Breakout (Kirov Series Book 38)

by Schettler, John

  “It’s this ship, sir,” said Beck, 2nd Watch officer. “It’s cursed.”

  Döenitz gave him a lingering look. “Or blessed,” he said. “There was surely a time when you all believed you would never see your loved ones again—that you would never get home, but here you are. It was this ship that brought you here, and with the tallest tale that any sailor has ever put into port with, that’s for sure. Now… I’m sure you all understand how all of this—any of this—would sound to anyone who did not share your odyssey. Needless to say, it would be wise if nothing of this was ever spoken to anyone outside this ship, and that is not just friendly advice.”

  Döenitz underlined his point with the tone of his voice. “This is an order. What you have all seen and done is to be regarded as a secret of the highest level. Surely you understand the implications. Yes, we all knew that Kaiser Wilhelm was a fine ship, and one with a record at sea that outshone all her older brothers. No other ship has done as much for Germany in this war, not the Bismarck or Tirpitz , nor even the Hindenburg .”

  He asked that all photographs taken on the long sortie be given to him, along with any other tangible record of events undertaken by the ship. The logs were removed, and the crew was asked to submit any diary, letter, or other personal record for review by the Admiral. “So, you have all told a tale or two in the bars at ports of call these many years. But I must caution you to say nothing whatsoever of this business.”

  “But sir,” said Jung. “How will we explain our absence these many months?”

  “You were on a special mission, just like that first sortie to the South Atlantic. Say that, and nothing more. Everything else is a state secret of the highest order, and I will tell you why. None of you would say you had anything to do with this ship’s disappearance in 1943, or the fact, however impossible, that it appeared in the year 1915. So what caused this to happen? I’m sure you have all pondered that, and if any of you have come up with even the ghost of a reasonable answer, please tell me. Otherwise, I might conclude that it may be something in the nature of this ship itself that causes it to slip from the grasp of time. And if that is so, we must discover what this is, for it represents a power beyond all imagining. Understand?”

  “Yes sir,” said Jung, suddenly remembering something about the day that Kapitan Heinrich first went missing. “Admiral,” he said quietly. “We did find something unusual—in Kapitan Heinrich’s quarters.”

  “Oh? What was it?”

  “It’s still there, sir, in the Kapitan’s quarters. We did not use the room, out of respect to Kapitan Heinrich. We left everything just as it was.”

  That would soon see Döenitz led into the heart of the ship, where he stood for some time in the small room, taking it all in. It looked as though the Kapitan had slept there in the bunk the previous night. There was his uniform jacket, draped over the back of the chair by the desk. There was a book, lying face down that he had been reading. Döenitz leaned in to see what it was—Argonautica , the epic Greek poem by Apollonius Rhodius. Jason and the Argonauts….

  Dieter Jung pointed to the small wooden box, and Doenitz looked at it with great curiosity. “What is it?” he said seeing the perfectly smooth object inside.

  “We don’t know, sir. But the man who first entered this cabin when we began our search for Kapitan Heinrich said it was glowing strangely, and warm to the touch.”

  “Glowing?” Döenitz eyed the object suspiciously. “So Kapitan Heinrich had a very odd keepsake, eh? Well, it was good that this room was left as it is. This thing may be nothing at all, but then again, I think it would warrant further investigation.”

  The Grand Admiral closed the box, then picked it up. “Gentlemen,” he said. “That will be all. I think I will remain here for a time and see if I can discover anything more in the Kapitan’s personal effects. For the time being, the crew is to remain aboard ship. But don’t worry. I’ll have a feast befitting kings prepared for you all ashore, and summon you to join me, very soon. For now, welcome home. We will need you, because a good deal has happened since your ship went missing last September. At that time, the action you fought to forestall was the Allied invasion of Southern France. Now they are at the gates of Paris, and I think we will need every magic trick we can possibly pull out of our hats to survive. I will send an officer aboard to debrief you all, and men to take the personal statements of all officers, and even crewmen—for the record. Don’t worry. Anything said will be a closely held secret. Other than that, I have only one other thing to say to you all.”

