Kirov Saga:
IRONFALL
by
John Schettler
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!
Part I
The Ides of March
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.