Kirov Saga: Darkest Hour: Altered States - Volume II (Kirov Series) (24 page)

“I’m
afraid they have evened the score,” Heintz said dejectedly. “I wonder why they
did not turn those rocket weapons on us? We’ve been in range for some hours,
and they have every reason to avenge what we have done.”

“This
Russian Captain is a cagey and cautious man,” said Kranke. “Yes, he’s trumped
us with these new weapons they’ve developed—for the moment. Lindemann turned
for home on Raeder’s orders, but I heard the damage to
Bismarck
was not
significant. Against a lightly armored cruiser like
Nürnberg
those
rockets were very effective. I doubt if
Bismarck
would be bothered by
them, and that ship has 15-inch guns.”

“I hope
you are correct, sir.”

Kranke
gave him a long look. “Yes, I hope I am correct as well. Otherwise we may have
awakened a sleeping bear here, and I was the man who gave the orders.” He
turned, walking slowly off the bridge, his gait slow and deliberate, shoulders
slumped.

* * *

“Well,”
said Volsky. “I have accomplished my purpose here, and
that was more than the recovery of Zolotov and the others.”

Volsky
waited until the Germans had completed their rescue operation and sailed off.
They followed slowly, shadowing the Germans for some time, and then turned
towards Hopen Island to pick up the Russians that had been taken from
Siberiakov
and Port Dickson.

“I know
it appeared to you that all we did here is break another ship and crew,” said
Volsky. “But we have built something here as well.”

“What
is that, Admiral?”

“A
reputation, Fedorov. It will precede us wherever we go now, like a long shadow.
The next time a German Captain sees my ship on his horizon, they will remember
us. Let us hope they respect the way this was handled.”

“I
would think they realized they were overmatched, sir,” said Fedorov.

“Good.
Fear is a useful weapon. Now when they see any Russian ship at sea they may not
be so eager to engage. Perhaps they will think that all our ships might have
the weapons we used. It could save some lives.”

“Let us
hope as much, Admiral, but in time they will see that is not the case. We will
soon be deemed the exception, and not the rule, and that will deepen the
mystery for them somewhat as well.”

“They
still have a lot to learn.” Volsky nodded.

 “Will
we be returning to Severomorsk now?”

“No, I
think we have other business at the moment, Mister Fedorov. “The ship has been
well repaired, and we have replenished our stocks of food and fresh water. I
know the men were eager for home, but in many ways, seeing it that way, barren,
everything we knew gone… Well it may have done more harm than help.”

“I
understand, sir. Then what course should I set now?”

“I
think we will continue west into the Norwegian Sea again. I told Golovko I
would handle this matter and then scout the German buildup near the North Cape
area. The KA-40 should be useful in that regard. After that we have business
further south. I had a private talk with Sergie Kirov before he left. He has
authorized me to make formal offers of Alliance with Great Britain, and to
reinforce the diplomatic talks now underway in back channels with an official
visit.”

“I
see,” said Fedorov, very impressed by this, and heartened by the news. “Then we
are going to rendezvous with the British? Where sir? Scapa Flow?”

“We can
arrange that soon enough,” said Volsky. “Plot a course for the Faeroe Island
Group. I think that would make a convenient place to have another chat. I think
you might also see what you learn with signals intercepts and use that gizmo you
have.”

“Gizmo,
sir?”

“That
application that deciphers the German Enigma Naval code. I think Admiral Tovey
might be pleased to learn that we have broken that code.”

‘That
would be a major development, sir. It was instrumental to the British war
effort.”

“Yes,
well that will be a nice little cherry we can put on the ice cream, yes?”
Volsky sighed. “It was my intention to find friends here, Fedorov. That we have
done, but I’m afraid that every choice has its implications, and we have made
enemies here as well.”

“The
Germans may have been surprised and intimidated here, sir,” said Fedorov. “But
they will not give up easily. They’ve lost a destroyer and a light cruiser, but
all their other capital ships will return to service. I think things should
quiet down here for a while. They will want to make those repairs and the
winter ice will be setting in sooner than we realize.”

“Where
is the hot table in the casino now, Fedorov?”

“Sir?
If you mean the history, the British are worried about Operation Seelöwe now, and
the French Navy.”

“I will
tell Admiral Tovey that they need have no worry over the prospect of a German
invasion. That I could easily prevent. As for the Battle of Britain, I’m afraid
we don’t have enough SAMs to stop the Luftwaffe just now.”

“Agreed,
sir. Unless you are willing to reconsider another shift attempt, I think we
must be very conservative in the application of our remaining missile
inventory. We have 23 SSMs remaining.”

“You
say the British are worried about the French?”

“Yes
sir. The center of gravity now shifts to the Mediterranean for the balance of
this year. France has just capitulated, and the French have some very powerful
and useful ships. The British may have settled the matter. The attack on the
French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir took place on July 3rd in our history, but this
recent German operation may have changed that. I doubt if it occurred. Most of
the ships that were to be assigned to Admiral Somerville to create Force H at
Gibraltar were up here for this operation, including HMS
Hood
and the
two carriers that were supporting Tovey’s operation against the Germans. But
all things considered, the British will now be looking south. They could be
planning an operation against the French fleet even as we speak.”

 “Let
us hope they sort it out. You have the bridge, Mister Fedorov. I’m going below
to see Zolotov and the other Russians we took aboard. They may be with us for
some time, and that may require a little management.”

“I
understand, sir.”

Fedorov
saluted as the Admiral left, thinking. It appears that everyone has finally
chosen sides. Soon the real fighting will begin.

