Kirov Saga: Darkest Hour: Altered States - Volume II (Kirov Series) (25 page)

“Yes,
and the First Sea Lord is quite beside himself. Churchill with him. One look at
Hood
was enough when it pulled in to Rosyth. Admiral Pound went out to
see for himself, Whitworth too.”

“That
was his old ship, sir.”

“Right,
and I can only imagine what they’re saying about me now.
Hood
beaten,
Birmingham
sunk, sorry for that one, Brind. I know that was your last command.”

“I’m
sure she went down fighting, sir.”

“She
did, and
Renown
and
Repulse
both fought their way into the
shipyards too. They simply haven’t the armor to stand with these new German
ships. HMS
Invincible
lived up to her name—at least I’ve got that much
to crow about, but very little else.”

“We
hurt them as well, sir.”

“Did
we? The Russians hurt them, Brind. There wasn’t a Royal Navy ship that had
anything at all to do with the sinking of any ship they lost in that
engagement. This Russian Admiral said there was more to his ship than meets the
eye, and now there will be no one inclined to pass that off as mere braggery,
least of all Admiral Holland.”

“How is
the Admiral?”

“Recovering
well. We’ve that to be thankful for. He’ll mend quicker than we can patch up
Hood
.
If not for these two new battleships coming off trials the cupboard would be
all but empty here.”

“We’ve
still got
Nelson
and
Rodney
, sir.”

“They
did us very little good. I can use them to close the leeward passage, between
the Shetlands and Faeroes, but get them out on the open sea and they are just
too damn slow. I’d happily trade them both for another ship in the G3 series.
We need speed, Brind. These new Germans ships can outrun most anything we have.
Invincible
is the only ship in the fleet on active duty now that could
catch a ship in the
Bismarck
or
Scharnhorst
class. The rest of
the Battlecruiser Squadron is on crutches for the next weeks and months, and
now we have the French to worry about.”

“That
would seem to be the primary concern of the Admiralty at the moment, sir. They
have grudgingly come round to the notion that you fought to a bloody draw in
that engagement. I’m not quite sure they know just how much a part was played
by this Russian battlecruiser. I’m told Churchill was simply happy that
Bismarck
and
Tirpitz
were sent packing.”

“For
the moment, Brind. We’ll have to face them again one day. This issue is far
from decided. Beyond that the Germans have a couple of real cherries in the
shipyards at Lorient and Saint Nazaire.”

“Those
ships aren’t seaworthy yet, Admiral.”

“That
could be a different story come next year. As soon as we get Goering off our
backs here we’ll have to get Bomber Command busy with that.”

“Yes
sir, and we must also consider what to do about all the rest. The French have
ships scattered from Dakar to Alexandria. Most of the ships we were planning on
sending to Gibraltar for Admiral Somerville’s Force H got caught up in the maelstrom
here. How did
Illustrious
fare?”

“Well
enough. Those Messerschmitts from
Graf Zeppelin
mostly fell on the boys
off
Ark Royal
. If nothing else, they have convinced me that we need a
new carrier based fighter, and quickly. These new Fulmars might not even be
able to stand with the Messerschmitts. Thank god that when
Illustrious
put in her attack most of the German planes were already heading home. Good for
us, because we put a torpedo into
Tirpitz
, and that may have persuaded
Lindemann to turn. It was Lindemann, yes?”

“Correct,
sir. Intelligence says he was on
Bismarck
.”

“Strange
that they gave the operation to a Captain. Not an Admiral in sight.”

“Lütjens
is thought to be on the
Hindenburg
. There’s another nightmare waiting in
the wings.”

“Yes, a
real phantom in the opera, Daddy. Let’s hope that damn ship stays put in the
Baltic for a good while longer.”

“I
doubt if they will attempt another major operation this year, sir. Which may
give us just a little time to get up off the canvass and catch our breath.”

“What
can we send south to Somerville?”

“Well,
sir. May I suggest
Rodney
and
Nelson
. As you say, they’re not
much good up here. The Germans would never attempt to force the inside passage.
Every breakout attempt they have made has run out west to the Denmark Strait.”

“Agreed,
Brind.
Nelson
and
Rodney
will be a good fit for the Med. We’ll
send them, and we shall have to come up with another aircraft carrier as well.”

“Both
Ark
Royal
and
Illustrious
were nominated, sir.”

“Yet I
can’t really spare them yet,” said Tovey. “I need fast carriers here as well.
What about
Glorious?”

“She’s
patched up and ready now. The last three weeks have done her a world of good,
and the shipyard gave her top priority.”

“Good
then. HMS
Glorious
goes to Somerville.”

“And
who do we give her to, Admiral? There’s been no appointment for her next
Captain.”

“I have
a man in mind for the job, Mister Brind. Yes… I have just the man in mind, the
very same man that delivered her safely home.”

“Wells?
He’s a Lieutenant Commander. No experience at all.”

“You
forget that he was a serving officer on
Glorious
.”

“No, I
haven’t forgotten that, sir, but is he ready for such an assignment?”

“Was I
ready when they gave me Home Fleet? Not by a long shot. Were you ready when
they gave you your first ship, Brind?”

“HMS
Orion?
Well I can’t say that I was, sir.”

“No man
ever is. Yet we all start somewhere. I had this young man at my arm as Flag
Lieutenant’s assistant on
Invincible
. He has a good head on his
shoulders, a bit excitable at times, but he knows the ship and her crew, and
he’s got one battle star on his chest with
Glorious
as it stands. Make
the recommendation to the Admiralty.”

“Very
good, sir.”

