“Can we make these repairs safely?”
“We have been running at thirty knots since midnight. In that time we fought our battle and moved well west. We are now ninety nautical miles from the Straits of Gibraltar. Force Z is sixty nautical miles southeast of our present position, and making fifteen knots in a slow circle. They are gathering all their remaining ships and covering the carriers. Even if they turned to try and engage us again, that gives us at least three hours for Byko to get men in the water and effect repairs before we would have to move again…Unless they release their cruisers and destroyers to pursue us.”
“If they head in our direction we can discourage them at long range if need be,” said Karpov. “Remember, our deck guns can range out to 50,000 meters if need be with radar guided round tracking. That long range ammunition is very limited, but we have a couple hundred rounds in the magazines.”
“Very well,” said Volsky. “Tell Byko to get started.”
“His men should be in the water in ten minutes, sir.”
“And what does our helicopter report? We must have received telemetry by now.”
Karpov looked at Fedorov, clearly uneasy. Then the young Captain spoke up, his manner somewhat discouraged, and almost apologetic. He had been surprised by the Italian battleships earlier, but this was an even harder blow.
“I’m afraid we have more trouble ahead than we do behind us. Our KA-40 had a good look west of Gibraltar and reports another large British fleet at sea off Lagos, Portugal, and moving south at about twenty-five knots.”
“I would like to think that is just another convoy heading for Gibraltar,” said Volsky, “but not at that speed.”
“True, sir.” Fedorov was looking at his shoes, clearly bothered.
“Then this is a battle fleet?”
“We spotted four capital ships in a long battle line, a carrier, at least four cruisers and a handful of destroyers. It can only be Home Fleet, sir. How they could have learned of us and moved south so quickly is amazing.”
“But they did,” said Volsky, his eyes dark with concern. “So now it is our turn to be astounded by the sudden appearance of an unexpected enemy at sea. Lagos… How far away are they?”
“Some 200 miles, sir. If they keep to their present course and speed they would arrive at the western approaches to the straits in another eight hours, right around 16:00.”
“We are ninety miles from Gibraltar now. Yes? Then let me do some mathematics. If we give Byko two hours, and can then run again at thirty knots for three more, it will take us five hours to reach the eastern approaches to these straits. That is a slim margin to slip through. I imagine we may have minefields to contend with?”
“Very likely, sir.”
“We used the UDAV-2 missile system to blast our way through at Bonifacio,” Karpov put in quickly.
“Yes, and that was very clever, Captain, but how long did it take you to transit the strait?”
“Two hours,” said Fedorov.
“Two, plus three, plus two makes seven. If this British Fleet hurries they can probably trim another hour’s sailing time from their run as well. Gentlemen, the numbers do not add up very favorably.” The admiral was not happy.
“Our choices are clear,” said Karpov. “We must now decide whether to forego these repairs Byko wishes to make, and run for the straits at once, or to wait and risk another major battle if we are late.”
“You say four capital ships, Fedorov?”
“Yes, sir. Probably all four King George V class battleships. We fought the first two earlier in the Atlantic and, though we damaged them, it took three hits to force Prince of Wales to drop out of their battle line, and all from our best missile, the Moskit-IIs.”
“Yes, I have been listening to them launch all night. I lost count. How many are left?”
“Nine, sir.”
“And another nine Mos-IIIs, with eight more P-900 cruise missiles,” said Karpov. “It is enough, sir. I can get us through.”
“Who is commanding this British fleet?” The Admiral looked to Fedorov now.
“We cannot know for certain, sir, but my best estimate would be the fleet commander himself, Admiral John Tovey.”
“What kind of man is he?”
“Experienced, highly disciplined, an excellent military planner, well respected by his peers and all who serve under him. He can be a single minded and determined foe, sir. His pursuit of the Bismarck was typical of his style at sea.”
“This is the same man we encountered earlier?”
