“You say that you can press them in the south right now—then do so. They have another division coming up, and if you gain ground there it may affect its deployment. Zeitzler has also informed me that he will try and find more for us, perhaps some of Student’s troops from Crete, or a few other ad hoc detachments. All the better. Has the 16th Regiment arrived from the 22nd Luftland Division?”
“Yes sir, it came up tonight.”
“Then assign it to the Royal Palace area so you can free up as much of your own division as possible. Hube will not be able to move until the 45th Division arrives, so once again, my Brandenburgers lead the way.”
“We will not disappoint you,” said Beckermann.
Colonel Blaxland was soon in for more than the discomfort of being ejected from his palace HQ. He had demonstrated that he could sit with the best of them, but if Beckermann’s plan worked, he would soon have to learn how to dance.
* * *
Heinrich Himmler was a very efficient man. As head of the SS, he had produced and fielded some of the finest combat divisions in the war. Steiner’s vaunted SS Korps had been the flashing sword of Germany in the south, devastating on attack, insurmountable on defense. And Himmler had been building up many more units for service in the far flung fronts of the war. He had come to deliver his latest report to Hitler at OKW, requesting a private meeting to update him on the SS contribution to Operation Downfall, the upcoming attack on Leningrad.
“My Führer,” he began, “as you know, my 7th SS Prinz Eugen Division is already in the field in support of Operation Phoenix. I can now report that several more units are mustering in the Divina River line sector for Operation Downfall.”
“Show me,” said Hitler, leaning over the map.
“To begin, a second Mountain Division, the 6th SS, has been placed here, southwest of Riga in the Telgaya concentration sector. There I have also placed the SS Polizei Division, 8th SS Florian Geyr Cavalry, and two new infantry divisions, the 1st Lettische, and 1st Estonian. The SS KG Nord Brigade rounds out this formation, now designated the SS Motorized Korps. It will be accompanied by the 3rd SS Panzer Korps, the real heart of this new army.”
“An entire Army?”
“Yes, my Führer, an army. While it may not be as powerful as Steiner’s Korps, it will nonetheless prove most useful—of that I have no doubt. This new Panzer Korps has leaner division structures, but they will serve as fast, powerful units to exploit breakthroughs and gain ground. There are four more divisions, the best being my new SS Nord Panzer Division. Then I have assembled three more Panzergrenadier divisions—Langemarck, Nederland, and Wallonien. These are troops I have been recruiting from all the occupied countries, volunteers to a man, just like the unit I raised in France.”
“Excellent. You have done very well, Himmler. If these men have half the fight in them that Steiner’s men have, these new divisions will serve me very well.”
“That is not all,” said Himmler with a smile. “Another Brigade has been raised for the Reichsführer Panzergrenadiers already serving with Steiner. It is even stronger, with all the new equipment we have been building—the Reichsführer Sturm Brigade. This will raise that unit to the status of a full division. But the best I have saved for last. I have also been building a strong new SS Panzer Korps in the West—three new SS Panzer Divisions, and a strong Panzergrenadier Division as well, the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen.”
“An entire new Korps?
“Yes, my Führer.” Himmler smiled. “I have designated these units 9th SS Hohenstaufen Division, 10th SS Frundsberg Division, and a very special unit, one that was first suggested to me by my associate, Artur Axmann, our leader of the Hitler Youth Organization. We have strong young men there, he said. Why not build a division? So this is exactly what we are hoping to do. It will be called the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Division. It will be seeded with a cadre provided by one of our finest divisions, the 1st SS Leibstandarte. They will impart the training, and harden the character of these young men, and I have every hope that this division will become one of the finest in all the SS. Would you approve of this division formation?”
“Of course! This is an excellent idea, Himmler. You and Axmann are to be commended. I give you full authority to see that this new Panzer Korps gets the finest equipment available. This is most encouraging. At a time when my Generals go about moaning that they cannot even find a single infantry division to fulfill their objectives in the field, making one excuse for their failures after another, you come to me with real fire in your belly, and a steel fist. We could not prevail without you. Well done! The Leningrad operation is still several months off, so use that time well to get ready.” Hitler loved good news, particularly news of this kind, more divisions to provide grist for his ever churning mill of war.
