Ironfall (Kirov Series Book 30)
Kirov Saga:
Ironfall
By
John Schettler
A publication of: The Writing Shop Press
Ironfall, Copyright©2017, John A. Schettler
KIROV SERIES:
The Kirov Saga: Season One
Kirov - Kirov Series - Volume 1
Cauldron of Fire - Kirov Series - Volume 2
Pacific Storm - Kirov Series - Volume 3
Men of War - Kirov Series - Volume 4
Nine Days Falling - Kirov Series - Volume 5
Fallen Angels - Kirov Series - Volume 6
Devil’s Garden - Kirov Series - Volume 7
Armageddon – Kirov Series – Volume 8
The Kirov Saga: Season Two ~ 1940-1941
Altered States – Kirov Series – Volume 9
Darkest Hour – Kirov Series – Volume 10
Hinge of Fate – Kirov Series – Volume 11
Three Kings – Kirov Series – Volume 12
Grand Alliance – Kirov Series – Volume 13
Hammer of God – Kirov Series – Volume 14
Crescendo of Doom – Kirov Series – Volume 15
Paradox Hour – Kirov Series – Volume 16
The Kirov Saga: Season Three ~1942
Doppelganger – Kirov Series – Volume 17
Nemesis – Kirov Series – Volume 18
Winter Storm – Kirov Series – Volume 19
Tide of Fortune – Kirov Series – Volume 20
Knight’s Move – Kirov Series – Volume 21
Turning Point – Kirov Series – Volume 22
Steel Reign – Kirov Series – Volume 23
Second Front – Kirov Series – Volume 24
The Kirov Saga: Season Four ~1943
Tigers East – Volume 25
Thor’s Anvil – Volume 26
1943 – Volume 27
Lions at Dawn – Volume 28
Stormtide Rising – Volume 29
Ironfall – Volume 30
Kirov Saga:
Ironfall
By
John Schettler
Kirov Saga:
Ironfall
By
John Schettler
Part I – The Ides of March
Part II – Yasawa
Part III – April Fool’s Day
Part IV – The Hammer
Part V – Eisenfall
Part VI – Foolish Fire
Part VII – Red Star Rising
Part VIII– De Führer
Part IX – The Salient
Part X – Stemming the Tide
Part XI – Grim Realizations
Part XII – The Mission
Author’s Note:
Dear Readers,
Now we are deep into 1943, and there is a great deal going on, over many fronts. Hitler’s gambles in Syria, Iraq and the Caucasus, have paid him good dividends. Fedorov’s ploy of leaking that strategic map of present and future oil developments ended up causing a good many headaches for the British, and as we shall soon see, for Ivan Volkov as well. Yet, at the same time, the Germans have placed a number of divisions in Syria, and with no clear objective other than to stand as a holding force to prevent the British from flanking Guderian’s startling drive into Iraq.
That is about to change, and our Desert Fox returns to see to the planning and execution of Operation Eisenfall , Ironfall. But Rommel cannot attack with Kubler’s Mountain Divisions. He must have panzers, and this sees the transfer of strong forces to his command that will soon be missed on the Ostfront .
At the same time, Manstein’s operation Edelweiss has been much larger than the original forces allocated to that attack, and the General now believes those troops will soon be returned to his main front along the Don. Only then can he contemplate any new offensive for the Spring and Summer of 1943, but the Soviets have ideas of their own.
All these battles will play out here, with some surprising turns that will end up being very important to the future course of the war. In the meantime, we must not forget the Pacific, and so that is where we will begin. Admiral Kita is about to make a most important decision, handing Yamamoto some amazing new capabilities, and this is going to become a problem for Karpov, Fedorov, Volsky and Gromyko. Churchill will also make an appearance here, eventually visited by Elena Fairchild to peel off yet another layer on the onion that will become a new search for the key that was lost aboard the Rodney .
This offering marks a milestone for the series—volume 30! To all those who have been with the series from book 1, my profound thanks and appreciation for your tenacious loyalty to this story.
Enjoy! - John Schettler
Part I
The Ides of March
“ Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue shriller than all the music...
Beware the ides of March!”
— Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2
Chapter 1
The fighting for Nandi was particularly fierce. After a brief pause to bring up the 164th Regiment, Patch moved three companies of his 754th Tank battalion to form an armored spearhead and attacked straight up the road towards the town with the men of the 132nd Regiment on the line. He wanted an all-out push, willing to burn the 132nd out and then feed in the 164th to sustain the momentum, but one way or another, he wanted Nandi before this week would end. At the same time a concerted push was made over the river to the west of that town towards the village of Suituro, right at the edge of the coastal mangrove swamps. It was the 147th Regiment that pulled that duty, and getting over that river was hell. Artillery from three regiments and the division pool was laid on thick and heavy, perhaps the heaviest bombardment of the war in the Pacific to date.
