Hammer of God (Kirov Series Book 14) (23 page)

Tovey
shook his head in agreement. “They would certainly believe it was a British ship
firing those missiles, and this brings us to that same sore elbow. We would
still be faced with the issue of committing a direct act of war against Turkey.
Won’t that be the case here?”

“But
Kazan
is a Russian submarine,” said Volsky with a smile. “In this
instance it could be rightfully argued that Great Britain had nothing
whatsoever to do with this operation.”

“True,”
said Tovey. “Yet something tells me that would become a question of mere
semantics in time. Wouldn’t we complicate things for Sergei Kirov if you were
to do this?”

“Perhaps,”
said Volsky. “But the axe is about to fall on him in any case. The Germans are
lining up on the borders of the Ukraine, and it is only a matter of time now
before that operation begins. With such a storm of steel poised to fall upon
Russia, the protest of Turkey over our actions will not be something we would
worry about.”

“You
have discussed this issue with Sergei Kirov?”

“I
have, and he agrees with the plan. In fact, he will make a formal statement
that the attack is a reprisal for Turkish violations of their own neutrality!
Russia is a declared ally of Britain, and Turkey has permitted forces hostile
to Britain, and therefore hostile to Russia, to transit its borders. The Turks
know damn well that war between Germany and Russia is imminent. Kirov was
actually in favor of this little slap on the hand. If the Turkish government
has a problem with it, Russia will take full responsibility for the incident.”

“Yes,”
said Tovey, thinking hard about the situation. “We just may get away with that.
Admiral Volsky, you have been as steadfast and true an ally as Britain could
have in this trying hour, and I thank you again. I think I will vote here to
accept your offer, as I think Admiral Cunningham will. General Wavell?”

“Assuming
the Prime Minister has no objections, I agree. If this could be done, then I’ll
move mountains, even if I have to make them out of mole hills first, and we’ll
do everything possible to win on the ground in Syria.”

“Excellent!”
Volsky smiled. ‘Then we are decided.”

Chapter 23

Ivan
Volkov was a very
content man that day. His Intelligence Chief, Kymchek, had given him a most
welcome report. Karpov was up in his new Zeppelin, cruising boldly to Moscow
for that meeting with Sergei Kirov, and undoubtedly signing some accord with
him. Then he was blustering about in the skies over Germany, and even had the
audacity to bomb Berlin!

He
smiled, reserving a small kernel of admiration for the man. He thought he was
invincible now that he had Ilanskiy under control. Well, where is he now? His
new airship couldn’t even make it across the English Channel. To think that a
simple thunder storm has rid me of that nuisance is most gratifying, but I have
to know for sure.

“Anything
more?” he asked Kymchek, wanting the very latest news on the incident.”

“The
BBC has confirmed that the Zeppelin went down,” said Kymchek, “but there has
been no sign of any wreckage in the channel.”

“The
BBC? You’re getting your intelligence from a British news organization now?”

“Of
course not. We have men on the coast there, and they also report nothing has
come in to any port on the channel.”

“What
about
Potemkin?”

“They
confirm. There has been no sign of wreckage or survivors.”
Potemkin
was
one of Volkov’s little secrets, a submarine sent all the way from Novorossiysk
to keep watch on the comings and goings of English ships. The boat had made the
journey months ago, secretly refueling in German controlled ports, and with
license to also rendezvous with German oilers. With a 9600 mile range,
Potemkin
was most useful for long range intelligence like this, though it was one of
only a handful of subs possessed by the Orenburg Federation.

“Very
interesting,” said Volkov, “but I don’t like it, Kymchek.”

“No
news is good news in situations like this, sir.”

“Not
entirely. Assuming that airship went down in the storm, there should be some
sign on the waters there. Those gas bags are very buoyant.”

“Unless
the ship burned, sir.”

“Don’t
be foolish. They aren’t using hydrogen any more than we are. Yes, they might
have been struck by lightning, and could have had a fire, but even so, something
should be found on the sea.”

“They
might have been carrying another of those new thermal bombs,” Kymchek
suggested.

“That
would be poetic justice, wouldn’t it?” Volkov grinned. “That little rat of a
man thought he had us reeling after that surprise attack at Novosibirsk. Well,
he’ll soon find out different—or perhaps not, if the weather was kind enough to
rid me of the man. Keep watching that situation closely, but now that the cat
is away, it is time for action.”

“Sir?”

