Rhinelander (Kirov Series Book 40) Read online

  Kirov Saga:

  Rhinelander

  By

  John Schettler

  A publication of: The Writing Shop Press

  Rhinelander, Copyright©2018, John A. Schettler

  The Kirov Audiobook Fundraising Project

  Perhaps the closest we will ever get to a movie version of Kirov will be a professional audiobook project, and this is now on the radar screen. The expense required to do it right, hiring enough voice talent to bring the characters to life, has prompted us to see if readers might support this project through a “Go Fund Me” campaign to offer the first three volumes of the Kirov Series as audiobooks. We’re trying to raise $25,000 to do this, and here are the different levels where you can contribute to help make the project a reality.

  Support us at the $20 level as a way to say “Thanks” to the author for delivering 40 volumes of this incredible series with such dedication, and also get a sales code that will deliver a free kindle version of a coming book from the final season of the series.

  Support us at the $50 level and receive any single volume of the Kirov Series you designate as a book, personally autographed by the author.

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  Support us at the $200 level and receive the opening trilogy of the series as finished audiobooks when complete, including all three autographed paperbacks.

  Support us at the $500 leve l and receive all three audiobooks as above and also any single 8 volume season of the Kirov Series as paperbacks signed by the author.

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  The Kirov Saga: Season One

  Kirov - Volume 1

  Cauldron of Fire - Volume 2

  Pacific Storm - Volume 3

  Men of War - Volume 4

  Nine Days Falling - Volume 5

  Fallen Angels - Volume 6

  Devil’s Garden - Volume 7

  Armageddon –Volume 8

  The Kirov Saga: Season Two ~ 1940-1941

  Altered States –Volume 9

  Darkest Hour –Volume 10

  Hinge of Fate –Volume 11

  Three Kings –Volume 12

  Grand Alliance –Volume 13

  Hammer of God –Volume 14

  Crescendo of Doom –Volume 15

  Paradox Hour –Volume 16

  The Kirov Saga: Season Three ~1942

  Doppelganger –Volume 17

  Nemesis –Volume 18

  Winter Storm –Volume 19

  Tide of Fortune –Volume 20

  Knight’s Move –Volume 21

  Turning Point –Volume 22

  Steel Reign –Volume 23

  Second Front –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

  Nexus Deep – Volume 31

  Field of Glory – Volume 32

  The Kirov Saga: Season Five ~1944

  Prime Meridian – Volume 33

  Event Horizon – Volume 34

  Dragonfall – Volume 35

  1944 – Volume 36

  The Tempest – Volume 37

  Breakout – Volume 38

  Starfall – Volume 39

  Rhinelander – Volume 40

  Kirov Saga:

  Rhinelander

  By

  John Schettler

  Kirov Saga: 40

  Rhinelander

  By

  John Schettler

  Part I – Logistics

  Part II – Gladiators

  Part III – Prelude to Disaster

  Part IV – Rhinelander

  Part V – Buying Time

  Part VI – Better Late Than Never

  Part VII – Nordland

  Part VIII– Uppercut

  Part IX – Across the Roer

  Part X – East Wind

  Part XI – Plunder

  Part XII – Downfall

  Afterword: Homecoming

  Author’s Note:

  Dear Readers,

  We have come to a boundary of sorts, marked on the map by the circuitous course of the great river Rhine. It has been the endpoint of all Allied strategy for 1944, the last great water barrier providing a line of defense for Germany. The Westwall has already been challenged and breached, and like all the rivers before it, we saw in Operation Starfall that the Rhine was no different than any other river to be crossed. Yet while O’Connor and the British 1st Army claim the laurels for being first over the Rhine, the struggle continues here as the American armies to the south strive to reach that long held objective.

  In this volume, the last major operations of the war in the West will all play out. We have already claimed the ground that was won in the real history with Montgomery’s Operation Veritable , and to some extent, in Operation Varsity as well with the conclusion of the last book. Now the Germans will take their rejuvenated Panzerwaffe and throw it at Patton in a bid to set back the Allied advance, particularly after the loss of Antwerp as a functioning major port. Everything that was gained in the daring Operation Comet , was lost in one brilliant and deadly flash of atomic fire, delivered in a way that no one ever expected. But O’Connor’s whirlwind campaign also delivered two more ports to Allied hands that were never cleared in 1944, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. They will figure prominently in supporting him later in this volume.

  In the last book, I opened with a rundown on the importance of Antwerp to the Allied campaign, and showed how that vital asset went unused from September 5 when Roberts’ 11th Armored Division captured the port until November 28 when the first supply ship finally docked. That was twelve wasted weeks, largely because Montgomery was fixated elsewhere—his eyes ever on the Rhine. Here in this alternate history, the Allied strategy has been better aimed. The seizure of Antwerp in Operation Comet , and the stunning advance by General Richard O’Connor, led the Allied effort to the Rhine itself with the daring, though costly, Operation Starfall .