“Yes, sir. After the Captain struck him at range, he fell off, linked up with additional forces, called for the support of Force H, and then continued his pursuit.”
“You fought this man, Mister Karpov. What is your military opinion?”
“He was determined, that much is clear. But outmatched, sir. Kirov can do the job, I assure you.”
“Oh? Then why did you have to resort to tactical nuclear weapons?”
Karpov was silent. “I have answered this, Admiral. In my mind I saw no reason why the ship should not use the full measure of our real power.”
“Yet I have spoken with the other officers on the bridge that day, and they tell me the tactical situation was not favorable. We were confronted by four separate task forces, and to engage them all would have most likely depleted our entire missile inventory.”
“Which is why I elected to let one missile do the work of many.”
“Yes, we noticed,” said Zolkin.
“I am well aware of your opinion in the matter, Doctor,” Karpov said sharply.
“There is no need to go over all that again,” said Volsky. “What was done, was done. Karpov knows what he did, and why. He has asked to serve and redeem himself, and he has done that.”
Karpov raised his chin, sniffing. “Thank you, Admiral. While I believe I can win the battle with our conventional weapons, it is also my duty to state that we still have our nuclear option should it become necessary.”
“I am well aware of that, Mister Karpov, but this consideration is a cold logic. It asks me to trade the ammunition we save for the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands of men. Believe me, I do not relish that thought. What I wish to know now is how this Admiral Tovey will fight us if it comes to that?”
“He will be a tenacious and dangerous opponent in battle sir. If you want my opinion he will not like his tactical situation at dusk this evening , and may wish to wait and fight his battle tomorrow. We will be arriving near sunset, and his ships will all be starkly silhouetted by the sun.”
“That makes no difference,” said Volsky. “We can see them as easily at midnight.”
“Yes, sir, but he does not know that. Remember that he will think tactically like a man of his era. If our striking power was as limited in range as his own, I do not think he would hesitate to close and engage. As it is, however, I believe he will have learned from his experience in the North Atlantic. He will think we fight more like an aircraft carrier than a battleship. He knows we are capable of scouting his forces out and striking at very long ranges, and this is, in fact, our great advantage. The key to battling a strong enemy carrier has always been air power, but our tremendous SAM defense has neutralized this option. Every time they throw an air strike at us it gets cut to pieces. If he uses his planes again, it will simply be to harass us, or distract us.”
“You agree, Karpov?”
“I do, sir. Their air power is not a concern for the moment. At least not in this engagement. We have enough missiles to keep it at bay and neutralize it.”
“Then how do you attack a strong carrier, Captain. One that can neutralize your air power?”
“Sir? You saturate it with missiles, a minimum eight, and preferably sixteen or more if you have them.”
“How could the British replicate such a tactic against us?”
“They would have to come at us with more targets than we can neutralize.” Karpov did not like the direction this was heading.
“Do they have enough planes to do this, Fedorov?”
“Probably forty to fifty at Gibraltar, perhaps twenty four on the carrier they have with them. We hurt the air squadrons in Force Z badly, but they could throw in another twenty or thirty aircraft as well, mostly fighters, but they can still carry bombs.”
“Mostly fighters….We have seen what just one of those did when it got in close. I have not forgotten why I have spent the last three days with Doctor Zolkin. That is enough planes to seriously deplete our remaining SAM inventory. I am not liking what I am hearing, gentlemen. Now, what about his surface ships? How will he fight?”
Fedorov spoke again. “After what happened to the Americans Admiral Tovey will also be wary of concentrating his force in any one central task force. For this reason I believe he will not enter the Straits of Gibraltar tonight, even if he does get there first. No, sir. He will wait for us in the western approaches, and he will disperse whatever force he has in a web there, which we will have to penetrate. Then, once we commit ourselves to a breakout heading, he will make one mad dash and engage us with everything he has—all his ships and every plane they can put into the air. His dilemma is how to close the range on us as quickly as possible so the fourteen inch guns on his battleships can have a chance at getting some hits. And it would only take one hit from a shell of that caliber to decisively shift the battle in his favor. Yet, there have been engagements where as many as a hundred rounds are fired with no hits obtained. Last night the darkness, their inability to use radar, and our tremendous speed helped us a great deal. That said, they put rounds so close to us that it damaged our aft hull. We have been lucky thus far against the Italians and Force Z.”
