THE FORESIGHT WAR (32 page)

He calculated that it would be at least ten minutes before action commenced, so he settled back to wait.
 
His force was now just a few kilometres from Moscow, after fifteen days of hard fighting.
 
The Russians had thrown everything at the advancing Germans; troops not yet trained, tanks straight off their Moscow production lines.
 
They had help, too; suicidal soldiers equipped with British PIATs had hidden as the wave of Panzers swept past then emerged to knock out a tank with monotonous regularity.
 
To prevent this, Panzergrenadiers had had to be sent to clear the ground first, but this had slowed the advance and led to heavy casualties among them from machine gun and artillery fire.
 
It was all rather difficult and depressing.

The same could be said for the increasing numbers of Bristol Brigands, flown over from Norway, which for the first time had posed an aerial threat to the Wehrmacht formations.
 
One had been shot down near his unit the other day, and the Major had been surprised to find that the pilot had been British.
 
Apparently, the original plan to hand them over to the Soviet Air Force had been abandoned because of the shortage of time for training.

The Soviets had been learning, too.
 
Their tanks no longer offered convenient targets by cruising along crest lines, and their initial total disorganisation had been replaced by more systematic tactics, concentrating on punching into the side of the advancing Panzer streams, cutting off the leading units from their support.
 
He smiled mirthlessly.
 
This time, they had tried the ploy once too often.

As the first T34s crossed his path, he glanced to either side at his comrades just below the crestline.
 
The 900th was a special Panzer Brigade, made up exclusively of armoured warfare instructors gaining first-hand experience, and they had been given the new tank, already dubbed Panther, to try out.
 
Now was the time.
 
He issued a terse instruction over the radio net and all twenty-two of the formidable forty ton Panzers edged forward to expose their turrets.
 
On the far side of the valley a kilometre away, he could just make out movement as their fellow Kompanie took up position.

‘Start with the lead tanks,’ he instructed the gunner.
 
‘Bearing one hundred degrees, range six hundred metres.’
 
Electric motors hummed as the huge turret swung and steadied, the long barrel of the 8
,8
cm cannon questing forward.
 

‘I see him.’

‘Fire at will.’
 
The vicious bang as the gun fired was echoed almost immediately as his comrades opened up.
 
Tracer after tracer streamed towards the hapless T34s which slowed and milled in confusion, uncertain of the source of attack.
 
Tank after tank
stopped,
smoke pouring from them, as the heavy, high-velocity shot slammed home.
 
The T34s’ well-sloped armour could not save them; the Major watched in astonishment as a tank turret was blasted clean off.

Some of the Russian tank crews spotted the half-hidden Panthers and returned fire.
 
The Major was momentarily stunned by a huge clang which shook his tank, and a blurred image of a shape flashing past him.
 
It took him a second to realise that his tank had suffered a direct hit, but the Panther’s 10 cm of sloped armour had deflected the shot.
 
A shade further over, he reflected, and the ricochet would have taken his head off.

An urgent call shifted his attention back down the valley.
 
More shapes could be seen rumbling belatedly to the rescue of the slaughtered T34s.
 
‘KV1s!’ he said out loud, ‘this is getting interesting!’
 
The Panther eased forward into a new firing position.
 
This would be a real test of the new tank’s mettle.
 
Having lost the element of surprise, they would have to slug it out with the formidably armoured Russian heavy tanks.

‘Armour piercing.
 
Bearing thirty degrees.
 
Range about twelve hundred metres.
 
Fire at will.’
 
The cannon banged again and again, until the Major felt deafened even with his headphones on.
 
His gunner stopped firing when smoke and flames obscured the view.
 
The Germans waited for a while, but none of the KV1s emerged.
 
As he looked down at his tank, he saw the scars of two more hits.
 
He looked along the line of Panthers.
 
All of them began to move forward, unharmed.

The Generalmajor of Army Group Centre’s staff concluded his summary of the progress of Operation Typhoon.
 
The visitors from OKH, he noted, appeared to be reserving their judgment.

‘So while acknowledging that progress varies across the front according to local conditions, Army Group Centre appears to be about five days behind schedule,’ the Generalleutnant leading the group commented.
 
‘What are main factors causing that?’

‘It is a combination of factors.
 
On the material side, the appearance of the British PIATs and Brigands was an unwelcome surprise and has led to noticeable Panzer losses.
 
What is worse, they have enforced a change in tactics which costs time.
 
The introduction of these ‘Katyusha’ artillery rockets was also unexpected and is causing problems, particularly for the infantry.
 
The launchers are very mobile and the arrival of scores of high-explosive warheads simultaneously has a bad effect on morale. As far as armour is concerned, the Panzer Three is as well protected as the T34 and the latest version with the long seven-point-five centimetre gun is much better armed, so it can kill T34s at one thousand metres while remaining safe down to five hundred.
 
However, they are having a real problem dealing with the KV Ones.
 
The gun/armour balance is such that each can start hurting the other at about five hundred metres.
 
The Jagdpanzer and the new Panther tank easily have the measure of even the KV – the eight-point-eight centimetre gun with the new sub-calibre ammunition can penetrate at over one thousand metres while they are virtually immune to anything the Russians can throw at them – but they are only now being introduced in some numbers. Tactically, the Russians under Zhukov are learning fast.
 
They are making much more use of minefields and covering them with anti-tank guns and artillery.
 
They have also become good at deception, building false defence lines for us to attack while concealing the real defences which then take us by surprise.
 
This is inevitably slowing down progress.
 