  It was General Gale and his 6th Paras who paid the price for that bridge over the Rhine at Emmerich. Their sacrifice at Rees made it possible, for the 1st SS would have surely descended on Emmerich if the Allies had not also tried to grab that second bridge at Rees. If ever it could be said that the Allies went a bridge too far, Gale would chime in that his operation was the living example of that. Then, in spite of the foresight the Allies showed in opening Antwerp early, Heinrich Himmler finally gets one through at the conclusion of Starfall , and “drops the big one” at Antwerp, though not in a way the Allies might have feared.

  The implications of that detonation have a profound effect on Allied plans. Eager to catch up with the dashing O’Connor, General George Patton now attempts to breach the Westwall, and envelop Aachen, an operation that leads off our alternate history segments in this volume. But the Germans have other ideas, and they will soon launch a limited, but major counterattack, which ends up looking a lot like a slightly modified version of von Rundstedt’s “Plan Martin.” All the strategic discussion and wrangling over what to do with Operation Rhinelander comes to a head here, and the attack is finally made.

  This volume will see if the Germans can reap any harvest from their counterst
roke, and show how the Allies react and respond. Through it all, we will see fighting in the Hurtgen Forest, for in this history, the Allies see the importance of capturing the Roer River dams as soon as possible. Patton’s attack up the Stolberg Corridor, and the battle for Aachen are also presented, and this all before Operation Rhinelander actually begins. Then Guderian rolls his dice and the Germans unleash the hounds they have held back in the kennels for these longs months. We’ll see where it takes them.

  In the meantime, Rhinelander has a double meaning, for there were a number of battles in the Rhineland. Eisenhower wanted his armies to clear the Germans from the west bank and establish a broad front position all along that last major river. To get there, the Allies teed up Blockbuster, Grenade, Queen, and Lumberjack, whichwill all be encompassed in this push to the Rhine some given different code names. The big question is whether or not these operations can be supplied with Antwerp now largely unusable.

  The answer lies again in the great harvest delivered by O’Connor, taking not only Utrecht, but also clearing out both Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Now those two ports become vital alternatives to the radioactive wasteland Himmler made of the dockyards and entry channels of Antwerp, and it is not surprising that O’Connor still sees operations in North Holland as the key to finally flanking and opening up the bridgehead that was obtained earlier, the pearl of great price at Emmerich.

  But this war is ending….

  After years of research, simulation design, gaming out the battles presented in the series, and all the millions of keystrokes that created this story, I find myself beset with that same feeling that haunted Patton when he exclaimed: “Someday this war is going to end.” That time is upon us now, here, in this volume, but the series itself will not end when the last trumpets sound off here in 1944. I will use all the space I have in this book to bring the war to a conclusion, but I will not be able to cover everything that went on in those last tumultuous months of this titanic conflict. As with the bulk of this fifth season, I will focus intensely on the war in the West, with news arriving that presents what is happening on the other theaters.

  But where are we going next?

  I will have more to say on that at the conclusion of this book, following those words that have led you all here to Rhinelander , one book at a time.

  The Saga Continues….

  - John Schettler

  PS: If you can, I would very much appreciate your support for our Kirov Series Audiobook Project . Visit “Go Fund Me” to participate!

  https://www.gofundme.com/kirov-series-audiobook-project

  Part I

  Logistics

  “Logistics is the ball and chain of armored warfare.”

  —Heinz Guderian

  Chapter 1

  It was Alexander the Great who reputedly said his logisticians were a humorless lot, for they would be the first he would slay if his campaign ever faltered. The meeting held in Rouen concerning the logistical problems now facing the Allied armies in the West was cheerless, with one report after another from the logistics officers covering the table, and in their midst, sat Jesus Christ Himself, General J.C.H. Lee, chief of the humorless lot supporting Eisenhower’s armies.

  “To be blunt,” he concluded, “the shutdown at Antwerp puts us right back where we were a month ago before Comet, Starfall and Steamroller . Gentlemen, we simply cannot sustain operations at the level of the last 30 days, because, quite simply, we’re running out of steam.”

  “What can be sustained?” asked Eisenhower.

  “To be realistic, I can support no more than one corps in each army if we keep to the broad front approach you’ve advocated—one corps in offensive mode, the rest available for supporting roles, or defensive assignments only. Let me make it simple. I’ve worked out a point system, representing offensive supply for one week. Moving an armored division in to offensive mode is going to cost two points. An infantry division costs one point, and an armored cavalry regiment one point. I can give each army level commander at this table seven points. The way you choose to spend them is up to you.”

  “Seven points? For each army?” Patton was doing the math. “Hell, I’ve got five armored and nine infantry divisions under my command, with two cavalry regiments. That’s 21 points. You’re telling me I’ll only be able to crank up a third of my fighting force?”

