John Schettler - Kirov II - Cauldron of Fire

This book is about war, and as such it will present some of the dilemmas, uncertainty, brash cruelty and senseless insanity of war. In this cauldron every man reacts differently, some finding the full measure of their courage and compassion, others finding the depths of their cowardice and depravity. One should never be surprised that a loaded gun fires a bullet, and that a bullet kills with no thought given to things like courage and compassion. Given the record of history one thing is wholly apparent: the only way a man can ever truly prevent that loaded gun from firing is to never make one.

As to the ships, planes and men depicted in this novel, while the ship and crew of the Russian battlecruiser Kirov are of my own making, every other ship and character mentioned, from the highest officers on down to the lowest able seaman or pilot, is a historical figure, placed exactly in the roles and locations where they served during the action described.

“Are you certainyou wish to be so forthcoming about Japanese intentions sir?” Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff gave Churchill a look that spoke volumes. “It will reveal more than you might expect at first blush.”

“What is it you mean, General? This is the blow we’ve been waiting for. This attack on the American task force was a godsend. There’s simply no way the American public will let it stand unchallenged. Roosevelt will have no difficulty now insofar as the anti-war lobby goes. This has changed everything.”

“Indeed, sir, but as to Japan, and particularly the plans involving Pearl Harbor, too frank a discussion will clue the Americans in on just how much of the Japanese JN25 Naval code we’ve been reading. It could prove to be an uncomfortable subject.”

"Here, here now Sir John,” Churchill waved a dismissive hand. “We can now speak more robustly. We only had to use that kind of language when we were wooing the Americans. Now she is in the harem with us, and more than willing, I might add.” He gave his Chief of Staff a sidelong glance. “Leave the employment of any discretion in this matter to me. I believe I can navigate the waters well enough.”

“Oh, I have little doubt there, Sir Winston,” Dill smiled. He checked the time and then gestured to the door. “I believe Mr. Roosevelt is waiting then.” Churchill could not be more eager to oblige. An hour later, after the grand first handshake and all the posing for the cameras, he was delighted to have the American President with him at long last, for a private chat about the course of events that were now certain to unfold. A few pleasantries and they would get to the heart of the matter—how to survive, and then prevail in the long conflict that lay before them.

“We had several thousand gift boxes with a few tasty tidbits from the ladies back home,” said Churchill. “All for your crew here, but I’m afraid they were aboard Prince of Wales , and she took a couple of nasty hits from these new German rocket weapons. We managed to keep her afloat and seaworthy, but they tell me I might not have had the pleasure of this meeting if I had stayed in my cabin there.”

“Shocking,” said Roosevelt. “How the Germans could have developed these weapons without us knowing about it is astonishing.”

“Yet to this day Berlin is mute regarding any involvement in this affair. They claim that they have no surface raiders at sea at this time, though I can hardly give credence to anything Herr Hitler would say on the matter.”

“I would not expect them to be forthcoming,” said Roosevelt. “Well, sir, I’ll get right to the heart of it. If there was any doubt in your mind as to where the United States stands in this conflict, let me dispel it forthwith. I intend to seek an immediate declaration of war against Germany, and follow it with the same against any nation who stands with her. And I intend to get what I ask for, so let there be no doubt that we are both in this together, from this moment forward. Congress is just a formality now. After this attack on our naval forces comes to light in the news media, the nation will be enraged. So we are with you, sir…the only question now is how we best prosecute this war against an enemy who has developed a weapon as fearsome as the one unleashed upon our ships at sea.”

“They tell me, all my able generals and admirals, that this was unlike any normal explosion,” said Churchill. “It was supposedly an atomic weapon, and one of considerable magnitude and power. I’ll not bandy about, sir. We are aware of the fact that the United States has a program underway to develop such a weapon. We knew the Germans as well as the Russians were also thinking along these lines, but the shock was to learn just how advanced the enemy plans have become. The only question we have now is in regards to the extent of their weaponization programs. How many of these new bombs might they have? This we wonder.”

“My generals have asked the very same questions. I’ll be frank and confirm that we do have such a program in the early stages of development. I’m told it is still largely theoretical, and not nearly ready for any serious deployment as a weapon.”

“Our Mister Oliphant will want to discuss the matter with your technicians. We would willingly share any and all our information on the subject. We knew the Germans were on this same track when they first tried to purchase the whole stock of Norwegian Heavy Water from the hydroelectric station at Norsk, but we managed to spirit that all off through the French Secret Service and had it delivered to merry old England.”

“As part of your Tube Alloy program?” Roosevelt smiled. He was referring to the top secret code name for the program already underway in Britain, also aiming to develop an atomic bomb.

“It seems that there are no secrets between us, Franklin. My only fear is that the Germans appear to have stolen a march on us in spite of our every effort to frustrate them. We got this Heavy Water out of Norway just before the Germans invaded there, and had it safely hidden away with the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. We first thought these experiments with Heavy Water would come to naught, then my scientists told me that they had identified a new element, and subsequently we came to believe that the development of an atomic bomb was not merely feasible, but inevitable.”

“It appears that the Germans have proven that point,” said Roosevelt. “The only question now is this—how do we survive until we can do the same?”

“Quite so,” said Churchill. “We know what to do, and how to go about it, but this program will take time. How long can we hold out? Can you imagine such a weapon unleashed on a massed army or fleet intending to land on the shores of France? And what if the Germans deploy this weapon next against the Soviets? They could knock Russia out of the war before we get our trousers on. Then where would we be when Germany turns the full force of her ire towards the West? Make no mistake about this, sir. Germany has only flexed a finger of her armed might against us thus far. She’s hit us with Goering’s Luftwaffe, but we endured and beat them off with our Spitfires. Most of the Wehrmacht is in Russia, where I hope to keep it for some time. They have only two or three divisions deployed against us in North Africa. The rest are just garrisons in France, Denmark and Norway. She’s flung the heart of the Kriegsmarine at us, and our Royal Navy was master of the situation, until this most recent sortie and the advent of these terrible new rocket weapons. Up until now it’s been all feint and jab at sea, what with this Bismarck business recently concluded. They said they would even the score, but heavens above, who would have thought they could do this? A lone raider has damaged two of our newest battleships, sunk the battlecruiser Repulse , and gutted a carrier. A few of our lighter ships were damaged as well. I’m afraid you suffered even more grievous harm.”