“Thank you, My Führer,” said Himmler, very gratified. Then he lowered his voice, leaning a bit closer as if to confide something of great importance. “There is something else I wished to discuss with you, not concerning these new troops, but more to the objectives of this war. The Abwehr has been diligent, but my own intelligence service has come upon information that you will find most disturbing.”
What he would say next would bring the stiff breeze of a sea change to the entire war, and send Hitler’s tossing bark off to stormy waters, to the far side of revenge.
Chapter 27
Hitler gave Himmler a quizzical look, the lines of his brow deepening. “What information?” He waited while Himmler reached into his brief to produce yet another map.
“My Führer,” it has been evident to me for some time that your vision for the Third Reich’s future depends on securing the resources and the Lebensraum our people will need. We have already secured many of the territories mandated for occupation in Generalplan Ost —all except the Caucasus.”
“Manstein will see to that region in due course,” said Hitler.
“Of course,” said Himmler, “but I do not have to remind you that more than half of that area is presently occupied by the armies of Ivan Volkov’s Orenburg Federation. If you will note on this document, his troops are now holding some most desirable objectives, principally, the key oil and gas centers of that entire region. Look here—Maykop, and here at Grozny, and of course the big development at Baku. But note these other areas I have marked in red. They are all areas where my SS intelligence service has learned that Volkov is planning significant new oil and gas development. Note this area near Stavropol, and this big area here at Astrakhan. We knew there were prospects there, for Volkov has been quite busy in those areas with his Oil Brigades.”
“That is all good oil that will soon be coming to the Reich when Manstein completes his operations in the Kuban.”
“Perhaps,” said Himmler, coating the remark with a patina of uncertainty. “Now look here…” He pointed to the Caspian sea. “Note the areas I have colored in amber. Those are also potential new oil fields of great value, extending throughout the whole of the Caspian Sea. This one here is perhaps the biggest, Kashagan, and very close by, this field I have colored grey at Tengiz is already being developed by Ivan Volkov. That is not all. There are potential fields at Aral, all through this region, and all through eastern Turkmenistan and southeast Uzbekistan.”
“Astounding,” said Hitler. “How did you determine this?”
“This document came to me through an agent that will be known only as ‘Fedorov.’”
“A Russian? How can such information be trusted?”
“That is merely a code name,” said Himmler, though in fact, it was a name that was now well known to the Allied cause, that of Captain Fedorov himself, of the battlecruiser Kirov . His astute mind saw that the fracturing of the Soviet Union could be the most fatal contamination to the time line of all. Ivan Volkov presented the most difficult problem for his own plan, conspiring with Admiral Volsky, Director Kamenski, and now even Vladimir Karpov, to try and cleanse the meridian of all outside influences. To do so, he had to de
al with Ivan Volkov, and so he came up with another of his great schemes, to feed information to the Germans concerning Volkov and his obvious objectives for this war, and begin to paint the Orenburg Federation in shades of deepening grey. The document Himmler was now showing the Führer had come directly from Fedorov, a detailed map of all the oil and gas development viable through the year 2021 in all the territories Volkov now controlled.
“I ask you to consider this map in another light,” said Himmler darkly. “Please note that all these oil regions are presently occupied by Volkov’s Orenburg Federation—even Maykop, the principle objective of Manstein’s Kuban operation.”
“He will yield it when our troops arrive,” said Hitler firmly.
“Perhaps,” Himmler said again. “Yet look at it, my Führer. Compare it in size to all these other regions Volkov now controls. It is but a minor field according to this information, a bone he throws us while he gets all the meat! These others near Stavropol and certainly Astrakhan are orders of magnitude bigger. And all these untapped resources in the Caspian Basin are many times bigger than those presently being drilled at Baku.”
“Then you are saying that this information was developed by Volkov himself—these are prospects he has already assayed?”