“Will we also have to also watch our back?”
“Force Z will certainly move up behind us and block the straits, particularly if we are engaged with the British Home Fleet.”
“Volsky took that in, his eyes distant, and focused on his inner muse. “Karpov?” he said at last.
“I agree with Fedorov’s assessment.”
“Then how will we proceed?”
“If they disperse their forces as Fedorov suggests, then we must pick one point in the line for our breakthrough, preferably at one of the extreme flanks. We will attack this point in his defense and neutralize it quickly. We do not have enough missiles left to engage all the battleships decisively at one time in this option. But we can hit one very hard, and then simply run through the gap at high speed. I suggest we focus on a route to the southwest, and hit them on their left flank.”
“How many missiles will it take us to do this?”
“We will target the most dangerous ship along our route of advance and use perhaps three missiles—five if necessary. If cruisers are deployed there, then a single missile should be sufficient to stop a ship in that class. For their destroyers, I will simply use the cannon.”
“Those tactics did not stop those other battleships in Force Z.”
“It slowed them down sufficiently to allow us to use our speed and break through, sir. It jarred them and limited their gunnery effort as well. We can fight this battle exactly as we did at Bonifacio or against this Force Z”
Volsky nodded. “Unless our luck finally runs out and we take a serious hit. What if this Admiral Tovey places his battleships close enough to one another for supporting fire? These big guns have a long range, correct Fedorov?”
“They do sir. With good light for sighting we can expect fire from as far away as 28,000 meters, even 32,000.”
“So even if we do saturate and neutralize one of these big ships the others may very well still have the range on us. This is not a very satisfactory situation, Karpov. And I must tell you that this business aft with Byko is most disturbing now. If our speed is affected…” He did not have to say anything more.
“I have another strategic option,” said Karpov. “And no, Doctor, it will not involve nuclear weapons.” He gave Zolkin a sidelong glance.
“Very well, let me hear it,” Volsky folded his arms, waiting.
“Fedorov’s remark about the night action is very true, sir. The darkness prevented their optical sighting and allowed us to use our speed to evade their gunnery efforts. If possible, it would be better to run the strait at night as well. We should not wait until dawn. Let Byko have all the time he needs to assure we’ll have no trouble with speed. Then move for Gibraltar so as to arrive there after sunset.”
“That will give us better odds, I suppose,” said Volsky. “But I am still not entirely convinced we can face four battleships and run through their defense without taking even one hit.”
“I was not finished, sir, begging your pardon, Admiral.”
“Continue, Mister Karpov.”
“We arrive after sunset, and if Fedorov is correct they will be deploying in the western approaches. We use the KA-40 to scout their position on the other side of the straits and feed us targeting information, and then we hit them with the cruise missiles before we even enter the straits. Fedorov suggested I begin the last engagement with a P-900 simply because it was slow, and he wanted them to see it coming. That was clever, because I believe this had a strong psychological impact on them. We must break their will as much as the steel in their ships. So consider this… Darkness falls. We linger near the eastern entrance to the strait and target two P-900s on each of the four battleships. The missiles make quite a shocking display at night. They will see them arc over the headlands, from a completely unseen enemy, and when they hit home it will shake their morale considerably. This Admiral Tovey will look at his well laid trap and see all four of his precious King class battleships on fire, and yet he will not have any inkling of where we are, and will be powerless to strike back at us.”
“They will see us firing the missiles from Gibraltar, and radio our position” said Fedorov.