It appears that the entire population of Moscow has been mobilised to build earthwork defences and the Russian soldiers fight with fanatical courage until they are surrounded, when they give up quickly.’
 
He looked round at his audience for emphasis.
 
‘In many ways, this is more like a seige than the open-country fighting we have become used to, so there are no quick solutions.’

The Generalleutnant nodded.
 
‘Army Group
North
are facing less resistance in their drive to cut off the city; that seems to have taken Stavka by surprise.
 
Let’s hope that the predilection of the Russians to surrender when surrounded applies to the whole city.
 
We are already receiving reports of civil disorder since their Government fled to Kuybyshev; the city authorities have declared martial law.’

The sunshine gleamed on the feathers of the ducks as they squabbled over food.
 
Don and Mary watched for a moment, enjoying the simple pleasures of a warm summer’s day, before strolling on around St James’s Park.

‘It seems hard to believe, that it can still be so peaceful here,’ Mary murmured.
 
Don grimaced and nodded.
 
The newspaper reports were still fresh in their minds: the appalling losses suffered by the Russians, now amounting to millions dead or captured, the apparent destruction of Stavka’s ability to put up any effective defence and, perhaps above all, the photographs of the ranks of massive Panther tanks, lined up in Red Square.

‘Does it mean the end for Stalin, do you think?’

Don considered.
 
‘It’s hard to be certain about anything to do with Russia.
 
What we do know is that he hasn’t surrendered yet, nor do I believe he will.
 
After years of repression, his government isn’t exactly loved by his people and the only thing holding them together is their determination to fight to preserve the Rodina, the Motherland.
 
If Stalin gives up, all that will collapse and he would probably be killed by his own side before the Germans could get at him.
 
His only hope of survival is to hold on to power and maintain the tight communist discipline.
 
He’s not alone in that, of course, the commissars and the entire communist party structure know that they would go down with him, so he should be able to keep the apparatus of state control effective.’

‘But can he still make any sort of defence?’

‘His government has withdrawn to the Volga, but that line is the next obvious German target so I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to move further east still.
 
One benefit is that Stalin started transferring weapons factories far to the east several years ago.
 
Given time, he will have the men and equipment to reconstruct a substantial army.
 
And of course, the aid from the USA and
ourselves
should help.’

Mary laughed grimly.
 
‘If we can still get it to them.’

Don nodded.
 
‘The sea route to Murmansk could be vulnerable to air attack if the Luftwaffe
base
themselves in Finland.
 
The Germans will probably try to cut rail communications with the port in any case, but thanks to the new railway connecting Murmansk with Archangel that will be difficult.
 
The Americans can ship their supplies to Vladivostok for another few months but that will close as soon as the Japanese attack.
 
The only other possibility is the southern route, via India, which doesn’t have a high capacity.
 
Basically we need to get as much to them as we can, while we can.
 
It’s just as well Churchill has been placing orders for military equipment with America; we can divert those orders straight to Murmansk.
 
One other consolation is that the Germans won’t be launching any attacks in winter, so the Russians will have a few months to recover.’

‘There are still a couple of months before the rains are due.’

Don sighed grimly.
 
‘Indeed there are.
 
The Wehrmacht will need some time to recover and regroup, but it’s not hard to guess what they’ll do next.’

It made a pleasant change for Herrman to be in
Berlin
.
 
Hitler was rarely there, spending most time at the Rastenburg FHQ or his retreat at Berchtesgaden, but he had returned for the celebrations of the fall of Moscow and to confer with the Party and Wehrmacht leaders over the next moves.
 
Herrman took every opportunity to stroll around the streets, enjoying the holiday atmosphere in the great capital city, as yet apparently untouched by war.
 
The shops were all open and stocking a wide range of goods, although with some exceptions, he noted.
 
The British blockade of Atlantic and Mediterranean
sea
routes had cut off supplies of some goods, as had the war with the Soviet Union, but produce from Italy and Greece varied the home-grown foods.
 
He could not escape his destiny for long, however; every day, there was the war.

‘After seizing Moscow, the army is already back on course to take Leningrad and the Crimea, encircling and destroying the Russian forces there.
 
Next we will press on to the Volga and kick the Russian Government out of their new capital.
 
By then we will have seized nearly half of all Soviet production facilities.
 
Then our army can enjoy a well-earned winter rest.’
 

Hitler was evidently in a particularly omnipotent mood and not without reason, Herrman reflected.
 
The imposing meeting room in the Reich Chancellery was filled with senior officers of OKW, OKH, OKL and OKM.
 

‘Not so for the navy and air force, however!
 
England still holds out, and a maximum effort must be made to enforce our blockade.
 
Every merchant ship that gets through must be regarded as a defeat in battle, for every one brings to the English what they need to defy us for a little longer.
 
The only exception to this maximum effort shall be the bomber groups on the Eastern Front, which must keep pounding the remnants of the Russian forces and their industrial capacity. Meanwhile, the army must be preparing itself to crush the final Russian resistance in the spring.
 
The new Panther tank has proved itself to be more than a match for the best Russian
tanks,
and this will be steadily replacing the earlier Panzers in our tank armies.
 
The conversion of the railways will continue so that we can take our supplies up to the front line, and partisans will be dealt with ruthlessly. This does not mean that the military will get everything that you ask for.
 
We must remember the ordinary German people.
 
We cannot just print all the Marks we need, because that way
lies
inflation, and we have all seen the devastating effects of that under the
Weimar
Republic
.
 
Production of military equipment will be limited to what we calculate we need to finish this war, so that our people can continue to enjoy a good standard of living.
 
We will never again subject the German people to shortages and rationing.’