“It appears so,” said Himmler. “I note that we recently seized Baba Gurgur, where Guderian only had one regiment of Fallschirmjagers to guard those facilities. I also note that Volkov has posted two large divisions there as well. What is the whole aim of your Operation Phoenix? It has been a dramatic success—cutting both the pipelines through Syria, seizing Kirkuk, and now the British have scrambled to save the last of the developed fields in that region at Basra, and they have even seized the Iranian fields at Abadan.”
“Oil, my Führer. Resources! This is what the Japanese Army struck south to obtain in the Dutch East Indies. This is why we strive to defeat the Soviet threat, and why you have sent Guderian into Iraq, and now send Manstein into the Caucasus. And look who sits on all those resources—Ivan Volkov! My Führer, I do not have the same faith as you might have concerning that man’s fealty to the Reich. It seems to me that he has cleverly manipulated our alliance to further his own designs. Look what happened at Volgograd. Our troop needs in the south for Edelweiss forced Manstein to turn that whole operation over to Volkov’s Armies! The only German troops now east of the Don are a few heavy artillery siege guns.”
Hitler nodded, a deepening shadow growing in his mind as Himmler spoke. He had often considered the outcome of the war, and what part the Orenburg Federation would play in that. Initially he had considered Volkov his puppet, keeping pressure on the Soviets along the Volga, and tying down many divisions there. But now, as his eyes played over the map, he saw so much more in the aims and intentions of Ivan Volkov.
“That man will control all the oil,” said Hitler. “All we will have under our direct control will be these new fields we are securing with Operation Phoenix.”
“And I note that even those may be contested by Volkov,” said Himmler. “The Abwehr has turned up information that Volkov is now sending operatives to Iran. He already controls Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Now he has an army in northern Iran, ostensibly to assist our Operation Phoenix, but mainly to keep troops very close to Baba Gurgur. I have no doubt that he will soon reinforce those troops, and Guderian has little to spare to garrison any of Northern Iraq. All his forces are tied up in this siege of Baghdad.”
“Yes,” said Hitler. “That is very true. In fact, I just ordered another division to be sent to him, so that he can move south towards Basra.”
“Well, my Führer, I can now report, and with good authority from our operatives inside Iran, that Volkov is assembling more forces here, along the Iranian border with his province of Turkmenistan. He is also actively courting the favor of the Iranian regime, and seeking to extend the agreement he has to transit Iranian territory with military units. Why, may I ask, has there been no successful operation mounted by Orenburg against the Soviet defenses on the upper Volga? Why has Volkov insisted on taking over the Volgograd operation? Why does he keep forces breathing down Barenthin’s neck at Baba Gurgur? Why is he mustering armies on the Iranian border? Where could they be going? Surely not to Tehran. They must certainly be meant for Abadan and Basra. Oh yes, he would say he is doing this to assist us, but look at all the oil and gas development he has planned on this map!”
“Orenburg will control everything!” Hitler said, coming to a whole new assessment of Volkov’s war aims.
“Yes,” said Himmler. “We have already flung entire armies at the Soviets, and all to eliminate troops that have been at war with Volkov for decades. We do the heavy lifting, my Führer. We drive all the way to Volgograd. Who has it now? And it may be that we drive all the way to Basra only to find Ivan Volkov smiling at us as he sits on all those oil and gas reserves with a strong new army. This is why we have seen no campaigns against the Soviets in the north. Volkov pays us lip service, he promises to send us oil, but where is it? Just a little more, he tells us. You must eliminate the Soviets in the Kuban. Then he will be free to ship us oil through Rostov. But will he? First he must have the Kuban back. But we have seen virtually nothing come our way from all these vast operations he has within his Federation. We still rely on fast diminishing reserves at Ploesti, and even those may soon be subject to Allied bombing attacks. You were wise to seize Crete as you just did. But look at this map, my Führer. Look who will be sitting on all the world’s key supplies of oil and gas when this war ends—Ivan Volkov. Then he calls the tune. It will be his hand operating the pipelines. Unless we eject him from Baba Gurgur completely, nothing may ever flow to benefit of the Reich.”