“Right…
Then we hand off the torch to Somerville for the moment. Let’s send him a pair
of nice fat battleships and another carrier and see what he can do about the
French. As for my watch, I plan on taking our newest ships out for a stroll to
shake off the goblins. We’ve received a request to meet with this Russian
Admiral Volsky on the Faeroes. I shall take the opportunity to thank him
personally, and perhaps this time we may add a few other ships to our side of
the ledger—the Russians!”

“They
do have a few ships worth the name,” said Brind.

“Particularly
the ship we encountered—that rocket cruiser. Have you ever heard of anything
like it?”

“Not on
my watch, sir.”

“Well
call me an old fool, but I have the strangest feeling that I have seen this
ship before. When we invited the Admiral over for lunch I simply could not take
my eyes off that ship. I could swear I’d run across it once, in the far east
when I was a young Lieutenant. But that is clearly impossible.”

“It’s
also quite a black eye for Bletchley Park,” Brind put in. “They should have had
eyes on that ship, and long ago.”

“Quite
so. It’s all very bothersome, Daddy. All I can say about it is that I’m glad
that ship is on our side.” He was going to add ‘this time around,’ almost
reflexively, but stopped himself. He could simply not place his finger on any
firm recollection concerning this ship, yet it continued to nag him. In a
fitful dream the previous night he saw the ship looming on the horizon of his
mind, saw those fiery rockets, felt the jarring sound and concussion of an
explosion. It was so compelling that he sat up in a cold sweat, breathing hard
with his nightmare. Yes, this strange ship was giving him bad dreams, though
now he hoped he could forget them.

“The
Russian Admiral seems quite accommodating,” he said.

“Whitehall
has also received high level official contacts regarding this meeting,” said
Brind.

“So
I’ve been told. That incident involving the
Admiral Scheer
and
Nürnberg
is a hot potato now. It’s come to blows up north, and this could be something
to move the Russians our way. I have every hope that it is.”

“Agreed,”
said Brind. “It could also give the Germans just the excuse they need to attack
Soviet Russia.”

“Well
that will happen one day, Brind, you can bet on it. If not this autumn, then
next year.”

“It
really comes down to what the Germans plan for us, sir. We’ve got most of our
cruisers tied up in home waters on invasion watch now.”

“And
that will have to continue.”

“Do you
think they’ll have a go at us?”

Tovey
thought, then shook his head. “I doubt it, Brind. Try that and we blast them in
the Channel, and they damn well know it. Bletchley Park believes the Germans
are focusing their effort on trying to break the R.A.F. at the  moment. I think
they’ll see if they can pound us into submission with the Luftwaffe. They know
they can’t cross the channel unless they do that first, and then they’ll still
have the Royal Navy to deal with. Frankly, I don’t believe the Germans will
attempt an invasion here. It’s the Mediterranean we have to worry about for the
foreseeable future. But we must remain vigilant in any case. That’s why I’ll
want
King George V
and
Prince of Wales
working out with me as
soon as possible. In the meantime, I have other beasts to slay.”

“Sir?”

“They
want me in the lion’s den with a full report. I’ve been summoned to Whitehall,
Daddy. And in case I don’t come back in one piece it has been a brief but
pleasant duty here.”

“Chin
up, sir,” said Brind. “But bring your whip and chair.”

Chapter 23

July 18, 1940

Raeder
and Doenitz sat at the conference table, waiting nervously
for the meeting they had both come to dread. The Führer himself was coming to
assess the plans now being laid for the continuation of the war, and determine
the role the Kriegsmarine would take as they developed. Abwehr Intelligence
Chief Canaris sat in his dignified silence, an aristocrat, ever scheming, and
holding far too many reins of power as far as Raeder was concerned. Lastly,
Luftwaffe Air Chief Hermann Goering was also present, sitting like a sullen
bullfrog at the other end of the table, his arm resting on a fat binder that
Raeder eyed suspiciously from time to time.

No
doubt I will first receive a scolding over what has just happened in the
Denmark Strait, thought Raeder. Canaris is here to sort out the intelligence.
Well, I have read Lindemann's report ten times, and still cannot believe what
he asserts. Hoffmann said the same, and the damage to
Gneisenau
was
plain to see. Then comes Kranke’s ignominious performance in Operation
Wunderland and the loss of the
Nürnberg
. He was sent there with explicit
orders to scout out the state of Soviet naval development in the far north, and
to find this ship Hoffmann and Lindemann have been bawling about—not to start a
war!

Raeder
had spent a full hour scouring Kranke after ordering him to take the first
plane from Narvik and return to Wilhelmshaven to account for himself.

“A 5.7
inch gun that could hit you at over 26,000 meters? I find that difficult to
believe Kranke.”

“Then
come and look at my ship! We took seven hits at that range. Seven!”

“All
from secondary batteries?”

 “Thank
God, yes. They would engage us and then slip away, every quarter a hour. It was
as if they were simply playing with us. But they had something more at the end.
I detached
Nürnberg
to get after that damned marauder… and then the
missile came.”

 “And
why were they shooting at you, Kapitän? Enlighten me on that, for I gave you
specific orders to scout the area, and
not
to engage.” It was only then
that Raeder learned of Kranke’s hidden agenda, and one given to him by highly
placed officers in OKW.

“Was
Jodl privy to this? Keitel? Yes, they were. Am I correct? They put you up to
this, did they not? They would like nothing more than to start things boiling
along the Polish and Russian frontier. They don’t believe we can get their
troops across the Channel, and so they look East, to Soviet Russia. But I tell
you now, Kranke. A two front war is the last thing we need. I have argued it
endlessly. Why should we repeat the same mistakes that were made in the first
war? Surely Hitler must see this, and if he has been poisoned by the likes of
Jodl and Keitel, I must do everything in my power to get him to see reason.
Then you go off taking pot shots at Russian ice breakers! Are you insane? Those
were not your orders!”