“Those ships aren’t seaworthy yet, Admiral.”
“That could be a different story come next year. As soon as we get Goering off our backs here we’ll have to get Bomber Command busy with that.”
“Yes sir, and we must also consider what to do about all the rest. The French have ships scattered from Dakar to Alexandria. Most of the ships we were planning on sending to Gibraltar for Admiral Somerville’s Force H got caught up in the maelstrom here. How did Illustrious fare?”
“Well enough. Those Messerschmitts from Graf Zeppelin mostly fell on the boys off Ark Royal. If nothing else, they have convinced me that we need a new carrier based fighter, and quickly. These new Fulmars might not even be able to stand with the Messerschmitts. Thank god that when Illustrious put in her attack most of the German planes were already heading home. Good for us, because we put a torpedo into Tirpitz, and that may have persuaded Lindemann to turn. It was Lindemann, yes?”
“Correct, sir. Intelligence says he was on Bismarck.”
“Strange that they gave the operation to a Captain. Not an Admiral in sight.”
“Lutjens is thought to be on the Hindenburg. There’s another nightmare waiting in the wings.”
“Yes, a real phantom in the opera, Daddy. Let’s hope that damn ship stays put in the Baltic for a good while longer.”
“I doubt if they will attempt another major operation this year, sir. Which may give us just a little time to get up off the canvass and catch our breath.”
“What can we send south to Somerville?”
“Well, sir. May I suggest Rodney and Nelson. As you say, they’re not much good up here. The Germans would never attempt to force the inside passage. Every breakout attempt they have made has run out west to the Denmark Strait.”
“Agreed, Brind. Nelson and Rodney will be a good fit for the Med. We’ll send them, and we shall have to come up with another aircraft carrier as well.”
“Both Ark Royal and Illustrious were nominated, sir.”
“Yet I can’t really spare them yet,” said Tovey. “I need fast carriers here as well. What about Glorious?”
“She’s patched up and ready now. The last three weeks have done her a world of good, and the shipyard gave her top priority.”
“Good then. HMS Glorious goes to Somerville.”
“And who do we give her to, Admiral? There’s been no appointment for her next Captain.”
“I have a man in mind for the job, Mister Brind. Yes… I have just the man in mind, the very same man that delivered her safely home.”
“Wells? He’s a Lieutenant Commander. No experience at all.”
“You forget that he was a serving officer on Glorious.”
“No, I haven’t forgotten that, sir, but is he ready for such an assignment?”
“Was I ready when they gave me Home Fleet? Not by a long shot. Were you ready when they gave you your first ship, Brind?”
“HMS Orion? Well I can’t say that I was, sir.”
“No man ever is. Yet we all start somewhere. I had this young man at my arm as Flag Lieutenant’s assistant on Invincible. He has a good head on his shoulders, a bit excitable at times, but he knows the ship and her crew, and he’s got one battle star on his chest with Glorious as it stands. Make the recommendation to the Admiralty.”
“Very good, sir.”
“Right… Then we hand off the torch to Somerville for the moment. Let’s send him a pair of nice fat battleships and another carrier and see what he can do about the French. As for my watch, I plan on taking our newest ships out for a stroll to shake off the goblins. We’ve received a request to meet with this Russian Admiral Volsky on the Faeroes. I shall take the opportunity to thank him personally, and perhaps this time we may add a few other ships to our side of the ledger-the Russians!”
“They do have a few ships worth the name,” said Brind.
“Particularly the ship we encountered-that rocket cruiser. Have you ever heard of anything like it?”
“Not on my watch, sir.”
“Well call me an old fool, but I have the strangest feeling that I have seen this ship before. When we invited the Admiral over for lunch I simply could not take my eyes off that ship. I could swear I’d run across it once, in the far east when I was a young Lieutenant. But that is clearly impossible.”
“It’s also quite a black eye for Bletchley Park,” Brind put in. “They should have had eyes on that ship, and long ago.”
“Quite so. It’s all very bothersome, Daddy. All I can say about it is that I’m glad that ship is on our side.” He was going to add ‘this time around,’ almost reflexively, but stopped himself. He could simply not place his finger on any firm recollection concerning this ship, yet it continued to nag him. In a fitful dream the previous night he saw the ship looming on the horizon of his mind, saw those fiery rockets, felt the jarring sound and concussion of an explosion. It was so compelling that he sat up in a cold sweat, breathing hard with his nightmare. Yes, this strange ship was giving him bad dreams, though now he hoped he could forget them.
“The Russian Admiral seems quite accommodating,” he said.
“Whitehall has also received high level official contacts regarding this meeting,” said Brind.
“So I’ve been told. That incident involving the Admiral Scheer and Nurnberg is a hot potato now. It’s come to blows up north, and this could be something to move the Russians our way. I have every hope that it is.”
“Agreed,” said Brind. “It could also give the Germans just the excuse they need to attack Soviet Russia.”
“Well that will happen one day, Brind, you can bet on it. If not this autumn, then next year.”
“It really comes down to what the Germans plan for us, sir. We’ve got most of our cruisers tied up in home waters on invasion watch now.”
“And that will have to continue.”
“Do you think they’ll have a go at us?”
Tovey thought, then shook his head. “I doubt it, Brind. Try that and we blast them in the Channel, and they damn well know it. Bletchley Park believes the Germans are focusing their effort on trying to break the R.A.F. at the moment. I think they’ll see if they can pound us into submission with the Luftwaffe. They know they can’t cross the channel unless they do that first, and then they’ll still have the Royal Navy to deal with. Frankly, I don’t believe the Germans will attempt an invasion here. It’s the Mediterranean we have to worry about for the foreseeable future. But we must remain vigilant in any case. That’s why I’ll want King George V and Prince of Wales working out with me as soon as possible. In the meantime, I have other beasts to slay.”
“Sir?”
“They want me in the lion’s den with a full report. I’ve been summoned to Whitehall, Daddy. And in case I don’t come back in one piece it has been a brief but pleasant duty here.”
“Chin up, sir,” said Brind. “But bring your whip and chair.”
Chapter 23
July 18, 1940
Raeder and Doenitz sat at the conference table, waiting nervously for the meeting they had both come to dread. The Fuhrer himself was coming to assess the plans now being laid for the continuation of the war, and determine the role the Kriegsmarine would take as they developed. Abwehr Intelligence Chief Canaris sat in his dignified silence, an aristocrat, ever scheming, and holding far too many reins of power as far as Raeder was concerned. Lastly, Luftwaffe Air Chief Hermann Goering was also present, sitting like a sullen bullfrog at the other end of the table, his arm resting on a fat binder that Raeder eyed suspiciously from time to time.
No doubt I will first receive a scolding over what has just happened in the Denmark Strait, thought Raeder. Canaris is here to sort out the intelligence. Well, I have read Lindemann's report ten times, and still cannot believe what he asserts. Hoffmann said the same, and the damage to Gneisenau was plain to see. Then comes Kranke’s ignominious performance in Operation Wunderland and the loss of the Nurnberg. He was sent there with explicit orders to scout out the state of Soviet naval development in the far north, and to find this ship Hoffmann and Lindemann have been bawling about-not to start a war!