Hitler seemed aghast. Himmler was seeding and watering a deepening suspicion that was already within him concerning Volkov and his Orenburg Federation.
“He begs us for planes to pursue objectives against the Siberians,” said Himmler. “And now I learn that you have sent Raeder and some of our finest ships into the Black sea to get rid of the Soviet Black Sea fleet—all part of Operation Edelweiss, which will really only serve Volkov’s ends. Do you honestly think he will simply turn over Maykop, Grozny and Baku after we defeat the Soviets there? We say we eliminate the Soviet fleet to insure oil shipment over the Black Sea. But Volkov will control all the ports on the coast of Georgia. He can therefore choose to send us whatever he wishes, controlling the flow, or denying it as he sees fit. He can, in effect, choke the life breath out of the Wehrmacht, and simply by denying us oil.”
“He would not dare!” said Hitler.
“You may think this, but what a man can do, he might do. This I have learned all too well. Pipelines are being laid by Volkov even now—from Baku to Astrakhan, and from Astrakhan to Orenburg. I note that there are no projects underway from Baku through Azerbaijan and Georgia to the Black Sea Coast. He serves his own interests first. Do not think of Volkov as a vassal of the Third Reich. In the end, my Führer, after we have toppled Sergei Kirov and broken the Red Army, Volkov will remain unfought, and in control of all these vast resources.”
“That will not be permitted,” said Hitler forcefully. “Does he think I am a fool? When this war ends, I will make my demands of Orenburg, and Volkov will either comply, or face the wrath of my armies.”
“Oh, he may play quite the diplomatic game at that point,” said Himmler. “He will say he needs time, for the pipelines to be built that he now ignores. He will say the fields remain undeveloped, and seek money and technical support from the Reich to build them out, all under his watch, and with his troops guarding all the key oil centers. He will equivocate, delay, and all the while he will use that oil to build up stockpiles, as he is already doing now, and build up new armies.”
“There is a limit to my patience,” said Hitler. “If he does this, it will mean war.”
“Most certainly,” said Himmler. “Then, if we do strike, what will he do? He will destroy the fields, all the facilities we get close to w
ill be demolished. You see, my Führer, he who controls a thing, can destroy it at his whim. Imagine that, the fields at Maykop burning, and at Grozny and Baku. Look at that map. He doesn’t even need them for his own forces. He has this extensive field developed just south of his capital at Orenburg. And if we push through towards Astrakhan, he could destroy those fields as well. War with Volkov could be very dangerous. In this event, it will be years before we see any of that oil, and the Reich is already thirsty now.”
“Then we must secure as many of these fields as possible before he ever gets the chance to do what you say. Perhaps I was far too stingy with Operation Phoenix. OKW tells me that no more than twelve divisions can be supported over the Berlin to Baghdad Rail, but we support far more over that decrepit rail system in Russia, and we had to convert the gauge of all those rail lines to use them with our rolling stock. The Todt Organizations will be mustered again in force and sent to Turkey. I will promise them that we will pay for everything, the complete refurbishment of their rail system. If we can do this in Russia, then we can do it in Turkey. And I will see that Guderian gets everything he needs, for we simply must get to Basra and take that oil as well. As for Baba Gurgur, I will find a division to go there this very week! Volkov will not cast his shadow over the things my troops have fought so hard for. That oil goes to the Reich!”
“Yes,” said Himmler. “In this light, Volkov’s loyalty to the Reich can no longer be taken for granted. He must be seen as a great strategic rival, out for his own aims, which are quite evident from this map. In fact, what if Volkov were to wait for us to tidy up the south for him in the Kuban, and then simply switch sides—before we have defeated the Soviets this year? That would immediately free up seven Soviet armies now deployed on the Volga Front, and also set all of Volkov’s forces against us. Then we would have to continue the war all along his entire frontier, a vast new front that we never planned for.”
Stormtide Rising (Kirov Series Book 29) Page 24