  “Correct, at least for the foreseeable future. We can’t use Antwerp, unless you want the dock crews and stevedores falling over dead from this radiation sickness in a week. The decision has therefore been made to open both Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and it will take time to clear all the sea channels of mines, decontaminate the cranes, and move them, repair rail lines, move 30,000 personnel, and reroute all the shipping. I need a minimum of 30 days for that, and I’m hoping we can begin to receive initial shipments in those ports by early September. Taken together, they can provide what we had in hand at Antwerp, but while we wait for that to become a reality, I have to rely primarily on Cherbourg.”

  “What about Le Havre?” asked Eisenhower.

  “It was left in pretty bad shape, but we’ve been working round the clock there. It should be receiving initial shipments next week, and using my point system, I’ve calculated we can pick up three points from Le Havre, and two more right here at Rouen, where I plan to bunker primarily Pol assets and lubricants. That means I can give one more point to each army in another week to ten days.”

  “A rather grim assessment,” said Eisenhower. “It’s back to robbing Peter to pay Paul. I’ll tell you what. You can give those five extra points to me, and I’ll distribute them based on need and opportunity. Just where do you get your points from, General, so we can get a clear picture of things?”

  “Cherbourg is going to account for ten points, all the Channel ports combined for eight, and Toulon and Marseille for twelve. The remaining five I get from Brittany ports. Then, once this stuff arrives, I’ve got to get it loaded on trucks and trains, and move it hundreds of miles to keep up with you gentlemen, and that is no small task. The bottom line is this: for the next thirty to sixty days, you’ve got to be stingy. Watch your Pol and artillery supplies closely. We thought we might have this thing wrapped up by Christmas, but now I’m planning for the winter, which means I’ve got to lay in uniforms, overcoats, hats and gloves, blankets, socks and boots for the men—ton after ton.”

  “Thank you,” General Lee. “Now we look to the senior officers here for their plans in the coming months. By God, it did look like everything was going our way not ten days ago. We had Antwerp. General O’Connor had a good run and gave us Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and a bridge on the Rhine. That was simply outstanding, and yet, we paid one hell of a price for that turf.”

  “That’s also my fault,” said O’Connor. “Jerry got very stubborn, and we got hung up at the fortified zone around Goch. It seemed that every time we looked to break out, they put in another division. It was that bloody Hermann Goring Division, and the German Paras, that ended up keeping XXX Corps from reaching General Gale in time to matter. Oh, we got there, but by that time, all we could get out were a few battalions crossing the river at night. Our bridgehead at Emmerich is secure, but they’ve clamped the lid shut tight at Rees, and of course they destroyed the bridge.”

  “Can you bust out at Emmerich?” asked Patton.

  “Possibly, but the bridge was taken by storm, and then just barely. I’ve put two brigades of armor across, and one from the 15th Scottish. We owe a great deal to the Scots. They were the troops that pushed right through the Reichswald to open that road, and in a place Jerry never thought we could go. Yet given this news on the supply situation, it will take some careful planning before we can contemplate a big push from Emmerich.”

  “What I think it needs,” said Ike, “is a general movement by other armies up to the Rhine. We’ll have to threaten multiple crossing points, and by so doing force the Germans to spread their defensive assets all along the river. If we try to do everything from Emmerich, they ca
n just triple team us up there. But at least we put the fear of the Lord into them. Gentlemen, we’re over the Rhine, and that’s a step in the right direction. General Lee has put together a good system. I want you all to think of those points like gold coins in your pocket, and we need to spend them wisely. General O’Connor, since we plan on shifting the logistical base to the ports in north Holland, what about some redistribution of forces up there?”

  “I’ve considered that,” said O’Connor. “At the moment, I’ve got the three Canadian divisions up there, but shifting up another corps may be a very good idea. After all, the supplies will be right behind them at Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and from where they are now, there’s only the Ijssel river to get over. That said, the Germans have a strong position forward of Apeldoorn, so I’ll definitely need to reinforce the north if we’re to break through up there. If we do push through, and get over that river, then we’re looking right at the North German Plain, the best tank country in all of Germany.”

  Eisenhower nodded. “Then I think we should definitely support the Canadians. Middleton is presently holding the line of the Meuse all the way from Mayseyck to Venlo. This may mean I have to move him further north, which means Collins has to take over from Roermond to Liege. I can transfer 2nd Infantry to you, George, as it’s already holding from Roermond south. That will still leave Middleton with four divisions, and I’ll move these temporarily under your command, General O’Connor. You’ve earned a raise. Most of Middleton’s divisions are bunched up near Venlo now, but I think we’ll have to call off his planned offensive so he can relieve the divisions O’Connor has on the line from Venlo north. That should free up your XXX Corps to move as you see fit. Work up a plan.”