for whom Lella drove (part time), with whom he had zero beef and whose name he couldn't recall in a 1985 interview that is the only authentic historical record of his story known to exist ... and about which almlst entirely false details are made on p. 501 of the novel. (Feel free to message me and ask for a link to a transcript and recordings.)

Also note the author's question in the Axis History forum to which the report is attached in a reply, in which he's basically relayed a synopsis of the book he intended to write. At the end, he reveals that Lella indicated the last name of the fellow is "Kaufmann". (He later offered up a convoluted excuse for this once people found it, having to make up a tale about it being a form of address/noun vs. a surname.

The author also notes what is the actual name of the fellow who was in charge of the OT operating group in Italy - a man named Fischer.

I believe as of Aug 2009 he'd already had in mind (mis)casting Leyers and was just checking / feeling people out who might be familiar with the topic of the OT in Italy to see whether he stood a decent shot at getting away with what he intended to do. It's the only thing that makes sense.

He had the month before visited the National Archives in Maryland to look at, among other items, the original complete report referenced in a Max Corvo (OSS) book - a report written by Emilio 'Mim' Daddario about his (not Corvo's) interaction with Leyers in Como. The author later posted out of context excerpts from this report on his web site.

Note: Fischer would've been relatively small fish and so much harder to inject as interacting in certain situations and with bigwigs ... or so the author thought anyway.