“Ilanskiy,
Kymchek. Don’t forget Ilanskiy. With Karpov missing, this is the perfect time
to mount a major operation there.”

“But
sir… The place was demolished in that raid staged by the Soviets. What use is
it to us now? In fact, what use was it ever to us, aside from interdicting the
Trans-Siberian rail?”

“Kymchek,
believe it or not, I don’t tell you everything. You probably thought it was
Karpov I was after there, but there was much more to that raid then you knew
about. It is not that I do not trust you, of course, but certain things must be
kept very quiet. Frankly, my own left hand keeps secrets from my right. That is
the way this business must be conducted. Yes?”

“I
understand, sir.”

“Very
well. You have that list of all airships available for operations?”

“We
can form one division from the Northern Fleet,
Pavlodar, Talgar, Saran,
and of course the fleet flagship, the
Orenburg
. A second division is
arriving from the Southern Fleet:
Sarkand, Tashkent, Samarkand
, and
Angren
.
Caspian Fleet is sending four more airships, though Admiral Zorki was not very
happy with that order. He claims he needs every airship he can get his hands on
for the defense in the Caucasus.”

“He
won’t have to worry about that for very much longer,” said Volkov. “The Germans
will be hammering at Sergei Kirov’s back door soon enough. Very well, twelve
airships overmatch the entire Siberian Fleet, particularly with Karpov out of
the picture. Any change in their fleet dispositions?”

“No
sir. They still have three airships near Ilanskiy, three more at intervals on
the front, and two with Kolchak out east near Irkutsk. It is only 660
kilometers to Ilanskiy from Irkutsk, so it is likely those two could be sent as
reinforcements if we move as planned.”

“I’m
counting on it,” said Volkov. “I want to destroy Karpov’s entire fleet. He may
not be alive to get the bad news, but if the British do manage to pull him out
of the sea, let’s hope they put him under lock and key. The news that he’s lost
far more than
Tunguska
will be a nice barb. Yes, I would love to see his
face when he learns I’ve smashed his impudent little fleet and have a full heavy
division sitting on Ilanskiy! I’ll want a battalion on each ship.”

“We’ve
pulled the entire 22nd division off the line, sir, and there are five more
battalions trained for rapid deployment as well—one from each of the Guard Divisions.”

“Excellent.
And the ground attack?”

“General
Berenko says he has five divisions ready on the line, with one armored cavalry
brigade in reserve.”

“That
should be more than enough to break through north of Novosibirsk.”

“Yes
sir, but it is 875 kilometers from the front line to Ilanskiy. We cannot expect
any support from the land force element for some time—if at all.”

Volkov
waved his hand. “That force is meant merely to pose a powerful threat to the
enemy positions on the Ob River. Don’t you understand? The ground attack will
precede the air operation, and it will pull in reserves from all along the
front. I don’t care whether it succeeds or not, as it is only meant to engage
as many enemy units as possible. Then the air mobile operation can proceed
against Ilanskiy. It’s intent will be to move the 22nd Division as quickly as
possible to that location, just as we did in that ill fated raid—only this time
we will bring twelve battalions, not only two. Once the troops have landed, the
air fleet will seek out and destroy any airship opposition, and we will also
secure the airfields at Kansk, while interdicting the Trans-Siberian Rail in
both directions. The fleet is to operate in a massed formation. I expect we
will quickly destroy the three airships Karpov has near Ilanskiy, and any
others will arrive piecemeal—and be destroyed the same way.”

“It
is likely they will hold them back once they see the size of the force we are
committing,” said Kymchek.

“In
that event, one division will remain on station at Ilanskiy, and the other two
will operate to seek out the remnant of the enemy fleet and destroy it. I want
complete air superiority over Siberia when this operation concludes, and
complete control of Ilanskiy.”

“Yes
sir, but what will we do there? It’s just a tiny railway station in the middle
of nowhere.”

“No
Kymchek, it is very much more than that. It is right in the middle of
everywhere, and once I have it, then we will see what Karpov has been up to
there. You say he has artisans and engineers working that site?”

“He
has a significant group there, and they’ve been cutting fresh timber for some
building project. I can’t imagine why he would want to expand that rail depot,
unless he means to make it a major supply center—or perhaps a new weapons
development site.”

“He
intends neither,” said Volkov. “He already has what he wants there—that damn
railway inn. That is the whole of it, Kymchek—the inn! It will be the principle
objective of the air mobile force. They are to take and secure the town, and
gain control of that inn. Care must be taken to prevent any further damage to
the building. None of Karpov’s engineers are to be killed or harmed. I’ll want
to interrogate each and every one personally. Understand? And plans or
construction blueprints are to be highly prized and brought to me at once. This
is of the utmost importance.”