It was to be a grinding, vicious battle of attrition. Those M3 tanks would break through up the road, but heedless of the cost, the Japanese infantry would simply fix bayonets and charge in to get at the American infantry that was crouching in the advance behind each tank. The Shermans blasted away with their main guns, spitting fire in all directions with their MGs, but still the enemy came. All this was happening as the US artillery thundered away, the shells falling first at the edge of the Japanese line and then walking back through their positions towards Nandi, eventually reaching their infantry gun and artillery emplacements.
This was where the US enjoyed a decided advantage. They had that breakthrough battalion of 42 M3’s, armored cavalry right behind them in half tracks, and then two battalions of infantry. And the artillery fire was more intense than anything the Japanese had ever experienced in the war. It was to be steel against bone, blood, and raw courage, and steel prevailed. The tanks broke through to Nandi, and it was the commitment of the 164th Regiment that gave the attack the momentum to carry through. In spite of ferocious counterattacks, the Japanese could not dislodge the Americans, or stop their steady advance. General Yuitsu Tsuchihashi was now in command of the 48th Division, and he knew the loss of Nandi would bring the American artillery within range of the airfield, a most decisive factor in the outcome of the entire campaign for Fiji.
At first, he thought to seek reinforcements from General Sano’s 38th Division, but he soon learned that the situation in the north was every bit as dire as his own. Lightning Joe Collins had come up on what looked like an impregnable Japanese defensive position. The heart of the division was strung out along the west bank of the M’ba River, a swift moving current that had been swollen by the rains. The Japanese were dug in deep at the Sugar Mill and Varoka Bridge to the north, and it looked like there was no way Collins was going to get over that river.
Aggressive patrolling over two nights presented Collins with a different picture. While
very strong in the center, the north and south flanks of this position were much weaker. The north was held by the burned out 228th Regiment under Ito, and the south was only being screened by elements of the Kawaguchi Detachment.
Collins decided to try and enfilade the south first, moving the 35th Regiment across a ford found earlier by Edson’s Raiders. There was a finger of high ground southwest of M’ba field on the far side of the river, and those troops were ordered to take it. The river crossing was made at night, and carried off without incident, but it did not go unnoticed by the Japanese. Well back from that hill, in the thick woodland where Carlson and Edson had been days earlier, the remainder of all the SNLF Marine companies were posted as a Provisional Marine Regiment under the overall direction of Admiral Gunichi Mikawa. He immediately ordered Commander Minoru Yano to take in all his Yokosuka Marines and stop the American advance, and this he did.
Surprised by these fanatical warriors, the US line wavered and fell back. Frustrated, Collins had to send the remainder of the light tanks left behind by the 2nd Marine Division to stabilize his own flank. It was clear that he would not turn that position easily, but in all these actions the Americans had achieved one salient objective that would weigh heavily in the campaign. Collins had taken the airfield at Tavua, overrun the second field at M’ba, and now Patch had the main field at Nandi under his artillery. That meant the Japanese had to fly off the few planes they still had there to a small strip on Yasawa Island they had scratched out there. In effect, the US now had complete land based air superiority over the Fiji Island Group. That meant that any supply convoys running out to that island would need carrier support, and that was always a dangerous mission.
* * *
Yamamoto stared at the message for a very long time. It had been handed off to him by a white gloved aide, fresh off the plane from Tokyo, and it was a most unusual way to deliver an order. A directive from the Emperor himself! This was most likely the work of Tojo, but here, at last, is the answer to the questions I pressed upon General Imamura. This directive leaves no doubt as to what the Army will now do. They are ordered to hold all the islands now under contention, including Efate, New Caledonia and Viti Levu in the Fiji Group. All enemy forces are to be ejected from those islands, and to assure that these objectives will be met, the Army has seen fit to release substantial reserves made available because of the recent accord between our forces in China and the Kuomintang under Chaing Kai-shek. A full army consisting of five new divisions will be sent to secure all present holdings and undertake the offensive operations deemed appropriate to achieve the objectives set down by the Emperor.
This was a major escalation of the Army’s commitment to the South Pacific, and now the Navy was directed to conduct all necessary operations to ensure the timely and safe transport of Army units to designated objectives, and to become masters of the seas in and around those objectives as required. So easily conceived and written down in a directive like this, thought Yamamoto. Yet not so easily accomplished. There is an enemy out there with both an army and navy, and clear objectives of their own.
He looked over the list of new divisions, noting that one of them was the powerful 3rd Infantry Division, a top tier veteran unit from the Nanjing area. But look at this list of new objectives! In addition to reinforcing Fiji to reverse the unfortunate situation there, the large adjacent Island of Vanua Levu has now been selected for occupation by Japanese troops, to take and hold all the airfields now being used by the Americans. They have constructed larger fields at Bua, Savu, and Lambasa, with three smaller landing strips at Baiugunu, Katherine Bay and Matei. Trying to strike them all to suppress enemy air power for the assault landings will not be easy.