  He looked at them, his eyes softening with the thought of what they must have experienced and endured. Then he spoke only two words: “Well done.”

  21 May 1944

  C-Company of the 705 Tank Destroyer Battalion was the first US unit to enter the city of Alencon. It reported what looked like a German Recon battalion, with halftracks and armored cars, but Patton gave orders to ignore it and move on north of the city. The powerful 2nd Armored was rolling up, and it would take care of the situation.

  Bradley looked at the map and it was as if someone had just popped the cork from a well shaken Champagne bottle. While 2nd Armored engaged that blocking force, the Provisional Armored Division poured through the gap, just east of the city, and was heading north. Behind it came Old Ironsides, flanking the city to the west.

  There was a thick, hilly forest about eight kilometers southeast of Alencon, virtually impassable to armor, as it had steep cliffs and wooded ridges. The German 232nd Division had set up positions there but Patton had no intention of fighting for the place. Instead he used the 91st Cavalry to screen it off, and threw everything Lucas had into the “Alencon Gap.”

  On the other side of that forest, which extended east about 15 kilometers, Truscott reported he was now in a hot engagement. He was in the “Mamers Gap,” an eight kilometer clearing before another thinner belt of woods continued running east. 3rd Armored had regrouped and moved to the gap only to find that the German heavy Panzer Brigade had danced with him, keeping step to the west, and now it was counter attacking his lead elements. 6th Armored on the right had already reported heavy Panzers, and now the 3rd would meet them again.

  Berg was on the scene, directing his five KG’s like a maestro to blunt and kick back the American advance, but the simple fact of the situation was that he and his brigade could not fight that battle and also stop the big push through the Alencon Gap. Patton was rounding up one division after another, and hustling them north to the breakthrough zone.

  As the Germans in the south withdrew, the American lines also shortened. This was going to free up a good number of divisions, and it enabled Patton to move Middleton’s entire VIII Infantry Corps north. That would soon bring up the 5th and 30th Infantry Divisions to join Middleton’s 2nd Infantry, which was now holding the left shoulder of the breakthrough. Patton also had a new division arriving, the 92nd “Buffalo” Division, fresh off the boats, then onto the trains to speed north to the scene of the battle.

  Berg knew he could not get bogged down in that gap. He had to keep moving, and Kluge was able to pull in the other two brigades of the Brandenburg Division to cover the gap to allow him to maneuver. So he started west, swinging above the long hilly woods of Chatillou, and coming in on the roads to Alencon. He was six kilometers from the city as dusk neared, but would soon get new orders from von Rundstedt and Guderian. The strategic situation was changing faster than events on the tactical level, and soon the laurels would go to the side who could keep moving.

  * * *

  Montgomery was steaming, because unlike Patton, he was not moving at all. While it was normally his practice to stop after a major push and reorganize to “bunker in” supplies, this was far beyond the pale. He had been stuck for two long weeks, and obtaining the supplies necessary to renew his advance was only half the problem. He had also received a direct order from Eisenhower that he was not to advance on Dijon under any circumstances. He was presently at Chalon-sur Saone, only 40 miles south o
f Dijon, but now it seemed as far away as the moon.

  “Freddie,” he said, exasperated. “We were far too generous in sending the lion’s share of our supply allotment off to O’Connor. Now he’s on the river south of Orleans, and we’re stuck like a bug in a rug.” He was speaking to Sir Francis Wilfred de Guingand, most often called “Freddie de Guingand,” or simply “Freddie,” his able Chief of Staff.

  “I can’t offer any consolation,” said Freddie. “Nothing more has come in to Toulon for the last ten days.”

  “It’s Patton,” said Montgomery, sounding like he was literally spitting out the name. That swashbuckling prima donna is hogging all the gasoline!”

  “But sir, even if we were topped off, where would we go? Ike says he doesn’t want us anywhere near Dijon.”

  “Infuriating,” said Montgomery. “Can’t he see that I have the most direct route into Germany from my present position? By God, I’m only 200 miles from the German border at Saarbrucken.”

  “It’s Paris,” said de Guingand, “not just Patton. I have it on good authority that Ike also stopped Patton’s drive on Chartres.”