“Very
well, sir… But if I knew why this inn was so essential to you, I might be much
more effective.”

“In
time, Kymchek. I will brief you on this later. For now, see that these orders
are carried out—to the letter.”

Volkov
rubbed his hands together, and not because they were cold. At last he had the
opportunity to completely eliminate Karpov’s airship fleet. As long as the
crafty Admiral was on the scene, it had proven almost impossible to outmaneuver
him. He always deployed his airships within close supporting distance, and his
radar and air observation units would spot any incursion across the border,
particularly after Ilanskiy.

Yet
I was never able to free up a force this size—twelve airships. They were always
tied down in ground support all along the front, and half my fleet is still
committed to that duty. Yes, it will be risky to pull so many ships off the
line like this. We need their capabilities as recon and fire support units, but
Sergei Kirov will be happy to see them gone for a time. I wonder if he will
alert the Siberians? I’ve planned it so that each division will withdraw intermittently,
and any ships remaining on the line will double their patrol run duty so as to
give the impression that nothing has changed.

Yes,
a diligent enemy would see through that, but I am counting on the Siberians to
be less than diligent at the moment. They undoubtedly have the same news of
Karpov’s disappearance, and tomorrow it will be a full week since the
Tunguska
went missing. By now they will be wondering if they will ever see their little
Admiral again, and getting to squabbling over who is in charge there. Another
three days to pull my assault fleet together should do the trick.

The
fleet will assemble over Lake Ubinskoye west of Novosibirsk, and swing up above
Tomsk. They have only one airship patrolling there, and we’ll brush it aside
without a second thought. Then we run due west for 625 kilometers, and with
favorable winds, we should cover that distance in just eight or nine hours.
That will put us just an hour north of Ilanskiy, and we’ll land the whole
division north of the town by regiments, with at least eight airships on
overwatch while each regiment lands.

Volkov
smiled. Yes, Karpov knew an attack like this was coming one day or another. A
pity he won’t be there to join in the fight, but things will be much smoother
this way. I suppose he thought I would never risk another operation like this
after the debacle with Symenko and the
Alexandra
. It was a shame to lose
Petrov and the
Oskemen
as well, but at least I found out what I wanted
to know about Ilanskiy. It matters! Yes, it matters a great deal to Karpov, and
so now it will matter a great deal to me.

Once
the dust settles, and the area is secure, I think I may just go there and have
a look for myself. Whatever Karpov was up to, it had something to do with that
railway inn. Interesting that Sergei Kirov should also take enough notice of
the place to support that raid with the
Narva
. Yes… Kirov knows that
place matters as well. What will he do when he sees me pull this operation off
right under his nose? Perhaps when I have a full division sitting on Ilanskiy,
and the means of keeping it supplied with my airships, then Kirov might be
inclined to talk about his little campaign in the Caucasus.

Now
then… With Kirov in mind, what do I do about that ship? Kymchek has finally
confirmed that it is Admiral Volsky commanding Kirov. That was quite a
surprise, as the last I knew he was chained to a desk at Naval Headquarters
Fokino. How did he manage to get to the ship? For that matter, how did that
entire ship and crew manage to get here? I had my suspicions about that ship
all along, and now they are confirmed. There must have been some top secret
project underway with
Kirov
. Was Inspector General Kapustin in the know?
Was Director Kamenski involved? He certainly went to great pains to get me out
of the picture, sending me off on that bear hunt for Fedorov—though that worked
out much better for me than he expected.

Yet
the ship remains a serious problem, not only for me, but for the Germans as
well. It has already stopped operations in the north, and now it is in the
Mediterranean Sea backstopping the Royal Navy. What has possessed Volsky that
he should side with the British? Yes, I know Germany is about to wreak havoc on
the homeland in short order, but the British and Americans will be the ones strangling
us for the next eighty years, and they will be the ones firing ICBMs at us in
2021. I know what Volsky must be thinking. He’s trying to change all that, and
re-write the history after this war. But it isn’t going to end with Great
Britain and America calling the shots this time—not if I can prevent that.

No.
The Germans are going to win this time, if I have anything more to say about
it. After that, I’ll deal with Hitler in the years ahead. This business at
Ilanskiy may afford me many more opportunities that I cannot foresee just now.
A man must have patience.