The 3rd Infantry Division has been assigned to this task, and now I must find shipping to move it, and the means to control the seas. Hopefully we can retain the shipping that transports them here from China, and I will make this a personal request. The 6th and 9th Divisions come next, one for New Caledonia to begin a protracted campaign there, and the other to storm Efate and eliminate those enemy landings. After these objectives have been fulfilled, then the 15th and 17th Divisions will be released, and we are directed to begin planning for operations against ‘other targets of opportunity to be specified later.’
By all kami great and small, I might be able to get those troops to their objectives, but how in the world does Tojo think I can keep all these divisions supplied? How does he think I can defend these sea lanes over such a wide area? We simply do not have the shipping available to do this, and so it is clear to me that Admiral Nagano was bypassed in all this planning, or otherwise silenced. He would have certainly pointed this out.
Then again… The early release of the Phase II Shadow Fleet ships may have something to do with all of this. Even so, the fleet is straining just to support the few operations already underway. Now I must find the means to cover another major amphibious assault into the Fiji Group—let alone all the other things mandated in this directive.
But the Admiral would soon find out that he had more resources at his command than he realized. Takami had been ordered to Yokohama before it was sunk, summoned there by Admiral Nagano himself. It was clear the Admiral had heard enough from the rumor mill to make him very curious. When Admiral Kita learned this, he convened a meeting of his senior officers, including Harada and Fukada off the stricken Takami .
He had broken off his hunt for Kirov , content to gather his fleet and make some general determination on how they would now proceed to operate here. Kirov had run south, and he believed they might soon hear of its whereabouts. Now he had to decide how to use his task force for the mission the officers and crew had chosen. They would support Japan, though he still had reservations about that choice. Yet with the power they had, Kirov and the Russian submarine aside, he had every confidence that he could change the course of this war, and forestall the terrible end that Japan suffered in 1945.
“Gentlemen, I’ve been asked five times why we broke off that scrap with the Russians. Yes, we had them on the run, but the situation was far from resolved in our favor. We lost planes, and also saw that this Karpov was willing to stop at nothing when he resorted to the use of that nuclear warhead. We didn’t know where that damn sub was, and it already put your ship down, Captain Harada. We had the fleet too spread out, and neither the carriers, nor the replenishment group, were adequately covered. And we were burning through a limited supply of fuel at 30 knots for hours on end, while our enemy cruised off at 32 knots without using a single drop. So I elected to play it safe and pull in our horns to think this thing through. We’ve got to consider all the factors here, and logistics is front and center. They can operate out here indefinitely, and we can’t. It’s as simple as that. So I can’t get involved in a sea chase here. It’s just that simple. We would have three days to operate before every ship would be looking to Omi for fuel.”
“So then what do you propose?” asked Captain Asano from the destroyer Kongo .
“Just what Captain Harada suggested before we ran into the Russians. He said we might head southwest to find tanker support from our friends, before we tangle with our enemies. Unfortunately, we sailed right into trouble. Is that option still doable?” He looked at Harada now.
“I don’t see why not, sir, but there’s another issue we should consider. Takami is due to arrive at Yokohama today, and that isn’t going to happen. It’s going to raise eyebrows. I was told to report directly to Admiral Nagano, and he won’t be happy that I failed to do so. He’ll go right to Yamamoto to find out why, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Yamamoto is already trying to contact us.”
“Alright,” said Kita. “You say you’re on fairly good standing with Yamamoto, but Nagano is his senior commanding officer, and he still remains in the dark about all this.”
“Correct,” said Harada.
“Well should we keep that appointment?”
“It’s 2000 nautical miles to get there,” said Harada. “And we’d be m
aking quite a revelation of ourselves when we arrived in Tokyo Bay. I say the smarter play is to continue south to Rabaul and meet with Yamamoto, or perhaps the bay at Davao. I can contact him directly, and see if I can clear things up, and then he could cover us concerning Nagano. That also puts us in Kirov’s wake, even if we don’t move to a high speed chase scenario here. This Karpov just hit Truk, and as we’ve seen, he’ll use any arrow in his quiver. If he went south, then he did so for a reason.”
“What reason?” asked Captain Ichiro Akino from Atago.
“Rabaul…. That’s the real forward base for Yamamoto now. We’ve got to stay in a position to defend it—and I don’t think we’re going to the Panama Canal, let alone those American shipyards.” He glanced at Fukada now.
“Agreed,” said Kita. “Those operations are out of the question for the time being. But how will you explain this to Yamamoto?”
“He’s already had the saké with us, and so he will not suffer quite the same shock that Nagano would to learn all of this. I think I will just come out with things as they are. I will tell him that while we were on our scheduled rendezvous at Eniwetok, we encountered an unknown task force, and then determined that they were our comrades—from our own time. How they came to be here remains a mystery to us all, but the Admiral now has two more carriers to add to his fleet.”
“Very well,” said Kita. “Then we continue south, and into dangerous waters. I’ll want an ASW helicopter watch posted at all times, Omi in tight with the two carriers and all the destroyers in a nice tight screen. We’ll have strike planes spotted and ready at a moment’s notice, and if this Karpov wants to go another round with us, so be it. We throw everything we have at him. After all, that’s our main mission here—to kill that ship.”