  “Yes, but he’s simply gone and turned north through Alencon. Patton’s been hell bent to liberate Paris for months, and now that he’s close, he’ll stop at nothing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he disobeyed Eisenhower in this. He could turn east at any time.”

  “I think Ike want’s no part of Paris at the moment,” said Freddie. “Think about it. Once we take that city, we’ll have another million plus mouths to feed. They’ll need food, medical supplies, and god knows what else. It will take all the transport we have just to prop up the administration there, and furthermore, it gives De Gaulle a throne to sit his rump on once he’s there. If you think he’s bad now, just you wait.”

  “Quite right,” said Monty. “Well, just how long am I supposed to sit here without ammunition and gasoline? Is there another convoy due in?”

  “I’ll see about it, sir. But I haven’t any word.”

  “Damnation, if I have to go right to Churchill on this, I’ll bend his ear for a day and a half. This is simply outrageous. Eisenhower is feeding all Patton’s horses, and starving mine. Freddie, send that man a message. Tell him I shall want to speak with him directly.”

  “You’ll have to fly all the way to Dunkerque.”

  “A perfect venue,” said Monty. “There I’ll stand, on the beach that saw us rescue over 300,000 men and save the British Army for this fight, and by god, that’s what I aim to do—fight. O’Connor reports that even if he does get over the Loire, he’ll have to consolidate and wait for supplies. Meanwhile, Patton just rolled into Alencon.”

  It was a situation that would now become all the more pressing for the Allied cause—supply shortages, particularly in the vital POL category. Even Eisenhower’s favored race horse, Patton’s 7th Army, was beginning to feel the pinch. Breaking through the enemy front was one thing, but that accomplished, any further advance relied entirely on G-4 efforts to obtain the necessary supplies.

  Patton’s maestro, Brigadier General Walter J. Muller, had been with him since North Africa, and he had always managed to keep the army rolling. With methods that were “creative,” to sugar coat the matter, Muller was one part the meticulous accountant, one part scavenger, and one part brigand, willing to salvage, raid, steal, commandeer and confiscate anything he could get his hands on. Patton relied on him to sort out all the logistics, which he never wanted to bother with, and Muller had never disappointed… until now.

  The gasoline needed was at Bayonne and Bilbao, hundreds of miles to the south. While Patton had seized the Brittany ports, only St. Nazaire was open for business. It was found that the Germans had so badly wrecked Lorient and Brest, that they would still be another month to clear and repair before any significant tonnage could be landed there. A little was also getting into La Rochelle, but those ports could barely keep 7th and 5th Armies fed. Now that the surplus built up before Operation Thunder was expended, the trucks were delivering far less than the requirements needed to sustain the attack.

  So it wasn’t just Monty moaning for gasoline and supplies, it was a crisis that was building quickly, and all through the southern front, particularly since the 1st Army also had to be fed in the Pas-de-Calais. An army could not fight with an empty stomach, and even if Patton had an open road in front of him, he needed gasoline to get farther north, and was already improvising to take fuel from the infantry divisions on the front in order to keep his breakout force moving. Even this expedient was going to dry up in time, and that one mitigating factor was going to give the Germans an opportunity to save their own 7th Army.

  Chapter 17

  Von Rundstedt was under no illusions. The relentless drive by Patton had now turned north, and it had not been Kluge’s wonder brigade that had forced that change. Like water, the Americans were flowing towards the best possible line of advance.

  “They are going to bypass Paris,” he said to Guderian. “Kluge’s magic brigade parried well, but there is simply too much for that unit to try and stop on its own.”

  “10th Panzer is finally here from Germany,” said Guderian.

  “Well met, but all we can do with that is try and set up blocking positions on the major lines of possible enemy advance. I have just freed up 15th Panzergrenadier Division, but now it may have to go east to Orleans. O’Connor has reached the Loire, and he’s pushing on any number of crossing points there. We’ll need something more than the two Brandenburg Brigades assigned there to back up the infantry.”