Part VIII

Vulture’s Feast

“Here is a list of fearful things:

The jaws of sharks, a vulture's wings,

The rabid bite of the dog's of war,

The voice of one who went before.

But most of all the mirror's gaze,

which counts us out our numbered days.”

―
Clive Barker

Chapter 22

July 15, 1940

Admiral
Tovey sat at his desk, a dejected look on
his face. Britain was also in a quandary over what to do about the powerful French
fleet. While the French Army had been shattered by the German blitzkrieg, the
Navy survived largely intact, with strong capital ships scattered throughout
ports from Alexandria to Dakar. Soon the Italians and Germans will realize what
is there, he thought. Then they’ll descend on those ports like vultures.

Even as
he thought that, he realized what lay ahead, and what they would have to do
about it. Sadly, we’ll have to be the vulture too, and get whatever we can off
the carcass. We’ve already grabbed the few ships that were in English ports,
and at Alexandria we were lucky to get our hands on the old battleship
Lorraine
,
and three heavy cruisers. But that is only the first bite. There are ships at
Toulon, four heavy cruisers, fifteen destroyers. There are submarines in
Beirut, Bizerte, Casablanca, Oran and Dakar, but the real prizes of war here
are the newer battleships. If we cannot secure them, then no one must.

The
older French battleships,
Lorraine, Provence, Bretagne, Paris
and
Courbet
,
were of little concern. The last two were old enough to be called
“Dreadnaughts” and all the others were laid down before the outbreak of WWI.
They might be useful as floating batteries when permanently moored in a
friendly port but, as for naval operations, their sluggish speed and the
necessity of keeping them supplied outweighed their usefulness.

But
France had also participated in the big pre-war naval buildup, experimenting
with several new designs to meet the 35,000 ton treaty limitations, until
Admiral Darlan got word that the German Z-Plan ships were now openly being
built in violation of all agreements. France had built some fast and capable
ships, designed to hunt down and kill Germany’s early pocket battleships like
the
Graf Spee
. These were fast battlecruisers, yet with very good armor
and eight 13-inch guns,
Strausbourg
and
Dunkerque
.

Two
knots faster than the German raiders, and much better armed and protected, they
were also capable of standing with
Scharnhorst
class ships, and with a
good chance of coming out the victor. Only the German
Bismarck
class
bettered them, and both these new French ships now sat in Oran. They were
accompanied there by two of the older battleships,
Provence
and
Bretagne
,
along with four light cruisers, sixteen destroyers and a handful of submarines
and other minor ships.

Two
other newer battleships had been completed just before the war, well ahead of
schedule in the history Fedorov knew. They had been built in answer to the
Italian naval buildup more than anything the Germans were doing, up-gunned to
eight 15-inch guns in two quadruple turrets mounted forward, and
state-of-the-art armor protection that still allowed them to work up to 32
knots.
Richelieu
fled to Dakar, and
Jean Bart
was at Casablanca
with a light cruiser, seven destroyers and eighteen submarines.

There
were also a few hidden gems in the French Navy, ships that had been planned and
built in answer to the German Z Plan naval buildup. One was now at Casablanca,
moved there hastily in the twilight of the war from her moorings at Saint
Nazaire, where the ship was being provisioned after fitting out. The shipyard
crews sailed with her, still feverishly working on equipment installation. Yet
ready or not, she was the grand duke of the fleet, built under the codename
“Project C” with the early name
Alsace
that had since been changed to
Normandie
.

The ship
was bigger and heavier than anything else in the fleet, a truly formidable
design on the scale of Britain’s own HMS
Invincible
. The same quadruple
380mm gun turrets used for
Richelieu
and
Jean Bart
were used, but
instead of only two forward, a third turret was also added aft, up-gunning the
design to twelve 15-inch guns, 33% more raw big gun firepower than on the
German
Bismarck
class battleships. Only one ship in this project was
ever laid down, and was still somewhat raw and incomplete when France lost her
war in 1940. Sadly
her maiden voyage would see the
Normandie
flee
the shores of her homeland, never to return. The ship was a prize that Germany,
Italy, and Britain would have dearly liked to take if they could, and one that
Fedorov was delighted to read about as he poured over the altered history of
this world as written and known in the books the Russians had given him as a
parting gift.

Yet
perhaps even more enticing to the naval high commands of all the nations that
now looked hungrily upon the French fleet, were the two incomplete designs that
still sat in the shipyards in various stages of completion. One was the fast
anti-aircraft cruiser
De Grasse
, a sleek design capable of over 33 knots
and bristling with eight twin 127mm AA guns and another ten twin 57mm Bofors.

The
other was the real jewel, the large fleet aircraft carrier
Joffre
that
was presently in the yards at Staint Nazaire-Penhoët, about 80% complete. Also
designed to achieve 33 knots, the 20,000 ton full load carrier could carry 40
aircraft and run with the fastest battle fleets any nation might assemble.
Adding such a ship to the fleet suddenly became a top priority after the proven
utility of carriers, and Admiral Raeder was pleased to know that it was already
within his grasp. It was this plum that he pulled out of his hat in the meeting
with Hitler, and it lightened the Fuhrer’s mood even as it darkened that of
Admiral Tovey where he sat at his desk back at Scapa Flow, meeting with his
Chief of Staff, Daddy Brind.

“My
God, Brind. We were very narrowly handed our hat in the Denmark Strait. Were it
not for that Russian cruiser I wonder how much of the Home Fleet we would still
have out there.”

Brind
nodded, grey haired, dour faced, and fully aware of the gravity of the
situation they were now facing. “The Russians certainly lent a hand when we
needed one,” he said. “Yet I find it nigh on to impossible that we didn’t even
know this ship existed.”