John Schettler: Devil's Garden

Theycame in fast, loud and with thunder clap surprise, the engines of the three hovercraft roaring like sea demons. The two smaller craft led the way, speeding in north of the main harbor to find narrow strands along the shore. Hovercraft 639 was up near the rail yard, landing on a narrow beach just south of a small oil loading area. The rail lines ran very near the coast here as they bent south toward the main harbor and the front ramp slowly descended as the craft stormed up onto the beach under the watchful guard of the twin 14.5mm machine gun turret. To anyone that saw it that evening, it may have appeared like a wrathful beast from the sea, 280 tons of metal roaring beneath the grey, low hanging gloom.

The plan was to hit the coast fast, and seize key objectives before the advancing German formations could reach the port. Hovercraft 640 landed about 200 meters south on a narrow gravel embankment fringed by a long stone jetty. Within seconds the front ramps were down and the rumble of the PT-76 tanks added to the cacophony of noise. They were relative relics by the year 2021, withdrawn from active deployment over seven years ago and replaced in all main line Naval Marine units by the T-80. But that new tank weighed over 42 tons, and the PT-76s scrounged up at the naval base at Kaspiysk weighed only 14 tons. Admiral Volsky had opted for anything he could get on the hovercraft, and so the legacy tank did the job better than anything new in the Russian inventory. It was actually designed to work with the old hovercraft they were using, and they went with it.

The two tanks moved quickly down the ramps followed by scores of black booted Marines with assault rifles who rushed ashore and went to ground to take up firing positions. The two tanks turned left and headed inland, flanked on each side by a squad of Marines.

Troyak had studied the map carefully to devise his plan of defense. There were only two likely avenues of approach to the harbor. One was right along the northern coast where the hovercraft landed, on a narrow strip of land that was flanked on the left by a long salt lake that ran roughly parallel to the shore. There he deployed the bulk of two platoons of Naval Marines, one landing with each hovercraft. Each platoon would deploy three RPG-7V shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launchers as their main tank defense, and three mortars for fire support. The platoon also carried three RPK-76 light machine guns, and the rifle sections were armed with AK-74 assault rifles.

Their first objective was the main rail yard building, which dominated all the rail spurs feeding in to the yard, with good fields of fire in all directions. Others infiltrated into the built up area between the coast and the lake, occupying the buildings to the surprise of any remaining residents still lingering in the area.

After the shock and surprise of the landing, the locals soon came to understand that these were Russian troops, and not some new fangled weaponry deployed by the Germans. They gaped at the hovercraft, astounded by the roar of the engines and amazed to see how the craft could move over land or sea.

One man was a garrison officer in the NKDV unit assigned to the area. “Reinforcements!” he cried at the top of his voice. “Reinforcements from Baku!”

That was how they had planned it, to present themselves as an elite force dispatched from Baku to stop the Germans and save the day. The two PT-76 tanks seemed more familiar to the locals, about the size of the T-34s they knew well enough, though the sharp front amphibious bow and low profile drew many second looks. Apparently Baku had new tanks as well!

Troyak came ashore with the two lighter hovercraft, debarking from the number 640 boat and leading the Marines ashore. He waved his men inland with a sharp whistle and motion of his brawny forearm, and then watched as the two tanks turned south to their assigned positions. He wanted them at the base of the long salt lake, were the second road approached the harbor from the west. It ran past the flat height of a low hill, passing right through a densely wooded park before it reached the coastal rail lines. The coastal road ran past the lake on elevated ground, and from that wooded area the two tanks had perfect fields of fire to interdict that road. They would also serve as the main bulwark to block the inland road, and they would be supported by a full platoon of Marines landing with the 609 Aist class hovercraft with Fedorov.

The larger hovercraft landed just south of the main harbor on a narrow beach at the base of a long jetty. It carried the mechanized platoon mounted in two PT-50 amphibious Armored Personnel carriers. They were supported by a ZSU-23-4 air defense vehicle where Fedorov held sway, riding with command headphones on so he could remain in constant contact with Troyak. This hovercraft was big enough to carry two more platoons of Marines, one moving forward with the APCs and the second being held in reserve near the ZSU-23.

Scouts quickly learned that the local forces in the area had been ready to retreat, but now, with the arrival of Fedorov’s little invasion force, they took heart and were seen in small groups of three and five men, urged back to the front line by barking sergeants. Fedorov dismounted and quickly had his men round up one of the locals, a man named Kulikov, who greeted him with a warm, ruddy cheeked smile.

“Good to see you. Where did you get that!” he pointed at the big hovercraft, a lumbering behemoth still roaring near the jetty, its twin 30mm gun turret slowly rotating on overwatch.

“A gift from Baku,” Fedorov said quickly. “Who is in charge here?”

“In charge? That would be Commissar Molla, in the holding facility. You can just follow the rail line north and you will see it on your left. They were preparing to move south soon. Some have already gone. The Germans are coming!” The man pointed.

“Yes? Well, we’ll see about that. How many are you?”

“We have a single battalion, but the Germans are coming in strength, at least one full mechanized battalion on the inland road, and many armored cars and motorcycle infantry on the coast road to the north. We were ordered to retreat, until we saw you come in off the sea. Amazing! I had no idea we had such machines!”

“Stalin has more in the cupboard than you may realize,” Fedorov smiled. The man gave him an odd look, but said nothing more, still gaping at the ZSU-23.

“We are occupying all the ground between the central park and the rail yard,” said Fedorov. “Get your men on our left flank. Can you hold the ground between the city and that hill?”