“All the better. The fact remains that they will not be able to do anything about it. Not without entering the straits and coming for us. We will be well out of the range of his guns in that position.”
“Very dramatic,” said Volsky. He looked at Zolkin now and said: “I told you this man was one of the best tactical officers in the fleet, Doctor.”
“Yes,” said Zolkin. “He has the bravery of being out of range. It’s very comfortable—but just a little a bit devious at the same time.”
Karpov rolled his eyes, but was not willing to get into a missile war with Zolkin at the moment. “Consider it…Now the British have all four of their best ships hit and burning, and then we make our demand that they stand down or we will rain hell upon them. They will not know we are low on missiles. Tell them if they do not give way we will sink their ships before they ever lay eyes on us. We need never come within range of their guns, because they will be at the bottom of the sea before we transit the Strait of Gibraltar. If they do not yield, then we send over the Moskit-IIs, only this time there will be sufficient range to program them for a plunging attack angle. One on each battleship could have very good results.”
Volsky scratched his head, looking from one to the other, and then came to a conclusion. “Well here we are at the eleventh hour, gentlemen. I have heard your analysis, and yet there is one other weapon we have not discussed that we might try using here.”
“Sir? I thought you did not wish to consider our nuclear option.”
“Oh, I considered it, Mister Karpov, and I have discarded it. The weapon I am thinking of now is intelligence. We have looked at two options here. The first has considerable risk. We make a run at this man, give him a shove as we go and hope to slip by him in the dark. It might work if our luck holds out. Now you suggest that we punch this man in the face first, and then threaten him with further harm if he does not stand aside. Yes, it is a strong tactic. Something our old friend Orlov might do. But I will propose another solution. Suppose we talk to this man before we punch him in the nose, eh? I think he might be more inclined to hear us.”
“Negotiate first? Before we’ve shown him what we c
an do to him if he persists?”
“Exactly. Mister Karpov, I believe he has already seen what we are capable of—weeks ago in the North Atlantic. He already knows we can hurt him before he even catches a glimpse of us. This is why he will position his ships to be within range from the moment we first exit the strait. Yes, he knows how dangerous we are. He knows we can hurt him severely, and yet here he comes. That is a different sort of bravery, is it not.” He glanced at Zolkin.
The Admiral’s eyes gleamed with a sudden inner fire. “I want to talk to this man—face to face. I want to look him in the eye and see if we can reach an understanding before any more men or ships die—on either side.”
He smiled, looking at the Doctor. “Dmitri, it has been a wonderful stay, but now I feel sufficiently recovered to re-assume my duties. Mister Fedorov, Mister Karpov, you have served well. I commend you both, but as of this moment I am formally re-assuming command of the ship. Fedorov will continue as Starpom, and you will remain on the bridge as Executive Tactical Officer, Karpov. Now, gentlemen. Let us get the ship in order and I will tell you what we are going to do.”
Aboard King George V the wireless operator got a most unusual message, just before sunset, and in plain English. It was directed to Admiral John Tovey, coming as a great surprise to him when he heard it. He listened to it carefully, repeating quietly over and over, and thinking about it as he listened. Considering the gravity of the situation, Tovey found it welcome. He had to hurry on if he was to get a good blocking position in the western approaches. He was nearly there, but all reports out of Gibraltar indicated the enemy was now in a very good location to make a run for the straits, heading south of the Rock, just outside the range of their shore batteries. These circumstances were going to see him arriving there just before sunset, a most unfavorable situation, with all his ships nicely silhouetted on the horizon.
When he finally caught up with Bismarck, he wisely elected to refuse battle at dusk and fight in the morning. If at all possible he wanted to fight at sunrise, with his enemy well silhouetted instead of his own ships. That may not matter to the enemy, he thought, but it would certainly help his own gunners. This message gave him just what he needed now—time—and he agreed to it at once, smiling at his flag officer of the watch.
Kirov II: Cauldron Of Fire (Kirov Series) Page 31