The Eagle Has Landed characters

Appears from the start

A wounded German intelligence officer serving under Admiral Canaris. Careful and methodical, he is ordered to examine whether Winston Churchill could be seized during a visit away from the protection of London.

Appears from the start

Head of the SS and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. He presses for a plan to abduct Churchill and gives Radl authority that bypasses normal command, while retaining the ability to deny the mission if it fails.

Appears from the start

The chief of Germany's military intelligence service and Radl's superior. Canaris distrusts the Nazi leadership and recognizes both the improbability of the Churchill scheme and the danger created when Himmler takes a personal interest in it.

First appears in chapter 4

A highly decorated German paratroop officer whose independent sense of honour has put him and his men into a punishment unit. Radl selects him to lead the English operation because he combines military skill with the ability to act beyond conventional orders.

First appears in chapter 4

Steiner's loyal second-in-command. A capable paratrooper who shares his colonel's disgrace and follows him into the mission, he helps maintain discipline as the unit operates under disguise in England.

First appears in chapter 6

An Irish republican, former teacher, and experienced fighter recruited to prepare the ground in Norfolk. Charming and adaptable, he has no loyalty to Nazi ideology but accepts the operation as an action against Britain.

First appears in chapter 6

An elderly resident of Studley Constable who is secretly a long-established German agent. Her position in village life and precise local intelligence make the plan possible, and she becomes Devlin's principal contact in England.

First appears in chapter 8

A young woman in Studley Constable who encounters Devlin after his arrival. Their attraction gives him a personal connection to the village even as he prepares it for a violent foreign operation.

First appears in chapter 8

The Anglican priest of Studley Constable. His knowledge of the church and concern for his parishioners place him at the centre of events when the German force takes control of the village.

First appears in chapter 9

The village constable, observant and persistent beneath an ordinary rural manner. He knows Studley Constable and its residents well enough to notice details that do not fit.

First appears in chapter 13

A United States Army Ranger officer stationed within reach of Studley Constable. Once alerted, he helps direct the response to the German incursion and the effort to free the villagers held in the church.

Appears from the start

The British prime minister and the target around whom the operation is built. Intelligence that he will spend a weekend near Studley Constable gives Radl and Steiner a narrow chance to strike on English soil.