  “I think the more immediate problem is what to do with your 7th Army,” said Guderian. “Patton is in Alencon! The bulk of 7th Army is now to the southwest of that city.”

  “I agree,” said von Rundstedt. “Those divisions will have to be pulled out, and quickly.”

  In fact, the American thrust in to Alencon had cut right through 7th Army, brushing back the newly assigned 232nd Infantry, with 711th and 716th to its east, where Berg was still operating. They were now talking about all the new units von Rundstedt had sent from Normandy to shore up the west flank: the 708th, 77th, and 91st Infantry Divisions, and both KG Mauss and KG Berlichingen, the remnants of 21st and 7th Panzers. All those troops were west and south of Patton’s new breakthrough, and in danger of being cut off and isolated.

  “Very well,” said von Rundstedt. “I will order those units to move tonight, and hopefully they can get north west of Foret de Couves.”

  That was heavy woodland, beginning about six kilometers north of Alencon. It was going to force Patton to skirt the woods to the east, on the main road to Sees, or to take the roads northwest towards Falaise into Normandy, which is what Guderian feared at the moment.

  “I think they will go for Sees next,” said von Rundstedt. “Normandy is a lot to chew on if they try to go there.”

  “If they do,” said Guderian, they will be chewing on half of 7th Army as well. We won’t want that. Those divisions need to get to the Seine, by hook or by crook. Can we move anything else to assist 10th Panzer?”

  “I have the 709th at Cherbourg, and the 17th Luftwaffe at Rouen, and that’s the bottom of the barrel.”

  “Then we drink what we must,” said Guderian, “dregs and all. I would get both divisions moving as soon as possible.”

  “The 709th is static,” said von Rundstedt, “which is why I sent it to Cherbourg as a strong garrison.”

  “Don’t they have several Ost battalions attached? Why not leave those to hold the port, undertake demolitions there, and pull the rest of the division into the Caen sector. As for the 17th Luftwaffe Division, it may be better off just where it is, watching the Seine crossings between Le Havre and Rouen. God only knows which way Patton will turn next, but you know he’s relentless.”

  “Are you thinking about a general withdrawal behind the Seine?”

  “Not just yet, but Patton is going to be advancing into thin air if he continues north. Move those divisions today. Don’t wait for darkn
ess. We need them to get north and cover that open flank as fast as possible. Look at the position update. We have virtually nothing west of Mayenne. The Americans could go all the way to Avranche if they wanted to.”

  “I do not think they really want Normandy any more than they wanted Brittany. Yes, there is Cherbourg to consider, but we’ll wreck that port just like we wrecked the others. Mark my words… Patton will go for the Seine, and sooner or later, that is where we must go—preferably before he gets there.”

  “Tell Kluge to pull his wonder brigade out and send it north,” said Guderian. “It can operate with 10th Panzer now, and let’s see if we can stop them on the run.”

  That morning, under heavy grey skies that provided good cover from the Jabos, the west end of 7th Army began to march north. With them, on the roads parallel to the Alencon-Sees highway, went Berg’s Heavy Brigade, and further east, both the Duren and Friedberg Brigades also moved north. It was now a war of movement, gasoline and the road net, but the next great river, the Seine, was still very far away.

  * * *

  Patton would not stop—not for orders, or lack of supply. He had a couple good infantry divisions that had been line holders in the south, all of Middleton’s VIII Corps. They were all heading into the Alencon Gap, putting five full divisions there in a corridor that was now no more than 10 kilometers wide. He would put troops on all three roads open to him, seeking every opportunity to exploit his breakout. It was time for what he called “broken field running,” time for yardage while he still had the gasoline to move.

  That night, cavalry units found the road to Falaise wide open. 67th recon of 2nd Armored Division made the hazardous move after dark through the thick Foret de Couves. They expected an ambush at every turn in the narrow road, but did not encounter a single German soldier, so Patton ordered a battalion of tanks and armored infantry to follow them. The rest of that division cleared Alencon and watched to shoulder of the road to Sees. That was where the Provisional Armored Division was going, with 5th Infantry in their wake, and they would pull into the city around 02:00, again with no sign of the enemy.